Octopath Traveler I and II for Switch 2 are very good for newcomers, but not worth it for existing owners

Back in July, Square Enix announced and released both Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler II on Switch 2 in Japan with the Western releases set for today. As you'd expect, they have no upgrade path, no save transfer, are full price, and have physical releases as Game-Key Cards. I bought both from the Japanese eShop back in July to test and see how they compare with the Switch 1 originals. I've since made sure the versions released back in July are the same as the versions available today on the eShop. I've updated my article below that covers how both Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler II on Switch 2 look and run compared with the Switch 1 originals in handheld boost mode and in general. I've also added some more information about the other platforms if you're curious how they compare.

My original testing was based on the Japanese eShop releases and I was curious to see if there would be any difference for the Western launch and if those versions would be different. I can confirm that the version numbers and builds are exactly the same as the Japanese releases from July. Since I don't own the Xbox version of Octopath Traveler II yet, I didn't want to do a full comparison. I will save that for after I buy the Xbox port since I want to cover every platform in my full comparisons whenever possible. 

Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler II Switch 2 vs Switch 1, PS5, and PS4 visuals and graphics

For some background, both games ran at a sub-native resolution (below 720p handheld and below 1080p docked) on Switch 1. Even the UI elements weren't native resolution for Octopath Traveler on Switch 1 docked. There was a lot of room for improvement when thinking about Switch 2 upgrades, and I was hoping we'd see every single HD-2D game upgraded. Higher resolutions, 60fps support in both modes across all HD-2D games, and potentially faster load times were at the top of my wishlist for potential upgrades or new versions. Having now sampled Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler II on Switch 2 through the Switch 1 versions and the new native releases, Square Enix has delivered a notable upgrade over the original Switch releases.  

I haven't spent too much time comparing the Switch 2 port with other consoles and PC, but I sampled the PS5 and PS4 versions running on PS5 Pro via backward compatibility to see how this new port looks. The Switch 2 version, while massively improved (during actual gameplay and in motion) over Switch 1, is below the PS4 version played on PS5 when it comes to image quality. The PS4 version has PS4 Pro support, but the PS5 versions of Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler II do not have PS5 Pro support. With that context, I expected Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler II on Switch 2 to at least match the PS4 Pro version, but it is just below based on three different locations I captured across consoles. This is still a huge upgrade over the blurry Switch 1 version docked though.

When playing on my 1440p monitor, the main visual issue I noticed was some filtering and shimmering in the distance. I thought it looked very good otherwise, but will definitely not scale up as well on a 4K display compared to the PS5 release. The Switch 2 offering this big visual improvement over Switch 1 and a 60fps target means I'd likely play this over other platforms just to have the flexibility of playing on the go when needed, but I hope the ports can be improved a bit leading into the Western release this October.

Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler II Switch 2 vs Switch 1, PS4, and PS5 performance and frame rate

While the visual upgrade is very noticeable over Switch 1, it is more notable for delivering that at twice the frame rate target. Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler II targeted 30fps on Switch 1 and had frame pacing issues. The Switch 2 versions target 60fps in both docked and handheld modes. Performance is massively improved over the Switch 1 versions with their 30fps cap, but it isn't perfect. I noticed some dips early on when playing docked. Handheld in the opening hour across each game in a few of the character stories I tried seems to hold up better though. I'm not sure if this is because drops are being taken care of by VRR or not, but I would definitely play this handheld over docked based on the time I've put into the ports after buying them. I will be playing more over time and update this if I notice anything different. 

Octopath Traveler Switch 2 vs Switch 1 with handheld boost mode

If you already own the Switch 1 games, you likely are wondering how the handheld experience is compared to just playing the Switch 1 version with handheld boost mode. Not only do both Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler II now target 60fps, but they also deliver improved visuals handheld while aiming for 60fps. I used the accessibility zooming and took offscreen handheld photos with my phone to show the difference since Switch 1 game screenshots are capped at 720p in boost mode regardless of the actual resolution. You can see these in the image above and below.

Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler II Switch 2 vs Switch 1 load times

To test load times, I installed the Switch 1 versions of Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler II to my Switch OLED's SD card and the internal storage on Switch 2. I also installed the new Switch 2 versions of Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler II to the Switch 2 internal storage. I also installed the Steam versions of both games (Steam Deck OLED internal storage and ROG Ally internal storage) and the PS5 versions on my PS5 Pro internal storage. Since I don't own Octopath II on Xbox yet, I only tested the Xbox One version of Octopath Traveler 1 below and measured the times across internal SSD and the external HDD. I measured the time taken to load the title screen from the dashboard and also loading an early game save file. The results below are all in seconds.

As you can see, the new Switch 2 versions deliver notable load time improvements over even the Switch versions running via backward compatibility on Switch 2 installed to the internal storage. The load times for the PS5 version are the fastest, but Switch 2 delivers good load times and is a bit faster than Steam Deck. The Xbox One version of Octopath Traveler is not Optimized for Xbox Series X so I tested it via backward compatibility on the HDD and SSD. The load times are quite a bit longer when installed to an external hard drive. I will update this when I have been able to test Octopath Traveler II on Xbox.

Is it worth buying Octopath Traveler 1 and 2 on Switch 2 if you own the Switch 1 versions?

If you already own the games, the lack of save transfer makes this hard to recommend unless you want to replay both games and are willing to buy the bundle to get a better deal. If you only want one of them, I recommend waiting for a big discount given how often the Switch 1 version and even other platforms see discounts. Even as someone who has put in hundreds of hours into the games across platforms and absolutely adores even the first Octopath Traveler, this is literally an eight year old game being sold at full price while not even matching other older consoles in every aspect. 

If you don't own any of them and have always wanted to get into the series, the Switch 2 native releases are great so far. Like I said above, the hybrid nature of the Switch 2 would make me buy these over the PS5 or Xbox versions to have the flexibility to play at home or on the go for long games like this. If you don't care about portability at all, you should consider playing these on other platforms though. This has now been updated for the Western console releases of both Octopath Traveler games on Switch 2.

Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler II are now available on PS5, PS4, Switch 2, Switch, Xbox, and PC platforms.