Octopath Traveler II is a fantastic JRPG that should be experienced by gamers of all sorts. I implore you to read our review to get a full grasp of what makes this game so amazing. This article will be strictly reflective of my opinion in terms of where the Octopath Traveler II characters rank, and with a vast variety of personalities and place styles, I am fairly confident that my choices will surprise a lot if you familiar with the game. As previously mentioned, there will be heavy spoilers, so if you’ve yet to play the game, please read with caution and don’t be upset if my article ruined something for you as a result of you not taking my advice. Also, please note that support skills can technically equipped by anybody, but will be judged as the role specifically for that character. With that being said, let’s get right into it.

****This article WILL CONTAIN HEAVY END-STORY SPOILERS. Readers discretion is MUCH advised.

1. Castti, The Apothecary

Story: Rescued adrift at sea in a stowaway boat and awoken without any recollection of who she is, although having retained all of her effective practices as an apothecary, Castti embarks on her journey in hopes of solving the mystery of the events that led to her amnesia. Along her way, she cures a town’s water supply, helps prolong a fatal injury just long enough for someone to fulfill their dying wish, and aids a commander in fighting off an Antlion, causing life-threatening sinkholes. It is eventually revealed that a former member of Eir’s Apothecaries, Trousseau, once a caring healer, was corrupted into believing that life was an endless suffering, and concocted a poison rain in attempt to kill everyone as his way of bringing them to salvation. Castti’s memory loss was a result of surviving, but succumbing to the poison’s long-term effects, which wiped everyone else out. With the memories of her late friend and her most recent remedies, she finds the ultimate cure. It’s an excellent, depressing tale, with a nice demented twist that most people wouldn’t expect this to be attached to the healer’s story. A+

Role: Castti’s role is the Apothecary. She wields an axe, and acts as the main healer in battle, and is, in my opinion, an irreplaceable party member. She can soak abilities and heal at will without much consequence, as she has a support skill that allows her to replenish SP when breaking an enemy. Plus, with an AOE axe attack, you’ll see your bar back at max in no time. However, what really makes Castti strong is her Concoct ability, in which she mixes at least two ingredients to provide buffs to a party member or debuffs to enemies (boosting increases the number of items). Certain items cause the effect to spread making a single person buff now for the entire party, and granted that you’ve been saving your leaves, this is an inconsequential, cost-effective tactic that can do setups in one move that would require other roles to take multiple. Her latent power enables her to make anything she wants without any cost, granted she has at least one of the item she wants to use. This is a fantastic method to try and weed out any wind/light/dark weaknesses in a pinch, or a drastic refresh of an entire party. Special shout out to her EX move Remedy which has her dish out a plethora of random status effects to random party members. Move over Heisenberg, there’s a new drug lord in town. S

Path Actions: Castti’s daytime Path Action, Inquire, allows her to gain information on certain town folk, granted she is at a high enough level. This can be used to find hidden items or get discounts at the Inn etc, and is the least demanding way of garnering information in comparison to Osvald and Temenos, thus making Castti the recommended character to do so. A+

Her nighttime path action, Soothe, is a more polite version of Throné’s Ambush, in which you use medicinal herbs to make people fall asleep and open up what was once a blocked path or treasure chest. Since my starting character was Throné, she was always a high enough level to knock the NPC out, so I only used Soothe for the necessary sidequests and preserved my inventory. C+

Final Boss: Based off the plot, it’s no surprise that the final boss is Trousseau, in his dastardly Plague Doctor attire. The fight excels in creativity for having the area being covered in poison rain which will slowly deplete every party member’s max HP, making it very challenging for low leveled groups. The boss has both attacks that cause status effects and multi hit abilities, which can really mess with your game plan. Trousseau’s Plague Doctor mask is a nice touch to the design, but outside that, it’s pretty standard for a boss design. It does look more menacing when you get him down to half health, as his mask breaks off and he stares you down in his last moment of menacing desperation. A-

Theme Song: Castti’s theme reminds me of a coastal blend of Final Fantasy VIII’s Breezy and Final Fantasy VI’s Terra’s Theme. If you listen carefully, you can really embrace a sense of fatigue in the melody as it plays out. It perfectly embodies her sleepless journey to “extend a helping hand to those in need” and eventually getting her well deserved rest in the end. A

