Some of the longest Switch games will have us holding the handheld device for a very long time if you play the system on the go. The Xenoblade Chronicles series, for example, is one exclusive Nintendo franchise that will keep you entert??ained for ages and ages.

Please note that for this list, we are only covering games that have launched on Switch first or are exclusive. We are basing this knowledge on HowLongToBeat's data.

15) Mario & Luigi: Brothership (49.5 hours)

Mario & Luigi: Brothership brings back the classic RPG franchise and puts it on a console for the first time. While the combat is cherished among reviewers, some have criticized its "bloated runtime," like IGN.  "There are so many places in this game that could have been cut down or abbreviated, but a lot of it feels there just as a way of extending the game," said our review. "It doesn’t feel rushed o??r unpolished; there’s just too much of it, and it gets in its own way."

14) Pokemon Scarlet & Violet (50 hours)

The first open-world take in a mainline Pokemon game is Scarlet & Violet. While the game?? is often criticized for its poor graphics, it does give a refreshing change to the formula as you're given free rein on where to go next and which missions to complete first, adding to the hours spent in-game.

13) Ring Fit Adventure (57 hours)

Ring Fit Adventure keep?s you exercising for many weeks as it has a 57-hour run-time, according to HowLongToBeat. You'll constantly unlock new workout move?s to utilize against your foes in this pseudo-RPG exercise concept. It can be very fun in bursts.

12) Fire Emblem: Engage (63 hours)

Fire Emblem: Engage is a fantastic RPG that has you invested in forming friendships (or even a relationship) with the characters in the game. There is plenty of side content on offer as you go through the main campaign, keeping you "engage"d for many, many hours?.

11) Rune Factory 5 (70 hours)

Rune Factory 5 is a flawed yet fun experience on the Nintendo Switch. This RPG has you building resources, fighting enemies, and forming friendships with the people in your town. Your character can also marry others in the game. "It has a great cast, a wealth of activities, and much of the farm sim experience I love," said our review. "But every time I found myself smitten with the game, something would come al??ong to point out just how underwhe?lming it is as a whole."

10) Fire Emblem: Three Houses (75 hours)

This game may take you 75 hours to finish, but I was able to complete it in just a week. I believe I was unemployed at the time, bu??t that's how addicting this RPG can be. The characters are well-developed, and the strategy RPG battles are thrilling. You'll keep wanting to play more.

9) Octopath Traveler (77 hours)

Another grand RPG to experience on the Nintendo Switch is Octopath Traveler. Originally released as a console exclusive in 2018, it blends classic sprites and 3D environments together in a stunning mix. "Winding vertical dungeon layers hide secrets without making navigation too frustrating, small towns have their own charm about them, and character models, especially bosses, are emotive," said our review.

8) Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition (78 hours)

This RPG series is known for its lengthy games, and the first entry is no different. You'll be exploring large plains?? with plenty of side quests to spend your life with. It also has an illustrious story that features Shulk and the legendary Monado.

7) Monster Hunter Rise (79 hours)

You'll be hunting for many hours in Monster Hunter Rise as you try to make the best armor and go on quests with your friends. Games like this take your time as you master each monster's moves and try to strategize your best route to e??liminate the beast.

6) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (93 hours)

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild revolutionized the open-world genre by packing all manner of content, puzzles, and events all over Hyrule. It's an incredible game that will keep you entertained for many hours. This game received a 10/10 score from us when it first launched.

5) Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (96 hours)

Monolith Soft created a magnum opus of a game with Xenoblade Chronicles 2. The game is filled with stun?ning environments to find along the w??ay, and the story is impactful for many. The more light-hearted dialogue, when compared to the first, however, may be a turn-off for some.

4) Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (102 hours)

The trilogy comes to a close with Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Expect plenty of high-stakes drama as you go through this game's campaign. At over 100 hours, there are many side quests to complete and a thrilling main story to keep you going until the very end. "The cast, the weight of the story, and the freedom of party composition are the power trio that won me over," said our reviewer, who was invested until the end.

3) Animal Crossing: New Horizons (106 hours)

During the COVID pandemic, many were invested in the tropical scenery of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. There is much to do in the game as we decorat?e our island villages, find new friends, and show our creation??s to online buddies. It was a paradise for us to wake up to every day.

2) The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (113 hours)

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom took the world from its predecessor, Breath of the Wild, and expanded it greatly. Now, we can explore lands in the sky and down below in the underground. While it admittedly feels too bloated, Tears of the Kingdom is seen as one ??of the best Nintendo Swi??tch games. You certainly get your money's worth.

1) Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate (171 hours)

Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate is, above and away, the longest Nintendo Switch game you can play. The game has over 14 different weapon types to master, and there are a bunch of Hunting Style??s and Hunter Arts to figure out as well. It has a mix of old and new monsters to slay, which will keep you entertained for more than 170 hours.

