Octopath Traveler: Fixing The Gate Of Finis

Spoilers for Octopath Traveler follow

 Octopath Traveler is mostly an enjoyable throwback to classic RPGs, but not without its share of flaws. Its greatest flaw, apart from the lackluster overarching story and few interactions between the travelers, is the final dungeon, the Gate of Finis, which is accessed by completing each traveler's story and a few side quests.

The dungeon has only two large rooms and features eight rematches with bosses- the Chapter 4 bosses for Ophilia, Therion, Olberic and Primrose, as well as the Chapter 3 bosses for Cyrus, Alfyn, Therion and H'aanit- before the two-phase final battle. It's impossible to save or leave once you enter, and if you are defeated, you must start the dungeon over again. This, combined with the underwhelming conclusion to the main storyline, makes it the weakest part of the game, and I will look at how it can be improved.

As you can see, this blog entry involves Octopath Traveler's endgame, and will naturally involve spoilers. Proceed with caution.

Adding a Save Point and Exit

The first choice is the simplest, the most obvious and the most important. Losing to Galdera, the extremely difficult final boss would be much less frustrating if you only had to start that battle over again, rather than repeating the eight other bosses, which are trivially easy in comparison to Galdera and only serve as time wasters on the way to the final boss.

There isn't even a proper narrative justification for locking the party inside the Gate of Finis. Lyblac warns the party that they will not be able to leave once they enter, but no reason is given. In fact, once Galdera is defeated, the party leaves with no difficulty whatsoever. Compare EarthBound, when the party's consciousness is uploaded into robots and sent to the past to fight Giygas, a process Dr. Andonuts knows is likely a one-way trip, and the game saw fit to provide a save point and the ability to heal. There are some times when games may be justified in forcing players to go a while without a save point, but this is not one of them.

Letting The Party React to What They Learn

This proposed change would address the narrative shortcomings of the Gate of Finis. They would not have any impact on the gameplay, but it would significantly improve the story.

After each boss defeated, it leaves behind a diary entry written by a character important to the story's lore. Combined, these tell about Graham Crossford's journey and ultimate fate, as well as Lyblac's far-reaching conspiracy to resurrect her father, Galdera. The problem is that while these revelations concern the protagonists, none of them have anything to say about what they learn.

• Ophilia learns a disturbing truth that would affect her on a personal level. The entry the party receives from defeating The Savior a second time reveals that her adoptive father did not die of an illness, but was poisoned by Matthias/The Savior, who proceeded to manipulate her adoptive sister Lianna into stealing the Ember.
• Cyrus learns that Lyblac had manipulated Ogen(his former superior) and Lucia(Ogen's assistant) to his ends. It would explain how Lucia had obtained a collection of books that would take centuries to find, a piece of information that is of value to a man who has dedicated his life to, the quest for knowledge.
• Therion might have been interested to hear about the Dragonstones' true purpose, having gone through so much effort to recover them for Cordelia. Considering that he persists in his quest, even though he could have removed the fool's bangle at any time (even before he crossed paths with his treacherous former friend Darius), perhaps he does feel something for Cordelia.
• Olberic has experienced something similar to Ophilia. In his case, Lyblac is responsible for convincing Werner to orchestrate the fall of the kingdom of Hornburg, and Werner, in turn, manipulated Olberic's comrade Erhardt into killing his king. One has to wonder how Erhardt would react to learning that he'd played into Lyblac's hands all along.
• Primrose should have had some reaction to hearing why her father was killed, since her quest to avenge his death was the reason why she had set out on the journey, as well as her life's goal up to this point.
• Alfyn, Tressa and H'aanit all have ties to Graham Crossford. Graham saved Alfyn's life with the elixir he'd intended to use on his wife, inspiring him to become an apothecary, an experience he recounts. Graham gave his journal to Leon in exchange for passage on Leon's ship, and Tressa received the journal from him. Redeye, the monster H'aanit killed to save her master and finish his mission, was none other than Graham himself. The three could have had a party skit about the man himself, and how his life impacted each of theirs.

