Octopath Traveler 0 – Review

The zero-to-hero trope is hardly new, but there’s a special brand of allure that draws attention to it like an old friend. A story of grit, struggle, and growth, it serves as a beacon of light in times of despair, bringing hope and strength to the disillusioned, underdogs, lost souls, and the like. Octopath Traveler 0, the latest entry in Square Enix’s beloved turn-based franchise, is rooted in this thematic element, now presented through two poetically opposing ideals: revenge and restoration. 

Set before the events of the first game in Osterra, it pulls from the mobile instalment Champions of the Continent, adding its own flourish to existing elements and mechanics. Awaiting at the finish line is a respectable stab at switching up a familiar formula, albeit with inconsistent storytelling and limited characterisation that makes its execution clumsier than 2023’s sequel to the original. Still, it delivers a worthwhile time for genre fans, but fair warning – the main journey takes a whopping 100 hours of play, at least. 

Despite its mobile-infused influence, the prequel seeks to carve out its own identity from the outset. Unlike all entries in the series, players start with a custom character instead of a default protagonist, where their looks, gender, and a few other physical elements can be changed, though far from the more detailed standards of its RPG contemporaries. Alongside basic options like eye colour, hairstyle, and voice, the ability to select and name a favourite dish, which determines the type of boost the character will receive, a Learned Skill focusing on attack, recovery or debuffs, and three Belongings, stat-boosting starter items, are also available.

This central figure hails from the peaceful village of Wishvale, which is reduced to ashes after two tyrants, Tytos and Auguste, set it ablaze in their pursuit of a magical ring (something about power and rings, huh?). You return from temporary refuge to find most of the residents dead, and rebuilding the town to its former glory and hunting down the perpetrators behind the tragedy becomes the goal. That’s not all – after being bestowed the relic from an enigmatic individual, you’re tasked with stopping Tytos, Auguste, and a third ringbearer, Herminia, and retrieving all the rings. 

The story beats will be familiar to those who have dabbled in Champions of the Continent, including the respective paths dedicated to the trio: Power (Tytos), Fame (Auguste), and Wealth (Herminia). While they appear to encourage player agency, these arcs unfold in a linear fashion, and the order of completion doesn’t change or influence any plot elements, converging instead into an overarching questline. 

It’s a decent repackaging of a mobile title with microtransactions and gacha mechanics, even if it takes a while to hit its stride. In fact, “a while” is an understatement – Octopath Traveler 0 demands patience, with the momentum ramping up significantly only after 40 hours or so. The pacing before then is slower than most would expect, and the writing can be clumsy or haphazard at times, exacerbated by the lull left by the ending of each chapter, which makes the flow of storytelling feel awkward and disjointed. The level requirement (or recommendation, to be more accurate) attached to the main questline doesn’t help this push and pull, as players often have to do some grinding on the side before becoming strong enough to get back on track. 

The starting antagonists aren’t the most compelling, either. Sure, there’s an attempt to flesh out some of their characterisations as misunderstood or tragic beings, but they mostly lack nuance and come across as one-dimensional. When the melodrama and socio-political elements do click together, Octopath Traveler 0 proves capable of delivering a gripping, cohesive tale that doesn’t hold back on stomach-churning setpieces (attempted filicide and filicide in near succession, hello?), though the full impact of these atrocities is softened by the soft, modernised retro stylings here. 

On the note of visuals, it inherits the same HD-2D charm that has defined the series, and also bled into other Square Enix titles, bringing comforting familiarity into the mix. However, the muddier colours and occasionally abrasive brightness make the prequel’s visual identity less consistent than its predecessors’ brighter, more balanced presentation. Nonetheless, the character sprites and environment art still look striking and intricately detailed, with the hand-painted world map deserving a special mention.

Straddling the line between old and new is the combat system. Break and Boost mechanics from the original duology return, this time furnished with Champions of the Continent flair – like before, the core gameplay loop involves identifying an enemy’s physical and magic weaknesses, exploiting them to reduce their “shield points” to zero, and building up Boost points to land extra hits or increase spell and skill damage to unleash devastating attacks. The difference is that eight active party members, instead of four, are now the drivers of action. 

In every hostile encounter, the octet are split into front and back rows of four each, who can be freely swapped out at any point. Doing so allows the rear fighters to restore health and skill points (SP), but more importantly, introduces added strategic flexibility with an emphasis on positioning and character synergy. It’s not sufficient to simply place a tanky member at the frontline and soak up the hits, or invest in speed-boosting equipment or items and hope for the best – job and skill loadouts necessitate tactical consideration, especially during the second half of the story, where a wrong move can result in defeat. 

