Octopath Traveler 0, the Origins of the Most Exciting Journey
by Simon Larocca·November 19, 2025
Che cosa accomuna la cinematography of Nolan, the novels of Philip K. Dick and the Octopath Traveler series? If you don’t know, I’ll tell you: perspective. A story does not always reveal itself to the eyes of those who experience it in its apparent linearity, not in its entirety at least: the need to observe everything that is narrated from different points of view, placed in different locations and often also in different moments in time, allows the viewer, the reader or the video game player to understand the overall picture only if they step back a little and widen their gaze.
Octopath Traveler 0, the next highly anticipated title in the eponymous series coming out on December 4, 2025 for all next-gen platforms, will be based precisely on this principle, as simple as it is highly effective, like its predecessors.
Made famous by the first beautiful chapter initially released only on Nintendo Switch in 2018, the Octopath Traveler saga stood out from the very beginning for its HD-2D graphics with 16-bit sprites in Super Nintendo style, to be clear, and more elaborate polygonal environments, but above all for the particular narrative setup adopted by “mother” Square Enix: eight playable characters, all very different from one another, each with their own story-line closely tied to their background, often dramatic, that unites them, and a journey, a path indeed, that will lead them to explore the colorful and majestic continent of Orsterra, until their path intertwines with all the others.
Octopath Traveler 0 starts from this premise and expands its gameplay on multiple fronts: the presence of more than thirty recruitable characters in our party has long been confirmed, even if in battle we will only be able to bring eight of them (thus maintaining the tie to the series title and its most obvious feature).
Essendo un turn-based combat system, like the first six chapters of the legendary Final Fantasy, from which it openly and explicitly takes inspiration while paying homage to them, we will find the tactical approach of the previous chapters, at least from what has been seen, with the possibility of choosing whether to send all eight characters into battle or not. How much this will affect the difficulty of the encounters and their significance and depth can only be understood once we have the game in our hands.
Se è vero che the main plot will be indissolubly linked to the events narrated in the two titles released in the past for consoles, it is necessary to take stock of the situation regarding the most important aspect in terms of narrative connections: Octopath Traveler 0, in fact, is nothing more than the ideal continuation of the storylines created for the 2020 mobile title, that Champions of the Continent that divided critics and also the public, with its notorious (at least for this writer) gacha elements and a story progression heavily influenced by microtransactions and various ugliness. With OT 0, therefore, Square Enix is in effect moving to remedy the situation with the awareness that it can no longer make mistakes and betray the expectations of the host of fans that over the years Octopath has managed to win over and entertain: Champions of the Continent had on its side a series of innovations and plot twists of no small importance (I tried it at the time, I can assure you) that in 0 should return, expanded and defined so as to be able to connect more harmoniously, and coherently, with the threat of the divine rings.
For collectors, we can already say that the planned Collector’s Edition is nothing short of incredible: in addition to the Ring of the Flamebringer ring, there will also be beautiful goodies such as the official deck of cards, a dice set, the inevitable soundtrack, and a book with exclusive fan art.
Ricominciare da zero to rediscover, in the nostalgia of 16-bit, a glimpse of the future we dream of for our beloved role-playing games: that is all we ask of Square Enix’s next effort.
Simon Larocca
My name is Simon Larocca, and I am a gamer, collector, and lover of pop culture in all its forms. I go to the cinema whenever I can, I have been reading since I started wearing glasses, so, basically forever, and I have a passion for storytelling in all its forms, so powerful that it became my profession. But as Doc from Ritorno al Futuro would say, there would be no present if one did not look at the past with respect and admiration, and it is the Simon child of more than thirty years ago, give or take a year, who is to thank for that.
Simon Larocca
My name is Simon Larocca, and I am a gamer, collector, and lover of pop culture in all its forms. I go to the cinema whenever I can, I have been reading since I started wearing glasses, so, basically forever, and I have a passion for storytelling in all its forms, so powerful that it became my profession. But as Doc from Ritorno al Futuro would say, there would be no present if one did not look at the past with respect and admiration, and it is the Simon child of more than thirty years ago, give or take a year, who is to thank for that.
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