Geek Review – Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent

It’s unfortunate that mobile games are often trapped in the iron jaws of a negative reputation, but every once in a while, a diamond in the rough succeeds in breaking the mould. Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent establishes itself as the latest gem that packs an enjoyable time on the go, surpassing expectations to deliver an adventure fitting of its progenitor’s legacy – flaws and all. 

First released in 2020 in Japan, the title serves as a prequel to Square Enix’s 2018 Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) Octopath Traveler, and is set in the same fictional continent of Osterra. Following a Western launch in 2022, it has finally landed in Southeast Asia, complete with the inherited turn-based gameplay, a blend of new and familiar features, and naturally, gacha mechanics. 

The player’s journey begins with a mysterious ring, bestowed upon by a shrouded figure. Three path options lay in wait: wealth, fame, and power, where each questline involves defeating a tyrant who exemplifies these traits. Herminia, the “Witch of Greed,” Auguste the “Playwright”, and Tytos the “Hero” stand at the end of the road, after various enemy hordes and mini bosses are vanquished. 

In a fun twist, Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent doesn’t feature a fixed starting hero. Instead, it’s decided randomly from a pool of eight travellers (Milared, Sofia, Gilderoy, Fiore, Lynette, Theo, Viola, or Scarecrow), each assigned to one of the following jobs: Cleric, Scholar, Merchant, Warrior, Dancer, Apothecary, Thief, and Hunter. The party is capped at four members, much like the 2018 mainline game, but there are also some exclusive elements that freshen the combat experience. 

First, the similarities. The mobile counterpart bears traces of its mainline cousin, with the most immediate being its HD-2D aesthetics that ooze nostalgic charm and play well into concealing parts of the map. However, the shine is dulled by the locked 16:9 aspect ratio and 30 frames-per-second (FPS) counter, resulting in a bordered, non-fullscreen experience for devices like the Samsung Galaxy S23 and Apple iPhone 14 models, which boast a 19:5:9 aspect ratio. 

This lack of optimisation to match current tech standards comes across as bizarre and wasted potential, because the in-game environments are lively, full, and bursting with personality, featuring enough distinctions and detail to set each locale apart. 

Keeping in line with its more casual appeal, navigation in Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent is streamlined, straightforward, and intuitive. The user interface is relatively clutter-free, swapping out a virtual D-pad and joystick for directional swipes, which go on until players hit a dead end, or when they swipe in another direction. Some may find the controls overly simplistic, but they fit nicely into the retro setting. 

Combat is a mix of original and existing elements, bringing a fresh touch to familiar gameplay. Similar to its predecessor, foes come with a set number of “Shield Points” and a series of weaknesses that correspond to any one of the weapon types (staff, tome, spear, sword, fan, axe, dagger, and bow) and elemental spells (fire, ice, wind, lightning, dark, and light). On first encounter, these weaknesses appear as question marks, and will remain as such in subsequent battles until they are identified. Striking enemies with their responsive counters eventually whittles the points down to zero, resulting in a temporary stun window that allows a few additional hits. 

Boost Points (BP) makes a return here as well. Each party member receives a BP at the beginning of every turn, which can be stored up to five at a time. During their attacking phase, players are able to use up to three BP to strike with their weapons multiple times or increase the power of an ability, to maximise devastation. 

All of these are part of the same traditional turn-based system, where speed is the key to landing the first strike. Instead of a single four-player team, however, Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent introduces a reserve party system, where another four heroes can be assigned to the backline. With eight members on the field, players are free to swap them in and out at will, with attacking and receiving damage limited only to the front row. 

This mobile-exclusive feature not only adds flexibility to combat mechanics, but also makes it more accessible for newcomers without sacrificing its strategy roots entirely. Battles are often a neck-to-neck challenge in the original 2018 title, as a smaller party reduces the chances of weakness discovery through trial and error. Additionally, deeper and more complicated RPG elements like inventory or status inflict management will no longer be an issue here. 