Overall: Everyone’s beloved motherly figure is my favorite character of Octopath Traveler II, is one of my main four, and never left my party. She is sweet, caring, and compassionate towards the people in need and assertive when getting the job done. I believe Castti is one of Octopath Traveler II’s staples that would be unwise of anyone to pass up. S

2. Agnea, The Dancer

 

Story: Agnea’s story is simple, safe, straight to the point and one of the rare non-consequential storylines in Octopath Traveler II. With dreams of following her late mother’s footsteps of being a world famous performer, Agnea fulfills her reluctant father’s demands of earning enough money to set out on her journey (he is wary that Agnea with overwork herself into the same fatal illness that befell her mother). Spreading positivity and cheer along her way, she befriends a traveling performing group, mentors a tough-as-nails but inspiring dancer, and discovers that her idol, Dolcinea, was taught by Agnea’s mother in the same rural town that she eventually tries to overtake in the present world. Everything about Agnea surprised me, and her story is no different. On paper, it’s extremely safe and unlike most of the others, but the climax and execution of its safeness is done with grace and respect and gives us some of the most rewarding visuals and pleasant ear candy. A-

Role: Being the dancer of the group and equipping only a dagger, Agnea’s weakness in damage output is made up with her stellar ability to buff a party member in either physical or elemental attacks. If you’re feeling lucky, she has the Bewildering Grace ability which literally causes any random action to take place, negative or positive. It’s definitely a gamble, and there’s a safer, more effective route to take for power leveling near the end, but it doesn’t hurt too much to have a little fun and give it a try every so often. Her latent power allows a single target move to reach all intended targets, whether it be attacking an enemy or buffing your entire party in one move. Sealtigce’s Seduction is a fully boosted move that she grants to a teammate that allows them to use their own moves and have it target every enemy instead of just one (unless already allowed). At first, I struggled to have much use of Agnea in the beginning, but near the end, I found myself more dependent on the Dancer role and making sure my party was buffed without wasting too many turns and items as well as enabling my teammates to clear out mobs of enemies and multi-limbed superbosses (some of the hardest JRPG fights you’ll come across in recent days). A lot of other people will disregard her because of her bubbly demeanor, but I advise you, do not sleep on Agnea’s skills. A

Path Actions: Agnea’s daytime path action is called Allure, which is her version of acquiring her very own NPC to summon in battle. This path action is the perfect example of high risk- high reward. Every NPC has a certain percentage chance that Agnea will be successful in alluring them. If you fail too many times, your town reputation will be compromised and you’ll have to pay a fee before being able you perform any action, exactly like Throné’s Steal. You may question if it’s worth even trying to get a low percentage NPC, and I’m here you simply tell you, absolutely. Every NPC has a number of times they can be summoned before retreating from whence they came, and with Agnea it’s no different, but with hers there’s something extra that stands out above the rest. The dance effect is a buff that the NPC will put on Agnea if she performs any of her dancing based abilities, at no cost to their summoning amount. End game NPCs can grant Agnea amazing benefits, including the ability to dodge attacks with 100% success rate, so if you save scum like you would with Steal, you’ll have yourself a the perfect reason why you should keep Agnea in your party. S

Agnea’s nighttime path action is called Entreat and plays cleanup to Throné’s Steal. Because certain NPCs change positions from day and night, I’m fairly convinced that there are those only found at night. I’m probably wrong, but I have come across an area I thought I cleaned up with Throné only to have Agnea’s Entreat as an option. Basically Agnea goes up to an NPC, throws on a pair of puppy dog eyes, presses her index fingers together and basically asks them to give them their loot. The success rate is always 100% granted you are at a certain level, so early investment is highly advised. It’s funny to hear the NPCs say their lines as it’s basically them unexplicably simping for Agnea as they give her top tier weapons. “Hehe, I’ll take good care of this”. If you haven’t already stolen all the items with Throné, don’t not pass up the opportunity to innocently panhandle for them. A-

