Despite the animosity between humans and beastlings, and the warnings of Juvah, Ochette still decides to go rescue the lost human child simply because in her heart she believes it's the right thing to do.
After the battle with Glacis, Ochette calms her down by hugging Glacis (despite getting wounded by Glacis in the process) and offering her condolences over what happened to her egg.
After defeating the Darkling, Juvah tells Ochette to finish it off. But Ochette decides to soothe it in its final moments instead as it's dying. She even tells the Darkling that she wants to eat with it together if it reincarnates.
Ochette's ending card shows her teaching some of the younger Beastlings how to use a bow. It's a cute picture in general, and it shows her new dedication to helping the island.
After completing Ochette's final chapter, she has a banter with Castti, who admires her "hunterly demeanor". It ends with a sweet reinforcement of their mother-daughter relationship, with Ochette outright telling Castti that she (platonically) loves her.
Castti: I'm sure you're going to become an even better hunter in future. Ochette: Well, if you say so, maybe I will… After all, you pay more attention to me than anyone else. Castti: Do I fuss too much? Ochette: No way! You know I love you, Castti! Castti: Hehe… Oh, Ochette!
Castti
There's a banter at the end of Castti's chapter 3 where Hikari quietly confronts Castti about the fact she's finally remembered everything. In it, Hikari promises not to pry into Castti's past, but promises to continue to aid her as her friend. This is especially powerful and poignant if Castti was the player's starting character; it is entirely possible, and, in fact, incredibly likely that Hikari was the first friend Castti made during the entire adventure. Seeing Hikari reaffirm his faith in her helps to ease the sting of seeing so many of Castti's former allies die.
Castti: ... Thank you. The company will be appreciated.
Similarly, at the start of her third chapter, Temenos will express his concern and support for Castti, stating that it's his job as a cleric to guide "his flock," and Castti genuinely thanks him for it. It shows that Temenos has a soft side and really does care about his friends, and it comes at a point where Castti really needs some support.
When Ori interviews Castti at the end of her fourth chapter, Castti makes sure to say that "we saved Timberain," crediting the rest of Eir's Apothecaries for her victory. Without her team, she never would've made the cure in time, and it's sweet to see her acknowledgement of her old friends.
Castti’s ending card shows her sleeping with the memory of Eir’s apothecaries looking over her. One stand out is what appears to be Trousseau looking back at her, indicating that despite everything, Castti chooses to remember him as the kind, caring man he once was, and not the tragic monster he became.
Throné
Throné feeding and looking after a stray puppy is sweet, showing that she has a soft side to her.
Amidst the grimness of the situation, Pirro stepping in to be whipped in Throné's place shows that there's Honor Among Thieves.
It's bittersweet, but before Pirro succumbs to his wounds, he sincerely shows respect for Throné's skill, and tells her if anyone can escape the Blacksnakes and truly be free, it will be her.
After Throné's story, Mother's Garden transforms from an Orphanage of Fear to a legitimate orphanage where the children remain and genuinely begin to thrive under the care of the elderly guard. Much of their dialogue includes no longer fearing to be in public or to be subjected to harsh punishment, nor are they forced to steal or kill to survive.
For additional heartwarming factors, inquiring or scrutinizing the orphans now provides fuller info, including new hopes and dreams for the future, rather than labels or talents beneficial to the Blacksnakes.
After the fight with Father, Throné calls him Dad, admitting her love for him, and Father dies happily after she finally recognizes him as her father.
Throné's ending card shows her smiling and walking with the stray dog again. It gives a small bright spot to her otherwise dark final chapter, since she at least gets to be free like she wanted to be.
Many of Throné and Hikari's banter conversations display their fairly sweet Odd Friendship — also becoming Heartwarming in Hindsight when you learn late game that they're distant relatives — as two people who come from similarly violent backgrounds but who are on opposite ends of the idealistic vs. cynical spectrum. One example is when Hikari learns of the orphanage that raises Blacksnakes, he's horrified and talks about how he wishes for a world where children never have to see bloodshed, let alone spill blood, and in response Throné remarks on how if more people were like Hikari, she thinks the world would be a better place.
