After more than a year of waiting, Octopath Traveler has finally arrived on the Nintendo Switch, and boy are JRPG fans excited. One look at its aesthetic is all you need to begin drawing comparisons to the many excellent JRPGs from the 1990s, like Secret of Mana , Final Fantasy VI , and Chrono...

A big; meaty RPG you can sink your teeth into; Combat system is varied; tactical; and deep; Fantastic graphics and soundtrack

Story is disjointed with no single direction; Characters never really develop relationships; Chapter structure gets a little old after a while

Octopath Traveler is one of those games that tap into nostalgia feels at full steam. Tons of gamers have fond memories of Square Enix's 16-bit RPGs, so much so that some of them just can't accept that Final Fantasy 7 was the best game in the series, not Final Fantasy 6 (fight me IRL) It's no...

Old-school JRPG aesthetic with modern effects looks amazing; Simple but rewarding battle system keeps things fresh; Likable characters; each with unique ways of interacting with the world

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Eight people gather in a tavern, swapping stories and preparing for adventure. It's not clear why they're traveling together-there's a pious cleric and a murderous dancer in this odd crew-but they've united nonetheless.

Fantastic combat; visuals; music

Grindy; repetitive; shallow stories

At its best, Octopath Traveler reminds me of my favorite 16-bit role-playing games. Strategic turn-based combat tests your skills, a job system gives you the freedom to tinker and optimize, and a fantastic retro aesthetic brings the world and creatures to life.

The game is a love-letter to classic RPGs of the SNES era as the CSM review states. I would like to point out, however, there is more sexual innuendo in the game than the review let's on.

Available exclusively on Nintendo Switch There's something special about returning to JRPGs of old, whether it's to relive iconic stories or relish in mechanics that have long since been left behind.

Fun and accessible combat system; Plenty of varied; well-written characters; So much variety in its world; Soundtrack is excellent

Grinding isn't for everyone; Opening hours are a bit slow; Retro influences aren't always positive

Eight strangers travel together in Octopath Traveler, combining their efforts to overcome foes and sharing their stories and challenges with each other. If The Canterbury Tales and a classic JRPG had a baby, it would look quite a lot like this game.

Gorgeous HD-2D art style; Engaging turn-based battles; Flexible party and jobs system; Some nice individual stories

Sluggish opening chapters; The eight stories don't link up convincingly; H'aanit's Middle English

The makers of Bravely Default bring an exclusive new Japanese role-player to Nintendo Switch and it's the perfect mix of old and new.

Impressively open-ended in terms of everything from exploration to character customisation; Engrossing battle system that stays interesting throughout the whole game; Great visual style

The storytelling and dialogue is weak, with limited voice-acting of a similarly poor quality; Some odd graphical glitches

a slow but stately and compelling JRPG throwback

Disclaimer: I'm only on Chapter 2 So far this game feels like a crisp RPG with the emphasis on story. The battle system is simple and solid. The graphics are a throwback to pixelated sprites, but there's a lot of dynamic lighting going on, giving it a clearly modern take on it.