Is an Octopath game still an Octopath game if you’re not following eight different protagonists? That’s the question that Octopath 0 immediately had me asking, as it takes a thoroughly different approach to the series’ classically-framed JRPG action. Built on the foundations of mobile title Champions of the Continent, Square Enix has expanded on that game’s prequel setting and story, bringing a fully-fledged console entry to life, albeit one that does several things very differently from the previous two games.
Firstly, you create your own character from the ground up. There’s a decent selection of pixel art poses, hairstyles and voices, though I’d have liked to see a little more variety. There are some unique options here, though, and my favourite choice was being able to create your own favourite food. You select your preferred effect and name the dish, so I will now spend the game eating beef noodles for an attack boost whenever I’m feeling run down. The only problem with this is that I might be constantly hungry in real life.
Aside from that, you also select three personal belongings, each of which might give you some kind of stat boost, or present future opportunities for side quests. A letter you think was given to you by a cat? Consider me intrigued. It all serves to give your hero a little more personality and individuality than you might be expecting, and that can only be a good thing, even if I’m immediately wondering about the loss of those crafted character experiences.
This is the land of Orsterra, a place where legend and history prove to be closely interlinked. Here, the Flamebringer, Aelfric, brought light to the world and sealed away the dark god in the process, but now, evil is once again awakening. For you, however, things begin much more peacefully, awakening, as is so often the case, in a little village in the middle of the countryside.
You’re the child of the Wishvale’s Watch’s leader, son or daughter of Fried, a fearless warrior that everyone in the village looks up to. His presence clearly gives everyone a feeling of safety, and you’re soon competing to become a full member of the watch yourself. The opening couple of hours is spent getting to know the people of Wishvale, your character, and enjoying the idyllic hamlet and the vibrant festival that’s held there. It can’t last, though, and when the soldiers of the Crimson Wings arrive, setting the village ablaze, and murdering your parents, it sets you and your companions on a path into myth and legend.
Octopath 0 continues the series’ visual design feat of tricking your brain into thinking this was what games looked like thirty years ago. It’s clearly not what they looked like, as Octopath 0 is utterly stunning, the HD-2D imagery glistening with a sheen that would make a jeweller blush. There’s something cosy and welcoming about it, with the way lanterns burn with a subdued glow, and snow gently sparkles as it falls, and as seasonal RPGs go, Octopath 0 feels like an ideal candidate for long, wintry nights and wrapping yourself up in a cosy blanket of turn-based combat.
The combat isn’t as gentle as that sounds, or as easy-going as those picturesque visuals would have you believe, and the returning systems from the previous games prove as reliable and engaging as before, rewarding patience and thoughtful timing to inflict the maximum damage on your foes.
You build up your Burst gauge with every standard attack, and as you attack enemies, you move them ever closer to a weakened Break state. The key is biding your time, waiting until enemies are at their weakest, before using your stored-up attacks to unleash a barrage of blows at just the right moment. It felt fantastic in the first two games, and it’s just as enjoyable here.
That journey from a free-to-play mobile title to a full-scale console release is an interesting one. On first impressions, this looks, sounds and feels like a true Octopath title, and shorn of the mobile version’s free-to-play foibles, there’s plenty of encouraging signs that this will be just as impactful as the other entries in the series, especially for fans of classic turn-based RPGs.
While there are no longer eight separate characters to work your way through, the number eight still plays a key role, with eight legendary rings to search for, and the ability to take a party of eight into battle – albeit split across two fronts. As we progress further into the game, it’s going to be interesting to see where else the team have worked in the number eight, and whether the overall shift in the series narrative takes away from, or adds to the winning Octopath formula.