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Ever since Nintendo revealed Mario & Luigi: Brothership in June of this year, fans have been wondering which studio was actually working on this colorful new RPG adv??enture, especially sin??ce the company is infamous for keeping this information under wraps. After months of speculation, it seems we finally have a concrete answer.

After many months of theories and speculation, it seems we have a concrete answer. Twitter/X user Nintendeal recently discovered copyright text for Mario & Luigi: Brothership that seems to confirm that Acquire is developing the game. This is the studio behind the Tenchu series and the Octopath Traveler series (which it developed alongside Square Enix). Al??though, it is important to point out that Nintendo hasn't officially confirmed this information yet.

Nintendo fans previously thought that ILCA (The studio behind Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, One Piece Odyssey, and Sand Land) was developing Mario & Luigi: Brothership, but this new revel?ation apparently confirms that they were wrong, and th??at it was Acquire all along.

Fans reacted to this news with both excitement and relief, since the studio has previous experience with solid turn-based RPGs. Acquire has big shoes to fill, because AlphaDream, the studio that created the Mario & Luigi series and developed a?ll the previous entries, sadly went bankrup??t in 2019.

Based on Acquire's previous experience, Mario & Luigi: Brothership is in good hands

Acquire is not a random small team that Nintendo hired but is actually a remarkable and important development studio within the industry, with tons of previous experience developing iconic and successful video games. Acquire has? recorded its entire history on its official website, and it's quite interesting.

The studio rose to fame with the release of the first two Tenchu games on PlayStation 1, which revolutionized the stealth genre. After that, it went on to develop the Way of the Samurai series on PlayStation 2 and subsequent consoles, but its biggest and most recognizable IP is undoubtedly Octopath Traveler, which it developed in collaboration with Square Enix. These are a pair of critically acclaimed turn-based RPGs that brought back the essence of the classic 2D Final Fantasy games. So, when taking Acquire's entire history into consideration, it's evident that Mario & Luigi: Brothership is in great hands, but ?we won't be 100% sure until the game launches on Nintendo Switch on November 7.

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One of the Switch's most notable early RPGs is temporarily unavailable on its storefront. Today, users noticed that the first Octopath Traveler is unavailable to buy on the Nintendo eShop.

Visiting the eShop page for Octopath Traveler, at the time of this writing, will display a greyed-out "Not available" icon where the purchase button should be. We reached out to Nintendo to inquire about this, and were directed to a support page that explains some of the situation:

Octopath Traveler is temporarily unavailable for pu??rchase on the Nintendo Switch eShop and My Nintendo Store as of March 1, 2024. The ga??me will be available to purchase again soon.

If you previously purchased this game, it can still be re-downloaded fro??m the Nintendo eS??hop.

Those have already purchased Octopath Traveler should still be able to redownload their game. Nintendo outlines how to redownload it from the eShop on its support page.

It's unclear why, exactly, the game has been taken down from just Nintendo's storefront. The RPG remains available on other platform storefronts like Steam, and on stores like Humble. It's worth noting that, while Nintendo was originally the publisher of Octopath Traveler, the eShop page currently lists Square Enix as the publisher, as spotted by Gematsu.

We've also reac??hed out to Square Enix for comment, and ??will update if we hear back.

Traveler currently unavailable

Octopath Traveler was an early hit for the Switch, providing a big RPG exclusive for Nintendo's handheld hybrid. Thoug??h its now six years old, seeing it mysteriously disappear from the storefront is strange. I'd hope this is just a case of some back-end changes, and that the game pops back soon, as Nintendo's support page indicates.

Still, if you're seeking some gorgeous adventures, you can't really go wrong with its sequel either. Octopath Traveler 2 was a highlight of last year's RPG lineup, and remains available on the eShop. Regardless, hopefully this ?first entry will be readily accessible again soon.

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The studio behind Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler 2, Acquire, has been acquired by none other than Kadokawa Corporation. In effect, this means that Octopath Traveler and Dark Souls are now under the same umbrella, as Kado??kawa also owns From Software, for one.

As Kadokawa's latest earnings results document states, the acquisiti?on was completed to "strengthen the ability to create IP in games as part of [Kadokawa Corporation's] game business strategy." As a result of the acquisition, Kadokawa Corporation expects "to generate synergies with [its] existing game-related subsidiaries, strengthen [its] planning and development capabilities Groupwide, and enhance [its] lineup of console games."

Kadokawa Corporation now owns Acquire, From Software, Spike Chunsoft, and Kadokawa itself

Acquire now stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Kadokawa Corporation's other game production studios: From Software, Spike Chunsoft, and Kadokawa proper. This acquisition did not come out of the blue, mind: even though Acquire has generally been associated with Square Enix as of late, thanks mainly to its work on the Octopath Traveler games, the studio has also done some contract development along the way. Notably, Acquire produced the Way of the Samurai titles owned by Spike Chunsoft, and Tenchu by From Software. This makes Kadokawa Corporation's decision to fully incorpo??rate Acqui?re into its ranks perfectly sensible from a production standpoint.

