Since it isn't a fairly known game, I will try do make a brief presentation of it first. Pause Ahead is a flash game developed by Askiisoft, the indie team behind the best-known Katana ZERO. It's a puzzle-platformer with levels and a unique gimmick: when the game is paused, the protagonist enters a particular status in which he is invincible and in which he moves "by momentum" in the direction you were pressing before pausing.

Despite being a free game that lasts an hour, it is really nice, also thanks to the high general difficulty and the true ending. The soundtrack, composed by flashygoodness (peak) and Bill Kiley, features quite memorable melodies and is probably what stuck with me most about the game even years after my playthrough.

Unfortunately, I have already finished the sequel to a JRPG that really touched my heart, and that I never expected to see again so soon. I've lived 5 months of hype since the game was announced and I've already reached the end of this adventure. But was it really worth it? Before talking about the overall plot, I will deal individually with the stories of the 8 protagonists of this game. Osvald's story is incredible, painful and emotional from beginning to end. A very good tragic story with good twists and told really well. Towards the end I was almost moved. Also Osvald as a character is very well executed, I loved him a lot. I'm really glad I used him as the lead protagonist. Regarding Castti, at first I had some doubts about the plot, but this too turned out to be a truly magnificent story with excellent twists. The way the narrative unfolds is really cool. Castti is an excellent character with a great evolution and very beautiful scenes. The story of Temenos i really incredible. It maintains a very high quality in each chapter both at the level of the story and at the level of the character. Especially Chapter 3 is structured really well and is very engaging. Temenos is also really great, I don't know how they managed to create such a wonderful character. Regarding Ochette, she has a rather simple story that goes straight to the point, however in some way this is consistent with the character. I'm a little sad because I had rather high expectations, but I didn't come out too disappointed in the end. Ochette is a very nice character who really was needed in the party of this game, I liked her enough. Partitio is HIM. He is THE man. His story and his character are amazing from start to finish, and really well told. I love him very much. Regarding Agnea, while her story is the weakest of the 8 and absolutely no match for the others, it's still very nice. There are some elements that cringe me a little bit but overall it has a very warm atmosphere, especially thanks to the characters you meet along your journey. Throné has THE CRAZIEST STORY EVER. I literally have no idea how they managed to put something like this in a game like this, it's a very dark and disturbing story but it still doesn't clash with the atmosphere of the game. I think it's perfect from start to finish, I really have nothing to complain about. Throné then as a character is truly magnificent, masterfully written. Regarding Hikari, he has a great story, more engaging than I expected. Hikari is a good character but he's probably the one I've grown fond of the least. The overall story of the game that is formed by connecting the stories of the eight characters in the final chapter is quite good. I really love that they have managed to create a new interesting and in-depth lore in this new continent and I had a lot of fun discovering the truth behind the mysteries of this game. I'm really amazed at the progress the team behind the game has made in terms of writing compared to the first Octopath Traveler. Both in terms of plot and in terms of dialogues, there is really a big difference between the two games from this point of view. The gameplay of this game is phenomenal. It hasn't undergone huge changes compared to the original, but still manages to be engaging and innovative thanks to several improvements. The new continent felt much more alive and enjoyable to explore than Orsterra in the first game. In this sequel I spent so many hours simply looking for secret caves and interacting with NPCs, something that didn't come naturally to me with the first Octopath Traveler. The addition of the day-night cycle also makes everything even more realistic and pleasant, and allows you to immerse yourself in the world in different ways and in different atmospheres. The Combat System, also largely taken from the first game with several improvements, is a lot of fun. The latent powers of each character make the characters even more unique, while the new classes and skills allow for much more complex battle strategies and make team-building more interesting than in the first game. Also, farming is easier and more satisfying thanks to being able to increase the speed of the battles. As for the interactions between the party characters, they remain almost absent within the individual chapters. When one character experiences his story, the rest of the characters are just there to fight alongside him, without appearing in cutscenes or helping him in some way. This problem present in the first game is also present in the second. The team behind the game promised more interactions between characters through the "double" chapters. These double chapters do not radically compensate for this problem of single chapters. They are certainly quite nice, but only focused on two characters at a time and very short. There is a section of the game where the characters interact with each other in quite an exciting way, but sadly it's only towards the end of the game. I won't go into detail because I don't want to spoil, but I absolutely loved seeing ALL 8 adventurers talk to each other and I wish we had more moments like this sooner. Finally, regarding the difficulty of the game, I found it quite balanced. There were a few moments where I had a little difficulty against the bosses but nothing too stressful, I just changed my strategy and equipment. Regarding graphics, from the first to the second game there has been an incredible graphical improvement. If in the first Octopath Traveler the graphics and artstyle are already quite beautiful, in the second they have really surpassed themselves: they have created truly magnificent environments full of details, made even more pleasant thanks to even better lighting. I'm really happy with these improvements and can't wait to see how HD-2D will evolve over time. Regarding the soundtrack, it really is a masterpiece, I can't find other words to describe it. I love Yasunori Nishiki's style so much. Octopath II's soundtrack surpasses that of the first game in almost every way and is perhaps among the most solid soundtracks I've ever heard. Overall, I loved Octopath Traveler II. It definitely has its downsides, but I still loved it with all my heart and binged it in less than two weeks. I'm quite happy to have bought it and will look forward to a new entry in the series, although it is not currently planned. That said, I actually recommend it only to those who liked the first game. The basis of the second game is the same, and therefore you may experience the same problems that you had in the first game also in the second one. Having loved the first game as a result I loved this one even more.

Final grade: 93

The plot is simple, but very good, interesting and above all not obvious. Developments and twists are done very well. I also loved the ending. It is a perfect plot for a game of this genre, and the way in which it is told makes it more enjoyable. The characters are also done very well, and you get really attached to the protagonists over the course of the game. Also, its original, varied and fun gameplay has definitely made it my favorite rhythm game. It may seem difficult at first, but it quickly gets carried away. It evolves more and more as we progress through the story, also including difficult boss fights in various levels. I guess I've never had so much fun in a rhythm game, and I will probably keep playing it in the next days. The only "criticism" that maybe I would feel like making is the fact that you don't have to start the level all over again once you are dead. The game simply allows you to go back in time to where you want, and continue from that point on. While it is a consistent choice with some plot elements of the game and to make the game "more viable" especially in the final levels, an option to change it would have been great. The soundtrack is probably the best element of the game. All the tracks are literally all gorgeous. Electro-swing is a really nice genre. I was a little sad that I couldn't hear the final boss ost while doing it, the sound effects covered pretty much everything. The difficulty of the game is medium, but you may find yourself in serious difficulty with the levels if you don't know how to go to the rhythm (being a rhythm game). Especially the last 3 levels require a lot of skill, given the high difficulty. However, as already mentioned in the gameplay section, if you die it simply makes you use some sort of rewind that makes you go back as far as you want, so you can use it in your favor. The only big problem with the game is the price. The base price on eshop (I played it on Nintendo Switch) is 39,99€, but in the Christmas discounts just passed, it costed 25€, which is already a more acceptable price. I am not informed about the price of the PS4 version.

IN THE END: I LOVED this game. It became one of my favorite games of all time, and I consider it a Must-to-play for Rhythm Game lovers. The only real downside is the high price.

I expected who knows what from all the praise and instead it was nothing special, full of flaws and not too fun to play.

Really too many hateful jumps, I seriously enjoyed only a few levels and felt satisfaction in completing them.

It's one of those games that I would never play a second time, even under torture.