The impact of status effects has been lessened, and the removal of recovery and status ailment items means one less balancing act. In Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, party characters can recover both health and SP, or mana, when placed at the back row. Also modified for the game, the NPC summon system isn’t tied to specific characters now, so players can recruit allies by simply fighting or paying them. 

For the most part, battling is a pretty enjoyable experience, with just the right amount of depth for JRPG starters. The basics are easy to grasp, but there’s still sufficient room to explore various tactics and party compositions, and build a team that best suits one’s play style.  Admittedly though, some will have more luck in this department than others, and there’s a reason for that. 

Now, addressing the elephant in the room. As typical of mobile games, Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent has a gacha system that determines which traveller joins the team. Called Guidance of the Sacred Flame, it offers a chance at getting three-star, four-star, and five-star characters, in order of decreasing probability. Players can do so through three basic banners – the Gold Chance Encounters, which require paid rubies, the Silver Chance Encounters, which use regular rubies, and the Sacred Guidance, which consumes Traveler’s Sacred Seals. 

Paid rubies are obtained by spending real-world currency, while the other two prerequisites can be earned by completing daily or weekly tasks, finishing quests, accomplishing Feats, and increasing their Wealth, Fame, and Power levels. Each banner has a separate pity system (a mechanic that promises a high-rarity item after a certain number of unsuccessful attempts), with 200 pull pity guaranteeing a five-star hero. Considering that each 10-pull costs 300 regular rubies, the going for luck-deprived individuals won’t be easy.

There are some features that alleviate the experience, however. For instance, step-up event banners, which have five steps and cost 1,000 rubies overall, set aside rewards for individuals who’ve completed each step; at the fifth and final step, they are guaranteed a five-star traveller. It certainly helps that the monetisation model isn’t as predatory as expected, too, as paid rubies are the only form of premium currency. The game is also fairly generous at giving out rubies, making it easier to hit the required amount at the beginning stages of gameplay. 

To a certain extent, the characters recruited from the gacha system will make a difference in and outside of battle. There’s a clear difference in power between the three-star, four-star, and five-star characters, best shown through respective level caps of 40, 60, and 80. While they can be broken by Guidestones, the lack of a five-star may present a problem at the later part of the game, where the prerequisite for story is a minimum level of 80.

Still, the grind can become a chore in Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent. Resource gathering is the greatest offender, as levelling characters, upgrading gear, and crafting weapons at the blacksmith all require resources that can only be obtained from specific locations and monsters.

Not having certain travellers will lock players out from their side stories as well, though that’s hardly an issue when there are 64 of them to go through. It’s a fair bit of content, and while some are more interesting and fleshed out than others, these backstories add a touch of personality to what would otherwise be a faceless cast of characters, putting them a step above unlockable heroes in other gacha games. Besides, it’s nice to occasionally take a step back from continuing the main questline, and get to know the companions better. 

Meanwhile, the main story beats are pretty impressive in their own right – if melodramatic and predictable at times. Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent doesn’t shy away from darker themes, often ensuring that each reveal is clear and relevant to the overarching narrative. Apart from the hit-or-miss emotional bits and the overly-passive role of the player character, there’s little to complain about the writing, which is well-paced and pulls off story twists neatly. 

The narrative experience is further elevated with excellent music and stellar voice acting from a star-studded cast. There aren’t many new soundtracks, and that isn’t necessarily bad; in fact, it’s the opposite here, as most of the game’s tracks have been carried over from the original Octopath Traveler – easily one of the best parts of the JRPG. 

Depending on personal preference, the lack of English voice work may also be a minor gripe for some, but as someone who enjoys Japanese voice acting, it’s a job well done that certainly breathes life to the various characters. 

For a free-to-play mobile title, Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent offers plenty of value, narratively or otherwise. Despite the presence of gacha elements and relentless grinding, it makes for a fun time-sinker, impressing with its many character stories – backed by rich overworld lore, and old-school RPG charm. The journey isn’t the smoothest, but the adventure has no doubt made its mark in an ever-growing market, showing that there’s great potential in mobile gacha games as well. 

Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent is now available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.