Final Boss: As mentioned earlier, it turns out that the world famous Dolcinea, the one person Agnea looked up to, turned out to be using her fame to overtake the rural town she actually grew up in. She issues Agnea a challenge to a dance off at the grand stage in Merry Hills to in order to crown a champion. It’s a nice twist on the concept of a final boss confrontation, as in battle you are wailing on each other like normal, but story wise, it’s harmless, in-consequential twirling. The art of Dolcinea’s boss design is ever graceful and her attacks are beautiful with flair, but the one thing that accelerated my love for this fight is the original battle theme, far and wide the best in the game outside that nightmare of a superboss. S

Theme Song: Agnea’s theme song is exactly what you’d expect to be, a happy-go-lucky, cheery Irish jig that makes people want to dance without worry. It perfectly embodies her and her role as a dancer, something missing from Ochette’s hunter theme. A

Overall: It’s oddly fitting how they made Agnea the voice of Octopath Traveler II, as discovered at the end of the game, because in my opinion, she is by far the dark horse favorite and severely under appreciated. I will admit, when I saw the preview of the game I preemptively submitted to the unfortunate feeling that she might be the Tressa of Octopath Traveler II. Rest assured, that is reserved for a yet to be mentioned character. Agnea on the other hand, is quite the opposite. She started off very safe and ended up one of my most beloved characters, every aspect of her just works so well in its own way and I don’t think the majority gives her much a chance. Opinions are sacred. A+

3. Throné, The Thief

 

Story: As a member of the Blacksnakes, the most notorious group of thieves and assassins, we first see Throné and her colleagues on assignment to steal Diamantés treasure, a job that goes awry and leaves one assassin dead. After having been sold out, whipped by her Mother and potentially nominated to take over the Blacksnakes, Throné decides that is enough is enough and wants her freedom from “the scent of blood”. Her quest includes finding the whereabouts of both her Mother and Father who both possess the keys to her collar, the symbolism to her enslavement to the organization. In the events of having to kill them both, she ultimately discovers the identities of her true parents and how she became who she is. While the story itself is pretty straightforward, it’s presented with a lot of emotions and tense moments, and the final twist is one I wasn’t expecting. B+

Role: Possessing the Thief role and equipping a knife and sword, Throné’s main purposes include debuffing enemies, buffing your teams speed, and dealing damage based off your Speed stat. She has a great self healing technique that hits for two daggers Break points, which is a must if you know the enemies weaknesses. She can technically steal, but the ability gets almost irrelevant fast when money becomes aplenty. Her dark based abilities aren’t much to preach about unless you equip specific gear. Her latent ability allows her to take two completely different turns, allowing you to get the character next in line completely set-up for a devastating attack, or a complete debuffing of a boss. Whichever way you decide, equally effective. As a bonus, if you get into any battle at night, Throné gives your entire part buffs at the very beginning with no turn spent. B+

Path Actions: Throné’s daytime Path Action is Steal and is far and wide the absolute best path action in the game and the sole reason why I absolutely reccomend making her your starting character and investing in her. The action is simply walking up to intractable NPCs and getting a view of items you can potentially steal and the percentage chance you have of pulling it off. If you fail a certain amount of times, your town reputation gets compromised and you have the pay a fine to restore it, however you can always save your game before taking a low percentage chance, and you can cheese the system into getting end game weapons and armor earlier than expected. However, the reason why I recommend starting with and investing in her is because the higher Throné’s level is, the better her chances. A highly beefed Throné can and will result in rare items having 100% steal rates. Do not pass up this path action for even a second and steal literally everything from everyone. S

Throné’s nighttime path action is Ambush, which causes her to knock somebody out to reach a blocked path, house, or treasure chest. It’s exactly the same effect as Castti’s Soothe, but is the recommended action to take as it doesn’t require any materials and only depends on her level. Did I mention that you should absolutely invest in her? A

Final Boss: When we come to the final boss, we notice he oddly resembles a recently deceased member of the Blacksnakes. It is then revealed that he impregnated multiple women with the intention of making all the offspring he produces future members of the organization in hopes of keeping it alive forever. The man standing before her is Throné’s true father and the father of her closest colleagues, The All Father if you may. The fight itself isn’t all too special nor was it particularly difficult, but it does get a nod because both the boss’ sprite and his battle art have a concerning similarity to Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII, and the fact that this man impregnated many women just to preserve an organization gives the player that extra desire to slice this bastard into pieces. B-