Osvald
After Osvald washes ashore at the end of chapter 2 and is found by an elderly scholar who knows he's an escaped prisoner, for a moment it looks like everything Osvald had done up to this point may be All for Nothing. But instead, the old scholar gives him food, a change of clothes, asks no questions about why Osvald was a prisoner, and sends him on his way without alerting the authorities. Osvald thanks his fellow scholar for all he has done, the old man telling him it's the least he can do, and all he asks in return is that Osvald lives an honorable life for the rest of his days.
Lady Clarissa, despite all evidence to the contrary presented at Osvald's trial, never doubted for second that he loved his family too much to ever murder them.
During Osvald's Chapter 3, the travel banter between him and Ochette has Ochette call him "Pops" because he "has a fatherly scent." She then asks if she can cuddle with him because his hair reminds her of Juvah's mane. Osvald pauses, then says he'll consider it. It's small, but it's a surprisingly cute moment that helps to break up the otherwise dark tone of most of Osvald's story.
Another moment of banter during his story: Throné gives Osvald advice on what to replace his prison garments with, including a fancy long coat and a top hat, advice that he seems to take to heart, as his end card shows him wearing both.
What is it that lets Osvald unlock the one true magic where Harvey and so many others have failed after centuries? His love for his daughter.
There's a flashback in Osvald's Chapter 5 that shows him and Elena both studying in his lab. Rita walks in to bring them some tea and comments in amusement on how "the apple didn't fall far from the tree." For bonus points, Elena was writing about Osvald's magic, clearly showing how much she adores her dad. Aww.
Near the end, Clarissa finds the pen Osvald bought for Elena in a previous flashback and brings it to her. It's already nice that the pen managed to survive for so long, but Elena says the pen feels familiar to her. Even if she can't clearly remember Osvald at the moment, she still knows that a present he gave her was something important.
Partitio
In all honesty, most of Partitio's story is one giant heartwarming moment due to his helpful, kindhearted, and forgiving attitude and his strong sense of altruism.
One standout example is how he's shown putting his workers and his dad over himself in his first chapter.
In his second chapter, Partitio stands up for a kid being threatened by Thurston. At the end, the kid shows up again, and he recognizes Partitio and is clearly grateful for earlier. Partitio pays him to shine his shoes, then offers the boy some encouragement.
Even better, at the end of Partitio's final chapter, he meets the kid again and offers him a job.
When Partitio learns of Alrond, the wealthiest person on the western continent, the player is likely expecting a counterpart to Roque... and he is, but specifically a Good Counterpart. After experiencing the selfishness of the rich through Roque, it's sweet to see how much Alrond truly loves Wellgrove and how thankful he is to Partitio for revitalizing it, with him easily making good on his offer to provide Partitio with 80 billion leaves. When Partitio mentions writing up a contract to pay him back, Alrond doesn't hesitate to reject the notion, feeling that Partitio has more than done so already.
Even further, after Alrond shows up with the money in Partitio's final chapter, he states that 80 billion leaves is "mere pocket change" compared to how much Partitio is worth. It really shows how much he appreciates what Partitio did for him.
After Thurston attempts to kill Partitio and Alrond, Partitio not only spares Thurston's life, but offers him a chance to work for him once he obtains the rights to the steam engine. After this, Thurston is shown to become a lot nicer afterwards, as shown when he asks for help in getting Floyd to get some rest.
In particular, even after Roque has a Villainous Breakdown and attacks Partitio, Partitio doesn’t give up on talking Roque into seeing the error of his ways—and it works. He Hires Roque with his trademark single silver coin and the two make amends as business partners. To drive it home, the coin can be found on Roque’s person after the chapter is finished but is firmly listed as not for sale.