In fact, Kadokawa Corporation will seek further collaboration between its major production studios moving forward. In the sourced document, it is outright stated that the goal is to "promote collaboration with FromSoftware and Spike Chunsoft, with whom ACQUIRE had a cooperative relationship." For fans of Acquire's previous work, it is also important to note that Kadokawa Corporation will "seek lineup expansion" from the studio, "including [the] redevelopment of past works." Presumably, this means that properties such as Tenchu and Way of the Samurai are back on? the docket, instead of having Acquire focus mainly on new IPs.

As Kadokawa Corporation's earnings results explain, Acquire has some rather successful IPs all of its own, with Akiba's Trip being a particularly notable highlight. The company is, therefore, considered to be a valuable addition to Kadokawa Corporation's roster, and the expectations do seem to b?e high.

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Five years of interconnected adventure

Square Enix has announced that it will hold a special anniversary live stream next month to celebrate five years of the narrative adventure franchise Octopath Traveler. The stream will ??take place on July 13, the same date as the first title graced its presence on Nintendo Switch.

Developed by Square Enix and Acquire, the Octopath Traveler titles allow players to follow the interconnecting tales of a party of distinct protagonists, who cross paths under their own respective circumstances. Octopath Traveler and its recent sequel, Octopath Traveler II, have garnered devoted fanbases due to their ??traditional RPG nature, intere??sting characters, and artistically impressive worlds. The second title has sold over one million copies since its February launch on PC and consoles.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=exUzGmKmr60

Produced in alignment with Weekly Famitsu, the live stream?? will feature guests such as Square Enix producer Masashi Takahashi, Acquire lead Keisuke Miyauchi, and series composer Yasunori Nishiki. The stream will include interviews, a retrospective, and the results of a recently held Japanese fan survey. As to whether we can expect any reveals... Well, a sequel literally arrived less than six months ago, so any new titles or ??spin-offs seem unlikely. But perhaps Square Enix will have something interesting to show fans.

The Octopath Traveler Anniversary Stream will take place July 13 at 20:00 JST, which is a red-eyed 04:0?0 in PT times. If there is any news, we?? will be sure to keep you abreast of it.

Octopath Traveler II is available now on PlayS??tation, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

Octopath Traveler 5th Anniversary Live Stream set for Ju??ly 13 [Gematsu]

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It debuted at TGS, but there's a full English audio translation

While Octopath Traveler 2 is slated for release on February 23, 2023, on PC, PS4, PS5, and Switch, we can catch a chunk of it now. If you wanted some Octopath Traveler 2 footage following the recent Nintendo Direct reveal, you got it! Square Enix just gave us 20 minutes of it thanks to a TGS stre?am. Don't worry though! Although the stream was done for TGS, there's a full live English translation baked in as audio commentary.

Kicking off at roughly 25:00 in the below video, we get a full 20-minute walkthrough of the game, and some of the aesthetic and design changes in the sequel. One big element that the team showcases is elevation, which brings "height and depth" to the maps. There's a bit of variation involved w?ith the game's designs, with footage of a forest village and an "old west-like town."

Based on this Octopath Traveler 2 footage, natural time progression is in, too, and there will be "drastically different music" in some day/night cycles, including tracks that sound unique compared to the original. The team wanted to ensure that there wasn't a sense of repetition between playing the original and the sequel, and it gave them a good excuse to "explore different genres" of music to boot. The developers mused on how much of an undertaking it was, having to design day/night music for all of the locations in the game, only a portion of which were shown off via a brief look at the world map (31:00 in).

Ideally, Octopath Traveler 2 will address some of the common complaints of the original (includin?g how things homogenize after the individual character stories are completed): because so far, they're still nailing the aesthetic??.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XuTb462yCg&t

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This game led to another rebirth of Square Enix JRPGs

The fourth Octopath Traveler anniversary is upon us, see?ing as the original release was back on July 13,? 2018.

Square Enix is celebrating with a tweet, reminding us of the four-year anniversary, and providing a "commemorative illustration" of the crew from a member of producer Tomoya Asano's team: Tatsuaki Urushihara. They also remind folks that Live a Live is coming out later this month. So while we haven't gotten a direct sequel yet in the west (a mobile prequel called Champions of the Continent came out in 2020 in Japan,?? and is coming soon elsewhere), it's impacted many other projects since its launch, and has shifted Square Enix's priorities as a whole.

Octopath Traveler can be considered a bird of a feather with several other modern pushes for JRPGs within the company. One of the bigger waves involved Bravely Default, which came roaring in during 2012, and reminded people that yes, there is an audience for the genre still. There was another wave in 2016 with I Am Setsuna, which ushered in the creation of Tokyo RPG Factory, and led to Lost Sphear, and Oninaki.