Theme Song: Admittedly, I kinda forgot what Throné’s song sounded like until I re-listened to it. It does well to personify her struggles in gaining freedom from her enslaver’s treacherous wrath. Although it’s a beautifully composed string ensemble with a sad, somber melody, it isn’t quite the first theme song I’m listening to out of the bunch. B

Overall: She has a dark, rebellious attitude and always makes funny quips with party members about “knife play” or “stealing”, so she brings a lot to the table. Throné was my main character when I started Octopath Traveler II, and up until that breaking away point where I gained freedom to have whatever party members I wanted, I took full advantage and completely raided each and every single NPC in the game. However, when that time came and I had full freedom, Throné was the one of my main four I swapped out more regularly to give the others a chance. A

4. Partitio, The Merchant

 

Story: Similar to Agnea’s, Partitio possesses the other non-consequential storyline in Octopath Traveler II, although it’s effects technically have the biggest impact as a whole. Raised in Oresrush and groomed to be a merchant, Partitio, his father, and his business partner Roque help in strengthening the town’s economy by mining and selling Silver. After Roque leaves to pursue bigger dreams and fails to recruit Partitio, a contract loophole between Partitio’s father and the landowners quickly sees the town worse off than ever before. A series of events sets Partitio off on a merchants quest to find a financial solution to help end poverty, a solution in the form of purchasing the rights to the newly invented and even more recently contractually seized Steam Engine, by none other than Partitio’s former business partner, Roque. Having to come up with a ridiculous sum of 80 billion leaves (the in-game currency), Partitio befriends the wealthiest man in the land and helps his towns dire economy by establishing a mass merchant department store, and in result, is given a promissory note (check) for the desired amount. While there was no “real life threatening” threat present in his storyline, Partitio’s storyline does a great job with its narrative in explaining the importance of the steam engine and the effects it will have on the entire world; creating new opportunities and jobs, thus strengthening the economy and ultimately putting a damper on poverty. B+

Role: Partitio is responsible for the Merchant role and comes equipped with a staff and bow (makes sense). Have you ever played a game and come across a boss fight that gave you more trouble than you’d like to admit? Well, Partitio is here is make all your worries go away. With the Donate BP ability, Partitio can get the appropriate party member ready to fully boost an enemy for max damage. Sidestep guarantees him a dodge of a physical attack (synergy with the Arcanist role can make your entire team untouchable), and Hired Help pays off a list of powerful summons to unleash a high-damage attack, bringing true meaning to the term “pay to win”. When used correctly, Partitio’s merchant role is broken that can make tough boss fights trivial. A+

Path Actions: Partitio’s day time path action is Purchase and it’s simply just that. Is your Throné or Agnea not at a level to steal or flirt an item into your possession? Well, Partitio allows you to simply buy it from them, granted you have the money. This in my opinion can be costly, and unless you have the right NPC to give you discounts, I recommend saving your money for Hired Help and leave the looting to the lovely ladies. C

Partitio’s nighttime path action is Hire, again very self explanatory. In another method to obtain an NPC to assist you in battle, Partitio pays off a random stranger to “get to work” and gains access to their help for a certain amount of summons. Like Agnea, there is a catch to Partitios NPCs. Every interactable NPC has a passive ability that affects how much money you save when buying items in the shop, how much extra money you make selling goods, or how much you can save using Hired Help. I never really use Summons in battle unless it’s Agnea, but it’s imperative that you take advantage of those passives once you reach a new town, as the new assortments of gear in the shop has proven to be quite costly. B+

Final Boss: When Roque goes against his contractual agreement to sell the rights of the steam engine to Partitio, he goes on the defensive only to reappear aboard his “new” creation, a steam engine powered train. This revelation was treated as a wonderful spectacle, which is pretty tongue in cheek seeing how common trains are now in today’s world. The fight itself was pretty decent but not nearly as difficult as the others, granted I was well prepared at the time. Also the game did not give my characters any opportunities to suplex the train, and seeing how it’s Square, I’m forced to deduct points. I’m sorry but rules are rules. B-

