You unlock new abilities over time and can even mix and match jobs to create your ideal squad. The setup is buoyed by the job system, a long-running Final Fantasy feature that lets you customize your characters by fitting them into specific roles, like a white mage or monk. “Of course I really enjoy making these games - but I enjoy playing them as well.” - Bravely Default II producer Masashi Takahashi on classic RPGs
It’s a clever setup that adds a lot of strategy to battles, particularly bosses, as you have to make hard choices about when to go all-in and when to be patient. Defaulting, meanwhile, lets you skip a move in order to stack up turns for future use. Being brave means you can take multiple turns at once, but this also means you forfeit upcoming turns. The turn-based battles are based around two unique commands called “brave” and “default.” It’s essentially a risk / reward system.
BRAVELY DEFAULT 2 POSTER SERIES
(Think of it like Final Fantasy: X-2 was a direct sequel, while XI was a brand-new experience.) If you haven’t played any games in the series before, the other thing to know about the name is that, ridiculous as it sounds, “ Bravely Default” actually makes some kind of sense. That’s why Square Enix started over with the title. Bravely Default II isn’t a direct sequel to the original game but instead a new story, with new characters, set in a new world. However, it also does very little to stand out - this isn’t a game you play for an engrossing story.įirst, let’s clear up the naming scheme. Bravely Default II is solidly made, and the battle system is still a lot of fun to play around with. But seven years later, it doesn’t have quite the same impact. So where does that leave a sequel? Bravely Default II - technically the third game in the series, following 2016’s Bravely Second: End Layer - does all of the same things that made the original so interesting. It even introduced a novel battle system to help it from retreading too much new ground. It may have technically been a new franchise, but the game was pure classic Final Fantasy-style adventuring. With Bravely Default, Square was going back to its roots. Developer Square Enix made its name with classic turn-based roleplaying games like Final Fantasy, but those eventually gave way to bigger, more cinematic experiences. When the first Bravely Default launched in 2014, it represented a return of sorts.