Octopath Traveler II Nintendo Switch Review

[@SwitchUpYt]

Have you picked this one up? If so, what do you think of it? Let us know in the comments section! Looking for eshop credit? Get OFFICIAL Nintendo Eshop Cards and other bits and bobs, at our new website and online store here - switchup.gg/ - Save 5% using code 'SWITCHUP' If you are a physical collector you can use code "SWITCHUP23" to save 5% at PlayAsia www.play-asia.com Happy gaming! Glen

[@Ewek]

I just bought this one yesterday!! 😅

[@Nedwig747]

I'm not entirely sure how, but this art style keeps looking better and better. It's absolutely gorgeous.

[@Akihito_Kanbara]

Now imagine old school RPGs like this. XENOGEARS. FF1-9+Tactics. Threads of Fate. Brave Fencer Musashi. Legend of Dragoon. I'm dying for a PS1 era HD2D revival. 😭😭

[@Nedwig747]

@@Akihito_Kanbara I was thinking the same thing. If ff6 was this style oh my goodness!

[@okayman81]

Nice picks. Breath of fire 2 and 3 would look amazing as well. We can only hope!

[@Akihito_Kanbara]

@@okayman81 let's just do every PS1 game and call it a day.

[@okayman81]

@@Akihito_Kanbara fair enough 🤣

[@chr1s415]

I love the giant bosses. It gives the feeling of importance and a sense of fear

[@SwitchUpYt]

They just don't animate well enough for me which then takes that importance away again. Glad you liked them though mate. Glen

[@redcrimson1028]

That was the whole point of making the bosses big

[@jethiliusavalar6449]

​@@SwitchUpYtI think they're more animated than the first game to be fair

[@gabvsd5934]

Same!! I love the poses and the art style so much!

[@fukaze2021]

​@@SwitchUpYtL take

[@nate_thenotso_great]

The art style and the depth of field make this such a beautiful game to watch.

[@Ser-Smiley]

Indeed. It's very pretty! Makes me want to get it immediately. Alas. Backlogs and all that. And also since im a cheap bastard i'll wait for discount. 😂

[@nate_thenotso_great]

@@Ser-Smiley 😂 same

[@userxv]

to watch sure, to play...not so much

[@nate_thenotso_great]

@@userxv what didn’t you like about it? I’ve never played this series.

[@InnerRise]

​@@nate_thenotso_great How inorganic the game feels with the lack of interaction between characters. You can have an entire party of characters fighting together but then travel the world as if none of them exist in the same place with each other with no interaction or acknowledgement of other party members. And the way the stories pop up then all other party members disappear and cease to exist. Makes it all feel sterile. And the game is grindy.

[@leogi7]

I'm not sure if I will buy it because I had some problems with the first one: - Only the four party members who are in battle gain exp (while in DQ XI even the not active party members gain exp) - No way to prevent a battle enconter (while in Bravely I you could chose the enconters to happen rapidly or never happen at all) The art is incredible tho

[@vagner1981]

1. Sadly, yes you need to grind all characters especially if you want the final true ending to it, but it is well worth it, one of the most intense final boss and music. 2. There is a way to prevent / reduce / increase the encounters, Job skill of Cyrus if I am not mistaken, and I think you can get it early too.

[@craigwilde2162]

It's less of a problem then you'd think as most of your effectiveness in battle is gear based. I focused on four characters to start with and once their stories were done swapped them out for the other four who absolutely trounced their stories with minimal grinding thanks to having the gear I acquired with the first four. There are some abilities you can equip for extra XP while running around at night gives you more battles to grind if needed and by the time I'd finished all 8 stories all party members were roughly the same level.

[@leogi7]

@@craigwilde2162 thank you for the tips. How did you chose the two teams? Did you do the cross chapters too?

[@Winddragoon]

@@leogi7 You can choose the two teams in any way you so choose. I'd recommend at least having one main damage dealer (e.g., Throne/Hikari), one dedicated breaker, and one dedicated buffer on each team. You need to do the cross chapters to unlock the final chapter. If you have either Throne or Hikari properly skilled and equipped, you don't need to worry about grinding. This holds true until the secret boss, where you might need to do a little grinding, but not for levels, but to ensure that your party has the correct secondary jobs.

