Abstract:
Bravely Default heralds the long-awaited return of the traditional JRPG by combining classic gameplay elements with modern sensibilities, making it one of the better JRPGs of the past decade.
Pros:
- The Brave and Default system makes the return to turn-based battles all the sweeter, along with other useful combat innovations
- A great mix of challenge and progression without excessive reliance on grinding
- Jobs are numerous, effective and surprisingly unique
- A truly expansive world, complete with intriguing sidequests, hidden summons, and airships
- Gorgeously detailed, hand-drawn 3D environments
- Music is both memorable and exhilarating
Cons:
- Story is almost entirely comprised of JRPG tropes
- Subpar voice acting for most characters
- An unbelievable amount of padding near the end of the game
- Airy is exceptionally irritating
Review:
The Japanese role-playing genre has seen a serious dearth of respectable titles over the course of the past generation. With time-honored franchises like Final Fantasy being driven in unsavory new directions and with a general lack of enjoyable new intellectual properties, many fans of the genre (including myself) have waited for years to get their hands on the next truly great JRPG. Thankfully, a select few triumphant titles saw release in the U.S. in recent years, including the likes of Xenoblade Chronicles and Ni No Kuni. These games served as examples of fantastic JRPGs, but they were only released in the U.S. because of constant pressure on their Japanese publishers by American fans. This story is echoed in Bravely Default, which has now been brought to western audiences nearly a year and a half after its original release in Japan. And just like the aforementioned games, Bravely Default is a rare instance of a contemporary JRPG done right.
Developed by Silicon Studio and published by Square Enix, Bravely Default will have an immediate familiarity for those acquainted with other Square Enix RPGs. Set in the mystical world of Luxendarc, the game begins with a rather elaborate introduction to a rather tired tale. In a flashy 3D opening scene, Agnès Oblige (one of the vestals of the four elemental crystals) implores the player to seek out the heroes of light. It is soon revealed that the sacred crystals of wind, water, fire and earth have lost their power, and the world has lost each respective element as a result. The four heroes of light are charged with the restoration of the crystals in order to purge the world of darkness. This premise bears a striking resemblance to the original Final Fantasy, whose storyline was virtually identical to the one seen here and has been replicated in countless other JRPGs in various ways.
This proves to be one of Bravely Default’s only major blunders, since the story never even attempts to break away from the repetitive JRPG and anime tropes of bygone years. This relatively boring narrative continues throughout the entire game, with only a scarce few atypical moments to break up the monotony. Characters with rigid, archetypical personalities and singular motivations certainly don’t help with the game’s evident lack of narrative voice. Speaking of voice, you would be hard-pressed to find a character in this game with decent voice acting. Many of the scenes in the game include full voiceovers, which would ordinarily be considered a good thing. However, Bravely Default presents these so often and with such lurid voice work that you may honestly be glad once they’re over. All of the primary characters are guilty of this, and it seems that only a few secondary characters have been matched with convincing performances. In the case of Airy, your generic and annoying fairy companion, her appearances can be excruciating. She is an unapologetically bothersome and one-dimensional character, complete with a purposefully squeaky and shrill voice. Luckily, she’s not in every scene and doesn’t follow you around shrieking “Listen!” the entire time.
Now that the least enjoyable aspects of the game have been covered, let’s move on to what makes this game great – and there’s plenty. Those who have been craving a return to genuine turn-based combat will be elated at the prospect of Bravely Default. With the Brave and Default system, one can choose to take a much-needed advance on turns with Brave, or bank turns for later use with Default. This simplistic system is a hybrid of traditionalism and innovation, and such successful hybridization proves to be a pillar of Bravely Default. Brave and Default can be tremendously useful in ways such as quickly ending a weak enemy or defending while simultaneously storing turns during a boss fight. Other noticeable combat innovations have been added as well, including the ability to fast-forward battles, adjust the encounter rate, choose whether to earn forms of experience or not, and summon registered 3DS friends to aid you in battle. All of these turn out to be useful at different points during the game, and further emphasize Bravely Default’s capacity to seamlessly combine old and new.
Difficulty can also be adjusted freely, but JRPG diehards and newcomers alike will be pleasantly surprised to find that Bravely Default has an excellent mix of inherent difficulty and accessibility. It is unlikely that you will ever find yourself either under-leveled or over-leveled, and the game retains this consistent balancing throughout its entirety. This essentially eliminates the need for tedious grinding, a fact that many JRPG lovers will no doubt appreciate. Bosses are interesting and satisfying challenges, and continuously give you a real desire to pursue and defeat the remaining officers of the enemy forces.
A classic feature of the JRPG genre makes a return in the form of the job system. Jobs have always been a type of character customization that allows development based on a given job’s unique focus and abilities in combat. Bravely Default has brought this system back with a vengeance, as there are a whopping 24 different jobs in total. The sheer number of them allows for countless different party combinations and even more interchangeable abilities. Of course, well-known roles such as the Knight, White Mage, Black Mage and Thief make a return, but Bravely Default also does a great job of presenting numerous original jobs as well. However, you begin the game with only one job – none of the others are provided from the outset and must be acquired from certain bosses as the player progresses. Many of these bosses are only made available through specific sidequests, and these can range from moderately intriguing “whodunit” mysteries to hunting down a particular boss across the world. Trust me, they are more fun than they sound. Each sidequest has its own measure of uniqueness, and they often end with some form of enjoyable challenge in order to obtain a new job.
Aside from the different sidequests, the game gives you a number of other opportunities to explore its beautifully crafted overworld and the areas within it. If you can remember the simple joy of soaring around in an airship in other JRPGs, get ready to experience that feeling all over again above the open world of Bravely Default. Summoning also makes a much-appreciated return in this game, and gives you another reason to comb the lands of Luxendarc in search of new familiars. As you roam through the world and its hub areas, the game’s distinctively gorgeous environments will become more and more apparent. By combining meticulously hand-drawn backgrounds and stereoscopic 3D effects, Bravely Default creates its own lovely and immersive world. Music also plays a significant role throughout the game, serving to enhance the experience further. A memorable battle theme, epic scores, and invigorating boss music will keep you humming along from beginning to end.
Bravely Default should well be considered the next great JRPG, despite its unimaginative story and often exasperating characters. With the timeless features of a great JRPG and the good sense that a modern game should have, it produces a thoroughly gratifying experience over the dozens of hours of entertainment that it delivers. If this game were to spawn a series, there may yet be hope for the Japanese role-playing genre.
Final Score: 8.5 out of 10