- Nov 27, 2001
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Bravely Default 2 came out on February 26 for the Nintendo Switch, and while this is numerically a sequel to the original Bravely Default, the game is independent. (As a note, the 3DS's Bravely Second is an actual direct sequel to Bravely Default.) For those that aren't familiar with the previous games, which is likely given that they were limited to the 3DS, the Bravely series is a turn-based JRPG, which tries to spice things up by using the Brave system in battles.
The Brave system allows a player to hunker down and gain the ability to execute more actions later, or unleash multiple actions within a single turn. This system uses a separate resource called BP, which is separate for each character. A character typically starts with 0, and is able to Brave up to three times to perform more actions, or Default to save turns for later. This can be used for effective combinations such as a single Brave to perform Phoenix Down + Cure, or spamming multiple Attack commands per character to quickly wipe out some enemies. One aspect that makes this battle system a bit different from some added in other games is that enemies also have access to the exact same system. This can add a bit of strategy as a defaulting enemy will take less damage from attacks, and they are also able to bank BP to execute multiple commands on a single turn. (Enemies can also go negative.)
Some other aspects that may or may not appeal to players. The game...
If you'd like to play, here are a few tips that I've picked up along the way...
Here are a few things that could really use some work in the game...
The Brave system allows a player to hunker down and gain the ability to execute more actions later, or unleash multiple actions within a single turn. This system uses a separate resource called BP, which is separate for each character. A character typically starts with 0, and is able to Brave up to three times to perform more actions, or Default to save turns for later. This can be used for effective combinations such as a single Brave to perform Phoenix Down + Cure, or spamming multiple Attack commands per character to quickly wipe out some enemies. One aspect that makes this battle system a bit different from some added in other games is that enemies also have access to the exact same system. This can add a bit of strategy as a defaulting enemy will take less damage from attacks, and they are also able to bank BP to execute multiple commands on a single turn. (Enemies can also go negative.)
Some other aspects that may or may not appeal to players. The game...
- ...uses a job system.
- ...does not have random encounters; enemies are visible on the map.
- ...is voiced, and includes both English and Japanese audio.
- ...has two demos available on the Nintendo e-Shop.
If you'd like to play, here are a few tips that I've picked up along the way...
- In the very beginning, you're asked to leave the city and visit the shore. When you leave the city, the game prompts you telling you about the ability to cut down grass (like Zelda). I highly recommend clearing as much grass as you can before you visit the shore. The grass can contain good amounts of money (pg) and even items that aren't available in the current area. After visiting the shore, monsters will be on the map and they will chase you if you get too close.
- There's a bonus feature in the game called Explorations. They're a non-interactive, sleep mode function that's designed to give you some benefits while you're not playing. However, setting off on an Exploration does not interrupt gameplay in any way. So, I highly recommend always having an Exploration active. Also, the rewards for an Exploration are gained over time, which means you can end one early and still get (some) rewards.
- If you want to farm JP to level up a job quickly, using enemy food is the best way to do it. (These are distinct items from player-used consumables.) When using one of the enemy foods, you simply gain a buff that will make you attract that enemy type (beast, human, undead, etc.), and if you encounter one, it will lead to 2-4 consecutive battles. (2 battles = 1.1x JP, 3 battles = 1.3x JP, 4 battles = 1.6x JP) The number of nearby enemies does not matter for this. The food will eventually fade (when it's almost gone, the visual effect will appear diminished).
- My favorite place to farm is to use undead food (Ghoulash) in the woods at the north-east of the first area. Near the end of this "dungeon" are around 5 ghosts that spawn at a decent rate. What makes this an easy farm mechanic is that ghosts can be killed using healing spells. If I get four fights in a row, I can easily make 200+ JP. If you combine this with the Freelancer's JP Up and JP Up and Up abilities, you get an additional 1.7x modifier on that.
