Not long after previewing Echoes of Mana, I was given the chance to partake in the closed beta for Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, the mobile Octopath Traveler game. I enjoyed my time with it for the most part, but for a mobile game, it is incredibly wordy and long-winded. Otherwise, I can definitely see fans of Octopath having a good time with Champions of the Continent.
There are three main story routes in Champions of the Continent, which could be played up to Chapter 2 in the preview. They revolve around villains who have become corrupted by one of three things: Wealth, Fame, or Power. Each of the villains is delightfully over-the-top with how evil they are, whether they’re a playwright who must kill for motivation or a witch who will sell anything for more coin. It is kind of strange that a game called Octo-path only has three routes instead of eight paths, but the three routes are entertaining enough. Plus, it’s all done in HD-2D or beautiful character illustrations, which greatly adds to the appeal.
The main problem I have with Champions of the Continent is how long-winded it is. Mobile games typically pride themselves on being easy to pick up and play on the go, so having long cutscenes of characters saying the same things in different ways is an odd choice. Maybe my brain is just fried from mobile device usage and social media in general, but I find it hard to focus on slow cutscenes on a phone, so Champions of the Continent felt a bit dull in that regard. The stories themselves are interesting, they just take way too long to proceed.
“I didn’t feel like I missed out on much by only pulling certain characters, but I get why some people aren’t big on something they like being turned into a gacha game.“
The gameplay in Champions of the Continent is mainly split into two categories: traversal, and combat. Traversal has you go from place to place by swiping your finger on the screen, as you pick up treasures and talk to NPCs. I wish you could maneuver your characters with a virtual joystick rather than flicking and swiping, but it’s no big deal.
Combat is the real meat and potatoes of the experience, as you’d likely expect. You can choose eight characters to form a party with a front row and a back row, which is more in line with the whole “Octo” thing. You defeat enemies using all sorts of attacks and can boost them to try to break your foes, making them easier to take down. There are especially difficult enemies guarding neat treasures, which provide some real challenges for people who are confident in their abilities. You can upgrade your characters with points earned from battle, which adds some depth to how your characters play.
Gacha elements are indeed present here, as you pull characters using rubies that you can earn or assumedly in the final game, pay for. I didn’t feel like I missed out on much by only pulling certain characters, but I get why some people aren’t big on something they like being turned into a gacha game. It doesn’t feel too egregious here thankfully, though that could change over time.
Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent is a fairly standard mobile gacha RPG, but it has enough depth to be interesting for fans of the source material. Its gacha elements don’t feel too abrasive thus far, and the story is pretty intriguing, so give it a go if you think it looks up your alley. The closed beta goes until April 4th, and the full app will launch later this year.