As you can see, it would have been nice to have each of the party members say something about the experience, with others in similar situation sharing their thoughts. Perhaps the lack of such a feature is a consequence of how party members play no role in other travelers' stories apart from showing up in party banters, which is another flaw with Octopath Traveler that should be addressed.

Flattening the Difficulty Curve

As I mentioned above, Galdera is by far the most difficult foe in Octopath Traveler. His boss battle is highly complex, with each phase including several mechanics from the chapter bosses, and being much longer than the previous bosses. The Eye of Galdera in the first phase having 500,000 HP (and only being attackable after the three parts guarding it are destroyed). The second phase has several parts with over 150,000 HP, each of which must be defeated before Galdera himself becomes attackable. As you can see, he's several times more powerful than any other opponent in the game.

Narratively, it makes sense to have Galdera, the sealed dark god, be the most powerful foe in the game, even more so than the four gods who tested the party's worthiness for the advanced jobs (although they may not have been fighting at their full strength). From a gameplay perspective, however, it can be frustrating to easily win in the rematches against the bosses, only to find that your party has no chance against the final boss. It would be best to make the first eight bosses harder to give the player a chance of what is in store for them, Perhaps adding enemies that are much stronger than elsewhere would also have given the player some idea of what to expect, as well as the chance to level up. Of course, both changes would also require a save point and exit from the Gate of Finis, so that the party will not lose the levels they gain and the other progress they make inside the final dungeon.

One Party for the Final Boss

The final boss is unlike all others in one crucial regard. While each chapter boss required the party member who's the hero of the chapter, the final boss requires all eight travelers- a party of four for the first phase and the remaining four for the second.

In all fairness, I understand the purpose of this. From a narrative perspective, each of the eight travelers who'd been bought together by fate plays a role in the defeat of the dark god at the center of the tale. From a gameplay perspective, it forces you to use all your party members well.

Unfortunately, there's no precedent for this mechanic in Octopath Traveler. Final Fantasy VI, which had twelve party members and two secret party members, required you to form three groups of four for the final dungeon, but it previously introduced the mechanic in the Phoenix Cave (albeit with two groups), as well as a sequence in which your party members had to split into groups to defend the frozen Esper in Narshe. In Octopath Traveler, however, there are only two rules- party members must be present for their story's chapters, and the first party member you pick will be in the party until that character's storyline ends.

One problem that ties in to this is the fact that party members do not gain experience outside of the party, resulting in the less frequently used travelers falling behind the others. For most of the game, it is possible to take an underleveled party member into a story chapter as long as the other three are strong enough to pick up the slack. This is no longer possible in the Gate of Finis, where all eight party members must fight the final boss, so players cannot afford to carry party members through the battle.

It also doesn't help that this mechanic limits your strategic choices. You will not be able to use your favorite characters in one phase if the other four are not strong and/or well-rounded enough to complete the second phase.  You will also have to think carefully about which party members get the best equipment and the unlockable secondary jobs you receive by defeating the optional bosses, as well as which phase to which they will be assigned. These are difficult choices to make without consulting a guide or making an attempt at the boss, the latter of which will result in you having to repeat the entire dungeon if you fail (again, a problem that would be solved by adding a save point and an exit)

In short, this isn't a bad concept, but it can prove needlessly punishing to players who'd grown complacent from relying on their best members. Even players who do a good job balancing most of their party, will still likely take hours to level their party up for the final battle, making the preparation for the battle feel like work..

Conclusion

The Gate of Finis is equal parts disappointment and unpleasant surprise, failing to deliver the anticipated payoff and being more difficult than most could possibly imagine. It's a classic example of how not to do an endgame dungeon in an RPG, but these proposals could address the flaws and make it a fitting conclusion to an otherwise good game.