Theme Song: There are absolutely no questions about it. Nothing comes close. This is far and wide the best character theme song in Octopath Traveler II and easily amongst the best overall in the game. Nothing else needs to be said except bask in all of its wondrous glory. S

Overall: Partitio is definitely going to be a fan favorite amongst the other people. For me, he’s right down the middle. Always with a positive and helping attitude, much like a male version of Agnea, there’s no real reason to dislike much about him. Depending on whether or not you like southern accents, his voice acting will either be your favorite or most hated, but it absolutely stands out above the rest. The Merchant role is broken and can make certain fights trivial, but that’s what JRPGs are all about. A-

5. Ochette, The Hunter

Story: When we are introduced to Ochette, our fox girl is in the midst of hunting down a gigantic monster in order to prepare enough jerky for her fellow tribemates in the town of Toto’haha. After we are given her backstory, and chosen our preferred companion, Ochette has been given the task of summoning the great beasts all over the world, as explained throughout her chapters, to help aid Toto’haha overcome an inevitable “Calamity” at the climax. While there was a lot to take in at the beginning, the duration of Ochette’s story lost a bit of meat to it in comparison to others. Merely finding and capturing said monsters felt too safe and unfortunately relied more on visuals than it did with depth. B

Role: Everyone’s favorite furry is the hunter of the group, and possess a spear and bow. Her role-specific skill is the most intriguing in the entire game. In what can easily be describe as a more captivating version of Pokémon, Ochette can catch a certain number of almost any monster she comes across, and then use them for their specific ability in battles. She can even capture superbosses granted you’ve defeated them in the first encounter. The only downside to this is while you can dish out massive damage in early game, the harder bosses are more resilient and the monster’s ability damage cannot be boosted above 9999 by a certain support skill, so she gets demoted from damage to shield breaker, granted that role is still effective, but it might leave a sour taste in your mouth if you invested time in her in hopes of other plans. However, all is well because Ochette has Leghold Trap which can be used to alter turn order and send the boss to the back of the line and allow more time for your entire party to break them and render them useless. Ochette’s latent power unlocks her Animal Instincts, which causes her to unleash some devastating, high damage attacks that should be paired with critical accuracy and full boost. A

Path Actions: Ochette’s daytime path action is Provoke, a somewhat useless path action in terms of logic. Why would you engage in a battle with someone using your monsters just to clear a path when you can just ambush them and get it over with using Throné? I understand Ambush is level based and Provoke isn’t, but the level requirements for Ambush aren’t strict, and more importantly, we are already using her monsters in battle and we don’t need to waste any time doing repetitious things. C-

Ochette’s nighttime path action is Befriend, which is essentially obtaining a summonable NPC by means of giving them a specific type of meat which can be either found, stolen, or prepared from captured monsters you don’t want in your party. It’s an interesting take on Guide/Hire/Allure, but the best summons require some rare meats you should be using on your party instead. Speaking of instead, you have an army of wild monsters you caught to use at will, Ochette’s last focus is summoning a boring human NPC. C

Final Boss: If you couldn’t tell by chapter one who the final boss of Ochette’s story was going to be, then shame on you for being oblivious to everything. The final confrontation was more predictable than sunrise in the morning, however the setting was extra ambient and the companion you didn’t choose was drawn very menacing (I should have befriended the Owl because the Fox boss is incredible looking), so I won’t totally fault the conclusion for falling a little flat. Not to mention it was probably the hardest character based final boss as it gave me my first and several game overs. B

Theme Song: While the song first seems like it’s too passive for someone who’s meant to be a hunter, the tribal ambience kicks in and the pace turns it up a notch, and the flute is a nice adventurous touch of flair. I have conflicting feelings about the song as a whole overall. Oddly enough, I think it suits her land of Toto’haha just fine, but this is meant to be for her specifically as a hunter and I feel it’s a tad separated of who she is and the role she plays. Still a great listen, albeit a little disconnected from her character. B

