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coeursetcolores · 3 years

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Alfyn, the Apothecary: Chapter 1

WARNING! Spoilers ahead for Chapter 1 of Alfyn’s story in Octopath Traveler!

Alright, time to dive on into the world of medieval medicine! And what better guide than a simple country boy who wants to do right by his village?

Alfyn is just, wow. This is a sweet boy, I love him!

From all the fanart I assumed he was a regular fratboy himbo, which I’m not opposed to, but I was surprised. Alfyn’s a pretty deep thinker who really tries to find a way that’ll work out the best; when things go down, he keeps a pretty cool head.

He’s just a good guy, and I like that the character who could easily get put into the “country bumpkin” role is the one who actually uses his head a lot. He’s humble, hardworking and just chill. All in all, a real feel-good character. For now (again, only played his first chapter).

I wasn’t sure how an apothecary would play, but the Concoct thing is pretty cool. It’s kind of like playing an alchemist, though I wish I had a recipe book. Eh, I might find one later, I’ll just settle for getting more ingredients to make free stuff. I do not have leaves to burn! Metaphorically speaking.

Inquire isn’t much different from Scrutinize, but I do like that it won’t mess up as badly; it’s nice not to worry about your reputation getting messed up. And I guess it’s a bit less uncomfortable to the person you’re using it on.

The axe really does suit him, it’s something I would expect someone who lives near the woodlands would keep on hand. And now I have someone to give H’aanit’s hand-me-downs to!

I also find Alfyn’s story really relatable, like Tressa’s; you’re stuck between staying where you’re comfortable and going off in search of something better. Alfyn’s is a bit more difficult, though; if he leaves, the town is left with one apothecary in case of illness. But if he goes, he can learn new things to help the town. It’s a really difficult decision that a lot of people will understand and will question if they made the right choice later about.

And oh boy, Dead Mom Syndrome. With a side-effect of Missing Dad Syndrome. Wonder if this’ll be important later. Is the story implying that the guy who saved his life was his dad, or is he gonna be the final boss, I don’t know.

Clearbrook is a simple country town full of nature and I like it! It’s so homey, you can just feel how warm and loving everyone is. It’s not much, but it’s just right. And the river running through is just the peak of simple beauty. Even the graveyard has a pleasant feel to it, it doesn’t give off any spooky vibes, just the simple elegance that comes with accepting death.

Zeph is really cool, though. We love supportive best friends here! And he understands Alfyn enough to know how to convince him to go. And he’s a great big brother! That really shows when he talks to Alfyn: Alfyn may be the one who can keep calm in a crisis, but Zeph is the one who can understand how someone feels and help them find a solution. It’s a really sweet friendship. And meaningful item exchange, awwww!

And here I’m going to be honest: as you’ve noticed, quite a few of these boss fights are not very well-detailed. I really don’t focus on game mechanics, so I can’t write about them that well.

But there’s another reason.

You see, by the time I had gotten to Alfyn’s Chapter 1, I already did three Chapter 2s (Therion, Tressa and Cyrus) and on Cyrus’ I kind of over-grinded. So, by the time I was at Clearbrook...

I was frickin’ OP.

Enemies were crushed beneath my heels. I was so powerful, Chapter 1 boss fights were over in minutes, so that’s why I can’t write much about what went down in Alfyn, Primrose and Olberic’s Chapter 1s. I will do my best though!

The “saving the little girl from poison” story is a little cliche, but it works here, since it’s a small village and there’s probably not that many threats nearby.

The Blotted Viper I actually expected to have more poison attacks, but it’s a first boss so I won’t fault it for that. It will instead be faulted for having lackeys. The Constrict attack actually gave me some trouble though, because I didn’t bring much to fight off unconciousness with. Poison was also annoying.

But I beat it! And by the laws of the country, I am now a man! Attacking animals (but it was done for an actually good cause and we didn’t kill it)!

And I saved a little girl from poison! By the laws of the country, I am now a doctor! Screw licenses!

But watching Alfyn and Zeph talk about what Alfyn wants was really sweet. I’ve seen scenarios where the friend character would see this as “abandonment” but Zeph understands and helps motivate Alfyn to go.

And when Alfyn says goodbye to his mother’s grave...you’re a little hurt but you feel lighter at the same time.

Well. I guess we better start lookin’ for herbs! We got people to help and plagues to stop!

#Octopath Rambler #Alfyn Greensgrass #Chapter One #Review #Octopath Traveler #Death cw

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