The legacy of Octopath itself (amid this Octopath Traveler anniversary) is directly responsible for the existence of Triangle Strategy, as well as numerous other games in that same style. Square Enix even cited Octopath Traveler's aesthetic choice as an influence and drive to bring Live a Live back in the form of a remake.

//twitter.com/OCTOPA??TH_PR/status/1547049576??506736640

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iOSterra

Square Enix has opened pre-registration for western players interested in its upcoming mobile RPG Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent. Interested parties can sign up for the new release ahead of its launch on iOS and Android platforms this summer.

Set once again in the lavish lands of Orsterra, Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent will feature the fantasy RPG action and deep storytelling lore of the original 2018 adventure, ?stylized with that "retro 2D sprites on 3D rendered backgrounds" aesthetic that all of these mobile spin-offs tend to rock. Choose a party of "Chosen Ones" from the 64 available characters, before embarking upon a branching narrative packed with exploration, adventure, and oodles of juicy monster battles.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKYvONIJ3tE

"A few years prior to the events of Octopath Traveler, Orsterra is ruled by tyrants hungry for “wealth, power, and fame," reads an official blurb. "While the tyrants�desires have unleashed a bottomless darkness upon the world�there are those who resist the darkness. You will meet them while traveling the world as “the Chosen Ones�of a divine ring. What will you obtain, and what will you experience through this journey? Soon the story will l??ead you to the tyrants of the land??."

Champions of the Continent sports the stunning art style of its predecessor and features familiar and original tunes from series composer Yasunori Nishiki. Very ??unlike the original release, however, the mobile edition of Octopath Traveler is a free-to-play title that also features a variety of in-app purchases. I'm sure that you'd already put this together, but it's still worth clarifying.

Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent will launch on iOS and Android platforms this summer???.

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Even more paths to travel

The mobile Octopath game is finding its way over to new regions. Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent will be coming to North America and Europe sometime th?is year.

Announced earlier today and shared on Twitter, Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent is a mobile prequel to the 2018 RPG Octopath Traveler. It maintains the look and feel of Octopath, but obviously tak?es place on a phone r?ather than Steam or Nintendo Switch.

//??twitter.com/OCTOPATH_SP/status/1491034830460522500

It's already out in Japan, but this will bring the extra story of the Octopath world stateside. While a mobile prequel game may not be something hardcore RPG fans would jump at, maybe games like Fantasian have loosened the cap a bit. And you really can't beat that art. Here's a trailer from the lead-up to the Japanese release:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB0ECPgcob8

Over the last four years Octopath Traveler has become a pretty notable RPG, at least in terms of its looks. Games like Eiyuden Chronicle and the Dragon Quest 3 remake are also going for a similar "HD-2D" art style.

Tomoya Asano and his team are currently ramping up to the launch of another HD-2D game, too. Triangle Strategy is set to launch on March 4, with its own new-re??tro look and the team's own spin o??n the tactics genre.

We'll hear more about when, exactly, this Octopath ?preque??l will arrive later on. The studio is currently teasing some news to come in mid-February.

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For the less travelled among us

Earlier this week, Square Enix held a prestigious live concert featuring the music of last year's acclaimed JRPG title Octopath Traveler. The Break, Boost and Beyond show took place July 28 at the Olympus Hall Hachioji in Tokyo, featuring arrangements taken from the game's soundtrack album, which rele??ased earlier this year.

Still, Tokyo is kind of a long way away for a lot of us, and many fans were unfortunately unable to be in attendance for the show. However, it has been revealed that the show was recorded for posterity, and will be released on Blu-ray in Japan as Octopath Traveler: Break, Boost and Beyond Live! The disc will feature all ?21 performances from the show, along with a commemorative postcard for its first retail ru??n.

If you're after a copy of the show for yourself, then the Blu-ray will release in Japan December 18, priced at around ¥5,000, or roughly $50 USD. Be sure to keep an eye on import haunts such as Amazon.co.jp and CD Japan. Octopath Traveler is available now on PC and Nintendo Switch.

Oct?opath Traveler concert is getting a Blu-ray releas??e [Siliconera]

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New port, olde English

While Octopath Traveler may not be a perfect game by any means, it was an awesome addition to the JRPG genre. As with any game, it's always a bummer to see something released on a single system – console or PC. While I understand exclusi???vity from the business side of things, as a human and lover of video games, I always want to see as many people as possible experience quality products.

Luckily, Square Enix seems to be just fine porting its games, especially RPGs, over to the PC. It's had a pretty good track record so far, and Octopath Traveler continues that trend excellently. 

