If you're hoping the main Octopath Traveler 2 characters will actually talk to one another beyond the generic dialogue of the first game, you might be in luck. A new interview with the producers of the game has revealed that the main characters will actually engage with each other, and that their stories will cross paths in places as well.
The first Octopath Traveler was a hit for Square Enix, shipping over a million copies around the world within its first month on release and kickstarting the now-trademarked HD-2D visual style. The game revolves around eight characters, each of whom have individual stories to go through, but a common criticism involved those stories not really interweaving and their characters not interacting in meaningful ways.
Now, however, it looks like Square Enix wants to change that. According to a Famitsu interview (with additional translation by Nintendo Everything), Octopath Traveler 2 characters will "say each other's names" and their stories will "cross paths". This will hopefully lead to a greater feeling that the characters are traveling together and not merely haunting whichever protagonist is currently active.
Octopath 2 producer Masashi Takahashi says that the eight protagonists of the game have "strong personalities" and that the individual character stories are "still the main focus". Despite this, Takahashi says the crossover between character stories will act as "supplemental tales", so you'll be able to see how characters react to the goings-on in one another's lives.
We got a little more info about how Octopath Traveler 2's story will work from the Famitsu interview as well. Takahashi says that although the story will advance in chapters, it won't be like the previous game's four-chapters-per-character approach. Instead, he's promising a "completely different story" for each character, and director Keisuke Miyauchi says it'll be harder to guess the structure of those stories as well.
You'll get to experience those stories when Octopath Traveler 2 launches on February 24th next year. When it arrives, it'll be playable on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation consoles, and PC.
