It’s been about three months since Octopath Traveler came out, and…I have mixed feelings.
I’m still playing the game, so that’s something. I’ve logged more than 55 hours, not counting the time lost via total party wipes and the ensuing, dreaded Game Over. Thus far, I’ve finished the paths of three characters -- Ophilia, H’aanit, and Primrose, in that order -- with Tressa not far behind. The plan, such as it is, is to ride the game out to its conclusion. Given that my main team has an average level of 52, I’d wager I can steamroll the chapters/bosses I’ve left undone for ages. Everyone on Olberic’s path is gonna get bodied once I start it in earnest.
I’m looking forward to playing more Octopath. But I’m also dreading playing more Octopath.
Like I said, I have mixed feelings. And part of those mixed feelings include me waiting eagerly for the next Tales game. (Besides that one.)
To be fair, it’s not like I hate Tales of Crestoria just because it’s a mobile spinoff. But we’re talking about a franchise that (IMO) doesn’t get nearly the amount of praise, recognition, or sales it deserves. Granted the franchise isn’t perfect -- let’s not talk about Dawn of the New World -- but when it works, it works, and in a perfect world it would have buried Final Fantasy long before The Lightning Saga (HRRRGKH) could salt the earth.
Franchise misfires aside, the Tales series has made progress -- however subtle -- with multiple new entries. It’s not just a matter of the devs taking advantage of new technology, though that helps; iteration after iteration has built upon the stories, the characters, the themes, the worlds, the battle system, the customization, the toolkits, and more. Berseria clinches the evolutionary track, given that it didn’t just take JRPGs and common tropes to task, but put its predecessor Zestiria in the crosshairs to overwhelming effect…even though you had to play two games for the full story, but whatever. What I’m getting at here is that I want the genre and the medium to go forward, not just stay comfortable and complacent with the past.
That puts Octopath Traveler in an awkward space. It’s a game that hearkens back to a different era while trying to be modern. But does it succeed? And even then, at what cost?
I don’t have the credentials to cross-examine Octopath for its classic JRPG elements, so I won’t grill it based strictly on that. With that said? Playing through it reminds me of Chrono Trigger, AKA the closest analogue I have from my memories (albeit with the DS port). Thinking back, I remember just how expedient it was, and still is; it’s not long before you blow through the prologue and get the story in gear. Not even an hour, I’d say, before the time travel starts in earnest. How long until you get to Lavos? No clue. Still, that pacing really help set the game apart from its modern kin.
In contrast? Octopath doesn’t really have that expediency. It may have the graphical style of a classic JRPG (albeit one boosted by Unreal 4 wizardry), but it plays out more like a modern JRPG. I’d say that it’s because there’s voice acting now, but that’s debatable given how many cutscenes aren’t fully voiced. It creates this weird dichotomy in my brain; scenes play out as if the characters can fully act, move, and generally exist in a 3D space, but the “action” is all confined to static environments with minimal movement.
I mean, even Chrono Trigger had the sprites freaking out and jumping around with glee, but in Octopath? Not much on that front, even when you win battles. As good as the game looks, there’s a stillness to it that does some real harm. Basically, the narrative and the dialogue have to do all the work from one scene to the next, because otherwise you’re lucky to get anything besides characters walking on or off the screen for 90% of the game.
That kind of feeds into my big problem with Octopath Traveler. I, uh…guys? I don’t think this story is very good.
I mean, it’s not bad or anything. It doesn’t break my heart or fill me with impotent rage like others have. It’s just that, speaking personally, the “eightfold path” conceit of the game doesn’t work for me. The plan was to go around the cast from chapter to chapter, so that I wouldn’t start any third chapters until I finished everyone’s second, and wouldn’t start any fourths until the thirds were down. That didn’t pan out. Part of the reason is that the stories being told here are generally bland, and the only times they pick up is when one of them leaves off on a cliffhanger or gives a hint of what’s to come (see: Ophilia’s 3rd or Cyrus’ 2nd).
See, I have this book called Murder City, and it works on the same axis: it shifts perspectives and subjects the same way Octopath does, so that different “plotlines” can run simultaneously. But when I read that, I decided to screw that noise. Instead of reading in a linear order, I jumped to the sections that mattered most to me even if it meant ignoring the intended setup. Given how little praise I’ve given to stuff like Cloud Atlas or Beyond: Two Souls, I’d say this is a recurring pet peeve of mine.
It was up to Octopath to break the circle of biases, but it didn’t. On one hand, it doesn’t have the single, strong narrative needed to link the eight plots together. Granted there are story elements that hint at a greater overarching threat, and discovering them is what I enjoy most out of the story…buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut that might just be me overreaching, given that some stories have nothing to do with the seeming threat of an evil god’s revival. Everyone’s tale is, for the most part, self-contained to the point of segregation.
The bigger problem is that, individually, none of these stories are potent enough to grab me, or make me want more besides the obvious reason of “gotta clear this chapter to unlock the next”. Certainly, there are nice moments sprinkled throughout. There’s stuff that’ll warm your heart, especially in Ophilia’s story. But so much of it feels like white noise. Going through the motions. Scenes, events, and plots that make me go “yeah, whatever” instead of eager for the next bit.
