After dozens and dozens of hours of play with Bravely Default 2 for Nintendo Switch, which we have been able to enjoy for a long time and without haste, it is clear that the classic JRPG and turn-based fighting are like wine, they improve with the years. And not only talking about the essence of the mechanics itself, which today has been lost in the big AAA, also taking into account that it is probably middle-aged players who best know how to enjoy and value this game. A jewel that is perfect for the release of Switch in 2021, waiting for upcoming releases such as Monster Hunter and Pokémon Snap.
- Is Bravely Default 2 better than Bravely Second?
- Who will like Bravely Default 2? Who should buy it yes or yes?
- What’s the best thing about Bravely Default 2?
- And the worst?
- How long is Bravely Default 2 for Switch?
- Where is the depth in Bravely Default 2?
- One of the most beautiful games on Nintendo Switch
As we have already advanced in its impressions, Bravely Default 2 is not the most common game prototype today, where turns have given way to direct action in battles in the big AAA (as a general rule). However, you don’t need a AAA budget to make a good, fun game that will entertain you for dozens of hours. This is the case of Bravely Default 2, which we can qualify as a little gem in the Switch game catalog and which should be essential for lovers of the genre. It is not the best JRPG that exists, it has some shortcomings, but without a doubt it is dozens of hours of fun and challenge.
Is Bravely Default 2 better than Bravely Second?
One of the main questions from the license players, who were able to enjoy the first two installments on Nintendo 3DS, is whether this episode is more similar to the first or has more deficiencies like the second, which was not very new and in many cases too easy -with a little hackneyed arguments-.
Luckily for the player, the guys from Claytechworks and Square Enix have understood the criticisms of the aforementioned second installment and have decided to change what did not work , leaving us a game that without being perfect (now we will talk about it), is undoubtedly better than Bravely Second. Of course, it is not about losing the essence, the spirit of the saga, and at all times we will know that we are playing a Bravely.
Bravely Default 2
Who will like Bravely Default 2? Who should buy it yes or yes?
If you are not a fan of classic RPGs, if you are not a big fan of strategic turn-based fighting or skill and team management, then clearly Bravely Default 2 is not your game. For that it is advisable to wait for Monster Hunter … However, if you really like a traditional JRPG , where strategy and turn-based fighting are the main focus, and you enjoy hours setting up the best possible team of heroes, then you should get hold of this new title for Switch.
What’s the best thing about Bravely Default 2?
There are two things that stand out from the game, being one inherent to all Bravely that have reached the market and which I will talk about later: the artistic section . But above all, in the game, there is its mechanics. The turn – based combat, very style of Final Fantasy classics Super Nintendo or PlayStation , are the central focus of the experience. They provide fun and entertainment, giving it a twist with their own brave and default system, which allows us to save or take up to 3 shifts in advance.
Thanks to this we can, in a single movement, perform several actions that we will then pay while being immobile for several turns. However, the best here are the strategies that this system brings to the player, since there will be attacks and skills that allow us to give turns, add an extra turn to one of our characters, steal turns from a rival character, etc. All this added to the classic strategies of a turn-based RPG, from altered states to protection of allies (the typical tank that protects mages, for example).
Bravely Default 2 shines with its own light in combat, collecting the style of the classics of the genre; a pity that in terms of history it suffers from certain flaws
For this reason, it is clear to me that what Bravely Default 2 should not fail at, which is to be fun and entertaining in combat – knowing that 70% of the game is spent in battles – we can say that it has fulfilled with a good note.
And the worst?
The worst, perhaps, is the story. I explain. We are not talking about a game that we can say that the story is designed for children, no … It is not a project and a style of play designed for the little ones, it is not its audience, so that idea is discarded. In fact, in this story of Bravely Default 2 we can see (and intuit) things as serious as genocides, holy inquisitions hunting private “witches”, serial killers who use the remains of their victims to create works of art, deceptions , etc.
But what this story sins in is that, without a doubt, it is seen coming in all its evolution and plot twists. When you see a character you know, almost immediately, that they are probably the villain of the story . Few plot twists will surprise you, although it certainly does not prevent you from enjoying the game, but we clearly speak of a secondary element. Nobody expects to find a great story like those of the classic RPGs that marked generations, because it is not.