Overall: Ochette was another character I kept in my party for a lengthy time until the multiple job aspect opened up because Leghold Trap was just so pivotal in any fight. As the game progressed, I noticed Ochette’s effectiveness switched in a way I hadn’t hoped, as previously mentioned. The struggle between her and Hikari ultimately was decided in Hikari having a lot more options to benefit him as the primary source of damage. Ochette’s design and complementary battle cries are a treat to a very particular demographic and her constant need for food is more of a relatable mood then I would like to admit. I was just very surprised at how my overall perception of her changed by the end of the game, not necessarily negative, just surpassed by other characters with more satisfying end game development. B+

6. Hikari, The Warrior

 

Story: Hikari’s story is immediately thrown into the midst of battle, as we learn he is a kind-hearted prince and skilled at the sword. Constantly being at war grows weary on his character, and he yearns at the idea of his town being at peace. His older brother, General Mugen, a brash and aggressive individual, betrays the kingdom, assassinates the king, and usurps the throne, with plans of making the kingdom of Ku a land of endless war and suffering. It is up to Hikari and his former friends and battle partners to defeat Mugen and take the Throné back in hopes of releasing Ku from his treacherous clutches. For a character with such an important role, the story attached to it falls short in originality. While it isn’t bad by any means, it’s definitely been said and done before many times and doesn’t do Hikari any favors regarding the element of surprise aspect. C+

Role: Hikari’s role is the Warrior and wields the sword and spear. It short, his role focuses on brute strength, multi hit attacks, and tanking attacks meant for other party members. His latent power releases an inner demon spirit within him and unleashes devastating sword based attacks for massive damage. He has the ability to copy attacks of those he defeats in battle via his imperative path action. Some of the best abilities in the game can make him both a utility shield breaker or a flat-out mob wiper at the same time. While most (if not all) party members play in important role in battle, raw power is the most effective and satisfying, and Hikari is a must use. S

Path Actions: Hikari’s daytime path action is Challenge, which is simply Hikari going one on one with a random person, and if he defeats them in battle, then he obtains the right to their specific ability. This path action results in some of the absolute best abilities in terms of making short work of bosses, but the person you have to get it from more than likely has a boat load of HP and hard hitting moves, so obtaining them takes time, patience, and preparation. It’s not a sure thing and can be overwhelming, but my goodness is the pay off ever so worth it. A

Hikari’s nighttime path action is Bribe, unfortunately another throw away path action that should never ever be used granted you’ve done the smart thing and leveled everyone else up equally (trust me, do this). Why on earth would I pay somebody money to tell me information when I could just use Castti to have them just tell me. Even using Temenos to break their shield in a one-on-one battle is a better route because you’re saving money. Leaves in Octopath Traveler II don’t come easy and the end game gear is absurdly expensive, so do not waste your currency with this irrelevant path action. D

Final Boss: The final boss in Hikari’s story is against his brother Mugen, as expected, in a final confrontation and a battle for the throne of Ku. The boss fight is actually segmented into three separate fights; against your former best friend turned traitor, Mugen himself and finally against a demonic spirit that overtakes Mugen’s soul. This provides the player an extra sense of challenge, as if you don’t bring the right party or manage your resources wisely, this could end up taking you extra steps or attempts. The final boss sprite of Demonic Mugen is visually impressive and hits like a truck if your not leveled appropriately. So for difficulty alone, this one is impressive. B+

Theme Song: Hikari’s theme song sounds like it’s come straight out of the next big summer blockbuster movie. While it’s slow and melodic, this emotionally driven epic about triumph hits hard in all aspects. As kind-hearted of a character Hikari is, it was wise for his theme song to embody what he’s going through rather than who he is. A

Overall: Hikari in my opinion is the white bread of Octopath Traveler II. He pairs well with all party combinations, his job type is sought out by many playstyles, and rarely disappoints. However, just like white bread, there’s no diverse substance to his character. He is who is his, and I wished there were more risks taken with his character and story as it came off too original and predictable. B

7. Temenos, The Cleric

Story: Look, let me just start off by saying that I haven’t a single drop of religious blood in me, so the entirety of Temenos’ story was me doing my absolute best trying not to disconnect from the plot. Alas it was an unfortunate struggle of eyerolls and clock-watching. Playing the religious detective who begins to question the Gods, Temenos and his wayward lamb Crick set off to figure out the mysteries that unravel the dark secret hiding in the faithful. Not my cup of tea, but a tragic death in the middle of the story sees a change in Temenos’ demeanor which somewhat saves it from obscurity. C-

