The first two **Octopath Traveler** games share one major characteristic: there is no singular primary protagonist. Instead, they feature eight stories for eight party members. While the heroes occasionally interact, their narratives are mostly self-contained.
**Octopath Traveler 0** takes a noticeably different approach. Although Square Enix’s latest RPG still includes parties of eight characters, this time there is one main protagonist — and that hero is you.
### Early Look at the Prologue
I had the opportunity to take an early look at the **Octopath Traveler 0** prologue to see how the game’s opening minutes unfold. As noted in Shacknews’ PAX West preview, **Octopath Traveler 0** is set on the continent of Orsterra, with a story that takes place before the events of the original game.
### New Character Creation Feature
One of the first new features introduced is a character creator. This is a fresh addition to the Octopath Traveler series that lets players customize the protagonist’s name, gender, hairstyle, eye color, victory pose, and voice. At least at the start, the protagonist’s voice is only heard during battles. The main character remains silent throughout the story, while a diverse cast of supporting characters carries the dialogue.
### Setting the Scene in Wishvale
The prologue establishes the protagonist’s home village of Wishvale, which is preparing to celebrate its annual festival. The initial scenes focus on introducing several key supporting characters:
– **Stia**: The protagonist’s childhood friend and daughter of one of Wishvale’s architects.
– **Phenn**: A young member of the village Watch and aspiring hunter.
– **Laurana**: A priestess raised in a nearby church.
These characters mainly serve to support the main protagonist during the prologue.
### A Dark Turn
The story quickly takes a darker direction. At PAX West, I was introduced to the game’s villains, who make their appearance here. They include:
– **Hermania**: A ruthless aristocrat driven by an insatiable hunger for riches.
– **Tytos**: A fallen hero who has become a dictator, mercilessly eliminating anyone he deems inferior.
– **Auguste**: The world’s most famous playwright, who draws inspiration from the suffering of others — sometimes even causing tragedy himself.
Together, these antagonists set Wishvale ablaze, destroying the village and murdering nearly everyone — leaving only a handful of survivors.
### The Story’s Two Main Pillars
From this point, **Octopath Traveler 0** unfolds as a revenge tale, built around two central elements:
1. **Individual Quest Lines**: Players embark on personal missions that ultimately lead to confrontations with the three main villains.
2. **Rebuilding Wishvale**: A town-building component where players help restore Wishvale by constructing workshops, houses, shops, and other vital buildings.
Stia, as an architect, plays a key role in advancing the rebuilding process. Restoring the village not only brings it back to prominence but also provides players with useful items to aid their journey. Constructing new buildings requires resources such as lumber and cloth, which can be found scattered along the paths between villages.
### Combat: Familiar Yet Evolving
In terms of combat, **Octopath Traveler 0** retains the turn-based battle system fans are familiar with from the previous titles. Players accumulate Boost Points (correcting an earlier misnomer from the PAX West preview, where they were mistakenly called Brave Points—those belong to another Square Enix RPG) to perform multiple actions in a single turn.
If enemies are struck on their physical or elemental weaknesses, their Shield Points deplete. Once reduced to zero, the enemy enters a “Break” state, skipping their next turn and becoming vulnerable to greater damage.
### Party Dynamics and Character Recruitment
During the prologue, the party size is relatively small, but as the story progresses, players can recruit additional travelers to expand their active party—up to eight members in total.
Unlike the previous **Octopath Traveler** games, all eight characters will fight simultaneously. The PAX West preview offers more insight into this new system. Additionally, there will be over 30 available party members to recruit, raising questions about whether each character will have their own satisfying narrative arcs.
While the prologue doesn’t answer this question, it’s certainly one to watch as the game approaches its full release.
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**Octopath Traveler 0** represents a promising evolution of the beloved series, combining familiar gameplay elements with new storytelling and character progression mechanics. Fans of the original games will find both nostalgia and fresh experiences waiting in this prequel adventure.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146772/octopath-traveler-0-final-preview
