There’s something special about traditional turn based JRPGs
to me. Maybe it’s because I grew up with them: Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario,
Pokemon, and especially Golden Sun. These were all games I played during
formative years of my life that shaped my tastes in video games, and I see them
as fundamental to explaining why I have such a fondness for turned based JRPGs.
While Pokemon and the Mario RPGs do follow the format mechanically,
aesthetically they don’t follow what Golden Sun and Final Fantasy IX went for
that really captures the feel of a traditional JRPG: a colorful fantasy setting
with characters and a world that come to life. There’s just something about a
historical fantasy setting that really appeals to me, and when you combine that
with a turn based combat that heavily favors complex strategies, I am smitten
in a way no other game can. I think this is a part of why I have taken so much
to the Fire Emblem games recently.
By discussing my history and fondness for traditional JRPGs
(as I will now refer to them as) I hope to explain why Octopath Traveler
appealed to me so much upon its initial reveal. I’ve kept my eye on it, doubly
so due to it being a spiritual successor to Bravely Default. That was a game I
played recently and…despite really disliking the second half of game to the
point that it ruined the whole thing for me, I still greatly enjoyed the first
half, as seen in my write up for it: http://johnnyappleshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/bravely-default-review-part-1.html.
I hoped that Octopath would be
different. Maybe, at last, I could get into, love, and beat a traditional turn
based JRPG, something I have not done since the Golden Sun games. So, when the
game was 50% off, I jumped at the chance, excited to dive in. Without further
ado, let’s get into it.
TLDR version at the bottom for those looking for a quick summary of bullet points.
