Familiar Territory with new Twists
By: Eric Himsel
Square Enix has redefined their RPG formula time and time
again, and Bravely Default is no exception to the rule. While the battle system
introduces new twists, the story and characters take a page from past Final
Fantasy games and that is not always a good thing.
The battle system is what will keep you playing Bravely Default. Battles are fought in turn-based combat like most of the early Square Enix games but with a twist. At the beginning of a turn, players may choose to use future turns in a single turn by using brave. Or players may choose to stalk turns and save them for the future. If you go into the negative on Brave Points then that character cannot do anything until enough turns have passed. Using the Brave and Default systems makes grinding a breeze and keeps the battles interesting.
+ Jobs
Like many Square Enix games there are a slew of jobs or classes for players to customize their characters. There are 24 jobs to master including white mage, black mage, knight, pirate, hunter, dark knight and many more. Job abilities learned in one class can be used while taking on another. If you obtain black magic abilities but want to start learning sword magic, the game allows players to use their black magic while in the sword magic job. This system borrows heavily from the job system in Final Fantasy V.
Like many Square Enix games there are a slew of jobs or classes for players to customize their characters. There are 24 jobs to master including white mage, black mage, knight, pirate, hunter, dark knight and many more. Job abilities learned in one class can be used while taking on another. If you obtain black magic abilities but want to start learning sword magic, the game allows players to use their black magic while in the sword magic job. This system borrows heavily from the job system in Final Fantasy V.
+ Game Mechanics
Square Enix finally fixed many problems that face their SNES inspired RPGs. Players can control the frequency of battle encounters which plagued early RPGs. The pacing of cut scenes is up to the player. You can skip them, make dialogue progress on its own or continue dialogue on your own. Also, battles have 3 different speeds that can be changed on the fly. Customizable game mechanics might seem like a standard idea in the gaming world today but having Square Enix finally incorporate these ideas into a game is satisfying to fans of Square and of the genre.
Square Enix finally fixed many problems that face their SNES inspired RPGs. Players can control the frequency of battle encounters which plagued early RPGs. The pacing of cut scenes is up to the player. You can skip them, make dialogue progress on its own or continue dialogue on your own. Also, battles have 3 different speeds that can be changed on the fly. Customizable game mechanics might seem like a standard idea in the gaming world today but having Square Enix finally incorporate these ideas into a game is satisfying to fans of Square and of the genre.
- Story
The tale of the crystals makes its return in Bravely Default. Like previous Square Enix games there are four elemental crystals that keep the world in check. When the crystals are over come by darkness its up to four plucky heroes to set out and save the world from impending doom. The four heroes come from different backgrounds and may seem like RPG cliches, however their backgrounds and personal stories are more original. The story follows a formula as old as Final Fantasy I, but after the first 25 hours of play things take a surprising twist when the pacing changes. The change left me distraught until the final dungeon.
The tale of the crystals makes its return in Bravely Default. Like previous Square Enix games there are four elemental crystals that keep the world in check. When the crystals are over come by darkness its up to four plucky heroes to set out and save the world from impending doom. The four heroes come from different backgrounds and may seem like RPG cliches, however their backgrounds and personal stories are more original. The story follows a formula as old as Final Fantasy I, but after the first 25 hours of play things take a surprising twist when the pacing changes. The change left me distraught until the final dungeon.
- Dialogue
While the story is fairly simplistic for the first few hours, the dialogue will have you begging for conversation to end. The voice acting is not terrible but the lines being said are overly long and could be simplified to accommodate such a text heavy game. Square Enix borrowed the Party Chat feature from Tales of games but failed to capture the joy of party chat.
A screen shot of combat
Final word
Bravely Default is a satisfying RPG that gets many game play mechanics right, but does not really change up conventional RPG formulas in its story. The story and characters might interest some, but most will stay for the battle system alone.
Bravely Default is a satisfying RPG that gets many game play mechanics right, but does not really change up conventional RPG formulas in its story. The story and characters might interest some, but most will stay for the battle system alone.
Score: 8/10
You'll like this game if you liked: Final Fantasy I-VI
You'll hate this game if you hated: Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light
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