A Taste of Bravely Default
Bravely Default will mark the return to classic Final Fantasy that many fans wanted, if the recently released (in America, in any case) demo is a good indication. It’s the audience who feels the main franchise has lost its way, thanks to a divisive installment and sequels they didn’t want, and a sequel that will mark a huge departure for the franchise with more action-based combat. Bravely Default, however, takes inspiration from the Super Nintendo FF games of the early-to-mid 90s, especially Final Fantasy V — a feeling further hammered home upon playing a little of it.
Bravely Default may be a spiritual successor to Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, but unlike that title, it’s not too old school for most. No, producer Tomoya Asano heard the criticism the DS game received and had BD’s developers craft an experience closer to what they originally wanted, something he apparently needed a new developer for in Silicon Studio. That, or Matrix Software was simply too busy making social games and mobile phone content for Square Enix.
Saying BD is a straight rip of the old titles would be inaccurate, though, and it’s the demo’s intention to show this to the player through its battles — since, well, there isn’t much else to it. Story is kept to a minimum, part of a supposedly-non-canonical quest that doesn’t occur in the game. You’ll start in the town of Ancheim, where you can buy items, equipment, and magic, along with talking to the townspeople for quests. Purchasing magic spells is a nice nod to the very early FF games, a feature that predates the SNES titles. Some who played the demo weren’t adjusted to that, which shows how they should pay attention to the demo’s instructions.
There’s a reason why the game is given the ostensibly nonsensical name of Bravely Default; it’s due to the “Brave” and “Default” actions that can be taken in battle. When a character “Braves,” they store power for another turn while taking a defensive stance in a current one. Each character can “Brave” up to three times. When they “Default” they can use the stored turn to attack twice or more in another turn. You can “Default” more than you “Brave,” but the character won’t be able to attack until the “Brave” number is “0.” The demo isn’t easy; it’s balanced to instill this knowledge into the player quickly, or they’ll have a tough time surviving. It will take some time to learn since it’s an unfamiliar system for anyone who plays Japanese RPGs, but you’ll understand it with some patience.
Keep in mind I’m only speaking for the demo, which is apparently more difficult than the main game. The final product teaches the player how to “Brave” and “Default” at a slower pace, and avoids throwing them to the wolves to force them to fend for themselves. In a way, that’s kind of a shame. I’d prefer a game teaches the player through clever game design rather than tutorials, but it seems most would prefer a game that methodically teaches them the mechanics, considering complaints I’ve seen about it being too difficult.
Like FFV, the player has access to a number of jobs, some of which are clearly better than others. You have access to eight of them in the demo, and all are viable for normal battles. Skills from one class can be used while the character is of a different class. For instance, a Knight can use a Black Mage’s magic when they’re assigned their job command, though the stats won’t carry over. The “Ninja” class, however, overpowers the others; provided you have the right setup, enemies will have a problem touching a character using it, while they can counterattack afterwards — and this can apply to the entire party if they all master the Ninja’s abilities. There’s a reason why the player isn’t given the class until very late in the full game.
The demo also gives the player the opportunity to build the town of Norende, a sort of town-building simulator where equipment stores, item shops, and bridges can be constructed. The catch is that building them takes time. How fast this can happen depends on how many villagers you have, and it’s nice that building will occur while your 3DS is in sleep mode. Unfortunately, aside from the one extra villager you’re given by an NPC, villagers are acquired by Streetpassing other players, so good luck doing that outside Japan. There are a few glitches you can exploit, though.
The Bravely Default demo is a nice sampler of what the main course will provide come February 7th. (Well, unless you’re outside of America, where you can already play it. Jerk.) Play it to see if you like it, while keeping in mind the differences mentioned above.
About The Author
Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
