Square Enix2018’s Octopath Traveler launched a renaissance for role-playing games, kicking off Square Enix’s line of HD-2D titles that now includes three Dragon Quest remakes. Octopath Traveler 0 returns to that first game after seven years as an expansive prequel — but it’s also a sort of remake of a mobile game. Octopath Traveler 0 is essentially an adaptation or reimagining of the 2020 mobile game, Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, using the story and world of that game as a basis. But it doesn’t feel quite fair to call it a remake, as it overhauls nearly everything about its mobile counterpart.“The way the experience is built is completely different. So even when it comes to the overall design or level designs, we essentially had to build things from scratch,” producer Hirohito Suzuki tells Inverse, “And it really felt like we were rebuilding this game from the ground up.”While the core story and ideas might be the same, Octopath Traveler 0 completely redesigns the game’s combat, adds an entire town-building system, new characters, and, according to Suzuki, even huge swathes of new story. Ahead of the game’s release in December, Inverse had the chance to talk to Suzuki and director Yasuhiro Kidera, touching on Octopath Traveler 0’s ambitious reimagining of its mobile counterpart, and the cornucopia of changes it’s adding.This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.When did the idea for Octopath Traveler 0 come around? Was the project always meant to use elements of Champions of the Continent, or did it start as something else?Suzuki: Both Kidera and I were involved in the development of Champions of the Continent. And even back then, it was a game where the concept was wanting to bring the experience that originally existed on consoles to mobile players as well.So, actually, since the time Champions of the Continent was live in operation, we’ve always had the thought of wanting to bring that experience back to console, too. Especially as we saw feedback from fans strongly wishing to see that happen.That said, when we thought about bringing this latest installment to the world, it’s true that Champions of the Continent was a game that was live for a long time. And because of that, there was a large number of people who were playing the game. We felt that it was really important to ensure we were introducing new features to this game, for example, the town building. And making sure we were redesigning the story itself too, so that as many people as possible would be able to pick up this game and give it a try.Villains were a huge part of Champions of the Continent’s story, and I know you’ve significantly expanded the overall narrative. Has this allowed you to make the villains richer?Suzuki: When it comes to the depth of the villains, I feel that overall, they appear in this game with new thematic components being added. Specifically, what that means is, this game adds major new story content to both the beginning and ending of the experience. Within that, when the story kicks off, essentially, is when the village the player is peacefully living in is absolutely decimated and destroyed. From there, they have the option to pursue two stories that progress in parallel, the more restoration-focused story – or a story that’s more focused on revenge, where the villains in particular play a much larger role.As you know, the bosses stand against the player and the protagonist. And things kind of reach a point toward the end of the story, where you kind of start to see more things that might unfold. And I don’t really want to share too much information as it’ll become a spoiler, so I’ll just keep it there.Octopath Traveler 0 takes place in the land of Orsterra, serving as a prequel to the events of the original game. | Square EnixTo clarify, how do the two story paths work? Can you choose to focus on one, or are both necessary?Suzuki: The way the game is built out is that at first, you’re able to choose one or the other, but as the story progresses, elements or facets become intertwined with one another. So they both become crucial in the experience.Where did the idea for Octopath 0’s town-building come from? And how have you balanced the town-building feeling meaningful to the overall experience, but not too overwhelmingly complex?Suzuki: With the overall idea of town building, the core concept is making the player themselves the protagonist of the story. So when we thought about what we could do to make the experience feel really personal for the player, we felt a great way to explore that concept would be to essentially have them create something important to themselves. That’s where the idea came from.But we also understand that RPG games having a town-building component is not a super conventional thing. So, especially for the player who might not be as familiar with town-building, we also wanted to ensure we were designing it as something that gradually gets built and naturally progresses through the story.Kidera: Since we do understand there may be people who might not be as familiar with town-building, we did make sure that, from a level design perspective, they’ll still be able to clear and progress through the story without necessarily having to invest too much time into it. However, the thinking was that by investing time into town building, they would still be able to