Octopath Traveler 0 - Hands-On Preview
With thanks to Square-Enix and local distributor Bandai-Namco, I’m in the fortuitous position to have hands on Octopath Traveler 0, a remake, but also complete overhaul of the franchise’s only mobile entry, Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent. Having now put in quite a few hours, explored multiple different story paths, begun the rebuild of my beloved Wishvale, and thwarted countless hundreds of enemies already, I’m here to check-in and share some preview impressions.
The harrowing tale of Octopath Traveler 0 begins innocently enough, with the township of Wishvale flourishing, when suddenly it finds itself under siege by the mighty Scarlet Wings army. The township is suddenly burning down around you, as your playable character (whom you can name and customise) and other locals attempt to fight off the massive force who have invaded Wishvale. Their defensive efforts though are to no avail, as Wishvale is reduced to ash, along with the majority of its population who either die or are scattered across the world of Orsterra.
As the chaos subsides, you, along with your friend Stia, return to what remains of Wishvale and begin the rebuild. Octopath Traveler 0 is both a story of restoration and revenge, as the player leads the gradual reconstruction and revitalisation of Wishvale by exacting revenge upon the three responsible for the destruction: the witch Hermania, the leader of the Scarlet Wing army, Tytos, and the famous playwright, Auguste. Like other Octopath Traveler games, the story now branches off in a range of directions with players choosing a narrative pathway, whilst still being capable of changing tracks whenever they choose.
Being built upon the foundations of Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, fans of the original mobile release will feel quite at home with the plot that is being told here, though Square-Enix has promised to have changed and added large chunks to the overall plot, and certainly in the limited time that I’ve played thus far, some of those changes are already rearing their heads. For those who’ve already experienced the Champions of the Continent plotline, this expanded story is going to offer a lot more depth to the character arcs and the overall storyline, and I’m ready and waiting to see how it all develops.
In a gameplay sense, numerous traditional elements of Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler II remain, along with several others original to Champions of the Continent that have been weaved together in the Octopath Traveler 0 experience that should make this series prequel all the more engaging for players. Turn-based combat is the franchise staple, but now combat scenarios can contain as many as eight members in your party, with over 30 recruitable characters available for selection. Octopath Traveler 0 continues to provide additional depth in this space by allowing players to equip a range of Ultimate Techniques that can shift the flow of a battle when utilised. Of course, all of the modern-day turn-based combat speed boosts are here, as is the character-by-character BP gauge that allows the player to stack increasingly more potent attacks to unleash their fury on the enemy.
Then there’s the Wishvale restoration endeavour, which requires the player to collect materials in their travels with which they can use to rebuild shops, homes, and more, while at the same time, NPCs that you find in the world can be recruited to come and live in Wishvale and participate in its growth from ruin to (hopefully) a thriving metropolis. The player can control the direction that big build heads in, determine the town’s layout, many cosmetic elements, and even choose the recruits who will live in the town and manage its continued prosperity. I’m incredibly interested to see what options open up to me in time, and how I can navigate the requirements of all parties to grow my township into the definitive version of Wishvale.
Finally ,there are the all-important HD-2D aesthetics, and while the game looks visually stunning, it’s in this respect that you can sometimes see elements of the original mobile-game design. At times some assets look a lot like assets that may have been designed for the smaller screen, and not one that can take up half a wall, but while some environmental elements can sometimes look a bit basic, the technical elements of the game still help everything pop off the screen, and look stunning. The game’s voice-acting is pretty solid, and while not everyone is voiced as well as others, the main cast have all been of a consistently high quality thus far. Meanwhile, the calming soundtrack soothes the soul as you walk through quiet environments, and gets the heart racing in combat or high-energy narrative sequences.
With dozens of hours still ahead of me, I’m hooked on Octopath Traveler 0’s current direction, and I’m hotly anticipating more. Time to go, I’ve got a realm to save!
Time Until Launch (December 5, 2025)
Preorder Octopath Traveler 0 Here