Another flaw, in addition to predictability, is that perhaps a fairly identified repetition of patterns is noted. Go to this site, make a dungeon, discover the mystery, fight the boss, win the reward. What has been said, predictable. It works, it keeps us entertained, but surprises… the fair ones.
Bravely Default 2
How long is Bravely Default 2 for Switch?
As a good classic RPG, the hours are assured. Not only for the battles, which some can last up to 30 minutes minimum if we are talking about a final boss, here it is not about pressing buttons. We will also spend a lot of time in the inventory , buying the best weapons or setting the best passive and active abilities for our characters, combining their jobs, etc. It is good that the messenger missions, although there are some, there are not too many in the main story (if in the secondary ones) and they do not bore us from one place to another while what interests us is to continue with the main story.
The title has several difficulty modes : the typical three modes for inexperienced, advanced players and those looking for a great challenge. We cannot say that the medium difficulty mode is a walk. It is true that in the most basic battles, the battles with monsters on the map and in the dungeons, you should not be in too much danger if you are well equipped and do not neglect the strategy. I certainly do not remember an area where he had to level to overcome his base monsters …
As for the final bosses, the game improves with the passing of the hours and grows in difficulty . Here I have had problems with some bosses, especially those whose characteristics did not match too well with the works of my characters, having to vary my strategy and thinking about solutions. Some boss has kept me at bay for a few hours or days, even forcing me to level up on some occasions – rarely – in order to better resist their attacks. But we finally move on. It is still one of the attractions that bosses ask us for some effort to overcome them. Therefore, in the hardest mode Bravely Default 2 is not a walk, far from it.
Bravely Default 2
Our longest game has been in the medium difficulty mode and we can estimate a main story of about 55 or 60 hours minimum, without attending to too many secondary missions – although the time is something quite subjective depending on the skill of each one. Many more hours to complete side missions, defeat special enemies, upload all jobs, etc. In the vein of previous games.
Where is the depth in Bravely Default 2?
Where we will spend more time in Bravely Default 2, apart from in the battles with the final bosses -there are many and varied-, is in the customization menu of our team of 4 heroes (sometimes we will have the help of other characters, but we will not be able to control them). The game has a good amount of work , some legacy and some completely new, and as we get them, we gain in depth.
Each character can have two jobs at the same time, therefore the combinations are essential, taking into account the statistics, the use of weapons, the types of skills, etc. We can make great fighters or miss the mark and associate two jobs that do not go well together. As we level up each job we gain in active abilities for combat, such as magic and attacks, and passive abilities that will be activated automatically (such as being immune to an element, for example).
To all this system of works, where we will find more than twenty, we must join and associate the usual team system in a JRPG. What characters fulfill each function within our strategy, what weapons they must wield, what shields and armor, what abilities we must enhance, what objects we must place on them, etc. And all this taking into account that often the final bosses will force us to, at least, have two or three different strategies to be able to overcome them.
Bravely Default 2
In spite of everything, it is not an inaccessible game for the inexperienced and it will not force you to take a notebook and pencil to write down the statistics, strategies, etc. In that sense it is deep but manageable, a good job of adapting to the times has been done here …
One of the most beautiful games on Nintendo Switch
If we have to highlight something about Bravely Default 2 it is, without a doubt, its artistic section. Already accustomed to excellence in previous episodes, this title again takes us through very beautiful artisan style settings, where you will want to stop to observe all the details and enlarge the camera of the cities to delight yourself with their beauty. Also the battle scenes or the design of creatures is remarkable. In this sense, it is one of the most beautiful Switch games, despite its simplicity and previous visual simplicity.
As for the soundtrack, although it meets a good note, I would not say that it stands out too much . In some moments it may be a bit repetitive, especially some songs that sound in long dungeons or in combat, but in general the work of Revo, who already made the melodies of the first one, is remarkable. We may not have themes that we remember for decades or years, but they do their job perfectly and are close to a high level.
