Nintendo's latest Direct offered up 40 minutes of brand-new game reveals, teases, and sneak peeks, enough to keep just about any Nintendo fan happy. Along with the Breath of the Wild sequel receiving a new name, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Pikmin 4, Fire Emblem: Engage, and more were also revealed. One of the biggest reveals of the entire Direct was Octopath Traveler 2, a sequel to Square Enix's bold, eight-protagonist RPG that looks to be adding some new characters to the mix.
The big hook of the first Octopath Traveler was that players would be able to control eight different protagonists, each belonging to their own archetypal RPG class and each on their own specific journey through the game's world. As the game progressed, these characters' journeys would start to collide, culminating in one big shared adventure. Octopath Traveler 2 looks to be doing exactly the same, only this time, there are some new adventurers in town.
Every New Class and Character In Octopath Traveler 2
Spread across the new land of Solistia, Octopath Traveler 2's eight protagonists are all brand-new to the sequel, though they do share the same classes as those in the previous game, perhaps giving fans an insight into how they'll play and what their personalities might be like. During Octopath Traveler 2's debut trailer, each character is given a few seconds to shine, and one voice line to sum up the general direction of their narrative.
The first new protagonist shown is Hikari, a Warrior who is on a "journey for home." His brief voice line mentions a longing for a world without conflict and bloodshed, perhaps suggesting that though Hikari is a Warrior, he's a reluctant one. Olberic, the Warrior from the previous game, had a fairly similar outlook on fighting, though his tale involved being a knight from a lost kingdom. If Hikari's in-game stats are anything like Olberic's, then he's likely to wield polearms and swords and have high physical traits, but low magical abilities.
Agnea's goal is a little less humble. Belonging to the Dancer class, Agnea longs for stardom, primarily so she can bring joy to others, apparently just like her mother did. This motivation is quite different from Primrose's, the Dancer in the first Octopath Traveler, who became a performer only to find out who murdered her father.
The new Merchant, Partitio is motivated by money, but also seems to want to use it for the greater good, wanting to rid the world of poverty. If he fights like Tressa from the previous game, then he's likely to use polearms and bows, and be able to haggle for items from NPCs.
A Scholar on a quest for vengeance, Osvald differs quite a bit from Cyrus. Appearing older, and much more bitter, Osvald may use his smarts for darker ventures. Throné is Octopath Traveler 2's Thief class, who seems to be a member of some royal family, albeit an abusive one that keeps her in chains.
Temenos is a Cleric in search of the truth, but his voice line "Doubt is what I do," gives the character an ominous introduction. Ochette, the Hunter, is a child in tune with the nature around her and has surrounded herself with animal friends. The final new character in Octopath Traveler 2's line-up is Castti, an Apothecary who's suffering from some kind of memory loss.
Octopath Traveler 2 releases February 24, 2023, on PC, PS4, PS5, and Switch.