Agnea
The entirety of Cropdale are nothing but supportive of Agnea and her dream to become a dancing star. Throughout her first chapter, they shower her with praise and compliments over her dancing, with Gus even managing to personally scrounge up the last thousand leaves she needs to finally begin her journey.
Even her father, who initially forbids her from leaving, is only strict about Agnea's dream because he's worried about her. In the end, he gives her her mother's dress and lets her leave, and is shown to be crying when she leaves Cropdale.
Chapter 2 is rather sweet and sets the tone for Agnea's story and the way she changes others' lives for the better.
A blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, but when Gil snarks at a patron that he has to actually pay his drinks tab at some point, the implication is that despite being dirt poor and the tavern being his sole source of income, Gil lets people drink for free — after all, his patrons are similarly poor.
After spending days helping out at the tavern, Agnea eventually has to leave — prompted by Gil, no less, as he refuses to tie her down when she's meant for better things — but as bittersweet as the parting is, it's clear that the slums of New Delsta won't forget what she's done for them. As a show of thanks, Gil finds the courage to play the piano for her, despite insisting previously that he had long given it up due to a lack of skill. Not only is he more talented than he gave himself credit for, but he composes a new song that he gives to Agnea as a gift, and devising its lyrics becomes the backbone for the rest of her journey.
Chapter 3 has Agnea meet and assist Giselle and her performing troupe, first by getting their wagon out of the sand, and then helping Giselle get over her Stage Fright. When doing the latter, Agnea does so by showing Giselle the bruises she has on her legs and feet as a result of her dancing, claiming they're worth it as long as she can make people smile. Giselle, stunned by Agnea's persistence, overcomes her fear and, after her performance, she both thanks Agnea before the spectators and then later gives her information on Cuani's travels, which lead Agnea to Sai.
Chapter 5 has everyone Agnea has helped over the course of her journey help her in turn when La'mani sends his goons to try and kidnap her. First, Giselle and her troupe send their doves at the first pair of goons, letting Agnea slip away. Then, when more goons show up, Gil helps Agnea by playing on the piano, drawing a crowd toward him that blocks the goons from moving. Then, when the goons manage to get through the crowd, Laila shows up and, using her dance moves, kicks them hard enough that they're unable to continue chasing Agnea. Seeing all of her friends pay back her kindness and ensure she can reach her performance with Dolcinaea is a definite heartwarmer.
The lead-up to phase 2 of the final battle with Dolcinaea. No matter how formidable Agnea is, Dolcinaea has name recognition and the entire crowd on her side, and is plenty glamorous and outstanding herself. Agnea starts to falter, wondering if Dolcinaea's approach to stardom is truly correct... and then she hears a voice telling her to get back up. She looks out over the crowd, and every major character from her story besides Veronica and La'mani are in the east wing, cheering for her, led by her father, who had been the most resistant to Agnea pursuing her dreams. Slowly, the cries of Dolcinaea's crowd starts to die out as everyone cheering for Agnea causes the rest of the crowd to start cheering for her, too. The Song of Hope then starts playing, and Agnea takes control of the performance with everyone cheering her name.
The final picture you get after completing Agnea's story shows not only the characters Agnea has encountered during her journey to stardom, but also Dolcinaea, Veronica and La'mani, the main antagonists, all congratulating her for her victory. Dolcinaea has also a big and happy smile in her face, showing how she has become a better, happier person thanks to Agnea's influence. Even the Duorduor is there, snorting for her under Veronica.
Temenos
Also a bit of a Tear Jerker, but the Pontiff's funeral at the end of Chapter 1 draws a huge crowd. It shows just how much the people of Flamechurch loved him.
In the end, it's Crick's faith, rather than his own, that inspires Temenos to oppose Kaldena's nihilism. A flashback before the final battle shows that he really took their final conversation to heart, despite dismissing Crick's viewpoint as naïve at the time.
Hikari in general is heartwarming due to his completely genuine Nice Guy personality. He really does care about the common citizens of Ku and wants to be a good king, and he's always supportive of the other travelers.
