I've been spending some serious time with Octopath Traveler II, Square Enix's next big HD-2D adventure and the sequel to the game that started it all for the increasingly popular aesthetic. To be blunt, I'm pretty much in love with it. Let me be clear, however. I adore the original Octopath Traveler. I'm a big fan of the HD-2D engine it brought into the world, and I was impressed with its continued usage in Triangle Strategy and Live A Live. I think composer Yasunori Nishiki's soundtrack for the first game is outstanding. The fast-paced combat feels great, too. Best of all, I love interrogating the hundreds of townsfolk in that game with its 'Path Actions' - reading profile blurbs about them, robbing them blind, compelling them to become my minions, so on and so forth. I mentioned all that with the hope of establishing some precedent before I dive into my time with the sequel. Octopath Traveler II, you see, does not reinvent its series' wheel. Rather, it refines that wheel. Having experienced the inaugural story chapter for each of the game's eight playable characters, I'm feeling very good over here. I'd go so far as to say it's an improvement

Octopath Traveler made an appearance in today's Nintendo Direct which revealed some new information about the game, such as introducing two new playable protagonists and giving us a brief look at the game's job system. A release date was finally announced as well. The two new characters unveiled were Tressa, the merchant capable of purchasing items from nearly all residents of the world, and Alfyn, the apothecary who's "inquire" ability allows him to learn more about the people he meets and obtain discounts at local shops. The brief glance we were given at the job system revealed that the eight protagonists of Octopath Traveler will be granted the chance to unlock a second job beside their primary one, allowing the player to utilize different armor, weapons and spells. Players will be able to unlock abilities and build their characters to their liking. Finally, Octopath Traveler was announced to have a worldwide release date of July 13th 2018, and a special collectors edition will be released the same day. The collectors edition will feature the game itself, a replica coin of the in-game currency, a sound selection CD, a pop-up book of the 8 characters in their places of origin and a map of