The first two Octopath Traveler games share a significant feature: there is no singular primary protagonist. Each game presents eight stories for eight party members. While the heroes occasionally interact, their stories remain mostly self-contained.
Octopath Traveler 0 takes a noticeably different direction. Although Square Enix’s latest RPG still features parties of eight characters, this time there is one main protagonist — and that hero is you.
### Setting and Character Creation
I had the opportunity to take an early look at the Octopath Traveler 0 prologue to get a sense of how the game’s opening minutes unfold. According to Shacknews’ PAX West preview, Octopath Traveler 0 is set on the continent of Orsterra in a story that occurs before the events of the original game.
One new feature introduced in this installment is the character creator. Players can customize their character’s name, gender, hairstyle, eye color, victory pose, and voice. At least initially, the voice is only used during battles. The protagonist remains silent throughout the story, with the supporting cast doing the talking.
### Introducing Wishvale and Supporting Characters
The prologue begins in the protagonist’s home village of Wishvale, a humble settlement preparing to celebrate its annual festival. The opening moments focus on establishing the supporting cast, including:
– **Stia**: The main character’s childhood friend and daughter of one of the village’s architects
– **Phenn**: A young member of the village Watch and an aspiring hunter
– **Laurana**: A priestess raised in the nearby church
In the prologue, these characters serve primarily as companions and supporting figures to the main protagonist.
### The Dark Turn
The story soon takes a darker turn. At PAX West, I was introduced to the game’s villains, and the prologue is where you meet them face-to-face.
– **Hermania**, a ruthless aristocrat driven by an insatiable hunger for riches
– **Tytos**, a fallen hero turned dictator who mercilessly eliminates anyone beneath him
– **Auguste**, the world’s most famous playwright who draws inspiration by feeding off, and sometimes creating, the tragedy of his helpless victims
Together, these antagonists burn Wishvale to the ground, mercilessly slaughtering most of its inhabitants and leaving only a few survivors.
### A Tale of Revenge and Rebuilding
From this point, Octopath Traveler 0 unfolds like a revenge tale. The storyline has two main pillars:
1. **Individual Quest Lines:** These quests ultimately confront each of the three main villains.
2. **Rebuilding Wishvale:** This involves various steps toward restoring the village.
As an architect, Stia plays a crucial role in the town-building component of the game. She helps construct workshops, houses, shops, and other key buildings that restore Wishvale’s prominence and provide players with extra items for their journey.
Building structures requires materials like lumber and cloth, which players can find scattered along the paths between villages.
### Combat and Party Dynamics
Combat in Octopath Traveler 0 initially feels familiar to fans of the series. Players engage in turn-based battles, accumulating Boost Points (clarified at PAX West to avoid confusion with Brave Points from a different Square Enix RPG) to unleash multiple strikes in a single turn.
If enemies are attacked with physical or elemental weaknesses, their Shield Points are reduced to zero, causing a “Break.” This status not only skips their turn but also increases the damage they take.
Early in the game, parties remain small with just a few characters. However, as the story progresses, players can recruit additional travelers, forming active parties of up to eight.
Unlike the previous Octopath Traveler games, all eight characters will fight simultaneously. The PAX West preview provides more details on this new combat dynamic.
### Looking Ahead
With over 30 potential party members to recruit, one lingering question from the early September preview was whether these characters would each have satisfying narratives. The prologue doesn’t answer this question, but it’s an intriguing aspect to consider as the game approaches its full release.
Octopath Traveler 0’s blend of revenge-driven storytelling, village restoration, and expanded combat mechanics marks an exciting evolution for the series. Fans will undoubtedly be watching closely to see how these new elements come together when the game launches.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146772/octopath-traveler-0-final-preview
