Bravely Default 2 (Nintendo Switch) Preview

The Heroes of Light consist of the four members Seth, Gloria, Elvis and Adelle, who decide to keep each other company for a certain mission. Each member has their own personality and characteristics, as well as history, but not much is revealed at the start. Instead, backgrounds get revealed the more the story progresses, which nicely fills out the story and keeps the player interested by providing new information without giving away too much at once. The Heroes get the chance to collect Asterisks, little gems that each represent a different job class.

Generally speaking, this title looks amazing. A lot of work has gone into its design and this is very obvious. The developers really did a superb job here! Detailed and colourful 3D environments to explore are complemented by the beautifully and creatively designed towns in a watercolour art style. Each town, dungeon, and world map area have their own theme and some of the areas look absolutely stunning. The style in this title stays true to its predecessors, however it is clearer and more detailed than before.

The controls are well-mapped, straight forward to use, and very responsive. When exploring the world map, the camera can be turned which is very helpful on the wide-open plains. A small map can be turned on or off at the bottom right, and can be enlarged if necessary, as well.

Instead of random battles that suddenly start, the enemies/monsters are now visible and roaming the map or dungeon freely. Battles ensue upon getting close to an enemy or slashing it from behind. This system allows for a different kind of gameplay, as it is also possible to run from monsters to avoid them.

The battle system is turn-based, so strategy is key. This is possible and a wonderful challenge by using different job classes and abilities. There is no timer, so it is advised to take some time to think about the best strategy to attack. The staple commands of this series, Brave and Default, are an important feature here, as well. Using Brave allows to attack more than once in a single turn. Default allows the character to wait out their next turn in a defence position and additionally racks up an extra turn for using Brave in the future. It is a great system and does not take long to get used to, even for new players.

There is a difficulty setting that can be changed throughout the game if wanted, different language settings, and sound settings. Gameplay is possible with one or both joy cons, on the Switch or the TV - which is a great and new experience, since the games before were only ever available on relatively small, handheld screens.