Octopath Traveler

A Classic RPG Experience.

As a genre, Japanese role-playing games have remained a staple of the Japanese gaming industry for as long as many can remember. Seeds which began with Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest during the 1980’s 8-bit era eventually grew to spawn memorable storytelling classics such as Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, and Secret of Mana. Today, the games we see look vastly different from how they once were, yet one would be hard-pressed to not find some measures of influence in what they play.

Through these 30 years, a company known as Square Enix acted as the spearhead for the genre, bringing most of the games we know and love. Even today the company retains its leader status amongst Japanese game developers. That the same company from decades ago would be the one to bring us Octopath Traveler, a throwback to the golden age of JRPGs, is only apt, in this sense.

A band of unlikely friends

The core idea of what Octopath Traveler is about can be found in its name. The Latin ‘octo’ means ‘eight’ and combined with the rest of the title indicates a story of eight travellers on different paths. Though you recruit these adventurers and incorporate them into a party, there isn’t quite a main story to follow. Instead, you take the party through eight individual and personal stories, each hosting their own set of characters, bosses, and plights.

Final Fantasy VI has been cited as the key inspiration for Octopath Traveler, but the game’s format shares closer similarities to Square Enix’s Japan-only Live A Live. Like the 1994 game, Octopath Traveler runs you through the seemingly unrelated stories of eight characters, only to reveal by the end a crucial link to tie everything together.

Pixelated wonder