Octopath Traveler 1 and 2 got shiny new Nintendo Switch 2 edition announcements today, which should be great news! Both of these games are fantastic, meaty RPGs, gorgeous in HD-2D, and likely even prettier with the improved resolution and framerate of the upgraded edition. You would think, in 2026, that if someone who already owned one of these games on Switch wanted to play the upgraded version on their Switch 2, they could maybe shell out $10 or so for the improvements. Or, heck, even get an upgrade for free given that it’s literally just a visual buff and there’s no new content. But Square Enix has once again lost its dang mind, and is insisting on charging full price for these things regardless of whether or not you already own them on Switch 1.
We know this from tiny text in the trailer at the final splash screen, which reads, “There are no plans to sell an upgrade pack to upgrade the Nintendo Switch version to the Nintendo Switch 2 version.” This is so, so silly! It is also almost certainly leaving money on the table! Octopath Traveler and the sequel are both $60 on Switch 1 (when they’re not on sale, which they currently are). I imagine the Switch 2 version will cost about the same amount. If you don’t own it, that’s great; just hold off until the October 1 release and buy the better version. But if I already own it, I’m not going to shell out a second $60 to play a marginally nicer-looking version. I just won’t play the upgrade at all. I would, however, seriously consider paying $10 for an upgrade to a game I already have. I imagine I’m not alone in this.
What’s even more irritating is that save data isn’t compatible between the two versions, so even if you did spend the large quantity of money for an upgrade to a game you already own, you’ve got to start all over anyway. What’s the point, man? Why even do upgrades on an eight- and three-year-old game just to continue selling them very occasionally to the handful of folks who might someday want to play them, but haven’t yet?
Square Enix’s upgrade strategy continues to baffle me. It’s inconsistent across titles, so I struggle to keep track of what’s going on. For instance: Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is only available on Switch 2, not the original Switch, which makes some sense to me. However, the same is true of Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster which, given its Nintendo DS origins, absolutely did not need to be a Switch 2-exclusive remake. Then there are games like the Dragon Quest remakes and Final Fantasy Tactics, which have free upgrade paths from Switch 1 to Switch 2, suggesting to me that Square Enix is perfectly willing to give fans a treat once in a while. But then Romancing Saga 2 has an upgrade that costs $10.
Anyway, I guess if you’re an RPG fan who for some reason hasn’t picked up one of these yet, they’ll be on Switch 2 on October 1. You can buy physical copies individually, or you can buy them digitally either separate or bundled. Just make sure you buy the right version, because if you screw it up, there’s no free upgrade path to help you. However, if you would rather just save money and don’t care about resolution and such, they’re both on deep discount on Switch 1 now.