gain a lot of different advantages and benefits that would make the experience much more comfortable.The other component of this is the Path Action feature that has appeared in the other Octopath games. We wanted to make sure that as you encounter or meet new NPCs throughout the various places in the map, and explore this game, you have an opportunity to interact with these characters and invite them into your town. And by doing so, that helps it to develop and unlock further features in the town – like maybe shops have more robust item selection. In general, the various facets of the game become more robust and fleshed out as you develop your town.Octopath 0’s town-building is woven throughout the game, giving you gameplay benefits as well as a wealth of little decorations to make it your own. | Square EnixWith such a wide array of characters in Octopath 0, how have you approached storytelling in this game? How hard has it been to work elements of Champions of the Continent into a single-player experience?Suzuki: Certainly, this game does have a much wider array of characters who appear. When it comes to how we retain that feeling of what makes Octopath Traveler what it is, what really comes to mind is the idea of an experience that’s based on a “journey” – like the name suggests.This game is certainly one where you can recruit potentially up to more than 30 characters in your party, and we tried to think about how we can make sure that each character’s individual uniqueness still shines through as they encounter and interact with the protagonist. We wanted to make sure we were providing variety and a lot of diverse ways in which they can become your party member. For example, you might meet a character at a tavern, and they consult with you about wanting your help on something. Afterwards, they might join your crew. Or perhaps after using a Path Action, they might become your party member. Or something unexpected might suddenly unfold as an event in the game, which triggers them joining. Then there’s the more traditional format, where the story progresses naturally, and because of the plot, they join your team.Again, we really thought about how we can make that feeling of what makes an Octopath Traveler game – that was a key thought we had while making this larger cast.Battles let you bring an eight-character party, switching between the back and front rows at will. | Square EnixOctopath’s battle system, like Bravely Default, felt fairly revolutionary for a turn-based game in 2018. How have you tried to improve on that system? Has it been more difficult to find ways to change things now that this is the third game?Suzuki: With Octopath Traveler games, a battle feature staple has been striking enemy weaknesses and utilizing the Break Boost system. That was certainly something we thought about with this game as well – and we got a hint, or sort of clue if you will, from the past concept of having eight characters, in terms of this game having an eight-party formation.But when it comes to the Break and Boost system, like in past installments, how to utilize BP and maximize opportunities is a decision the player has to make, and a really fun component to the battling experience overall. With this installment, we also have rows that are introduced, where you have characters standing in two lines and can switch them. So through that, we feel that the overall experience is one that’s unique compared to past games. Furthermore, there are Action Abilities, which allow characters to equip unique abilities.So through all that, we feel we’re providing a high degree of freedom to players when it comes to how they want to form their party and how they want to engage in combat. That was the core concept we had as we made final adjustments and refinements.Do you see something like Octopath 0 as a way to immortalize mobile games that go away once service ends? Was that a factor in wanting to create this game?Suzuki: As you touched upon, when it comes to taking a mobile game and then turning it into a single-player RPG or console game, it was a very difficult process – because the overall design and way the experience is built is completely different. So even when it comes to the overall design or level designs, we essentially had to build things from scratch. And it really felt like we were rebuilding this game from the ground up.That said, it’s true we were also able to take the experience that unfolds in Champions of the Continent and give a refined version of that, and put that in Octopath Traveler 0 as well. It’s a great thing that all these features that were beloved by fans are being brought to console.Kidera: This is something Suzuki-san mentioned, but especially when it comes to battle, it’s true that we build this game from zero, in a sense, literally.One thing that was true when it came to the mobile experience, or for mobile fans specifically, is that it was one where, rather than engaging with the gameplay in a literal sense, because of the format, you inevitably had to be on your phone screen for a very, very long time. So, especially with this game, as we were thinking about bringing this to console, one thing we wanted to redesign was the turn–based element. It was a great opportunity to rethink it.Octopath Traveler 0 launches on December 4 for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 1 & 2, and PC.