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Octopath Traveler Prequel Announced But It's For Mobile
A prequel to Octopath Traveler will be arriving on Japanese mobile phones at some point this year. Square Enix was met with immediate success when the original game arrived on Nintendo Switch in 2018. The title was so popular, in fact, that the developer had to issue an apology to consumers after copies of Octopath Traveler became back-ordered for months. In the wake of how popular the IP was, it became clear that the title was destined to become a series.
Square Enix is notorious for taking its time on game franchises like Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, and the same may apply to a game as well-received as Octopath Traveler. Despite this, it appears as if Square isn't willing to let its foot off the gas, as the company has revealed that a prequel is in the works for mobile devices and will land in 2019 in Japan.
Square Enix announced the game with a new trailer, officially labelling the project as Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent. The experience is described as a "free-to-play single-player RPG" by Eurogamer, while the game's official website (translated via Gematsu) highlights a number of features that fans have to look forward to. A breakdown of the features from Octopath Traveler's site and the game's official reveal trailer can be seen below:
- HD-2D for smartphones – 3D CG screen effects added to pixelized graphics create a magical world on smartphones.
- Eight-character party command-based battles – Form a party of up to eight characters to fight in evolved command-based battles. Smooth gameplay with swipe controls.
- Choice of story between three reigning champions – The setting is the Orsterra continent. The protagonist is a “Chosen One” who will fight against a great evil that has achieved fortune, power, and fame.
- Field commands – Take various actions towards characters on the field. Try out all sorts of things, such as “Listen” for information, “Steal” an item, “Hire” an ally, and more.
While a Western release window – or even a confirmation that the mobile title will arrive outside of Japan – is nowhere to be found, the company did tease that a full-blown sequel to Octopath Traveler is in the works. This news was dropped by the official Japanese Octopath Traveler Twitter account, stating that "Everyone waiting for a new game on console, we're sorry, but production will take a little while longer. In the meantime, we hope you can enjoy [the smartphone game]!"
No more information was shared on the suggested project, but Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent arriving on mobile as a prequel to the events of the original game – for free, no less – is an encouraging sign that Square Enix wants to keep people talking about the property. A sequel could be arriving sooner rather than later too, given the 2019 release of the mobile game. Another note worth bringing up is whether or not future iterations of Octopath Traveler will remain locked to Nintendo Switch or if the game will find its way to other platforms with a sequel. As it stands, time will tell.
