Octopath Traveler 2’s Side Quests Are Inconsistent

Octopath Traveler 2 is a game filled with so much compelling and quality content. From its many character stories to its stunning finale. From the numerous battles against normal enemies to the challenging boss encounters. As well as the vast ocean that leads to numerous locations. Alongside the expansive world of Solistia with its many beautiful and varied sights. The only aspect of the game’s content I felt was a little underwhelming was its side quests.

But they are not completely underwhelming. Some are scripted and offer a compelling side story. While the others require a lot of trial and error or randomly figuring things out. But I think the best way to describe how they differ is by offering an example of a few that work, and others that do not.

The Good: Scripted Quests

How side quests work in Octopath Traveler 2 is that an NPC will have an orange icon over them and you go to them to accept their quests. Some of these can be very curated and offer compelling experiences as previously mentioned. Such as finding a character in Hikari’s story that helps to show what joys of life they are choosing to ignore as they grieve over someone they lost. The way you complete this side quest is by talking to her, then going to Agnea’s father who is a tailor to make a new garb for her since she has been overworking herself.

You get to watch a character open up to another from someone else’s story with full voice acting and a test of knowledge from what you remember from past experiences in the game. It is simple to complete, yes but there are many details one can appreciate. As well as another side quest with an optional zone where you have to knock out someone guarding it. Then venture in and be tasked with taking out a boss that’s been attacking people.

This side quest happens randomly and satisfies a hunger for a new enemy to take down while exploring. With all of it making sense and not feeling thrown together. These are just a few examples of side quests that work very well and add to the already flawless experience in Octopath Traveler 2. But there are some that are not so great and can be easily forgettable due to some tedious aspects.

The Bad: Vague Side Quests

So many of the side quests in Octopath Traveler 2 can be very vague. For example, there is a side quest that requires you to enter a clock tower to see why the bridge is broken and what caused it. You have to find a way into it, which is fine. Then venture to the top for the hidden boss in that clock tower. But upon finishing the fight, the quest did not end. I presumed the NPC would show up to finish the quest. But instead, you have to use a path action to guide the quest giver to the end of the clock tower to finish the quest.

If I had not read a guide on how to finish the quest? I would not have figured this out since it does not make too much sense. But this is not the worst offender. In a late-game town, you find an NPC who is lamenting a lack of funds to finish his research on a rare enemy in the game. But even in the character’s dialogue, they do not tell me where I should go look to resolve his issue. There are no specifics to go off of. This is equally vague as a quest involving a child fighting an incurable disease. There are no notes in the side quest journal nor hints in the dialogue about what to look for.

These are the extremes in the vagueness of most quests in the game. But some take just understanding character path actions to figure out. But the problem here is that most players will not understand what to do, me included. I had to use a guide to complete most of the side quests I finished in the game due to these flaws. But I think this just highlights one problem that I think could be resolved in the next Octopath Traveler game.

Waypoints for Octopath Traveler 2

I am not a fan of games holding my hand in any way. But most story content in Octopath Traveler 2 already does that. So having a waypoint of any kind in most of the side quests would not be too much to ask. Especially when most players like myself will have to resort to guides to finish this content. Granted, this content is mostly just stuff to do after finishing the main story content. So this never detracts from that experience, nor is any of it truly required. Even though some of them are genuinely fantastic.

However, the vagueness in the rest is not fun as I have to explore so many different areas to figure out who or what I am supposed to be looking for. A problem that the original game had in its side quests. Hopefully, a small tweak can be added to just improve, not change how these side quests function.