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Blinded by the lovely, colorful pixelated world of Orsterra, I severely underestimated how utterly brutal Octopath Traveler 0 would be. And when I say “brutal,” I don’t mean the bazillion innocent NPCs who get slaughtered in horrible ways throughout the story. No, I’m referring to the RPG’s ruthless “influence” system.
Life in Orsterra isn’t survival of the fittest; it’s survival of the person-with-the-most-items. You may easily obliterate any flimsy weed or measly marmot you come across in the wilds, but when you run into the first elite enemies and bosses, the difficulty level is suddenly multiplied tenfold. And those moments are when you really need Healing Grapes to restore HP, Inspiriting Plums to regenerate SP for special skills, and Olives of Life to revive fallen companions.
Since chests are scarce and shops are expensive, the best way to obtain such items is through Octopath Traveler 0’s influence system. As part of this intriguing mechanic, every NPC is influenced by one of three attributes: Wealth, fame, and power. Of these three, the greedy, wealth-aligned NPCs are by far the lesser weirdos; they will simply sell you their secondhand items — at a discount, even, if your haggling attempt is successful. The chances of success depend on your own wealth influence stat: The higher it is compared to the NPC’s, the greater your chances of success.
The fame-aligned folks, on the other hand, are a strange bunch. I’ll never forget the first few times I tried the “entreat” option in Octopath Traveler 0 and walked away with Plums, Grapes, Soulstones, earrings, armor, and even attack scrolls. They’re just… Giving it to me? Because I’m famous? Sweet! I mean, I’m not complaining, but how the fame-lovers have survived so far in the harsh land of Orsterra is a complete mystery to me.
As I searched every town for fame-aligned NPCs to beg for items, I couldn’t wholly repress the thought that this might be a tad immoral. It’s as if a famous, rich popstar comes up to you and says, “Hey, is that a Snickers in your backpack? Give it to me,” and you’re too star-struck to refuse. But perhaps later, when you get home, you’re wondering why you gave your precious Snickers to someone who can very well afford their own, and you might feel a little sad — and hungry. That, at least, is what I thought when I robbed a little girl in the frosty city of Emberglow of her only raspberry. “But they’re acting on their own free will” is not only doubtful, but also exactly what fame-aligned villain Auguste would say.
I realized I had to explore nicer ways of obtaining items, so I tried to contend with power-aligned people instead, thinking there was no way it would result in all-out combat. I barged into a grey-haired granny’s home, and, in using the “contend” option to obtain her hairbrush (which she wasn’t eager to give up), promptly started a battle. I’d like to emphasize that I won this battle fair and square, and it had nothing to do with the fact that Granny was outnumbered four to one (her and two backup Grannies against my eight warriors and four helpers).
For a brief moment, I worried that this street fight might’ve damaged my reputation, but luckily, you can mug as many locals as you like in Octopath Traveler 0 — they’ll only think less of you if you lose (which, admittedly, did happen in a thirteen against one fight against a particularly tough grandpa). I haven’t lost against any kids yet, but that’s mainly because you can’t fight kids, who are evidently considered more precious than the elderly.
So now I go around the world robbing children and fighting weakling civilians who can’t beat my eight-member gang of trained warriors, while completely ignoring the wealth-aligned folks — they can go scam someone else with their “discounted” junk. What’s that? You’re wondering why I don’t set an example by just… Purchasing goods? Well, that’s a ridiculous suggestion; if the options to beg and mug are there, surely I can’t be expected to ignore them.
I do admit that none of this sounds very honorable, but in my defense, Octopath Traveler 0 leaves me little choice. Unlike Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler 2, there’s no choice between “noble” and “rogue” interactions, so if I fancy an unassuming youth’s Fortifying Nut, and he happens to be power-aligned, I’ve no choice but to zap him with lightning until he gives it up. It’s definitely the influence system, and not me, that’s the problem here.
