Honestly y’all this game was fuckin great. This is basically just the first game but better in every conceivable way. The combat has been largely untouched, aside from a few welcome additions like skill balancing (you can still bust the fucking game dw).

I def think there’s layers to add and kinks to iron out regarding the combat. While this ultimately comes down to personal preference, I really enjoyed the sheer customization of games like bravely default and Xenoblade 3. Those games felt less rigid in team building due to the more flexible job system. I totally get that locking a character into their starter jobs is kinda the point and gives your characters some personality and strengthens your bond to these homies, but I think it leads to some characters getting left by the wayside late to postgame (Osvald and to a lesser extent Agnea). This in turn, just kinda leads to you becoming less attached to the characters you end up benching which felt a bit counterproductive.

Keeping characters unique skills or latent power or whatever you wanna do could be a step in the right direction- keeping characters unique but adding a layer of customization for the player.

My desire for customization extends to the over world as well. Postgame, I found myself getting a bit annoyed at the random encounters- the option to decrease the likelihood of encounters, like in BD, would be a welcome addition for the postgame (im not stupid enough to want it for the main story lol)

Take these gameplay criticisms with a grain of salt though- this game is turn based combat at its finest, especially at the boss fights.

I try my best to engage with the media I consume in a genuine and receptive way, and I’m happy to report that the step up between octopath 2’s stories and 1’s is a big one. Overall the stories are much more mature and the broad concepts in 6.5/8 are fascinating to see explored in a JRPG. The execution may be a bit formulaic, and if you aren’t privy to the classic “anime” tropes this won’t open your third eye, but for those that are willing to engage (no shade really if you can’t), they deliver some strikingly emotional moments. Big shoutouts to Castii’s, Tenemos’ and Ochette’s stories. You can see these turns in the stories coming for sure, but it doesn’t take away from the weight these pack.

Partitio (my chosen starter) I felt had the most consistent and satisfying story. Something about his infectious charisma and optimism really carried it for me. The idea is also truly fuckin great- a man so pure that he overthrows capitalism with capitalism is really fun and engaging. It lacks the same large or emotional moments found in the others’, but makes up for it with consistency.

Octopath 2’s stories tend to falter towards the conclusion of their main stories. Tenemos and Osvald’s in particular suffered the most imo. Tenemos’ in particular hurt because it was so consistently good until the payoff had me feeling a bit empty. Osvald’s starts really strong, but loses steam fast.

As a whole, these stories are great for what they are. Except Agnea’s. God. What the fuck? I was a big fan of partitio’s smaller scale and more personal story but Agnea’s literally just kinda sucks. Maybe I’m getting too old, but her character felt shallow, she has no real agency in the larger plot and these other characters are mostly unique takes on their respective class archetypes- except her lol.

I’d be remiss to not mention the crossed path stories. Give us more. They’re great bite sized intertwined stories between 2 characters, I just wanted more!

Basically, play the game. It won’t change your life if you’re not a JRPG fan, it’s roots are too deep in it’s genre. But it’s one of the best turn based JRPG’s to come out in a loooooongggg time and it’s worth playing for the soundtrack alone.

Movement, combat, and the "soul" system have been fixed. No longer will you have to grind like a jackass to get the lil card thingies. The story in concept is pretty fun in all honesty- these early metriodvania's work best when there's a sense of mystery pushing you forward (ie Symphony of the night, Aria of Sorrow)- a cute lil story of jealousy and the ending is surprisingly endearing.

The dash, whip, and weapons all feel great to use. The screen is no longer absurdly zoomed in and seems to focus more on horizontal movement which is better for the Gameboy screen.
I'm actually a big fan of the cosmic, ethereal horror of this one. Feel like it makes it stick out in a great way and fits the small ass gameboy screen.

THIS MAP FUCKING BLOWS DICK AND THE TWO CASTLES ARE THE SAME THEY ARE SO FUCKING BAD