The Octopath Traveler series began with a funny name and a bold concept: eight individual stories converging in one connected world, all presented in a retro “HD-2D” aesthetic that paid homage to Square Enix’s beloved 16-bit era. Octopath Traveler 2 expanded on the concept further, and this year, Octopath Traveler 0 is once again making the already-massive RPG even broader, using the core story of the mobile game Champions of the Continent and transforming it into a full-fledged Octopath prequel.
This time you’ll create your own customized protagonist character, and the game has an ambitious town-building mechanic that both enhances your options and fleshes out quests to have more reward. Combat options are also greatly expanded now that you can have eight party members in battle at once–four in the frontline and four in the back for support. We’ve been impressed by what we’ve seen so far, so we spoke with producer Hirohito Suzuki and game director Yasuhiro Kidera about some of our burning questions.
Octopath Traveler 0 is coming to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch on December 4.