[@leogi7]

@@Winddragoon thank you! My first team will have the western characters (H A P C) so that I have all the path actions for day and nigth. I think it's a good team regarding the tips you gave

[@petertaylorarts]

I'm so excited about this! I played the first one and thoroughly enjoyed it and I have been impatiently waiting for this one. Cheers for the in-depth review!

[@eliasssuuu8618]

Loved the first, very likely will loved the second. Octopath is one of the few games that makes turn based JRPGs still relevant. 🥰

[@timrowley2039]

The clouds and shadow effects look amazing. I can’t believe how quickly you guys got on this!?! Square Enid amazes me. So many companies are repeating the same old thing… SE is taking chances and showing awesome creativity. Thank y’all for a great review!&

[@evenheller209]

My 40th bday is tomorrow. Gonna treat myself to this game, even though I won’t have time to play it for quite a while.

[@Ser-Smiley]

Well well! This is a bit early but, Happy Birthday! 🎂

[@evenheller209]

@@Ser-Smiley Thanks for the well wishes 😁

[@jordanlane8699]

Cannot wait to play this game. Loved the original. And extra pumped that it got the SwitchUp seal of approval!

[@Ser-Smiley]

Hoo boy. Did NOT expect a SwitchUp review of this game this early. Very nice! Lots of people are gonna be happy about this. 😋

[@kaidorade1317]

Happy? Username checks out !

[@Seiborg88]

He would have benefited from playing the 1st one a little more. A lot of stuff he likes in this game is in the 1st game

[@Biggus__Dickus]

You on the discord mate?

[@Ser-Smiley]

@@Biggus__Dickus oh no. I am not on discord.

[@Biggus__Dickus]

@@Ser-Smiley fair enough.

[@rinean119]

I've been waiting for your review of this ! Tbh with my massive backlog I've gone back to finally finishing the first game before I consider buying this sequel. 😅

[@pul0y]

'Refreshing' sounds like the word. I have always found this anthology style such. I am eager to pick up my copy this weekend! I like anthologies and never felt the need to have my characters interact with each other all the time (same as I feel IRL..aren't social interactions just tiring?!) so the structure was never a bother for me.

[@Anni_ka]

I agree! Of course it's valid that it's not for everyone, but I consider this a bit of a gameplay-first approach that I personally quite appreciate, and that I find quite refreshing!

[@pul0y]

@@Anni_ka indeed, if i want one with great team banter, i would have played just about any other party-building rpg. it's nice to one wherein i am perfectly able to ignore characters i don't like instead of them invading cutscenes when i don't want to even deal with them.

[@Anni_ka]

@@pul0y Exactly this! I couldn't have expressed it better!

[@Anni_ka]

Thank you for the review! I'm so glad they kept a lot of things from the first one, just improving smaller bits and pieces. I know the game won't be for everyone, as you still don't have a fully interacting party, but I think for those of us who don't need that, this series is super refreshing and fun!

[@Ser-Smiley]

Hehe. I knew you would be happy with this review 😄

[@InnerRise]

Couldnt keep playing the first. This seems a carbon copy of the first so I'll pass.

[@QuintonT]

@@InnerRise The second game is MUCH better because there are other strategies to break enemies in a way that doesn't feel grindy and the stories are FAR more interesting than before.

[@johnnytrash2839]

I loved the OPT game play but I could never see the dialogue as anything other than old school JRPG fans making a throwback JRPG.

[@SwitchUpYt]

It’s always difficult to separate from what you know of the past and what’s in front of you now. It’s probably the same when creating something like this. Mark

[@Subremedy]

That's what happens when you play a lot of JRPGs lol. Just like when you play a lot of another genre.

[@PaulGaither]

I feel similar. I loved FF6 (FF3 USA), Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, etc. When I saw OTP, I was excited. I forget if there is a way to mute all of the dialogue like the old school games, but I am by no means an Otaku or whatever, and the voice acting in its native Japanese and in English is fucking cringe childish anime crap. My wife was making fun of me/the game by just listening to it, and I felt the same as her.

