Octopath Traveler Zero Review – A GRANDETH PREQUEL

Square Enix didn’t just go back in time with Octopath Traveler Zero. It tore the thing open, stared into the abyss and asked: what happened before eight heroes became legends? Well, the result is a darker, more deliberate prequel that sharpens the HD-2D formula while quietly questioning whether the series’ modern JRPG comfort food still satisfies in 2025. Mostly yes, though not without caveats.

It’s All Connected

Zero trades the wandering, loosely connected tales of past entries for something far more cohesive. This time, our large, ensemble cast is bound not by coincidence, but by shared fallout. Wars lost, empires rotting from the inside out, losing my religion—all the drama. It’s still an anthology at heart, yet the connective tissue is stronger and far more intentional, even if the bigger cast doesn’t get anywhere near as much attention.

Tonally, Zero is the bleakest Octopath we’ve seen so far. This ain’t your regular “Ahhhh! My picturesque anime village is burning down” kind of story. Oh, no. They do not pull their punches here, and it’s bloody interesting! Pun fully intended. Slavery, religious manipulation and cycles of violence aren’t just background flavour, they’re the central themes. It gives the story real weight and a consistent tone, even if the pacing does stumble under its own ambition. The voice acting is also quite spectacular across the board, though a few key scenes feel a little lifeless without it. Also, why did we need a silent protagonist? Having a character bubble pop up with three dots every ten seconds seems so out of place in such a heartfelt series like this. Still, when Zero hits, it hits hard.

The epic music of the first two games has been brought back, and Yasunori Nishiki has created some brand new tunes that’ll really drop-kick ya in the feels. If you’ve heard the track ‘At Your Back’ from Octopath II, you know there’ll be goosebumps galore. That being said, I just wish we had a couple more zingers to spice it up. Once you hear the something-is-very-wrong-but-also-creepy piano theme for the 20th time, it does start to lose its charm.

A Simple, Yet Huge Addition

The awesome break-and-boost combat system returns, though with one major change: rows… Yes, rows. Now your party of oct can swap in and out as pairs each turn, opening up all sorts of big-brain tactics. Those in the back receive HP and SP regen as they wait to be subbed in as well, and some moves work better when a character swaps and acts in one turn for added depth, especially against the big bads.

You can even cue up attacks later in the game from the back row once a turn is complete to really lay the smack down. That said, random encounters do start to wear thin the longer the game goes on. Zero’s combat is deeper than ever before, but the mostly brain-dead random battles remain the series’ most lingering flaw.

In terms of difficulty, you don’t need to grind. Just fight the random battles in front of you while picking up some OP gear via Path Actions and voila! You’re in for a mostly fair challenge. A few mechanics like Viator’s Parry, Provoke and ultimate combo are a tad bit broken, making certain bosses a complete and utter joke. Once you realise that you can master and pass on skills like Parry to other party members… Well, it’s actually still a lot of fun! Because not every foe is purely physical, and you need to be constantly adapting to changing weaknesses, status effects, types of attacks—the whole kitchen sink. Honestly, you’ll get all snug for a 30-minute sesh, then realise 5 hours have passed in a flash. It’s that addictive.

The Cutting Room Floor

On the flipside, I found the whole rebuilding-the-town segments to be a chore and a half. You mostly just place preset buildings and decorations down and remove any leftover debris, while completing the most check-the-box side quests you could possibly imagine. The really annoying part is, if you want to unlock each character’s ultimates, master their abilities, or begin the final storyline, you have to push through all this fluff.

This was one aspect from the mobile game Octopath Zero is based on called Champions of the Continent that felt like housework, more than anything. It was clearly designed to give mobile phone players extra stuff to muck around with, yet here it absolutely tanks the pacing if you reach the last story segment and haven’t done many of the tasks. If anyone remembers Mementos (especially in the original Persona 5) they’ll know how much of a slog it was to get through, and I can’t help but feel the same with Octopath Traveler Zero.

On the visual side of things, the HD-2D art style is still a cracker for the eyes. Albeit, playing on the original Nintendo Switch doesn’t look anywhere near as smooth as its powerful, current-gen mates, even if the art style does a lot of heavy-lifting to mask the dips. However, there were a few times where I went “Yeah, this is a slideshow and a half. How did this get past the QA team?” Quite frankly, I have no idea.

Decision

When it leans into its bleak themes, killer soundtrack and strategic row-based battles, you can’t help but want to keep playing Octopath Traveler Zero. Its tighter, more cohesive story and genuinely dark subject matter also give this prequel real weight. Though a bloated cast, pacing issues and recycled mobile-game busywork mar the experience from achieving glory. Zero strikes like a freight truck when it swings, yet it also insists on making you wade through fetch questy errands to get to the good stuff. Not exactly riveting entertainment.

By Anthony Culinas – Reviewed on Nintendo Switch

Great

Octopath Traveler Zero does have some issues, yet it’s still so damn addictive. Stronger storytelling, a unified thematic vision and an even more tactical combat system make this the most purposeful Octopath yet, even if its mobile phone game remnants drag things down.

This game was reviewed using a download code provided by Square Enix. The Beta Network uses affiliate partnerships, however, this does not influence reviews or any other content published. The Beta Network may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links that are on the website.