When Rai Mei, after being bested by Hikari, confesses that her brother Jin Mei sent the bandits who killed Hikari's mother, she fully expects and wants him to kill her. Hikari tells her he's known the whole time, and that Jin Mei only did it due to Mugen's threat to destroy Clan Mei. It speaks a lot to his character that, despite Clan Mei being responsible his mother's death, he doesn't blame them at all for it.
Despite all Mugen had done, including having his mother killed, Hikari still chooses to genuinely mourn his elder brother's death and what the curse of the Ku clan reduced him to in the end, being little more than a corpse in a suit of armor.
Hikari's coronation scene. He makes sure the commoners are all invited, and he takes off his crown early on, likely in an attempt to speak with them on more equal footing. Hikari also announces that all the clans that Ku subjugated are now free. His first few minutes as king immediately establish what kind of ruler he is.
As a bonus, Kazan, who's watching the coronation from the side, remarks, "Never change, Hikari." Given later reveals of how Hikari was largely a pawn in Kazan/Oboro's plans to end the world, it's ambiguous as to how much of their friendship was real, but moments like this suggest that Kazan genuinely did think well of Hikari.
Crossed Paths
Castti dotes on Wooly-Ooly the duorduor in the first half of her and Ochette's side story, showcasing how her desire to heal everyone really does extend to everyone. The fact that Wooly-Ooly seems happy about this is also very cute.
In the second half, after Ochette saves Castti, Ochette says she'll shout as much as she needs to if it means she can save her "mama," showing how much she cares about Castti.
In the second half of Agnea and Hikari's crossed path, Agnea stumbles once they get to the Tranquil Grotto. Hikari helps her up and says that if she falls again, she can hold his hand. It's a cute little moment that both showcases Hikari's Nice Guy tendencies and also comes across as some mild Ship Tease.
Doubling as a Tearjerker, but in Throné and Temenos's first Crossed Paths, it's revealed at the end that Throné wanted to find Alpates because of a past bet with Pirro and co. to see if the treasure was real, complete with a flashback to their conversation. Though Throné's friends may have died early on in her story, they are by no means forgotten.
Final Chapter
In the final chapter, Ori, the peppy reporter Partitio encounters throughout his story, is revealed to be an agent of the Moonshade Order. However, thanks to having witnessed Partitio's sheer selflessness and unwavering kindness and optimism, she begins to question if the world and humanity truly are beyond salvation. In her journal entry discussing the ending of Partitio's story, she is utterly speechless by how Partitio not only forgave Roque, but agreed to work together with him for the betterment of others, as this goes against everything she and the Order believed in. In the end, when it comes time for her to sacrifice herself to douse one of the Sacred Flames, her doubts and conflicting feelings cause the wound to not be fatal, allowing her to be found and saved by traveling healers.
The beginning of the epilogue is slightly sad but still very heartwarming, as everyone is reluctant to say goodbye. As each traveler leaves the campsite, they make it clear how much the memories of their journey mean to them. What's more, it's done in reverse order of who you picked up - by the end, it feels deeply personal when it's just two people, like Castti and Hikari, or Ochette and Throné. It really brings such great weight to all the travelers accomplished together.
The Epilogue. You get to have your player character (Or Pala, if Agnea was chosen) tour around New Delsta one last time... only everyone, literally everyone, who was important to the travelers' journeys are there. Partitio's friends from Oresrush? Partitio is treating them. Mao, the apothecary from Sai? There to enjoy the show. Heig, who barely felt he had anything left to live for after being denied his revenge on Glacis? Stunned by the beauty of the city. Everyone, no matter how seemingly minor, has reunited because they cared that much about seeing their friend Agnea give a wonderful performance now that she is a star with name recognition rivaling Dolcinaea—such that it's her face plastered on the boards outside the theater. The game ends just before Agnea can put on her show, but we get to hear her give an impassioned speech about dreams and friendship and about how she was one of eight heroes who toured every inch of the two continents, and we learn what her newest song's title is: Octopath Traveler.
