Bravely Default II, much like its predecessors, is a game that's not afraid to wear its influences on its shoulders. It's quite clear that the age old "4 Heroes of Light" trope along with the collection of crystals to save the world is a plotline that's all too familiar and trite. It would be quite easy to dismiss this game as nothing more than a "by-the-numbers" RPG, but it's anything but, I believe. Granted, as of writing this review, I have not played the previous two entries, but after finishing this game, I am quite excited to delve into them soon enough. While the set-up and story overall isn't anything new or extraordinary, its the game's presentation that won me over.
I'll be honest, when I first booted this up, it was kind of a slowburn. The chibi-like character models felt off, the open world felt a bit empty and plain, and the set-up was all too familiar, as I've mentioned. Once jobs started getting introduced, I actually felt intimdated because this actually the first JRPG I've played with a job system, so I wasn't sure how confusing it would get. But more on that later. In the meantime, the more I played, the more I found myself drawn to the world and the characters. I came to love the chibi aesthetic and the sometimes over-the-top European accents and character quirks. Elvis in particular became the ideal buddy in my mind. A nice fellow I wish I could share a drink with. It's hard to explain what exactly made a lot of things in this game click for me, but they eventually did sooner rather than later and I'm glad they did.
As I mentioned the game features a job system which threw me off at first, but the more jobs I acquired, the more options were available to experiment with. See, I realize now that games like this rely more on your set-up strategy rather than just leveling up. It's easy enough to just cheese your way through most bosses wigth the right skills and job classes equipped. Of course, a lot of people may prefer the challenge of actually beating bosses without the use of cheap tactics, but the option is there. I for one found it really fun to exploit weaknesses and use them to my advantage. It feels like breaking the game, in a good way. It kind of scratched an itch I never realized I had. See, classics like Final Fantasy III and V seemed intimidating due to their job system, but I'm excited to try them out properly after enjoying my time with this. I've heard the battle system was changed somewhat from the previous two games, so I'll expand on that later on once I finish them, but I really enjoyed it and unlike most RPGs, I actually didn't feel bothered when I had to grind.
As I said in the beginning, the presentation is what won me over, and while I do think the majority of the enjoyment here lies within its gameplay and versatile job system, I feel like the direction they went with the clichéd story employed enough twists and intense moments to make it interesting. And this was also thanks to the vibrant cast of heroes and side characters alike, most of which I really liked. On that note, I really loved how sidequests were handled. Sure, you've got your generic fetch quests and "defeat x amount of monsters" quests. But sprinkled throughout are more in depth quests that add cutscenes and plot for the purposes of character development, which made hunting for sidequests feel all the more fun and worthwhile. Some of these led to some legitmately heartfelt moments that made me love the characters that much more.
Looking at this game with a more critical lens makes me aware that it isn't breaking any ground or accomplishing anything extraordinary, but with the amount of charm it has and how much fun I had with the boss fights, I can't help but admitting it's become one of my favorite JRPGs I've played. I'll be sure to update this review with some comparisons once I beat the first 2 games, but personally, this was a great introduction to the series and I'm glad I gave it a chance.
I'll be honest, when I first booted this up, it was kind of a slowburn. The chibi-like character models felt off, the open world felt a bit empty and plain, and the set-up was all too familiar, as I've mentioned. Once jobs started getting introduced, I actually felt intimdated because this actually the first JRPG I've played with a job system, so I wasn't sure how confusing it would get. But more on that later. In the meantime, the more I played, the more I found myself drawn to the world and the characters. I came to love the chibi aesthetic and the sometimes over-the-top European accents and character quirks. Elvis in particular became the ideal buddy in my mind. A nice fellow I wish I could share a drink with. It's hard to explain what exactly made a lot of things in this game click for me, but they eventually did sooner rather than later and I'm glad they did.
As I mentioned the game features a job system which threw me off at first, but the more jobs I acquired, the more options were available to experiment with. See, I realize now that games like this rely more on your set-up strategy rather than just leveling up. It's easy enough to just cheese your way through most bosses wigth the right skills and job classes equipped. Of course, a lot of people may prefer the challenge of actually beating bosses without the use of cheap tactics, but the option is there. I for one found it really fun to exploit weaknesses and use them to my advantage. It feels like breaking the game, in a good way. It kind of scratched an itch I never realized I had. See, classics like Final Fantasy III and V seemed intimidating due to their job system, but I'm excited to try them out properly after enjoying my time with this. I've heard the battle system was changed somewhat from the previous two games, so I'll expand on that later on once I finish them, but I really enjoyed it and unlike most RPGs, I actually didn't feel bothered when I had to grind.
As I said in the beginning, the presentation is what won me over, and while I do think the majority of the enjoyment here lies within its gameplay and versatile job system, I feel like the direction they went with the clichéd story employed enough twists and intense moments to make it interesting. And this was also thanks to the vibrant cast of heroes and side characters alike, most of which I really liked. On that note, I really loved how sidequests were handled. Sure, you've got your generic fetch quests and "defeat x amount of monsters" quests. But sprinkled throughout are more in depth quests that add cutscenes and plot for the purposes of character development, which made hunting for sidequests feel all the more fun and worthwhile. Some of these led to some legitmately heartfelt moments that made me love the characters that much more.
Looking at this game with a more critical lens makes me aware that it isn't breaking any ground or accomplishing anything extraordinary, but with the amount of charm it has and how much fun I had with the boss fights, I can't help but admitting it's become one of my favorite JRPGs I've played. I'll be sure to update this review with some comparisons once I beat the first 2 games, but personally, this was a great introduction to the series and I'm glad I gave it a chance.
Katiopeia
3 years ago
I don't have a Switch so I sadly can't play this game, as much as I would like to, but maybe some day.