After I played the Project Octopath Traveler demo, it went from being a game I was skeptical about to one I can’t wait for.

Now, the team at Square Enix has responded with a video explaining the changes and improvements they’ve made based on player feedback from the demo.

Here are the main points:

Movement Speed

In the demo, your character walked by default and ran if you held the B button. Now, you’ll be able to use the analog stick to run. Holding the B button will make you run even faster, but you’ll also have more random encounters. They also mentioned a fast travel option.

Fast travel does deviate a little from the “traditional” feel the demo had, but I don’t mind. It’s a convenience that can be ignored if you dislike it.

Visibility

Next, they’ve addressed visibility concerns by adjusting the colors and adding landmarks, to make it easier to see where you can go. You’ll be able to adjust the brightness and intensity from the options, as well. They’ve also added a “radar” feature that will “point players to exists, entrances, and important destinations.”

That’s the addition I’m least enthusiastic about. It’s certainly convenient, but it moves even further away from the traditional style, and more the modern style of quest markers. (I like plenty of games with quest markers, but sometimes I prefer the old way.) But the radar looks fairly small. Maybe there will even be an option to remove it.

UI and Events

They’ve adjusted the save UI and added more save slots, made the help text larger, and increased the default message display speed. You’ll also be able to skip scenes (and re-watch scenes you’ve already encountered).

Combat

They’re balancing the battle system, although the core combat will remain the same. I enjoyed the combat in the demo, so I’m glad they won’t be changing it too much.

Conclusion

Now, some people are displeased with this update, because they think these changes would/should have been made anyway, but I think it’s great that Square Enix is listening to feedback. Fast travel, for example, is definitely something they didn’t have to include.

On a different note, a preview version of the soundtrack is available now as well. The music sounds great, and it really gives me that classic JRPG sense.

We still haven’t heard much about the story. The two demo characters were interesting, but I have my heart set on a single story that brings all 8 characters together once you’ve played their individual stories. For now, at least, Project Octopath Traveler is one of my most anticipated games.

Are you looking forward to it? What do you think about the changes they’ve announced?

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