Two faces seem strangely absent at first. Despite being the descendant of Cateracta and small enough in its normal form to travel around the city without causing property damage, Acta seems strangely absent, and Ori seems like she truly has left for parts unknown. During the very final shot of the game before the title and the end card, however, the player can make out that Acta got a seat of honor next to Cohazeh and Juvah on the right and Plukk's crew on the left, and that Ori, alive and well, is watching from the entrance to the theater. No one is absent.
As a little cherry on top, if you speak to Griff and Edmund, it turns out that Griff's fears of Timberain once again trying to subjugate the poor in Sai ended up amounting to nothing. The peace talks will actually happen, truly showing mankind's capacity for change and its ability to seek cooperative compromises to their problems. The world Hikari was hoping for may just be over the horizon.
Notably, Dolcinaea Luciel herself is acting as the hype woman at the theater, performing a little pre-show to get anyone who hasn't bought tickets yet to change their minds and enjoy her rival's performance.
Cohazeh and Juvah spend time together before the show, and even sit next to each other during the performance. After both sides started the game refusing to see eye to eye and after all Cohazeh did to try and take land from the beastlings, it seems the two finally reached compromise and became friends, just as Ochette wanted—though that doesn't stop Cohazeh from teasing the poor lion.
Roque and Papp have buried the hatchet, and speaking with them reveals that this performance is taking place an indeterminate amount of time in the future following the invention of train stations and entire rail lines. Roque ended up as good as his word, and the formerly amoral tycoon and his new partner Partitio have connected the world, just as planned.
Mira attends the show with the guard from Mother's orphanage, who is now directly labeled as the Cheerful Elderly Guard. The gondola guide from Lostseed even comes along with them, seeming a bit nostalgic as he says it's been a while since he's seen New Delsta.
Elena has recovered her memories of Osvald, and she tells Lady Clarissa that she wants to get her papa a present before they go to the show. And speaking of Osvald, he's finally gotten himself some new clothes, wearing something that looks similar to the outfit he has in his ending card.
Zeto the Butcher subtly hits on Alpione, saying she has some beautiful muscles. Alpione seems surprised but flattered by this, commenting that no one's ever told her that before.
Mikka and Pala can be found in the same area, alongside Garud, implying that Mikka accompanied Agnea's family or met up with them in the city; either way, Mikka and Pala's bond is still going strong after the events of Mikka's sidequest.
For those worried about Temenos's lack of companionship after the events of his story, Ort can be found talking to him (in a manner reminiscent of Crick, even), suggesting that they've kept in touch since Ort's sidequest.
Sidequests and Character Banter
A tavern banter between Osvald, Castti, and Agnea has Osvald getting drunk because it's his wife's birthday, and mistaking Castti and Agnea for his wife and daughter respectively. He begins to rant about how he couldn't do more for Elena than teach her math and apologizes for being a terrible father, and Castti and Agnea tell him he's a wonderful father.
In Tropu'hopu, the Stage Actors sidequest has a stage director looking for an actor who "really knows how to brawl", the play he comes up with changing depending on which of the four available characters (Hikari, Ochette, Temenos, or Osvald) you defeat him with. If you pick Osvald, the play becomes "Make way for Osvald, the Thieving Gentlemage!", a play about a Robin Hood-esque character played by Osvald. Osvald has seemingly been roped into playing the lead role against his will and refuses to say any of his lines before starting to walk off the stage. Before he manages to leave, though, the children in the audience start encouraging him and asking him not to let the bad guy win. Osvald pauses for a moment before starting to play along, putting on a performance that had the children hanging onto his every word. He really has a soft spot for kids.
One sidequest involves finding a letter in a bottle at the Lighthouse Island and delivering it to a person called Ruby in Timberain. It turns out that this letter is written by Emerald, the person who sacrificed himself to allow Osvald to escape, and the letter shows that during his final moments, Emerald was indeed thinking about helping Osvald, seeing him as different from the others and deserves to be saved. Ruby is Emerald's mother, and she was grudging against her son for recklessly committing a crime before, but seeing her son's Heroic Sacrifice, she eventually forgives him. When talked to again, she says that she hopes the person Emerald saves will be fine.