[@squirtyharry]

I played opt1 too long ago to remember but I remember triangle strategy's dialogue being pretty good

[@delloyyeetston799]

Hard disagree

[@Theprince32]

I cannot express how exited I am for this game

[@insidestraight4659]

I'm so exited I actually entered

[@mariovj1764]

I haven't play yet the first so at the time I finished and be ready for this, the price will be drop a lot

[@westside7771]

Still one of the most beautiful artstyle i saw on gaming, the vibe along the journey is top tier

[@makasete30]

Great review Glen- I was waiting on this one. The first turned me off because the characters didn’t interact at all as a party, so in a quest where the character says they are all alone, they are evidently not. Looks like they have improved that a great deal here. And I think I have less patience for random battles like I used to, though I appreciate that there are still games like this for those who do. It does look very good, and I’m sure fans of the first will love this. I’ll wait for digital sale as I have enough enjoyment with Metroid Prime and Chained Echoes for now. I love the 2DHD style and wish Square had used that for the Final Fantasy pixel remasters. Incidentally, you can now preorder 1-6 as 1 cartridge on Play Asia , but it is very expensive. At least the scalpers can’t get hold of them, and raise the price even higher.

[@justinc882]

I loved the first and can't wait for this but I get your point. I'd note, switch games don't really go on sale that much. Hell I'm still waiting for captain toad treasure tracker to go on sale.

[@NintenDub]

​@@justinc882 just buy a physical copy.you can probly get one hot less than 20$

[@justinc882]

@@NintenDub I'll keep an eye out, haven't seen it drop anywhere near where I live. It's not like i'm looking super hard just was a game I think my kids would love.

[@Ghoulia.Roberts]

It's not for me but it's always nice to see games that deliver on their promises.

[@redcrimson1028]

Have u played it? The demo was awesome. I loved the first game, it was great. Try the demo u mite like it

[@Ghoulia.Roberts]

@@redcrimson1028 I can't get into turn-based games. I've tried a few and none of them click for me, regardless of how good the story is.

[@youngtk7993]

Also not for me,,but always happy for octopath as a high rating game for others

[@Maikeru101]

@@Ghoulia.Roberts turn based done right makes a good game

[@UndeadEggmiester]

This series feels like this the spiritual sequel to the saga series... The second time that has happened.

[@mayralex18]

Man im so excited for this game, unfortunately my copy arrives till next Thursday :( . Thanks for the review guys, im glad this one has the switch up seal of approval

[@nickwick35]

Tomorrow cant come fast enough! Can't wait to grab this after work

[@SwitchUpYt]

Heck yeah! Mark

[@GojoStiglitz]

The intro theme to this game is masterfully fucking magical🎉

[@davidcbeaudoin]

Great review as always! It's good to hear they expanded the game's depth and narrative. I've got my copy coming in the next few days, so I am looking forward to giving it a whirl! ...that is, after I finish Bravely Default II. I'm about halfway through chapter 2 right now and really enjoying it.

[@bkillinm]

150 hours later and I can honestly say that this is the best turn based JRPG on the switch, hands down!

[@DvonAntonio]

Side note: I'm not sure why so many reviewers tend to have a problem with grinding for exp in RPGs. That's the whole point of a traditional RPG though. I can understand if it were something like Assassin's Creed though.

[@cristiansaavedra8737]

As someone who didn't thought much of octopath I (it was okay for me) this video gives me hope. I thought there was way too much grinding of octopath I and story was not very well tied together. Maybe I'll give this one a shot! Cool vid

[@moonp123]

Super excited I hope my copy arrives tomorrow 🤞 Thanks for the review!

[@권용대-b5v]

Surprised to find out you didn’t play Octopath Traveler 1, which was one of the essential JRPGs on Switch. 1 was such a fresh air and I really enjoyed the experience. I’ll play 2 in near future!

[@Ray__E]

I played the demo and really liked it. I never got around to playing the first one but heard good things about it. I really need to jump on this series. It looks so fun and unique

[@sarahreed-eurogamergirl]

The random battles and grinding is what stopped me playing the first one, but dang, this sequel looks so good. Maybe I'll be lucky and this will go on sale and I can get it then. Thanks for the review!