Role: As the group’s Cleric and appropriately wielding a staff, Temenos acts as the other support outside Castti. He starts off already stocked with an AOE healing effect and can learn the ability to shield a player for 50% damage reduction and grant physical and elemental defensive buffs. He can also use Light (Holy) magic and near the end of the game, gets an ultra powerful Light attack at the expense of his entire SP stock. A very overlooked ability he has is a double staff attack that replenishes a percentage of SP which has proven to be extremely vital to him. His Latent ability, a guaranteed shield break regardless the attack, absolutely sucks for him just as a Cleric but synergies well with other secondary jobs that have multiple attacks and those with AOE. Healers are essential to your party but it’s not necessary to have two, and castti reigns supreme over this obnoxiously sassy Inquisitor. B

Path Actions: Temenos’ daytime path action is Guide, the most basic yet inconsequential form of acquiring an NPC as a summon. Granted you are a certain level, all you have to do is perform the action and they are your wayward lamb (I hate how often he says that). You don’t have to worry about ruining your towns reputation as the option to guide won’t even be available if you’re too low leveled. This is a great path action because it’s free but they only provide an additional attack when summoned. It’s nothing special like Agnea’s in-battle buffs or Partitio’s money saving techniques, but being low risk is a huge benefit. B+

Temenos’ nighttime path action is Coerce, which is an inferior version of gathering information from an NPC. In order to succeed, you are thrown into battle with said NPC and your job is to break their shield. Now, while there isn’t a level requirement to attempt and once the shield is broken your job is done, there may come an NPC who isn’t weak to Light or Staff attacks, and you either have to waste random soulstones in hopes of landing a hit, waste your Latent ability, or wait until you give him a different job and remember to come back. Look all I’m saying is Castti is miles better than Temenos in every way possible, and info gathering path actions is no different. C+

Final Boss: The head Captain of the Sacred Guard, Kaldena, was behind the mysterious murders all along. Seeking vengeance for the genocide of her people she sets out to use the Shadow powered from the Book of Night to destroy those who wronged her and corrupt her men to her benefit. Being perused by Temenos in the finale, she is overwhelmed by the shadow’s power and turns into a dark mysterious creature and ultimately reduced to ashes. Because I saved Temenos for last, this boss fight was very easy for me, and the first half wasn’t difficult regardless of level. The transformation was a nice twist, looked creepy, and provided some challenge, but my overly prepared party was overwhelming and compromised my full appreciation. C+

Theme Song: Despite being borderline almost all the way down,the one great thing about Temenos is his theme song. It gives off string Pink Panther energy and really encapsulates both his role as a crime solving inquisitor and his brass and unrelentingly snarky personality. A+

 

Overall: Temenos didn’t manage to strike a chord with me, due my own personal preferences and beliefs., but that’s not the only reason why I didn’t favor him. For the majority of the game, he is also quite unapologetically rude and sassy to everyone in the game, travelers included. It’s a personality unbefitting for a traveling hero and grew old very quickly. Only a yet-to-be-mentioned character has a personality worse than his. I really don’t like going out of my way to dislike a character I’m meant to use, but I felt very disconnected with Temenos and had no desire to keep him in my party until his story came up and I was forced to. C+

8. Osvald, The Scholar

Story: Framed for murdering his wife and daughter in a house fire caused by magic, we are first introduced to Osvald in the midst of serving his life sentence and trying to escape from jail, in hopes of getting revenge on the man who framed him, Harvey, a man jealous of Osvald’s prowess in the field of magic and dead-set on taking everything away from him. After successfully fleeing prison, Osvald discovers that both his wife and daughter were not in the fire, but that his wife was eventually transformed into a beast that he himself has to slay. And on top of that, his daughter has no recollection of who her father is. I have, to say the least, many issues with Osvald as a whole, but when comparing stories to the others in the game, this is the biggest misfire. The game makes the mistake of warning you that playing Osvald’s story will force you to play the first two chapters uninterrupted before being able to go back to your original character. This gives the the player an initial sense of excitement, as it seems the game really wants you to focus on a potentially meaty plot. No, instead it’s a long drawn out, plot padding prison escape that foreshadows the lack of substance in Osvald’s overall story. The other problem I have with the story is how we already know from the get-go who the final boss is going to be. There’s no sense of figuring things out or sudden changes in plot development to lead up to events. It’s basically “Harvey, you will pay”, from the moment we are introduced. So, in replacement of what could have been figuring out “who it was” we are disappointed to play through multiple chapters of “where they might be”. This story may hit the right notes with those who like a little revenge story, but with no substance or sense of real discovery, this was a substantial step in the wrong direction. D