Not that players will have trouble filling out the roster. Octopath Traveler 0 features over 30 recruitable companions who boast their own unique skills and ultimate abilities, as well as two weapon types assigned to their corresponding classes, alongside Mastery Skills that are specific to other jobs. In exchange, there’s no longer the option for a second profession introduced in the second title, with the protagonist being the only one able to hop between all eight jobs: Warrior (sword/spear), Dancer (fan/broadsword), Scholar (staff/tome), Cleric (staff/fan), Hunter (bow/axe), Apothecary (axe/tome), Thief (sword/broadsword), and Merchant (spear/bow).

The character switcheroo works like a well-oiled machine, marrying fast-paced aggression with fluid gameplay, and toying with different attacking permutations proves to be rewarding. But for all the wrinkles it brings to the turn-based tradition, combat can be tedious and demanding at times, particularly for major boss fights, which run long and often take place over two or more phases. Throw annoying status ailments, high Speed stats and one-hit death blows into the mix, and some frustration is inevitable. There’s also the smaller issue of a swaying camera that, at best, serves as a minor distraction, and at worst, may trigger motion sickness flare-ups. 

Gathering allies fulfils another purpose in Octopath Traveler 0 – the rebuilding of Wishvale. While a slow-burning side activity, it offers a welcome respite from the rigours of battling, with an intuitive, familiar grid interface allowing players to place and move buildings, decorations, and various items as desired. As they progress through the story, more features will be unlocked, such as land for growing crops and rearing livestock, a training ground for inactive party members to continue levelling up, a tavern to rest up and cook dishes, and more.

Keeping this town up and running alongside the core story characters are various NPCs who can be invited along the way, and recruiting them yields tangible benefits, such as access to specialised items, discounted shop prices, free resources, and more. It’s no Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing, but there’s always a sense of satisfaction whenever Wishvale looks a little more spruced up than before, with short dungeon romps rewarding players with a special material for architectural upgrades. 

The lack of meaningful character interaction within the homely space comes as a pity, then. While party chats, presented through animated cutscenes, do put certain characters in the spotlight, they feel superficial and pale in comparison to the emotional weight that the individual stories in Octopath Traveler 2 carry. As an inevitable consequence of having a vast roster, most, if not all, backstories are also watered down from before, although this isn’t an issue exclusive to Octopath Traveler 0. Still, it’d be good to know more about the companions, especially those to whom players have grown attached.  

The transactional nature of Path Actions doesn’t help matters. A staple mechanic of the series, they aren’t utilised to their full potential and serve as a step back from the previous two games. No longer will NPCs respond differently to a particular party member’s skillset – instead, the action is executed solely by the player, with three of four options available at any time: press them for information, recruit them to Wishvale or as hired muscle in combat, and fight them for special rewards or discounted items, as with Champions of the Continent. Repeated failure to do so will result in a tarnished Reputation, which can be restored at the town’s tavern. 

The benefit-rooted system makes exploration and connecting with others feel less personal and more utilitarian, a picture of irony to the game’s thematic motif of re-establishing lost ties and starting over together. Where the spirit of camaraderie lies is in the cutscenes related to the main questline, featuring a fully voiced cast who, in the Japanese dub, do a great job at bringing out the emotions and personalities of their characters. The same can be said for the villains, with Auguste’s (Daisuke Namikawa) harsh laughter and dramatic exclamations of ‘marvellous!’, as well as Herminia’s (Atsuko Tanaka) skin-crawling, velvety tone reinforcing both of their cruel selves.  

Rounding out the Octopath Traveler 0 journey is the phenomenal soundtrack by series composer Yasunori Nishiki, who continues to keep players in awe of his craft. Like before, the music shifts seamlessly between different styles to convey the mood of a scene, from the bright trills that play in town and the mellower, comforting notes in Wishvale to the stirring swell of instrumentals – sometimes accompanied by chanting and powerful vocals – during combat encounters. It winds up into an explosive high in boss fights, becoming an addictive concoction of strings, horns, and drums that makes head-bopping irresistible. Never thought that fighting common enemies like bats and jellyfish could get your blood pumping? Yasunori proves otherwise. 

With a slow start, pacing flaws, and uneven characterisation, Octopath Traveler 0 isn’t the best at first impressions. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s perfectly understandable, considering the demand for patience afforded by the rare luxury of time. But for those who stick through the rough patches, the prequel blossoms into a memorable, dynamic adventure, earning respect for the way it moulds a live-service title into a full-fledged one without losing its storytelling essence. More importantly, its heart is in the right place. 

Si Jia

Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.