With Final Fantasy being an ever-evolving juggernaut nowadays,
the Bravely Default series has served as a nice callback to Square’s roots.
While modest in scope, the series is great at capturing the feeling of traditional JRPGS
while simultaneously incorporating elements to make the experience more approachable.
The newest entry, Bravely Default II, follows closely in the footsteps of its predecessors,
delivering a familiar yet enjoyable journey.
Though it's technically the third installment,
Bravely Default II isn't directly connected to either of the first two games.
It’s set in a brand new world with a new cast of characters.
The simple plot feels like a cliche of old Final Fantasy games, revolving around four heroes of light
and their quest to collect crystals in order to save the world.
While the overarching story isn't that exciting, there are some interesting arcs
as characters deal with subjects such as grief and deception.
Moving from the 3DS to the Switch comes with the benefit of sharper visuals and a higher resolution,
showcasing the art style with more detail than ever before.
The towns and overworld look great
and feel like a natural evolution of the watercolor style of past games.
But some aspects don't translate as well, particularly the doll-like character models
which feel jarring and out of place against their settings.
Even though it isn't flawless,
the colorful environments and various costume designs are still worth praise.
Like in previous entries, the combat and job system are the backbone of Bravely Default II.
The mechanics remain relatively the same
with the hook revolving around using Brave to add extra actions to your current turn,
or Default to increase your defense and build-up actions to use later.
It's a familiar system for anyone who’s played the prior games, but it's still engaging.
Defaulting right before a massive attack
or unloading a wave of attacks to quickly bring down a foe
feels rewarding and adds a nice layer of strategy to the gameplay.
The job system, also mostly unchanged, is just as wonderful as ever.
There’s a variety of roles to choose from like the White Mage that excels in healing,
the Dragoon that uses jumps to deal massive damage,
and the Pictomancer that can debuff enemy targets with paint.
Each job also has unique passive abilities,
like counter-attacks, that you can unlock
and switch between on the fly,
as well as unique ultimate abilities, similar to limit breaks.
You can even mix and match jobs together, giving additional flexibility to your party.
There's a lot to sink your teeth into here, and experimenting with each job is incredibly satisfying.
Despite its colorful and inviting appearance,
Bravely Default II can be a daunting game.
Not only is it fairly long, with our playtime clocking-in around 55 hours,
but boss fights are tough and can take you out quickly if you're not prepared.
It's also heavy on grinding,
so if you're not a fan of that type of progression, that could be a deal-breaker.
However, if you're like us and don't mind too much, it's not so bad,
especially since you can speed up combat
and use items to increase the number of enemies per battle,
allowing you to rack up more XP and job points.
You can also change the difficulty at any time
if you're stuck or just want an easier experience.
Outside of grinding, there are many side quests you can do to get useful items and equipment
like JP orbs to help you out on your journey.
Most of these are typical fetch quests,
but some occasionally add nice character development and even a couple of optional jobs.
To bolster your party, you can send out a boat on expeditions
to gather items for you while your Switch is in sleep mode.
A lot of these items are really useful
so it's a good idea to always make sure you send your ship out before logging off.
It's not the most interactive feature, but
it is nice to feel like you're making a little progress even when you're not playing.
One of the most exciting side activities is a card game called B 'n' D.
It's a game where you and your opponent battle it out for territory by placing cards on the board.
It's easy to hop in, have a good time for a few rounds, and move on,
but if you enjoy it, there’s a decent amount of depth here,
as well as rewards to make coming back worthwhile.
Bravely Default II is a familiar yet enjoyable JRPG.
Though some aspects like its visuals may not hit the mark,
the job and combat system are excellent and give you freedom with your party.
It can feel a little safe at times,
but Bravely Default II is still a solid choice worth seeing through to the end.
Final score: 8 out of 10.
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