Octopath Traveler II: “Ultimately, we do what we do best.”

Octopath Traveler II convinced again with a fantastic look and numerous little stories. Even if the game has its problems, as you can read in the review here, it’s still a pleasure for genre fans. We took this as an opportunity for an interview with the director of Acquire Corp., Keisuke Miyauchiand Masashi Takahashithe producer of the Octopath games.

What were the key learnings from the first game and how were they used in the development of the sequel?

Masashi Takahashi: We were absolutely thrilled that so many people played the first Octopath Traveler! Although we were very grateful for that, frankly it put a lot of pressure on us in terms of the next game. When we released the original Octopath Traveler, I said that it will be compared to people’s memories of iconic pixel games that they played in the past. But this time, I guess we had to take on the first game we made. Our goal was to evolve the formula rather than change it. We wanted to keep as much of what people liked about the first game as possible and try to do all the things that we couldn’t do in this game.

The eight characters theme is also maintained in this game. Why eight again, and would it have been easier to just take six? Or were there enough ideas for twelve? Who would have been deleted or added?

Masashi Takahashi: The name is “Octo”path Traveler, so eight. If we were making a completely new game we might have considered a different number, but we never thought of anything other than having eight new protagonists for Octopath Traveler II.

The “death” of the classic J-RPG has been heralded repeatedly for many decades, but the genre seems to be thriving. Is it possible to add new gameplay elements to the formula, or are things more or less set in stone when it comes to combat and puzzles?

Masashi Takahashi: That’s a pretty tough question… I think it would be a bit presumptuous of me to speak for all J-RPGs, so I’m sorry but I won’t be able to give a definitive answer here. What I can say, though, is that the core concept behind the games I make hasn’t really changed in the 10+ years that I’ve been working on Bravely Default. Namely, to create something that satisfies the Japanese game fans here first. Developing games like this has always made fans outside of Japan happy, and has brought us our successes. So I think whatever we end up doing is just what we do best.

The new game switches to a more modern setting. Was classic fantasy a bit maxed out, and what possibilities did this new setting offer?

Keisuke Miyauchi: We didn’t really feel that this type of setting was exhausted, but we wanted to refresh the setting for Octopath Traveler II to give the player a clear idea of ​​progression and evolution in the world. Not everything is uniformly modern, however. There are some regions in the game that still have the same historical feel as those in Octopath Traveler. But also others who feel like their cultures and civilizations have evolved. By having this range of different regions that feel like they’re set in different eras, I think we’ve managed to represent an even greater variety of cities and places, and different types of people living different lives.

The look is still pretty unique. Since it looks “retro” I think it’s easy to underestimate the work that went into it. What are the biggest challenges in using this style?

Keisuke Miyauchi: We took great care not to make the style look too retro. We kept revising and tweaking all areas of the game to ensure that using pixel graphics didn’t have the opposite effect and feel cheap and to ensure the graphical style would be acceptable for a modern game.

Of the eight characters: which is their favorite character, which is the most tragic and who should get their own game as a protagonist.

Keisuke Miyauchi: My favorite character is the pharmacist Castti, who never falters in her dedication and self-sacrifice. Osvald is the most tragic character because not only did he lose his beloved family, but he was thrown in prison. Finally, as for a character I’d like to make a standalone game about, I think something with the puzzle-solving cleric Temenos could be interesting.