Square Enix's HD-2D RPG Octopath Traveler II released in late February, bringing the series to PlayStation consoles for the first time, but a new interview reveals the production team has considered giving the series' progenitor a PlayStation release as well.
The original Octopath Traveler released exclusively for the Nintendo Switch in July 2018, bringing its blend of eight separate character-driven fantasy storylines to JRPG fans worldwide. With subsequent port releases for PC in June 2019 and Xbox One in March 2021, the game has still never seen a release on any PlayStation console, unlike its sequel, which released for PlayStation 5 and Playstation 4 at launch alongside Switch and PC releases.
Producer Masashi Takahashi has now revealed that the production team had considered porting the original Octopath Traveler to PlayStation consoles at the same time that Octopth Traveler 2 was set to make its debut. While speaking with PushSquare in an interview published on Sunday, he explained that the team decided against this move, instead rallying its energies on development of the sequel.
Although PlayStaion players still haven't received their taste of the first game in the series, Takahashi indicated that it's not entirely necessary to have played the series' origin if you want to experience Octopath Traveler 2. While both games share a lot of common elements, such as their graphical stylings, secondary class system, and eight standalone stories divided into character chapters, the two games take place in completely different worlds. "As implied in the title, this is a game about travelling and enjoying a journey," the producer said. "We felt that it was essential to set the game in a completely new world in order to give the player that feeling of excitement and anticipation when exploring it, wondering what lies down the next path or who could be living in the next town."
Takahashi expanded on the reasons for the completely new setting, stating the developers knew that some people would not have played the first game and, as nealy five years have passed since its initial release, many who did play it would have already forgotten some of its story elements. For that reason, Octopath Traveler 2 doesn't include any references to the characters or story in the first game. "So, I can confidently say that fans of the series and new players will enjoy the content of Octopath Traveler II without needing to worry about events that had happened before," he explained.