2018’s Octopath Traveler, published by Square Enix, which has a branch located in Los Angeles, California, is a game featuring 8 different travelers and their stories. Each character starts out as a particular class, but can take on an additional subclass. They also each have their own unique abilities that make exploring the continent of Orsterra and fending off enemies easier. But which of the characters are the best to play?
3. Alfyn Greengrass
Alfyn is an apothecary, living in the peaceful town of Clearbrook. He was saved as a child by a very skilled apothecary, which motivated him to follow in the man’s footsteps. After saving a young villager from the venom of a monster, he decides to wander the world and offer his medicinal expertise to anyone who needs it, much like the man who saved him. During this journey, he heals a man, only to find out that the man is a criminal, who goes on to hold a small child for ransom and almost kill them. This sticks with him until he finds a letter from his best friend that encourages him to stick to his principles.
Every character in Octopath Traveler has a unique Talent in addition to their Path Actions. Alfyn’s Talent is Concoct, which allows him to create medicinal or harmful effects during battle. The player can choose which components to combine, which trigger different effects depending on which components are chosen. Concoct consumes specific items to work, providing an alternative for healing/damage if the player has run out of healing/damage items. His Path Action, Inquire, is guaranteed to work so long as he is at a high enough level.
2. Therion
Therion is a thief, and a very skilled one at that. His sarcasm and cynicism hide a man who is still reeling from a betrayal 10 years before the events of Octopath Traveler. Following that betrayal, he spent those 10 years honing his skills to become a widely-known but rarely-recognized master thief. He’s tricked into stealing back lost heirlooms for a rich family, which leads to him confronting the man who betrayed him and finally healing from the past that’s haunted him ever since.
Therion’s Talent is being able to open the otherwise locked purple chests scattered around Orsterra. This is very useful, since these chests cannot be unlocked, and they often contain helpful items. In addition, his Path Action is stealing from NPCs. Because Therion’s Path Action is considered “rogue” rather than “noble,” he is given a percentage for success rather than just relying on his level. The “noble” counterpart to Therion’s Path Action is Tressa‘s ability to purchase items from NPCs.
1. Primrose Azelhart
Primrose‘s in-game class might be a dancer, but her story is far darker than her counterpart from Octopath Traveler 2. 10 years before the events of the game, she was forced to watch as her loving father was murdered while she was a young girl. She swore revenge and dedicated herself to finding the men responsible, who all bore tattoos of a crow. However, over the course of her story, she comes to question whether vengeance would even make her feel at peace, something that is reflected in her character theme.
Her Path Action, also classified as “rogue” like Therion’s, is Allure. It gives her a percentage chance to charm NPCs into following her, even into battle. They cannot be healed or leveled up, but can attack enemies and on rare occasions take damage that would have hit Primrose. Eventually, they leave the party, whether due to being defeated or due to enough turns passing. Like other “rogue” Path Actions, failing has the risk of damaging the party’s reputation in a town, which prevents other travelers’ Path Actions.
Final Thoughts
Octopath Traveler has some great characters, both narratively and mechanically. While the travelers’ stories are meant to intertwine into one, in practice they only have passing connections to each other – such as the man who healed Alfyn also being the man who wrote the journal Tressa keeps with her. The game’s hidden final boss has ties to each of the travelers’ stories, though some of those connections are stronger than others. This is somewhat improved in Octopath Traveler 2, though even the sequel still struggles with marrying 8 separate characters’ stories into one unified story.
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