[@JohnWestIV]

I picked it up and have found it a stunning example of what you can do with this art style. I have found the text to be very slim and small in handheld... making me think I may need to put on some reading glasses for that as you can't adjust the text. Getting old sucks!

[@SwitchUpYt]

It really does mate! Glen

[@Leondragon06]

Loving playing Octopath Traveler 2! =) love the increased interaction with the party members.

[@pheonix9372]

The lighting effects are so wonderful in this game. This will be a good pick -up when I am ready for another JRPG...so next summer mayhaps? Got to finish Live a Live 1st... Don't care...I love this style and cannot wait until Dragon Warrior III is given this treatment!

[@Ser-Smiley]

How is Live a Live? I feel like need to get that one too. Ugh. I want them all! 😅

[@pheonix9372]

@@Ser-Smiley it's reminiscent of the old SAGA games for sure. I like the almost anthology approach to the story telling. It feels like mini narratives within the larger game and with less and less time to commit to long haul RPGs I appreciate this. The wild west part is delightful and the near future section also... If you already like this style it will be your jam. It's not going to convince those on the fence

[@Ser-Smiley]

@@pheonix9372 ugh. Do not tempt me so, my good sir. Though my desire is infinite, my funds are not. I need this game! 😅

[@Laf631]

I'm so excited for this! I'm ready for a game that isn't going to do a 180 on what made the previous game so enjoyable.

[@sion7651]

hope the stories interconnect this time. in the first one the connection was so shallow it really bottered me and not all of them did connect.....and half of the the stories were really boring in OT1. ophilias story was the worst. i was hoping for a tweak in the random battle system. it gets pretty annyoing when you are searching around for something.

[@eikimanni]

Looks so good. I have the original and got a few hours in before I had to put it down again for a while. I want to finish that before I get this. Looks great.

[@truecuckoo]

Looks stunning! Thanks for the review.

[@Subremedy]

Can't wait! So many improvements on the first

[@TheKharymusic]

Before seeing your review, this was a must buy. After seeing your review, this is a must buy. Lol. I loved the first one and I'm pretty sure I'll love this one even more.

[@ryanoneill9333]

Hey guys, thanks for another great review. Definitely looks like a good game that I would have some fun with.

[@jahcreator]

Playing now and I don't even care what the review says I paid full price and I'm enjoying it. It's beautiful AF and the the combat is pretty engaging so far

[@MarckChang]

The HD 2D style is such a beautiful artstyle. The gameplay looks better than the first. Not a big fan of the night and day cycle, but it might be better when Im playing the game than just on paper. :)

[@SwitchUpYt]

Aside from the bits I mentioned about the night day cycle, enemies are stronger at night so it can assist with adjusting the difficulty for random battles too.

[@kissiefurpowell2439]

Thank you so much for the review. I was on the fence about this game until now.

[@celestialpianosage3201]

I could never get into the battle system in the demo of the first game. I’ll try the demo for the second game and see if it’s worth adding to my long backlog of games. The characters look good for both games, but I prioritize battle system

[@fateriddle14]

1:09 "I only played 5 hours of the first game", thanks for massively saved me and many time to disclosure that info, so we don't waste time watching the whole review expecting something we don't know.

[@Caffeinated_Warrior]

Can you select a difficulty to lessen the need for grinding or you're basically stuck grinding?

[@LadyLunaNini88]

I am so excited to play this game, but I gotta wait to buy it next week. I'll be on board soon enough.

[@ppbunt]

I'm a complete JRPG noob, only having really played Chrono Trigger on the DS, but this looks really good! I might try the first part if I can find it on a good sale and take it from there.

[@ayamv5556]

The music and graphic art is superb, hope in future developer can make use AI like chatgpt to generate dynamic interaction between those 8 characters

[@TN-we9hj]

I'm glad it's in plain English this time around. For me, reading the dialogue from first Octopath was such a chore. I can't skim through like I would with other RPGs so the gameplay took longer and I eventually stopped playing.