Hermes—who has a brief appearance in Temenos's storyline—has another appearance in Laila's Next Chapter storyline. Unlike Dolcinaea, Hermes is nothing but sweetness and light to start with; when she discovers that the competition was rigged in her favor, she not only immediately fires her manager for indulging in the scheme, but negates her own win in favor of letting Laila try again. Laila is so moved by this that she decides to have a duet with Hermes as her entry, which still allows Hermes to get up on stage.
Mikka's Next Chapter is full of cute moments. It starts with Benkei noticing how hard Mikka is working to help Ku rebuild, so he wants to get her a new kimono so she'll have something better to cover herself with while working. The player then has to go to Cropdale and request a kimono from Agnea's father, and Pala wants to come along to deliver it. After meeting Mikka, Pala encourages her to open up more and quickly develops a crush on her, both of which Mikka seems to appreciate. The next morning, Mikka gives her one half of a pair of earrings Ritsu had originally given to her as a sign that she wants to spend time with Pala again. After everything Mikka's been through, it's nice to see her get a lot of concern and care from everyone else.
At the end of Throné's Chapter 3, we see Mira vowing revenge on Throné for killing Mother. Mira's Next Chapter shows what happens to her next. She actually followed Throné to Lostseed, but after she gets there, she finds that Throné has already killed Claude and left, and she feels empty as her purpose of living seems lost. The Elderly Guard from the orphanage then finds her and offers to become her parental figure and help her live a happy life, to which Mira agrees. He also mentions how he wants to be a father to all the children at the orphanage now that he's free to choose his own purpose.
A sidequest shows the deep friendship mutually shared between Veronica and Dolcinaea. Veronica asks for help in giving a gift to Dolcinaea for all the time, encouragement, and friendship she's given. When encouraged to give something from the heart and that Dolcinaea will love whatever it is, Veronica chooses to give Dolcinaea two dumbbells (because she feels that Dolcinaea's beauty will last longer if she works out). The travelers doubt whether Dolcinaea would truly like the gift... but it's revealed that she loves it, especially because it came from Veronica. She does incorrectly think it's a form of drum, but even with that incorrect thought in mind, she wants nothing more than to put it into her next show so that a part of Veronica is on stage with her.
After Castti's story is finished, a sidequest in Winterbloom has Melia speak with Plukk and her minions after they send a letter claiming they wish to make amends, which Melia knows is a blatant lie. However, rather than lure them in and arrest them, Melia offers them a chance to work for her as gardeners since she's too busy to maintain her herb garden while running things in Winterbloom. Plukk, who once had a dream of becoming a gardener, is so touched by Melia's generosity that she, Mikk and Makk all give up their criminal paths to become honest workers. What makes this particularly noteworthy is that Plukk and her flunkies kidnapped Melia while working for Greg, yet Melia bears no ill will toward them.
Misha's Next Chapter reveals how he and Alrond met: namely, that Alrond saw the value in a street urchin like him and hired him, resulting in a lifelong friendship between the two. In the present, the quest ends with Alrond inviting Misha to go "treasure hunting" with him as a callback to that day, and with Misha exasperatedly but fondly calling Alrond a handful who can't even do his own chores without Misha.
Miscellaneous
Most of the plot-relevant characters have a unique line if they're summoned into battle by the appropriate party member. This is a nice touch on its own, but special mention goes to Partitio hiring Papp. Their lines are "I'm counting on ya, Pops!" and "I'm here, chickadee!" It just goes to show how good their relationship is.
This art of Ochette snuggling in Osvald's hair while Throné is stroking her tail, made to celebrate a million copies sold.
art of Ochette snuggling in Osvald's hair while Throné is stroking her tail, made to celebrate a million copies sold.