Reviews: Bravely Default II

Be brave again

For some, Default with courage the franchise exists only on the peripheral plane.

“We want more old-school JRPGs,” fans shouted. “Here are a few,” Square Enix said. But the coverage of the projects in the aforementioned series, as well as unique events Lost Sphear, I Am Setsuna, and Oninaki, is lost on some.

May be Default brave II, with the power of the switch base in the back, will change that narrative.

Default brave II (Nintendo Switch)
Developer: Claytechworks
Editor: Nintendo
Released: February 26, 2021
RRP: $ 59.99

Wait, we already have one Default brave II, right? Not! That was Bravey Second: End Layer, friend! You know that Square Enix will never miss a chance to give us a cryptic title. Confused, this Default with courage the sequel is actually billed as an independent adventure. So, despite the nomenclature, you can jump right in. Like the others, it fits very well in line with a classic fantasy story. With monks. And huge anime swords.

This is an old frame of the kingdom, completed again with the motif of the almighty crystal. We even have an amnesiac hero! And he meets helpers quite early and joins in a crystal theft plot. There are tropes. Oh, there are tropes! Like a literal mustache with a mustache, who practically spins his facial hair in quick encryption scenes. In addition, some classic bizarre vocal action options sprinkled on top. It’s a basic series right now.

But like the past Brave jointsand some semi-recent JRPG work from Square as a whole, there’s a lot of passion displayed. The characters actually seem to care about each other, and their writing shines, despite some of the clichés mentioned above. There are so many stop options and optional discussions (more on this system later) that I’m glad I listened, because I was able to see a greater personal perspective on the distribution.

It is also a great game. Brave It has always looked good, especially when it comes to concept art, but now with the Switch it finally feels like it can fulfill a lot of promises. There are some beautiful landscapes displayed, with the option to shrink sharply and really take them all. Chibi character patterns and lo-fi scenes “talking heads” will still polarize; but without having so much in mind in the first place, it was easy to acclimatize. The media are often characters in themselves and steal the show.

Mechanic, Default brave II benefit from all the modern JRPG bells and whistles: save virtually anywhere, the ability to see enemies on the ground before a fight begins, quick healings to freshen up your party. It varies from streamlined to rotated at times, depending on how far it exceeds a certain area or set of enemies.

The travel log catalog menu is also extremely useful, which constantly directs you to your next goal to keep you on track. Breadcrumbs are common at this time, but Default brave II goes one step further, giving the context of the story as well as the chance to review cutting scenes if you want. Alternatively, you can skip some scenes for any reason, then go back and watch them in the useful menu of the travel diary. In turn, you can speed up combat sequences, which is useful for random garbage fighting. Talking about.

The “bank and expense” fighting system that was born in the original returns and still works. The bottom line is that you can “default” to save turns if you don’t need them (if an ally is outside the MP, for example, or the enemy is in a defensive position) or “brave” to take four turns in a row, and perform four actions. In addition to all this, you can customize your party and change their jobs, which include a main class and a subclass.

I felt again trying all the combinations, which can be changed effortlessly at any time. Even very early on, it can be thrilling to do something like spend two brave actions to examine / scan enemies, then blow four actions with your black glass cannon mage to destroy the entire enemy team once you find their weakness. In this regard, it is satisfying to solve even the smallest puzzles. The overall job system is fantastic and open, and while it will take some time to find the party pit, it’s fun to get there.

In general, the main story is the main goal. Sections of the world map generally do not have an overwhelming amount of things to do (other than cutting shrubs or bushes for potential low-impact objects), and side searches are generally on the “MMO kill day stuff” variety band. There is also a light exploration system mechanic in which you can send a ship on a voyage while your system is in standby mode for bonus items, but that’s about it. At least at first, it’s not as exciting as, say, the mini-game of rebuilding the city in the first Brave.

That’s a lot Default brave II in a neat little package. It’s more Default with courage, which is a more classic JRPG formula, distilled for a modern era. It won’t reinvent RPGs as we know them, but this series still has life in it.

_{[This review is based on retail builds of the game provided by the publisher.]}

Default brave II reviewed by Chris Carter