More Personal Storytelling
The most unique thing about Octopath Traveler, surprisingly, was its low-stakes storytelling. In Octopath there’s no world-ending horror for the most part, at least not in the main story. Instead the game weaves eight separate stories that have personal stakes for each character.
Olberic has to find a reason to wield his blade again, Alfyn works to find his place in the world, and Primrose strives to get the revenge she’s been waiting years for. Octopath may not have the best storytelling, but it’s personal tales are refreshing against all the world-saving JRPGs out there.
Bravely Default 2 doesn’t need to adopt the same eight-story structure, but it could easily take some cues in terms of themes and scope. Not every JRPG needs to have world-ending stakes, and it’d be fascinating to see a more personal Final Fantasy-esque story that still involves crystals and all that.