[@davidhall2018]

Amazing! I can't wait to get this myself!

[@SwitchUpYt]

So damn good!

[@theirishgoodbye]

I was a big fan of the first but felt disappointed that the stories didn't overlap even with all characters recruited. I heard the overlap is limited in this but I'm happy even for that. I had a long bus ride to work so Octopath was a great way to spend that time

[@dazzianocolucci3538]

These types of games I've always appreciated from afar, but ultimately not for me. I started playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider on Xbox Series X and am loving it.

[@solm67]

Excellent video Glen. I still have the first one on my backlog. I’ll get to it one day 😂.

[@lambrettaking472]

I for one can't wait for this game mines on order just waiting for it dropping through the door. Thanks for the review SwitchUp glad you gave it a good score. I'm sure it's going to be my game of the year.

[@willheismusical]

My issue was how big the sprites are I have a large TV I shouldn't feel like squinting to see detail

[@darkobrodski1453]

They have to add one major feature for saves. Octopath Traveler 2 does not feature any cross-save feature that allows you to transfer game data between different platforms, and this is very much needed.

[@stevenwilliams1140]

Not really. Maybe one percent of people will get it for 2 systems so isn't really needed

[@yis8fire]

Welp, maybe this is the excuse for me to start playing rpg/jrpg genre Also 2 videos in less then (i think) 12 hours, i see this as an absolute win! Keep the good work guys

[@mvm8397]

This, like the first one, looks great. Also like the first one, I have no idea when I'll find the time to play it 😓

[@cory7328]

Cannot wait to pick this up.

[@eXCyRuSGaMinG]

I don't have it, but i feel like i have to play the first one, like now with zelda i want to play older versions.

[@deigning]

Love to see best girl Throne on the thumbnail! I only played the demo for 10 minutes and only played her story but I feel confident she is best

[@MsRey]

My brother and I are so looking forward to playing this game, it’s one of our favorites

[@nathangray8209]

I'm excited to see more intertwined stories for the characters in this one

[@ThroneRoomGaming]

I've only played the OPT 2 demo vs about 20 hours in OPT. Just based on that it seems the character story in 2 is more fleshed out and, to be honest, the voice acting and dialogue are much less cheesy.

[@Shamarthebread]

Definitely gonna pick this one up

[@DjizeusCrayst]

Wow that's a very high score, I wasn't expecting that! Personally as I age I find this kind of rpgs harder to get into, with some parts making it especially tedious (random battles for example). Chained Echoes is the first in a long time to capture my attention, and that was mostly due to how characters completed each other in battle. How's that aspect working in the Octopath franchise? Do you get those combinations of mechanics that keep battling interesting throughout?

[@Booneface]

Chained Echoes was fantastic!! The way the party was fully healed and replenished skill points was great. The battles were tough but you always felt you could go all out and it felt much less tedious for it...I got halfway through the first Octopath but just got worn out.

[@Nikorasu737]

I played the first octopath and also got worn out halfway through, it just got kind of stale. I haven’t tried chain echoes yet but have seen amazing things, I was on the edge of giving octopath 2 a try but might just try chained echoes instead!

[@blackknightrises8612]

Great video Glen

[@MimouFirst]

Ah, I was looking for a review to compare this to the first game. I'll check another one out :)

[@DB-vi7jb]

Half of my backlog is all JRPG, now one more JRPG to the list.

[@2shy2mosh]

Just picked this up and can't wait to play soon!

[@darkwale9717]

Sad to say I've never played the first one. Heard many great things about it, and now hearing great things about the sequel. Unfortunately for me RPGs are like a good book. But you have to be in the mood to sit and enjoy it. I play about 1 or 2 RPGs a year if that. One day I'll get around to these.

[@verticalseafoodtacos]

wow that's some high praise! imma have to dl the demo and see for myself..I liked the first one but kinda stopped midway

[@nuclearbeeberman]

thanks for the great review

[@Christophoronomicon]

One day, when I've won the lottery, retired and started living a life of leisure, I will have time to consider playing the Octopath Traveler games. I mean, the art style is fantastic, and the concept is great (although really, random encounters in this day and age?), but I've just got too many games in my backlog to add even more time sinks to it! So for now, I'm just avoiding them. Not even putting them in my wishlist, that would be too tempting. But maybe one day...

