Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent,a mobile spin-off of the 2018 RPGOctopath Traveler, is only a few weeks away from its Western release on Android and iOS.Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continentfirst released in Japan in late 2020, and amassed over 10 million players prior to the announcement of its Western release this year.
Octopath Travelertells the story of eight people from different regions in the world of Orsterra. Each traveler has a distinct story, and these stories can be played in any order. The game received praise for its unique art style and mechanics, but also received criticism that the eight stories did not connect well and could get repetitive. Originally a Nintendo Switch exclusive,Octopath Travelerreceived ports for PC, Stadia, and Xbox One.Champions of the Continent,which is currently available for pre-registration,is similar and different to its predecessor in key ways.
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Champions of the Continent Is a Prequel to Octopath Traveler
The story ofChampions of the Continenttakes place three years beforeOctopath Traveler.Players do not have to playOctopath Travelerfirst to understandChampions of the Continent’s story, and spoilers forOctopath Traveler’sstory are generally kept to a minimum. However, some characters do appear as both playable and non-playable characters.
LikeOctopath Traveler,there are multiple chapters, and players can jump from story to story with ease. However, thestories are far more interconnectedthan inOctopath Traveler,as they feature a single protagonist - known only as “The Chosen One” - and their allies attempting to recover a set of eight artifacts called the Divine Rings. The chapters are categorized by which characteristic they focus on: “Wealth,” “Power,” “Glory,” or “All” of the above. There are also smaller pieces of story content that focus on the playable characters and their interactions with one another.
Champions Will Be Free to Play
Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continentis afree-to-playmobile game. None of the game’s story content is locked behind a paywall, and unlike many other mobile games, there is no energy system needed to start and complete chapters. However, an option is available to purchase the ability to restart a battle after failure.
Optional microtransactionsare also available in the form of Rubies, a currency that can be used to summon (known as Guiding) additional player characters. Some Rubies are also distributed via in-game events such as daily and weekly quests. Other characters can be recruited for free by defeating certain challenges in the game’s Arena mode.
Combat Mostly Remains the Same
Champions of the Continentutilizes turn-based combatsimilar toOctopath Traveler.Each character can choose from a variety of actions, with some being unique to the game’s eight classes: Cleric, Dancer, Apothecary, Warrior, Hunter, Scholar, Merchant, and Thief. Outside of combat, characters can also perform Path Actions, which can allow them to steal items, recruit allies, or learn information depending on their class. Also returning is the Break system, which lets players temporarily stun an enemy by attacking their weaknesses.
However, some changes have been made fromOctopath Traveler’scombat system. Rather than a party of four, up to eight characters can appear in battle at once, with the front row attacking the enemy and the back row regaining their HP and SP. In addition, each class is now locked toonly one weapon type, with the Fan and Tome weapons added for Dancers and Scholars respectively.
All Eight Travelers Appear
WhileOctopath Traveler: Champions of the Continentprimarily tells its own story, it does not neglect theoriginal eight player characters fromOctopath Traveler.All eight - Olberic, Cyrus, Tressa, Ophilia, Primrose, Alfyn, Therion, and H’aanit - can eventually be summoned inChampions of the Continent.However, the eight travelers were added gradually, with their appearance often marking important in-game events such as anniversaries. Some side characters fromOctopath Traveleralso make their debut as playable characters inChampions of the Continent.
Crossover events betweenChampions of the Continentand other Square Enix titles also allow characters from these properties to be summoned as playable travelers. So far, these crossover characters include Agnes fromBravely Default,Elvis fromBravely Default 2,and 2B, A2, and 9S fromNier: Automata.It has not yet been confirmed whether the crossover events and characters will appear in the Western version ofChampions of the Continent.
Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continentwill release on July 10, 2025 for Android and iOS devices.