Tested on: Intel i7-4770k 3.50 GHz, 8GB of RAM, Geforce GTX 970, Windows 10. Framerate measured with NVIDIA GeForce Experience

After playing a bunch of Octopath Traveler on Steam, I think the only barrier that people will have when deciding to jump in is the price. The port itself is great with no issues experienced on my end. But dang, $60 for? a game that's almost a year old with no extra features can be a hard ??sell to many, especially since there is a precedent of cheaper PC ports already in place.

While Octopath Traveler looks beautiful, it's obvious that it would never be a taxing game. That being said, optimization errors in the past have led to less-than-stellar performance on games that have no business performing poorly on PC. Luckily, Square did a great job here and Octopath Traveler runs at a consistently smoo??th 60 frames per second??.

There are also a handful of graphical options that allow the pl?ayer to customize the visuals, in case there is any stutter or issues in performance. Textures, shadows, post-processing, and anti-aliasing are all adjustable between four levels and the game will auto-detect what's best for your rig if you want it to. You can see the entirety of the options menu in this video:

The game also seamlessly switches between keyboard and gamepad prompts when a new input is detected. I can't tell you how important this is – seeing a keyboard "J" pop up as the intended input while I'm using a controller is not helping at all. And since I usually forget to turn on my controller until after I boot up a game, I'm also glad to report that Octopath&nbs?p;will detect a?? controller regardless of when it is turned on (many games only recognize a controller's input if it was on before the game was started).

Cloud saves also work very well. I started Octopath Traveler on my laptop and was able to easily continue on my desktop later. Speaking of my laptop, the game didn't run super well on a Surface Book, but honestly, that's to be expected given what's in those things. There are also Steam Trading Cards which means there are also Steam Emoticons! Unfortunately, the Steam Emoticons are garbage and are just some sprites from the game. Womp.

I am disappointed in the lack of some of the extra features that other Square Enix ports have. It's awesome playing the older Final Fantasy games and just speeding everything up to 2-3x and blowing through the mindless bits. Or even just instantly healing everyone to full because "eh I'm not into the challenging part right now." Octopath Traveler inc??ludes nothing of the s?ort, though I do hope for them to be added in one day.

I am in lov??e with the trend of Square Enix RPGs being ported to the PC. The price will be a hard swallow for some I'm sure, but hey you know there will be good sales ?in the future. If you missed this title on the Switch and are a fan of the genre, it is absolutely worth picking up on the PC. There's no need to double dip though, as this port offers nothing in the way of added content.

_{[This PC Port Report is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post PC Port Report: Octopath Traveler appeared first on Destructoid.

Bold move

With only a few more weeks to go before PC players can dig into Octopath Traveler, Square Enix has revealed the price of the port and opened pre-orders. HD-2D art doesn't come cheap – the throwback JRPG is going to command $60 on Steam, just as it originally did on Nintendo Switch last ??year.

Plenty of people agree that Octopath Traveler is worth check??ing out, but are many of us going to rush to pay that price after waiting this long for the PC version? What's anoth??er few months? Time will tell.

The PC release is ??set for June 7, 2019, and if you hand over the requisite sixty bucks ahead of ti??me, you'll come away with a set of "exclusive" wallpapers. All told, there's artwork for the eight brave travelers and three group shots. Try not to squint too hard while making out the finer details.

Minimum requirements:

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 7 SP1 / 8.1 / 10 64-bit
• Processor: AMD FX-4350 / Intel Core i3-3210
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: AMD Radeon R7 260X (2GB VRAM) / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750(2GB VRAM)
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 5 GB available space
• Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card
• Additional Notes: 30+ FPS @ 1280x720 / graphics preset “LOW”

Recommended requirements:

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 7 SP1 / 8.1 / 10 64-bit
• Processor: AMD Ryzen™ 3 1200 / Intel Core i5-6400
• Memory: 6 GB RAM
• Graphics: Radeon RX 470 (4GB VRAM) / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB VRAM
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 5 GB available space
• Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card
• Additional Notes: Expected Framerate: 60 FPS @ 1920x1080 / Graphics preset: “Very High.” Depending on the monitor and PC graphics card environment and setup used, this title can expand its display resolution to 4K. However, please be aware that 4K resolutions are not officially supported

It would also be remiss of me not to mention that Octopath Traveler will la??unch on PC with Denuvo. Square Enix isn't mak?ing things easy. As it stands, a tentative wishlist addition is probably in order.

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June 7

Octopath Traveler will be arriving on PC on June 7, just over a month shy of one-year exclusivity on Switch. ??This whole thing kind of came out of nowhere due to a Korean rating board entry, but once the cat was out of the bag it didn't take Square Enix long to officially confirm it. Yep, the polarizing yet beautiful JRPG is going to be re-introduced into the world and will be subject to even more scrutiny: I can't wait to see all of the conversations it's going to ignite.

That audience is going to be even bigger this time, but not just because of a new platform. Square Enix has announced on Twitter that Octopath Traveler will get simplified and traditional Chinese language support on June 7 alongside of the PC edition. Accord??ing to the tweet, Square Enix ?is also fishing for more language requests.

