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62 people found this review helpful
8 people found this review funny
Not Recommended
0.0 hrs last two weeks / 146.0 hrs on record (1.7 hrs at review time)
Posted: 7 Jun, 2019 @ 1:04pm
Updated: 7 Jun, 2019 @ 1:48pm

This is an early hands on review, to give people some ideas about how the game feels like from a JRPG veteran's perspective. As such this review will be updated again when I play the game in the future.

What to expect:
  • a good port. A wide array of configuration options are available. 4K display is selectable but wouldn't stick (the game would revert back to 1440p). Solid 60 FPS on a dated PC (GTX 980, 8GB RAM, i4670, Win10 Pro x64) on 1440p and max graphics setting;
  • hand drawn pixel arts. Yup, they are all there. To add to that, they are blended with modern lighting and graphic effects;
  • combat system. It reminds me of Xenogear's combat system in which you can choose to store power orbs and unleash them in combos. Each enemy has their own vulnerability (such as weapon type or elements). Breaking an enemy not only enhance damage and chance of skill to proc (like Steal), but also make the enemy skips a turn. Weapons can be switched by a single press of a key;
  • level of difficulty. While most enemies can be disposed of by cycling break > attack, Path bosses require some preparation (both logistic and strategy). Put in some thinking and they shouldn't pose any difficulty;
  • music. As someone who grew up with music composed by Nobuo and Sugiyama, the soundtracks are not on their tiers. I would rank it a little lower than Nier's tier.

What not to expect:
  • length. A casual playthrough to the first boss took me about 90 minutes, of which about 10 minutes are experimenting with the game. Estimated completion time (from Switch users) is around 50-80 hours, YMMV;
  • not even close to a FF6 remake. Octopus Traveller isn't even a FF game. But it does have the nostalgia feel from the classic JPRG;
  • pricing. Well for the same price you can get Resident Evil 2 Remake (plus some pocket change). Both offers a sense of nostalgia, but one has been released for a while back, has a playable demo and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive. Nier: Automata, despite being notorious for its PC port, costs a lot less and offers more depths. Dragon Quest XI sets a new bar for JRPG yet it doesn't have an imposing price tag.

A bold marketing strategy requires some luck to succeed. Best of luck to Square-Enix if their plan is to handle future "nostalgia pixel JRPG" the same way they handle Octopath Traveller.
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36 Comments
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LockDown 10 Jun, 2019 @ 7:02am 
"What not to expect: length. It's 50-80 hours"

What?
Keytee Tamira 9 Jun, 2019 @ 1:36am 
Um... RE2 Remake is a whole new game that uses original RE2 as a base.
Have you ever played both RE2 and RE2 Remake? They play like whole different games.
RM60 9 Jun, 2019 @ 12:01am 
1.7 hours.... Your review is worthless. People like you are the problem here on steam. You get an A for being Absolutely re t@rded.
Gamin9Wizard 8 Jun, 2019 @ 1:41pm 
and RE on PS1
Gamin9Wizard 8 Jun, 2019 @ 1:41pm 
Octopath originally released on switch, on july 13th 1018
Gamin9Wizard 8 Jun, 2019 @ 1:40pm 
Octopath is a fresh game, RE just a remake.
Causing the difference here.
MakoSipper 8 Jun, 2019 @ 1:22pm 
In my region, you can get almost 2 copies of RE:2 for the price of Octopath. No idea, though, why would one expect a FF6 remake.
Gamin9Wizard 8 Jun, 2019 @ 9:01am 
Says the Kid.
jhalchaN 8 Jun, 2019 @ 8:55am 
kids today ...
- 8 Jun, 2019 @ 7:56am 
This game imo is nothing more than a desperate attempt to get a piece of the pie. Big head devs like these guys didn't care about these types of games for a long time. Until many small team and indie game devs started creating their own games that the big guys saw where the money was going that they wanted to create this desperate attempt. Whether the game is good or not is not the point here. The point is the desperate attempts from big game devs to do anything just to make a penny. And selling at $60 just because of their name makes them look even worst. (to all the fanboys, no need to reply. I won't be back.)