Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, a mobile spin-off of the 2018 RPG Octopath Traveler, is only a few weeks away from its Western release on Android and iOS. Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent first released in Japan in late 2020, and amassed over 10 million players prior to the announcement of its Western release this year.

Octopath Traveler tells 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 Traveler received 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.

RELATED: Square Enix Explains Why Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a PS5 Exclusive

Champions of the Continent Is a Prequel to Octopath Traveler

champions-of-the-continent-characters

The story of Champions of the Continent takes place three years before Octopath Traveler. Players do not have to play Octopath Traveler first to understand Champions of the Continent's story, and spoilers for Octopath Traveler's story are generally kept to a minimum. However, some characters do appear as both playable and non-playable characters.

Like Octopath Traveler, there are multiple chapters, and players can jump from story to story with ease. However, the stories are far more interconnected than in Octopath 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

champions-of-the-continent-prequel

Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent is a free-to-play mobile 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 microtransactions are 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-continent-combat

Champions of the Continent utilizes turn-based combat similar to Octopath 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 from Octopath Traveler's combat 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 to only one weapon type, with the Fan and Tome weapons added for Dancers and Scholars respectively.

All Eight Travelers Appear

champions-of-the-continent-octopath

While Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent primarily tells its own story, it does not neglect the original eight player characters from Octopath Traveler. All eight - Olberic, Cyrus, Tressa, Ophilia, Primrose, Alfyn, Therion, and H'aanit - can eventually be summoned in Champions 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 from Octopath Traveler also make their debut as playable characters in Champions of the Continent.

Crossover events between Champions of the Continent and other Square Enix titles also allow characters from these properties to be summoned as playable travelers. So far, these crossover characters include Agnes from Bravely Default, Elvis from Bravely Default 2, and 2B, A2, and 9S from Nier: Automata. It has not yet been confirmed whether the crossover events and characters will appear in the Western version of Champions of the Continent.

Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent will release on July 27, 2022 for Android and iOS devices.

MORE: 10 Nintendo Games You Can Sink Hundreds of Hours Into