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Bravely Default II is a Flawed Love Letter to Classic Final Fantasy

A tad underbaked, but incredibly delicious

There are brief spoilers ahead for *Bravely Default and Bravely Second.*

O nce upon a time, Squaresoft (now Square-Enix) was the titanic leading creator of games with incredible scope and unconventional storytelling. Games like Parasite Eve, Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Vagrant Story, Xenogears, Brave Fencer Musashi and more paved the way of the RPG in the 1990s and early 2000s. Before Square Enix's hold on their more popular IPs such as Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts could cement them on reliable but successful sales paths, they explored the frontier of what was possible in the realm of the traditional Japanese Role Playing Game.

Not Your Average Final Fantasy

In the last couple decades, Square has enjoyed various different experiments that have toyed with the tried and true formulas of Final Fantasy. One in particular, Bravely Default for the 3DS and its sequel Bravely Second, explored the fresh frontier of possibility by keeping the traditional spells, jobs, items and other recognizable features of Final Fantasy but giving way to a playground that was not attached to the expectations of that series' monumental name. While deceptively basic on the RPG front, Bravely Default was unique for more than it's Brave/Default system of attacks and defense — it pushed the scope of nonlinear narrative and routinely broke the fourth wall in its exploration of themes that tackled everything from the 3DS' multiplayer function to traditional save point structure.

Bravely Default and Bravely Second are spectacular games, and should not be missed by any RPG fan. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

Despite selling nearly a million copies and being wildly successful during its debut week, Bravely Second sold poorly compared to Bravely Default, garnishing the ire of Square Enix. Bravely Default II, an indirect sequel to the first game that is not connected by plot, recently released as a response to Bravely Second's poor sales. While still maintaining many of the features found in Bravely Default, Bravely Default II is notably absent of not just connective story tissue, but some of the transcendent strangeness that was pushed in Bravely Second.

Love in All its Flaws

Bravely Default II is a deeply flawed game. This is not yet a critique of the game itself — which I monumentally enjoyed —but a critique of its presentation. While the art style (particularly the hand-drawn static backgrounds and locales) is beautiful, characters look waxy and emotionless, often drifting into the uncanny valley. The game is riddled with framerate issues, lags, and choppy animations. Side quests are plentiful but poorly laid out and executed. The story, while mostly enjoyable, is clearly missing the unique weight of its predecessors. Most egregious of all is that within Bravely Default II is one of the most unique and satisfying card games I've seen in an RPG in years. It's almost painful how players can completely miss it; I wish it had been incorporated better.

Bravely Default II overwhelmingly feels like it was pushed out the door six months too early, despite Square releasing multiple demos for feedback prior to release. It feels like, in many respects, it was made as a poor imitation of the previous games.

Despite all its problems, I deeply enjoyed Bravely Default II.

I'm no stranger to criticizing games I love, especially RPGs. This genre is notorious for its uneven design — some RPGs are lifted entirely by their storylines, music, or combat. Bravely Default II is an incredibly fun game. It retains the refreshing combat of the previous two games, as well as their unique take on the traditional Final Fantasy job roles and the customization goes well beyond what was established in Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy Tactics years ago. Boss fights are difficult and complex, and the grind never gets tiring. I finished the game just last night, doing nearly everything while still under a 60 hour playtime (I firmly believe RPGs need to return to the 50–60 hour run; Persona 5 Royal, you're on thin ice). I enjoyed every second of it, pushing through all the technical issues until I finally didn't notice them anymore. Special attentions given once again to the soundtrack of the game — the Bravely series truly has some of the best music in any RPG of the last decade.

Out With the Old

If you're on the fence about Bravely Default II because of the many criticisms leveled against it, I implore you to give it a chance. These days we receive so few "classic" RPGs, especially from Square. Games like Bravely Default II belong at the forefront of the genre, not pushed back as aged curiosities. While I was disappointed that Bravely Default II didn't reach the heights of its predecessors, it does retain enough of its own weirdness to fit in with the absolutely bonkers fourth-wall breaking moments of Bravely Second. While its party is not quite as memorable as the previous entries, there are a host of characters in the roster that fill out the story and make it more than the Four Heroes of Light finding the crystals once again (I have particular love for Martha and Anihal). It's a game of evil empires, dragons, and magic, and feels right at home on the Nintendo Switch.

While Bravely Default II's multiple and eclectic endings don't quite reach the surreal nature of the previous entries (such as the Ouroboros sacrificing other players in Bravely Default or the last boss attempting to delete your save file in Bravely Second), there is more than enough weirdness to love and celebrate.

At the time of this writing, Bravely Default II's sales are just okay. They've not yet reached what Bravely Second did in its first week, and I worry once again for the fate of a game that isn't Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts. I wish Square would put more effort into these sorts of games (especially on the marketing and development front), and can only hope that Bravely Default II reaches its niche audience. It deserves some passion.