[@jemmadavies3226]

Not a day one pick up for me as I have other games to buy 😂, but I will be picking it up. Love the first one!

[@nightfall22]

I’m sooooo waiting for this. It gets here Tuesday but I’m hoping for an earlier delivery 😅 but in all honesty I still need to play the first lol my backlog is impressive

[@jordongee2347]

Ooooh, now this I'm legitimately excited to hear.

[@Tom-C]

I'm yet to play any games with this art style, but I really need to as it looks soooo good! I keep meaning to pick one of them up, but man that backlog is weighing me down. This or Triangle Stategy?

[@Oatmeal_Ghost]

I have the first one in the backlog but haven’t got to it yet. Hopefully I’ll play the first one this year!

[@Yuglut]

Definitely impressed by the pun at the start of the video!

[@jeheeseun2234]

Still need to beat the first one but I'm so excited for this!! (Bought Octopath Traveler earlier this year)

[@reinaldopereira1268]

It's on sale right now. I'm definitely getting it today!

[@Og74223]

How is it going?

[@Duckzandcrackerz]

can i get a response from the legends of switch

[@SwitchUpYt]

I hope so! Who are they? Mark

[@Duckzandcrackerz]

@@SwitchUpYt haha sorry for the late reply but they are the two of you !!

[@YT1300MF]

This already came out?! Loved the first one but my backlog is too huge to jump in right away.

[@ZeNex74]

Dropped BD2, dq11, backlog xeno3 and persona5. Still on FE engage. Completed once triangle strategy... but now want this.. nooo time

[@JTWarnerJT]

You guys gonna review Grim Guardians: Demon Purge ? I've seen a bunch and bought the game a long ass time ago but would like to hear your opinion on it. Thanks from Cali.

[@AscendanceMedia]

Will play it on PS5 instead of Switch this time around, but really hyped.

[@AZ23MJ]

Excited for this one 👏

[@AtulVidhata]

The only thing I really didn't like of the last one was that the stories didn't tie into each other (You just did eight seperate stories where each character was the main character... to no end). It was also weird how characters just went along with things they probably wouldn't in other character stories. I hope they changed that this time.

[@AtulVidhata]

@@verde5738 Cheers for the heads up! I’ll wait until it’s on sale then

[@experience_point6233]

I have been waiting for this review.

[@MariusMoonbeam]

I’m so on the fence because I hated the original game since it felt like a giant slog and every few steps I had a random encounter but the reviews of Octopath 2 seems to have fixed all my concerns! Ugh decisions decisions! Thanks for the review guys!

[@ursli893]

Same here... Love the artwork but the encounters in part one have sometimes been every single minute and that made it really annoying if you do not have a lot of time to game. Just to much lost in endless fights without story.

[@Eff_Emm]

Alright finally after 2 months I'm gonna buy this game thanks for a simple yet in depth review again SwitchUp peeps! Another one for my back log 😅😅😅 Really hope Pokemon went this route instead 3d art style is just what I fancy for Pokemon but yea it is what it is.

[@k0stadis]

the visuals get 21/20 no questions answered!

[@SwitchUpYt]

Not with those oversized boss sprites. They are the only negative for me. Glen

[@Creation33]

As someone who never played the first, I'm wondering if it's worth going back or just jumping in here. I've heard the stories are better in the sequel.

[@chadmax4087]

I've been looking forward to this game for a while!

[@kaidorade1317]

Here’s the big question? Can we finally pet the octopus in Octopath traveler 2?

[@SwitchUpYt]

lol I’ve not played it but I want to know this as well… Mark

[@rossrobbins7707]

Niiiiice! I was waiting for one of my trusted channels to give this game a good score. Now that you've given it a GREAT score, I went ahead and pre-ordered it! 😍 What can I say? I've been burned too many times lolol

[@czlowiek-man]

As i said it before, i had problems with advancing in first game. But man it looks good...