Earlier than the sport was launched, we acquired an opportunity to ask among the members of that very workforce about bringing the sequel to life. We spome with producer Masashi Takahashi, character designer Naoki Ikushima and author Kakunoshin Futsuzawa about subjects similar to drawing inspiration from the sport’s predecessor, the evolution of the HD-2D model, and who everybody’s favorite character is…
Nintendo Life: Octopath Traveller was a giant success for you, what impressed you to revisit the idea for a sequel, and the way trustworthy did you wish to keep to the core of the unique sport?
Masashi Takahashi (producer): We have been completely delighted that the primary Octopath Traveler was a giant hit and so many individuals performed it! Though we have been very grateful for that success, it truthfully did put a number of strain on us when it comes to the second sport. Once we launched the unique Octopath Traveler, I mentioned that it was “a battle in opposition to folks’s recollections of pixel video games they’d performed prior to now”, however this time spherical it was very a lot a battle in opposition to the primary sport that we created. We aimed to evolve the components relatively than change it, protecting as a lot of what folks favored from the primary sport as attainable and attempting to completely realise all of the issues that we have been unable to do in it.
Octopath Traveller II takes place in a model new world, Solistia, and going by among the characters, it seems to be like we’re going to be exploring settings impressed by totally different historic intervals. Why did you wish to create a model new world, and what alternatives did this speak in confidence to the event workforce?
Takahashi-san: As implied within the title, this can be a sport about travelling and having fun with a journey. We felt that it was important to set Octopath Traveler II in a very new world as a way to give the participant that feeling of pleasure and anticipation when exploring it, questioning what lies down the subsequent path or who may very well be residing within the subsequent city.
Time has handed in a short time, and it has now been 5 years because the first Octopath Traveler got here out. I’m certain there are nonetheless individuals who is not going to have performed the primary sport, in addition to those that did play it however have already forgotten the story, and this was why we intentionally didn’t have any hyperlinks to the story of the primary sport, so I can confidently say that followers of the collection and new gamers will benefit from the content material of Octopath Traveler II with no need to fret about occasions that had occurred earlier than.
In Octopath Traveller II, one of many largest speaking factors is that there are “extra interplay, together with the ‘Crossed Paths’”. Are you able to inform us extra about how this performs out within the sport and why you determined to enhance interactions?
Takahashi-san: Half of the explanation for together with these sorts of interactions was as a result of we noticed a number of followers asking for them in Octopath Traveler. The opposite half of the explanation adopted on later as components alongside these strains naturally took form whereas we have been placing collectively the sport’s construction.
I hope that gamers will respect the brand new interactions in Octopath Traveler II which is able to open alternatives for gamers to discover extra and reveal fascinating information in regards to the townsfolk and characters.
The unique Octopath Traveller was the primary HD-2D sport, and Octopath Traveller II is the fourth sport on this artwork model. What have you ever realized from engaged on the primary sport and seeing the model evolve in Triangle Technique and Dwell A Dwell that helped to tell the artwork course of OTII?
I attempted to put in writing these characters by dividing off totally different elements of my very own persona after which fleshing them out.
Takahashi-san: The entire video games have been produced by the Asano workforce, however Triangle Technique and Dwell A Dwell have been truly developed by totally different studios. The style and magnificence of every one is totally totally different, so we inspired the groups that have been engaged on them to problem themselves in their very own methods, with out getting caught up on sticking carefully to the HD-2D model of Octopath Traveler. So I’ve a sense that there was not an excessive amount of taking a look at different video games when making these titles.
For Octopath Traveler II, we have been in a position to ask ACQUIRE Co.,Ltd, the developer of the primary sport and the place the collection originated, to make the second sport, so I believe you may see a number of evolution in it. Once we put the “HD-2D” brand on the official web sites for these video games, we replace it every time, so we used model 1.1. for Triangle Technique, model 1.2 for Dwell A Dwell and went as much as model 2.0 for Octopath Traveler II.
The sequel options the identical eight beginning jobs as the primary sport. How did you purpose to fluctuate the character designs and personalities of the solid? Do you might have a favorite?
Naoki Ikushima (Character designer): The unique sport was set in a reasonably small space with a robust medieval European theme, however this time one of many predominant design ideas was to have an even bigger world to discover, so we paid consideration to exhibiting modifications over totally different eras and having a various number of cultures.
This selection can also be represented within the characters themselves, so we have now characters like Thronè and Partitio who put on extra city outfits, Hikari who’s from a rustic with Asian stylings and Ochette, who lives with the beastlings. On high of that, we additionally wished variations between the characters in Octopath Traveler II and their predecessors who held the identical jobs within the first sport, that have been in step with the brand new setting. For instance, the warrior from the primary sport was Olberic, who was bodily imposing and used his nice energy to swing his sword, however in contrast, the warrior in Octopath Traveler II is Hikari, who’s bodily small however wins his battles utilizing technical ability relatively than uncooked energy.
The dancer characters are additionally very totally different, so the place Primrose had a darkish and troubled mien to her, her counterpart Agnea from Octopath Traveler II has a very totally different persona and is a vibrant and sunny girl. I’ve a robust attachment to all eight of the brand new heroes, so I actually can’t select a favorite from amongst them. Sorry!
Kakunoshin Futsuzawa (Situation author): I attempted to put in writing these characters by dividing off totally different elements of my very own persona after which fleshing them out. If I simply made characters that have been completely primarily based on me then folks would most likely not heat to all of them that a lot although, so I took care to re-arrange them to make all of them likeable folks. I like all of them, so I might be comfortable if the gamers like them too. If I needed to decide a favorite then I might most likely say Ochette. She is an easy particular person at coronary heart and is comfortable so long as she has some dried meat to eat.
I’ve written of varied grasping and materialistic characters (particularly the villains), so the uncomplicated Ochette could be considerably comforting to me.
Are you able to let Sq. Enix know we wish to see far more Octopath music in future Theatrhythm DLC? And even an Octopath rhythm sport!
Takahashi-san: Thanks very a lot!
5 tracks from the unique Octopath Traveler shall be launched as DLC for Theatrhythm Remaining Bar Line! These vary from the primary theme to the battle music, so please get pleasure from these tracks full of Mr. Nishiki’s ardour when you play the rhythm sport!
This interview has been calmly edited for readability.
Our due to Takahashi-san, Ikushima-san and Futsuzawa-san for taking the time to reply our questions. Octopath Traveler II is obtainable on Change proper now.