Review in progress:
It's not a good game. Most JRPGs are highly overrated, and this is no exception.

The story is generic and forgettable. All of the characters are annoying, shallow anime cliches. The chibi art style on the character models looks cheap and ugly. The dungeons all have bland layouts and puzzles. They genuinely feel AI-generated at times. Most of the soundtrack is mediocre and a lot of the songs are overplayed.

Random encounters are in this 2013 game. You can toggle the encounter rate, but that's a band-aid on a gaping wound. They shouldn't be here in the first place and heavily date the game.

The final section is the worst I've played in any game. It's a miserable slog and is the type of blatant padding the genre is notorious for.

The only thing Bravely Default has going for it is its above-average combat system, which has a good amount of depth. It isn't enough to save the game from being anything more than mediocre.

Reviewed on Nov 18, 2023


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