It’s a struggle for me to care about anything that’s going on. The premise behind Primrose’s story is the most harrowing -- the daughter of an aristocrat who lost everything thanks to her father’s assassination, forcing her to become a club “dancer” with sexual abuse overtones so heavy you’d swear an elephant sat on her -- but it doesn’t amount to much besides “get revenge on dem bois”. Her character arc doesn’t go very far, partly because it’s contained within the confines of her story and her story only, and outside of a few lines and moments it’s pretty insubstantial. What’s there is there and fine(ish), but I’d hardly call it a three-course meal.
I see what the devs were trying to do, but it doesn’t work. Later on in Primose’s story (spoilers, if it wasn’t obvious by now), she heads back to her hometown and runs into her old flame, Simeon. They get reacquainted and bond, and lament what happened in the past and present, as you’d expect. Then it turns out that the mastermind behind Primrose’s fall from grace -- the one who orchestrated the assassination -- was Simeon, who basically turns into Hans from Frozen for no reason besides “gotta have a villain”.
It would’ve had a stronger impact if the exact same plot twist hadn’t already been used in Ophilia’s story. And guess whose story I played through to completion first? Granted the cleric girl isn’t in love, but it doubles up on the Hans factor by having a seemingly nice guy turn out to be a secret asshole because *shrug* But even then, they both get more than H’aanit, whose story goes “must find my master -> must kill the monster who turned my master to stone to save him --> killed that monster --> guess that’s over.” I’m simplifying, but only by a little bit.
Maybe I’ve just been spoiled by Tales games. Or maybe it’s just modern JRPGs in general. That’s my theory, but I’d bet that even the stuff of ages had a better handle on the narrative on a macro- and micro-level. Octopath Traveler isn’t just lacking full 3D environments and models. It doesn’t have nearly enough characters, areas, or events to meaningfully challenge the core cast, sparking growth or reflection.
Primrose gets the occasional, fleeting crisis of confidence, but it’s basically the outline of one instead of anything that feels potent or deserved. So when Simeon is calling her out on the futility of revenge and how much her father would have reviled the bloody path she’s carved, I was just sitting there begging for him to shut up -- or better yet, for Primrose to cut through his “argument” with some pithy lines (as I was, despite my general stupor).
I would have skipped that cutscene to start the boss fight if not for the game’s impressive voice acting…so I compromised and cut off the last second or two of his dialogue. So even if Primrose’s story makes her a real eyebrow-raiser in concept, the execution just makes her a low-rent version of Berseria’s Velvet. Treading the same ground nearly 2 years later, but poorly.
The most grievous error that the game makes is how it refuses to let the characters interact in any consistent, meaningful way. Again, this is coming from a guy who’s spoiled by the Tales games -- which to be fair hypercompensate on that front -- but It’s a travesty to have party members that don’t even register each others’ presence, in battle or out of it, unless you happen to make it past a certain event in a chapter or randomly stumble upon a special conversation in a tavern.
It’s an utterly bizarre choice that’s hard to justify. If it’s trying to mimic the games of old, then I’d bet good money right now that plenty of those ancient titles had meaningful character interactions. But at the end of the day, that’s an excuse; Octopath came out in 2018 on Nintendo’s latest console, with all of the graphical power and contemporary expectations that that implies. Stripping the game of virtually all of its character interactions -- and even the chance to have them -- is a headscratcher so severe I’m basically clawing at my scalp. It’s a game where the modern sensibilities are present but simultaneously ignored whenever it’s convenient.
So here’s a controversial opinion: I don’t think this game should have been a full $60.
I mean, I bought it within a week of release and don’t regret it (except for the fact that I bought a full-priced game from my nemesis Squeenix). I wanted to send a message that efforts like this should be rewarded. But the issue is that, in some ways, the shortcomings of the game make it harder and harder to justify the price -- that is, I’m not sure if I could tell someone to get a new, full-priced copy if they asked about it. The graphics are impressive, but assets are reused way too often for comfort (forests, caves, and mansions ad nauseum). The music is strong, but certain tracks are overused (get ready for one or two tracks to play whenever you clear a sidequest). And why are some cutscenes half-voiced, half-text? Pick a lane, please.
But those are trifles compared to the real issue: Octopath Traveler is thoroughly, and consistently, let down by its story. At the end of the day, yes, it’s basically fine. It’s okay. It’s harmless. It hits par. But it could’ve been so much more. It could have been a game that makes me laugh, cry, gasp in awe, or cheer in celebration. And to be sure, I’m not saying that anyone who does feel that wealth of feelings is in the wrong. I can see how it could have an effect on others. It just doesn’t for me.
I suspect that the reason I’m at the 55-hour mark isn’t solely because of how much time I’ve put in. It’s taken into account how many times I’ve nearly -- or completely -- fallen asleep while playing the game.
But the gameplay, man. THE GAMEPLAY.
That’s what keeps me coming back for more. And I’ll explain why…next time. So I hope you’ll come back for more, because I’ve got to get to THE GAMEPLAY.
And because I’ll go to extreme lengths to avoid talking about Gundam Build Divers.
Yeah, piss off, indeed. And/or forever.
No comments:
Post a Comment