Square Enix shared the fourth and final character trailer for Octopath Traveler 2, this time focusing on Ochette and Castti. The Japanese publisher has been putting out elaborate hero introductions for the upcoming JRPG every month since October, having previously introduced Octopath Traveler 2 characters Throne and Temenos, as well as four others.
Octopath Traveler 2 was announced in September 2022, not long after the fourth anniversary of the first game. The original received largely favorable reviews and even picked up half a dozen awards the world over, with many genre veterans praising its consistently challenging boss fights and "HD2D" art style, which is a label that Square Enix even trademarked.
The newly shared gameplay trailer introduces Ochette and Castti, who will replace Octopath Traveler's H'aanit and Alfyn as the sequel's Hunter and Apothecary, respectively. With a runtime of nearly four and a half minutes, the promo has plenty of time to highlight the pair's abilities and even some character traits, like the fact that Ochette is an unapologetic meat aficionado or that Castti suffers from amnesia. Combat-wise, the pair will play much like Alfyn and H'aanit did, meaning Castti will specialize in group heals and poison-making, whereas Ochette will be most useful for capturing or otherwise disposing of beast-like enemies.
In terms of secondary abilities, the latest Octopath Traveler 2 trailer reveals that Ochette will be able to both befriend NPCs and provoke them into battle, depending on whether the player decides to approach a given character with the offering of food or set a previously captured monster upon them. Meanwhile, Castti inherited Alfyn's talent for investigative inquiry and is also able to sooth NPCs to sleep using consumable medicine.
One final feature confirmed by the new trailer is that Octopath Traveler 2 will provide a unique narrative structure for each hero's tale. For example, Ochette's story might play out differently based on which companion she chooses to bring on her quest, whereas the merchant Partitio will consistently have the option of wandering away from his next objective in order to follow "the scent of commerce." These diverging paths should help boost Octopath Traveler 2's replayability, which was one of the original's low points.
That notwithstanding, it remains to be seen how those changes will affect the overall pacing of the upcoming JRPG. Many critics agree that Octopath Traveler 2 needs to improve its story structure, positing that the first game felt a bit disjointed at times.
Octopath Traveler 2 is coming to PC, PS4, PS5, and Switch on February 24, 2023.