- I recommend using a farming method for leveling jobs like the Freelancer. I also stopped my usual progress and used that method for grinding out the Red Mage as I found the class far too weak -- especially given my healer and magic damage dealer were both using it.
Here are a few things that could really use some work in the game...
- Side Quests
I don't think the game implements side-quests very well. The problem is that side-quests may not show up until a specific time of day or until some specific point, and by then, the monsters in question are too weak. Also, you are only able to track three quests at a time. - Insta-Kill Abilities
There are a number of enemies in the game -- even some rather early on -- that have insta-kill abilities. For example, there are two enemy types near the third city (a rabbit and an ant) that have insta-kill abilities. Sure, they have a higher chance of missing, but I've lost multiple party members in a single turn to this. - Too Many Jobs
Now, I typically like having lots of jobs and choices, but in this game, the issue is that it feels like they took a standard JRPG class and broke it into multiple classes. For example, the Black Mage can only cast Thunder, Ice, Fire, and Poison. Other magics such as Earth and Wind are split off into the Red Mage. Similarly, the White Mage sometimes has buff spells such as Reflect or Haste, but if I recall, two other classes have those. - Sword Swipe Prioritizes Monsters
The sword swipe is used to cut down things like grass in the overworld, but it's also how you gain an advantage (i.e. +1 BP) over enemies when engaging them in combat. The problem is that the game has a "feature" that cannot be turned off where it prioritizes attacking enemies with the swipe. This isn't only if the enemy is directly in front of you, but seemingly, if they're in a 180-degree cone in front of you as I've had the game literally turn me and swipe at a monster to the side. - Rare Monsters
The game has plenty of rare monsters, which are mostly signified by the game's red highlight mechanic. (Monsters that are deemed too tough will glow red.) The problem is that I don't think I've ever encountered one that isn't glowing red -- even when going back at times -- and I'm already level 33. I'm not sure what their range is, but I wouldn't mind if I could actually fight them earlier. - Boring Gear
For me, one thing that can make gear somewhat uninteresting is how there isn't enough of a difference in gear to make it seem worthwhile to hunt out specific pieces or types. For example, gear that appears to be for casters (the icon has a staff on it) tends to rarely have any bonuses that directly affect spell effectiveness (+magic attack or +restoration power), or if they do, it's usually way too small. This problem mostly affects the helm and chest armors. - Map System
The game has two maps available to it. In the main menu, you can view an all-encompassing world map that has very little specific detail. When in the world, you can swap between no mini-map, a small mini-map, or a large mini-map. The latter is the most effective at showing quest objectives, but it always displays at 100% opacity, and since it blocks the bottom right of the screen, it just isn't useful. - Location Entrances
Some locations in the game simply require you to walk close enough to it to enter, which makes it easy to accidentally enter the town/dungeon/area. It would be nice if towns had a little cut-out that you had to walk into to enter. (Savalon, the second city, does do this.) - Magic Seems Weak
This is one that I'm not entirely sure if I'm just not building my characters out correctly or if it's just a limitation of certain Jobs, but I've had a tough time finding attack magic useful in the game. For example, I used Firaga as a Red Mage (Black Mage was the sub-Job) and Flames of War as a Berserker (Monk was the sub-Job), and the latter always significantly out-performed the former when used on the same enemy. (Both are purely fire abilities with no physical component on the Monk ability.) - Loading Times
While the game doesn't have long loading times, it does feel like you have to go through a lot of load screens. (A bit of a "death by a thousand cuts".) During a cutscene, it will have to load whenever the scene goes to a different location even though cutscenes are often just characters speaking in front of a static background. - JP Battle Rewards Don't Scale
One aspect that can really make battles frustrating is that you are typically only rewarded for more difficult monsters via more experience and money (pg), but not JP. I can go fight a tough enemy and only gain the same amount of JP as fighting 1-2 incredibly weak enemies. This is likely due to jobs only having a small number of levels, and how that effectively resets with each job swap.
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