Wandering Sword is an absolute hidden gem that JRPG/CRPG lovers absolutely should not pass on. If I were to use the quickest terms to summarize, this is the perfect blend of Octopath Traveler (visually) with a Chinese classic that many may know, but is also a crazy good game by the name of Heroes of Jin Yong. You have the gorgeous pixel art of Octopath and the near complete freedom of the open world at your fingertips from Heroes of Jin Yong. Needless to say, I was immediately hooked into the game and will certainly continue to enjoy it all the way through.

The biggest highlight for me personally is the near 100% full freedom that you're given almost right off the bat. You are required to join the Wudang Sect but you basically can do whatever you want after this point, which is very early in the game but you are already able to traverse quite a large area and gather your party members. You can grind as much as you like, or as little as you like by avoiding enemies since they are spawned onto the screen and there are no random encounters. It just feels like that the game developers really respect your time and let you play however you feel like at any given moment. You are not really locked down by main story quests, of course you need to progress that but so far nearly all of my playtime has been dedicated to exploration and side quests, I think I've only done like 2 or 3 main scenario quests and I absolutely love that there is still so much more side content and open exploration to do at this point.

Speaking of side content, they don't feel like filler at all in Wandering Sword. You have quite a large cast that you can invite into your party, and through raising your friendship with them you unlock more of their story. Side quests typically do reward you with meaningful rewards and new moves, so it is actually quite worthwhile to do them and just to gather up more people in your party. Some of the seemingly good ones even turn on you and the writing feels pretty good to follow, the characters don't feel like they were placed there just to give you something to do to pad out your gameplay hours, and although you can speedrun the game if you'd like, exploring the world definitely makes you stronger and rewards you with plenty goodies and hidden branches of story.

The art direction is very similar to Octopath Traveler, you get that iconic and gorgeous pixel art that doesn't need a crazy high-end PC to run well while still offering excellent visuals. I do also love that there is auto combat (the computer is not good at combat, but for grinding it's amazing) and 2x speed up available right away. The combat system can be switched between turn-based or real-time on-demand and if you have played Heroes of Jin Yong, it will be extremely similar minus the real-time version where enemies don't wait for you, this is more similar to Chrono Trigger but without the element of movement on a linear grid.

I think the only nitpicky "downside" of this game is the soundtrack, and even then it's not really something I can complain about. Only that it can get repetitive pretty darn quick, and having it constantly cut in when you're grinding just doesn't feel that great to me, but this really is a nitpick and I guess I'm just listing it for the sake of having something constructive to say, because I personally love every other aspect of the game and struggle to come up with anything to criticize. I think it's worth the money even when not on sale.

Wandering Sword is an absolute hidden gem that JRPG/CRPG lovers absolutely should not pass on. If I were to use the quickest terms to summarize, this is the perfect blend of Octopath Traveler (visually) with a Chinese classic that many may know, but is also a crazy good game by the name of Heroes of Jin Yong. You have the gorgeous pixel art of Octopath and the near complete freedom of the open world at your fingertips from Heroes of Jin Yong. Needless to say, I was immediately hooked into the game and will certainly continue to enjoy it all the way through. The biggest highlight for me personally is the near 100% full freedom that you're given almost right off the bat. You are required to join the Wudang Sect but you basically can do whatever you want after this point, which is very early in the game but you are already able to traverse quite a large area and gather your party members. You can grind as much as you like, or as little as you like by avoiding enemies since they are spawned onto the screen and there are no random encounters. It just feels like that the game developers really respect your time and let you play however you feel like at any given moment. You are not really locked down by main story quests, of course you need to progress that but so far nearly all of my playtime has been dedicated to exploration and side quests, I think I've only done like 2 or 3 main scenario quests and I absolutely love that there is still so much more side content and open exploration to do at this point. Speaking of side content, they don't feel like filler at all in Wandering Sword. You have quite a large cast that you can invite into your party, and through raising your friendship with them you unlock more of their story. Side quests typically do reward you with meaningful rewards and new moves, so it is actually quite worthwhile to do them and just to gather up more people in your party. Some of the seemingly good ones even turn on you and the writing feels pretty good to follow, the characters don't feel like they were placed there just to give you something to do to pad out your gameplay hours, and although you can speedrun the game if you'd like, exploring the world definitely makes you stronger and rewards you with plenty goodies and hidden branches of story. The art direction is very similar to Octopath Traveler, you get that iconic and gorgeous pixel art that doesn't need a crazy high-end PC to run well while still offering excellent visuals. I do also love that there is auto combat (the computer is not good at combat, but for grinding it's amazing) and 2x speed up available right away. The combat system can be switched between turn-based or real-time on-demand and if you have played Heroes of Jin Yong, it will be extremely similar minus the real-time version where enemies don't wait for you, this is more similar to Chrono Trigger but without the element of movement on a linear grid. I think the only nitpicky "downside" of this game is the soundtrack, and even then it's not really something I can complain about. Only that it can get repetitive pretty darn quick, and having it constantly cut in when you're grinding just doesn't feel that great to me, but this really is a nitpick and I guess I'm just listing it for the sake of having something constructive to say, because I personally love every other aspect of the game and struggle to come up with anything to criticize. I think it's worth the money even when not on sale.