So far, little has been revealed about Octopath Traveler 2 outside of its trailer, but there is reason to believe via a story theory that the heroes of the new game may be related to the last game's protagonists. Granted, there is only one game's worth of lore and a trailer for the sequel to go off of. However, there are enough clues that the theory does sound plausible.

Octopath Traveler is a fairly unique JRPG published by Square Enix. In Octopath, the player will start with one of eight different heroes, and can recruit all of them over the course of their adventure. All eight protagonists have their own storyline that is told over the course of four chapters, with a final chapter at the end leading up to the game's final boss. This design made every character feel meaningful to the plot, since they all had explicit enemies and obstacles to overcome. Octopath Traveler 2's first reveal trailer showed fans a game that looks to recapture that same magic.

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In the reveal trailer for Octopath Traveler 2, the new protagonists for the sequel were revealed. However, many fans likely realized two patterns being followed. One, the first letters of the heroes' names once again spell out "Octopath". Second, and more importantly, they seem to largely follow the same sorts of roles as the original cast. For example, there is once again a warrior like Olberic, a dancer like Primrose, a thief like Therion, and so on. The fact that these roles are being used once more could hint towards the Octopath heroes' descendants taking up their legacies. After all, Pokémon Legends: Arceus featured several characters' ancestors, so Octopath 2 starring the descendants of the first game isn't out of the question.

Octopath Traveler 2 reveal trailer

A final argument comes from one specific line in the trailer. Agnea, the new game's dancer, mentions wanting to be a star just like her mother. Since Agnea shares a fair few features with Primrose, with both being graceful long-haired brunettes, there is the possibility that Agnea could be Primrose's mother. However, this part of the theory is a bit shaky, since Primrose was not famous outside of Sunshade. Although there is the possibility that Primrose could have lied to her daughter about her past in order to avoid digging up bad memories, since most of her storyline in Octopath was quite traumatic. Unlike Triangle Strategy's difficult but achievable true ending, Primrose's story is bittersweet, so one can't blame her for not wanting to remember.

The biggest point against this theory would be the fact that Octopath Traveler 2 takes place in a different land than the first one. The original took place in Orsterra, while the new game takes place in a region known as Solistia. However, although this is a blow to the theory, it doesn't completely disprove it. It's possible that Solistia is a distant land where all of the heroes' descendants ended up, or perhaps a new name that was given to Orsterra long after the events of the first game, similar to how Pokémon Legends: Arceus' Hisui was actually Sinnoh from the distant past. This new land does blur the theory, but it also opens some new lines of thought as to what the game's plot could be.

If the heroes of Octopath Traveler 2 are indeed the descendants of the original protagonists, then that would leave the question of why. It's possible that the evil god Galdera returned, or any number of possibilities. Whatever the case may be, Octopath Traveler 2 should answer this question and many more when it releases in early 2023.