Role: Osvald is the magic wielding Scholar of the group. He is equipped with a staff and is best used analyzing the playfield and revealing your enemies weaknesses. You can break the late game fun with the “Analyze and Flee” technique, in which you fully boost analyze the playing field and run away, rinse and repeat. This is a low risk high reward method of determining which heroes would be most effective in a certain region and can save you some time. His starting magic, while AOE and good for crowd control, is very expensive when you first start, so SP boosting skills and equipment are a must if you plan on using him. His Latent Power is great for boss fights, as it focuses AOE attacks to a single target with more potency. He also has the ability of gaining random stat raising attributes and giving other players advanced magic, but since only a few focus on that, it’s not commonly used. His One True Magic skill is a spectacle to look at and is great for Octopuff and Cait farming. If they gave him more elements to work with without having to depend on a second job, he would have had a pretty strong recommendation from me, but even as a stand-alone Scholar, his JRPG vanillaness is still solid. B+

Path Actions: Osvald’s daytime Path Action is Scrutinize, the final way of gathering vital information and relies on a percentage success rate with the risk of compromising your town reputation, just like Throné’s Steal and Agnea’s Allure. However, Throné’s Steal gets you some of the best gears and items in the game and Agnea’s NPC in-battle buffs are unique to her, whereas Osvald just gets the same information as Castti would, and seeing how you’ve probably leveled appropriately, her’s is free of charge and consequence. C

Osvald’s nighttime path action is Mug, and basically throws you into battle with an NPC who you must defeat in order to obtain all of their possessions. There are no level restrictions to this, so feel free to try your hand. However, some NPCs may be at a difficulty level too high for your Osvalds level and you’ll end up seeing if it’s worth Stealing/Entreating/Purchasing if you’re too impatient to level him up. It’s a harmless path action that guarantees you everything upon victory, but having to potentially spend items in battle may be counter productive. B-

Final Boss: As we discovered in the first couple of minutes of his story, Osvalds protege turned rival Harvey would eventually be the final boss of his story, and boy oh boy did the payoff fall flat. In what was more of a final showcase of Osvald discovering One True Magic, there was little originality to Harvey’s design or final form and is severely outclassed by all other bosses. To top it off, the reward wasn’t even fully obtained, as in a last ditch attempt at originality, Osvald leaves his daughter in the care of someone else as he goes off to continue his studies until she slowly retains her memories of him. For a story with no meat to it, it’s not surprising the that conclusion would leave me utterly dissatisfied. D

Theme Song: Now I will admit that while Osvalds song pays compliments to his unfavorable personality, its dark, brass and very tiresome feel is almost never given much attention. The dialogue and town exploration outweigh its downtrodden and quiet composition. It’s a forgettable song that perfectly matches a forgettable character. C

Overall: Octopath Traveler II to me is a near perfect game deserving of WTMG’s 10/10 rating. However, with any great game there is that one speed bump, and Osvald is that prime example. He is the Tressa (original game) of Octopath Traveler II. Absolutely nothing about him had any sort of appeal to me outside some abilities during battle. Worse yet, Tressa at least had a bubbly personality whereas Osvald’s was the equivalent of trying to get every drop of toothpaste out of it tube by using a rolling pin and getting wet, squishy sounds as a result of its inevitable emptiness. Here’s to hoping that when Octopath Traveler III comes out, they hopefully can go eight for eight with good characters. I just hope they don’t take eight attempts to get it right, or people may start to get restless. D+

 

Do you agree with our list on Octopath Traveler II’s Character’s Ranked? Feel free to tell us in the comments!

 

Octopath Traveler II is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch.