ASIN (Amazon): B00CETU3DE
Language: English/Japanese
Publisher: Square Enix
Format: Nintendo 3DS
Type: Game
Genre: Supernatural, shounen, romanceSynopsis:
Bravely Default: Where the Fairy Flies is now available exclusively on Nintendo 3DS.
Embark on a journey in the world of Luxendarc, the welfare of which relies on four elemental crystals.
According to tradition, crystals are looked after by chosen priestesses, the vestals, who all bear the name Oblige. As of late, terrible events have befallen the land and the power of the crystals seems to be waning.
Follow the quest of Agnès Oblige, the Vestal of Wind, and her companions, as they race to restore balance in Luxendarc by awakening the crystals.
Growing up the Final Fantasy series was one of (and really still is) my favourite franchises ever. however after X-2 the franchise took a turn for a worse, getting more and more kid friendly. While it’s true they have a lot of sparkle and look amazing, the actual content has gotten weaker and weaker.
Truth be told I’d started to lose faith in Square and was wondering if any JRPG would take over my life again. So when Bravely Default came on the scene promising to restore the faith in the genre, and coming from Square, i found i was both hopeful and pessimistic. The child in me felt that only Square had what it takes to make a really awesome life swallowing title. Yet the adult side of me was all, nope, never gonna happen. The square of old is dead and gone it’s time to move on.
All i can say is HOLY SHIT MY INNER CHILD WAS RIGHT!!!
I bought this at the same time as my 3DS and put of trying it out till last, and I’m glad i did. I started playing this Friday evening, we’re now Monday evening, and I’ve yet to play anything else. This game is EVERYTHIG I’ve wanted from my JRPG’s.
This game works amazingly well on the 3DS, having the map and miscellaneous information on the bottom screen frees up the main screen so we get an uncluttered view of fights, the world and cut scenes. It’s perfect.
I love the way characters progress, instead of levels we have have Jobs. So while you could be lvl50, if you’re only job level 1, things are not gonna go well for you, so you need to level both sides of things. I love the fact that once you’ve levelled up a job you can access it’s skills even if you swap to another job, giving you wide scope on your play style.
The game mechanics are back to old school turn based combat, with the typical standing in front of each other glaring and taking turns to attack. Some people find this tired and old, especially with what machines are able to do these days. I personally however prefer it, i find it more enjoyable over button mashing.
Thus far I’ve enjoyed the characters, and unlike with the FF series I’m loving ALL of the characters. The banter that flows between them feels natural and funny. Agnès is the first character since Tifa and Yuna that I’ve actually liked and felt anything for. As a character she has the naiveté you’d expect from someone who has lived isolated from the world, but she’s not over the top stupid with it. Tiz makes for an interesting male lea.However for me, i think it’s Ringabell and Edea who steal the show.
Ringabell is your amnesiac companion, with a mysterious journal that holds the secrets of the world, but he also happens to be a play boy who’s after anything that walks. Edea is your enemy, who turns traitor because of the ruthlessness of her people. the banter between Edea and Ringabell is bloody awesome and i honestly look forward to seeing how their relationship plays out.
The story isn’t anything mind blowing, or new, but then it doesn’t have to be. what it needs to be is well written and well presented, which I’m happy to say this story is.
While your doing the main questing and stor5y, your also given the chance to rebuild your lost town. This is done on the bottom screen, and is a facebook game really. You click the icon and a set time later it appears. To get things done of course you need villagers, and there’s two ways of getting them. Firstly the game uses StreetPass, so you get one villager for every person you pass who has a 3DS. Secondly you can add villagers through the internet, this will net you 3 or 4 villagers.
You also get invaded by Nemeses, monsters sent by both Square and other gamers. These monsters are BIG and very tough to beat. Even if you’re the level of the monster it’s going to be a very difficult fight, yet in the end it’s very rewarding all round. However just make sure you don’t take on to high a monster, otherwise you’ll get mashed and then it’s game over.
There are other rewards to building the town, as you venture around you’ll come across ‘Adventurers, these act as save points, but also as the store front for your town. Everything you unlock from rebuilding your town can be bought here. Every hour or so you’ll also get freebies from your town, which is a nice addition, since you can either use or sell them.
The title, Bravely Default, refers to the main mechanics of the game. Default is essentially a guard manoeuvre, you take less damage if your hit, It Also banks your turn. When you activate Brave it lets you take your banked turns and take multiple actions in a single turn. You can also take turns in advance, but there’s a penalty to this. If you go into negative BP (Brave Points) your screwed and can’t do anything until you clear the negative balance; which can take 3-4 turns. So you need to be careful when and how you use them. It’s great in a normal fight, since you can end it in one round getting some nice bonuses. In boss fights however you can’t do it without running the risk of being left open for a number of rounds.
The 3D element of the game is great, but for me I can’t use it; seems I’m one of those unlucky people that get nauseous and seas sick after using it for more than 10 minutes. So i feel kind of an idiot for buying a 3DS which i can’t really use >.< When i do use it though i love it, the character models look awesome.
What really surprised me, and made really happy, was that Square gave us a pretty damn good English VA. This one alone made me buy it because the dubbing is bloody awesome, especially Ringabell that makes me laugh every time i hear it. And for the first time in ages I’m exited for a new franchise, I’m now living in hope that Square are going to make a come back with this one.
This is a system seller for me. This is why you buy a 3DS and and if you’ve got one already this is a great game to get and throw a chunk of time into!! Of the games I bought with my 3DS so far this is the first one i can say without a doubt was a perfect buy.