The whole marketing campaign behind Octopath Traveler has been rather brilliant. I've had so many acquaintances, who otherwise have no regular interest in gaming as a hobby, come out of the woodwork to ask me about this "Final Fantasy 6 looking game." Many of those former Final Fantasy fans who bought a Switch for it were delighted at reliving their glory days, and a lot of that same group was either disappointing in Octopath's unique faults o??r slow??ly realized that they no longer enjoyed a genre they once loved.

Aside from the ace soundtrack I think most of us can agree that Octopath sparked a meaningful conversation regarding the efficacy of nostal??gia and the JRPG genre in general in this modern era that seems keen to leave it behind.

Octopath [Twitter via Siliconera]

The post The same day Octopath Traveler hits PC, it’ll get Chinese language support on Switch appeared first on Destructoid.

Rated

Ah the 'ol international rating system trick: it never fails. Well, it seems like the Korean rating administration spilled the beans on an upcoming PC port for Octopath Traveler, if the listing is accurate. 

Previously the old school tinted JRPG Octopath Traveler launched as a Switch exclusive in July of 2018. But I have to say this news actually does make sense, as Octopath is approaching its one year mark: perfect timing to lose that exclusivity. With E3 coming up, Square Enix did host their own 2018 showcase, which would be a great opportunity to announce an Octopath PC port.

Octopath Traveler is one of those "??on the fence" games for so many people and a PC edition (with actual sales in tow!) would go a long way. Right now the game is still $60 at retail and $60 on the eShop. Bring on platform competition!

Octopath Traveler [GRAC.or.kr via Gematsu]

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Thar be sequel talk

Octopath Traveler seems to be doing very well for itself, hitting high marks on the review circuit and selling well enough for Square Enix to consider it a success. So it's time f?or oodles of DLC right? Well, no, but a sequel is likely? at this point.

Speaking to RPG Site, Square Enix producer Tomoya Asano mused on the state of the game, which is looking more and more like a franchise every day. At the moment given that DLC was "not planned" they're still not keen on it, but Asano did drop a brief hint on a sequel, stating, "we still cannot say anything concrete yet, but we’ve just started talks on how it ought to be." He goes on to clarify: "our team has also become a division (the 11th Business Division), and we've obtained more staff member??s. I think we want to release some sort of game that can be enjoyed by everyone every year from here on.

Really, take your time. I don't even nece?ssarily know if a "sequel" is a thing that needs to happen, or if it even has to take place in the same universe. If Square Enix wants to make something like "Octopath Traveler Gaiden" and give us completely new characters, I'd be down for that.

Tomoya Asano talks about the future of Octo??path Traveler [RPGSite.net]

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It walked the octopath to success

Hype for Square Enix's retro-RPG revival Octopath Traveler was through the roof before release last month. Not only did the game look to perfectly capture the SNES era of RPGs, it was one that Square Enix was using as a testing ground for? similar projects in the future. If July's NPD Group sales chart is anything to go by, we'll likely be seeing a lot more cla?ssic RPGs in the future.

In the month of July 2018, Octopath Traveler took the top spot alongside Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V and helped push game sales up 17% over the same period last year. NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said, "Year-to-date spending across video game hardware, software, accessories, and game cards is up 17 percent when compared to the same period a year ago...Growt??h has occurred across all categories of spending, with accessories and game cards driving the largest dollar growth."

Just as he said, even hardware sales are up from a year ago. This is likely to do with a larger library of titles finally being available for newcomers to adopt, though it could also be down to how ridiculously popular the Switch has been. Nintendo is not only dominating the summer? of 2018 but the entire year. As Piscatella points out, "Nintendo is the top-selling full game software publisher for both July and year to date. Nintendo Switch is the only platform showing year-on-year growth in full-game dollar sales with gains?? of nearly 70 percent when compared to a year ago."

Here is the full chart for July:

• Octopath Traveler*
• Grand Theft Auto V
• Mario Kart 8*
• Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
• Far Cry 5
• Super Mario Odyssey*
• The Crew 2
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
• Mario Tennis Aces *
• FIFA 18**
• Lego Incredibles
• God of War (2018)
• Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker*
• NBA 2K18
• Call of Duty: WWII
• Detroit: Become Human
• MLB 18: The Show
• Minecraft**
• Destiny 2**

*No digital sales

**No PC digital sales

July 2018 NPD: Octopath Traveler and Grand Theft Auto V own the charts [Venture Beat]

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Traveling all the way to the bank

Square Enix' Octopath Traveler has proved an?? amazing success. This week, the official twitter account for the Switch RPG thanked fans for helping the game pass the one million sales mark.

The impressive number, which includes physical sales and digit??al downloads, is made even more of an achievement because of the game's lack of physical stock in Japan. I wonder how much bigger that number might be had there been enough copies to go around at launch.

