2020 has been a beautiful year for Japanese RPG lovers. The JRPG is in fact returning to be one of the leading genres of the current videogame scene thanks to increasingly larger productions and qualitatively very valid titles. From this point of view, Square Enix has always been the company most linked to this genre and Bravely Default II is the new proposal of the Japanese company for lovers of the genre. We, thanks to Nintendo and Square Enix, were able to try the game in preview and we are ready to give you our impressions in this Bravely Default II review.
Heroes of the light
Let's start by saying that Bravely Default II is not a sequel to Bravely Second and does not share neither characters nor setting with the first historical Bravely Default. In fact, the game is completely disconnected from the previous ones and binds to them only for the revival of the Brave and Default combat mechanics. The story is set on the vast continent of Excillant, where serenity and peace depend heavily on four elemental crystals. The game, in fact, proposes an incipit in medias res with the theft of these magical objects and a consequent imbalance of the forces of nature within the continent. In fact, the cities will change their appearance, while the monsters and evil creatures will infest the various territories of the continent. The task of the our party of heroes, made up of four characters, will be to revive the fortunes of Excillant and recover the four crystals.
It must be said immediately that the plot never oozes with originality, but this is not necessarily a defect. The story of Bravely Default II should be taken as a fairy tale: compelling, but reassuring at the same time. In this sense, the narrative flows very pleasantly and although it does not offer anything that has not already been seen within the genre, we still feel captured by the adventures of these four heroes just as children are captured by the fairy tales told by their parents. Obviously, however, expect some twists - especially in the more advanced stages of the title - that we are sure will surprise in particular all those who are perhaps not used to the genre.
Difficult and complex
As we could illustrate in our preview earlier this month, Bravely Default II offers classic turn-based JRPG gameplay with the addition of the Brave and Default mechanics peculiar to the series. For an explanation of these mechanics, we refer you to our tried, while here what we want to focus on is the level of challenge proposed by the title. Bravely Default II, despite having three selectable and interchangeable difficulty levels at any time in the game, is a difficult title. From this point of view, the game could be particularly complex for newbies, who will find many difficulties especially during the boss fight. More than the common enemies, it will be the bosses who will make your life difficult. From a certain point of view it is also right, but the difference in level and challenge between the monsters in the area and the relative boss of that portion of the story will always be felt a lot.
The only way to continue in the story will in fact be to defeat many monsters to raise the level of the party and go to face the boss with the awareness, however, of being able to meet the game over several times. Each boss will in fact be studied down to the smallest detail to better understand the weaknesses and the moveset, so as to develop a strategy that can be effective. However, it is fair to point out that such a level of challenge equates to a high level of satisfaction at the same time: the defeat of a boss will in fact give us so much energy that we forget how much we had to suffer to bring him down.
Another fundamental element of the gameplay is that of the Asterisks, objects that will allow our characters to change class. In this sense, Bravely Default II offers a huge range of classes available, composing a mosaic of game styles so varied that you want to try every possible combination. Each character can in fact have two classes: one main and one secondary. The main one will be the one who will gain experience points from the clashes and will therefore be the one who will give new abilities to the character. The secondary will, on the contrary, be passive, so our advice is to put the class of which we have already developed all the skills as passive.
Excellent technical sector
From a graphic point of view, Claytechworks and Team Asano, under Square Enix, have done a great job with absolutely noteworthy results. The game, made with the famous Unreal Engine, is really beautiful to see and offers places and monsters with very different and, above all, bright colors. The cities, designed with an almost pictorial style, give even more the idea of being inside a fairy tale of other times. From this point of view, the soundtrack created by Revo helps a lot to immerse yourself in the atmosphere. The famous Japanese composer in fact returns to the series after the first Bravely Default and his touch is felt a lot.
Each city and place of Excillant will in fact have its main musical theme and it is absolutely a pleasure to listen to how Revo knows how to range between various musical genres without losing the listener: in fact, we move from classical themes to others that are more rock and contemporary, in which the highest common denominator is always the touch of Revo, whimsical and virtuoso like the greatest composers of role-playing music made in Japan.
As for the frame rate, the game is stable with its 30 fps and shows no dips except sporadically in the most heated fight scenes (especially, if you increase the speed of the battles).
The localization in Spanish is also excellent and there are no typos or errors to report in the dialogues. As for the audio, however, you can choose whether to listen the original Japanese dubbing - a possibility that lovers of the genre will surely appreciate - or the English dubbing. Personally, we preferred to play the title with the original dubbing, appreciating the excellent work of the voice actors, who were able to give each character their own personality without ever exaggerating or exceeding with the interpretation.
Longevity
The game, as per tradition of the genre to which it belongs, is very long. So get ready for several hours of entertainment with the four heroes of Bravely Default II. Surely, you have to consider that a lot of this time will be dedicated to boss fights and, consequently, also to battles with monsters to level up the party. Despite this, we can assure you that the title will keep you in front of your Nintendo Switch console for at least forty hours. If you then add the side missions, the number of hours will increase a lot.
Bravely Default II is a must-have title for all fans of the genre and is already a candidate to be one of the best JRPG of the year. With a high level of challenge, he will still be able to give enormous satisfaction to those who will go forward without giving up. Although the plot does not shine with originality, it is absolutely pleasant to feel lulled into this imaginative world as if we were listening to a bedtime story to enter the world of dreams and access the continent of Excillant. A game that seems to have come out of the golden age of the JRPG and a must for anyone who owns a Nintendo Switch console.