With its entertaining cast of characters, nostalgic sprite-work, unique story-telling methods and beautiful aesthetics, Octopath Traveler has won the hearts of ??a huge conglomerate of video game fans, which has translated to financial succes?s for those responsible in bringing it to Nintendo's baby.

Octopath Traveler is available now on Nintendo Switch.

1,000,000 Travelers!
1,000,000 Thanks!

世界出荷＋DL数が100万本を突破しました！
……感謝感涙です。
皆さまの温かな応援、本当に本当にありがとうございます！これからもオクトパストラベラーをよろしくお願いいたします。(P)#オクトパストラベラー#OCTOPATHTRAVELER pic.twitter.com/Db2fEjID50

— オクトパストラベラー公式 (@OCTOPATH_PR) August 3, 2018

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Kind message from the folks at the top

Square Enix released retro-styled RPG Octopath Traveler last week, receiving universal acclaim and great sales numbers immediately, to the point that Japan has seen a shortage of physical copies of the epic adventure title.

It seems that the global success of the new Switch title has surprised even the game's own developers, several of whom posted thank you notes over on the official Nintendo website. Octopath Traveler's composer Yasunori ??Nishiki, Square Enix producer Masashi Takahashi, and ACQUIRE director Keisuke Miyauchi all took time to jot the following messages to the game's community regarding the positive response.

Yasunori Nishiki, Composer

"I'm Yasunori Nishiki, the composer for Octopath Traveler. Octopath Traveler is a labor of love developed by a team that grew up in the golden age? of RPGs, and was determined to update the classic RPG for?? the modern age. To that end, my goal was to create a soundtrack with memorable melodies and lavish soundscapes that incorporated live orchestral performances. From the main theme to battle and cutscene music, I strove for clear melodies and powerful yet not overly complex songs that would rise to the level of the evolved HD-2D graphics.

Also central to the game is the concept of a journey. With the various overworld and town themes, I wanted players to be able to feel the many living, breathing locales that they reach in their travels. If you could stop along the way from time to time and take in the sounds of the world along with its nostalgic sights, nothing would make me happier."

Keisuke Miyauchi, Director, ACQUIRE

"Octopath Traveler is an  RPG centered around the idea of a journey. To make sure that? all players could enjoy their own journey, we focu?sed on three points in particular:

• The first is the glorious visuals rendered in "HD-2D." We took inspiration from the pixel art of the RPGs we ourselves used to play, updating them with modern technology to create rich and varied landscapes that we believe players will find to be both nostalgic and freshly beautiful.
• The second is the interactivity, with each character able to interact with the residents of Orsterra through their Path Actions. We hope you'll enjoy getting to know the people, with their sometimes tragic, sometimes heartwarming stories and pasts.
• The last point we paid special attention to was freedom. From your starting character to the course you chart across the realm, the choices are in your hands. We encourage you to spin a tale of adventure all your own."

Masashi Takahashi, Producer, SQUARE ENIX

"At long last, the release date is here! Whether you've been ?following this project from the start, discovered it with the demo versions, or heard of it only recently, we're truly happy to finally be able to bring you this tale of eight brave souls.

We hope that with Octopath Traveler you'll enjoy talking to each other about how far along you've gotten, how you picked up certain powerful items along the way, and the like—just like ??the good old days of classic pixel art RPGs.

Releasing the game simultaneously around the world was a significant challenge for us, but the tremendous reception we've received has made all the struggles along the way worth it. Just thinking that fans in all corners of the world will be enjoying Octopath Traveler at the same time t?ruly blows me away. I hope you all enjoy the journey!"

Octopath Traveler is available now on Nintendo Switch.

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Well travelled

Square Enix' recently released Switch title Octopath Traveler has proved to be a pretty popular game. So popular, in fact, that the publisher has issued an apology for a supply shortage ??of the artsy RPG in Japan.

It appears that Octopath Traveler, which launched just last week, has been flying off of Japanese store shelves, leaving latecomers out of luck when they arri??ved to pick up a physical copy. Square Enix have said that they are working on fulfilling the huge demand for more stock, suggesting in the meantime that shoppers purchase a digital download of the acclaimed adventure title.

Octopath Traveler is now?? available worldwide on N??intendo Switch. Well, in most forms...

Japan in short?? supply of Octopath Traveler on Nintendo Switch [Twitter]

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Eight heroes are better than one?

When people say "Square doesn't make old-school RPGs anymore" I can't understand it. We might have been lucky to get two Bravely Defaults, but they've been investing in other projects for years like Setsuna and Lost Sphear.

Although they're not all created equal the future of RPGs is beholden to these experiments, and Project Octopath makes a better case than most.

Octopath Traveler (Switch)
Developer: Square Enix, Acquire
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: July 13, 2018
MSRP: $59.99

The best thing about Octopath is how nearly every story begins with a bang. Loss of a fami??ly member, a missing friend, a tragic flashback, an unthinkable betrayal: the intros have a flair for the dramatic, and they help set the stage for all eight journeys ?to come.

Even a relatively innocent scholar's story, who begins teaching students geography, turns into a Freedom of Information Act of treason epic. One of the apothecary's first steps is visiting a graveyard of sick people he couldn't heal. It can get grim, but then you'll witness whirling Looney Tunes-esque stars above a cute enemy frog's head in the next beat??. Such is the life of a JRPG.

Octopath uses gimmicks to its adv??antage to help sell the story of each character. So the huntress can challenge people to duels, the scholar can glean information from suspects, and the cleric can inspire people to follow her. It's all basic stuff, enacted with the simple press of the Y button, but it's not so gimmicked-up that it belies the flow. I played every character for roughly an hour each before deciding who I wanted to dive in with first. That's an awesome problem to have. Once you've made your choice you can journey to other lands, pick up the other members of the Octo-crew, and complete their st??ories; guided by a journal menu and icons on the world map to keep you on track.

To get this out of the way -- Octopath Traveler is an old-school JRPG through and through. You can't save anywhere, there is fast travel, and there's a very linear leveling system that someti??mes involves grinding random battles. While each story is unique from a narrative sense, they all start the same: a small gated zone to level up in with a limited supply of items, followed by a dungeon and a boss.

Because of the way the stories are framed, the first few hours or so are slow-going with just one character squaring off against groups of enemies. Depending on who you start with this can either be a slog (the cleric) or a breeze (the warrior). It can get pretty brutal for some characters. In one cave as the scholar I walked into a 1v2 against elemental enemies, who "surprise attacked" me two times each and brought me to 25% health in one go -- I narrowly escaped that fight and healed up with an item, as he had no restorative spells available. If you die it's game over, back to the last save point. Old-sch?ool roughness at its finest.

That's not to say it's unmanageable for people who are even remotely familiar with JRPG principles. You can buy healing items at the start with a small cash injection with all eight characters, and make strategic use of the break and boost systems to whittle down enemies and prevent them from counter-attacking. There are tools to curb viewings of the game-over screen, you just ha?ve to use them.

Enemies all have weaknesses, which can be exploited by the "break" system to stun them for one turn. Initially it's kind of a cat-and-mouse game figuring this out with new foes, but eventually you'll pick them up and beat them down for extra continuous damage. Boosting (powering up abilitie??s up to three times, with one charge per turn) is a little more involved.

I enjoyed the extra layer of debuffing enemies at a lower boost level then striking their weakness with a boosted elemental spell and instantly breaking them. The development team also goes out of its way to make abilities more impactful. Instead of just cleansing debuffs, one power removes them and prevents further debuffs for two turns. When you add multiple party members and enemy types into the mix it gets m??ore complex, but most of these mechanics have been done before -- so don't go in expecting groundbre??aking gameplay.

In that sense Octopath Traveler is a little at odds with itself. It's fun to play, the characters are mostly compelling, and it looks incredible. Yet, there's a harrowing feeling of emptiness at points, especially during some of the game's blander dungeon crawls. For the vast majority of the adventure I cared about my party's motivations and the world around them, but every so often I'd get that sinking feeling that I had been there before, both pragmatically and spiritually within the confines of Octopath's own universe. Brand new J?RPG players who can get over a few of the more archaic notions might find it more refreshing.

But there's one thing I never got tired of -- the aesthetics. I want to see more games use this "2.5D HD" style, and please don't make me wait a decade and change this time. It's easy to compare it to something like Final Fantasy Tactics, but the more you play Octopath the more you'll see that it's really its own thing. Winding vertical dungeon layers hide secrets without making navigation too frustrating, small towns have their own charm about them, and character models, espec?ially bosses, are emotive. That charm also extends to the beautifu?l soundtrack.

Octopath Traveler is a small triumph in that it mostly delivers on its ??????????????????????????promise to give us eight stories worth seeing through. None of them push the envelope in any way, and several drag, but that's not a huge issue when you have so many to choose from. Even if you skip on??e or several tales altogether you're still going to get a handful of RPG goodness.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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A use for My Nintendo

Alternate box art is a blessing. It reminds me of a bygone era with full-color manuals, Working Designs pack-ins (a legacy that companies like NIS and Atlus keep going to this day), and little trinkets with your shiny new game. It's not quite the same but Nintendo just dropped a bunch of new Octopath Traveler art on us by way of a digital delivery system.

All you need to do is dust off your My Nintendo account, pay 50 Platinum Points for the whole collection, and you're good to go. There are eight (imagine that!) wh??ich are based off of each main character -- so you can pick your favorite. The offer is good until January 1, 2019.

I'm partial to Cyrus, Therion, and Alfyn myself.

Octopath [My Nintendo]

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