Bravely Default (Nintendo 3DS) Review

There is good news for fans of the Final Fantasy of old that have been pining for traditional turn-based combat and a hark back to medieval settings. Bravely Default takes staple popular highlights of classic games in the Final Fantasy series and reintroduces them to a new audience with its own fresh take on ideas. Limitations and missteps brought up with Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, such as low item storage capacity, the inability to select targets in battle, and unclear instructions for the next objective location, are completely eradicated.

Bravely Default is leaps and bounds ahead of its spiritual predecessor, where the battle system and character growth in particular are some of the finest in the Final Fantasy series. Combat, as mentioned, is a strictly turn-based affair, but in order to add some tactical depth to the proceedings, the ability to use BP as a means to act more than once in any given round has been introduced. By using "Brave" on a turn, it will allow the selected character to perform two actions instead of the usual one. Opting to use extra Brave on top of this will allow for even more moves, provided there is enough BP in stock. If there isn't enough BP in the bank, it will enter negative numbers, and result in characters being unable to act until the required number of rounds is up. In order to add more BP to save it from going into the negative, the "Default" option is required, and acts as a "Defend" move, as seen in previous Final Fantasy games. A whole new element to battles is applied through this system, making for a lot of strategic decision-making that should sit right at home with anyone that preferred the turn-based setups of Final Fantasy I, Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy III.

The ever-popular Job System makes its return, where it is possible to create very personal and specific parties of varying types. Familiar jobs and brand new ones can be acquired throughout the adventure by defeating the bearers of each one, and can be levelled up through successful battles, unlocking new abilities. The further diversity comes through being able to select a secondary job that allows a character to also use that class' abilities on top of the ones available through their primary job. Want to have a ninja with the option to use the thief's Steal abilities? That's entirely possible. How about allowing a dark knight to use white mage healing magic? No problem. Perhaps a red mage with the choice to use Summon magic is preferable. This is not including the support abilities that can be unlocked and applied from all other jobs for each individual character. The potential for unique combinations is extensive and it means that every player will have his or her own preferences in how to play through the game, as they find the most appealing and helpful mixtures of jobs and characters to suit their needs.

What is a good gameplay system without a good story, though? Again like The 4 Heroes of Light and the original Final Fantasy, Bravely Default's plot centralises on four young main characters who bid to travel the world of Luxendarc and awaken the four crystals to rid the lands of darkness and close the Great Chasm, whilst trying to fend off the Eternian military force which attempts to stop anyone from doing so. In focusing on just a small group of characters, each one ends up with large and important tie-ins to the overarching storyline, meaning none ever feels like it doesn't belong or is just tagging along to make up the numbers (a problem some would argue exists in many RPGs). As an original storyline, Bravely Default holds its own due to always crafting the feeling that there is more than meets the eye. Although it does have that typical crystal mythos that has been prevalent in so many Final Fantasy games, it continually manages to tease and entice players to push forwards. It may not be a grand epic on par with a title like Final Fantasy IX, but Bravely Default still delivers a story full of charm, humour and a few surprises that will satisfy players that have become tired of the offerings in Square Enix's mainline Final Fantasy series over the last generation.

The let-down comes in the form of the English voice acting, which continues to be a situation that is lacking in quality in so many RPG localisations. Some voices are good, some have ups and downs, some may grow on players, but many are just poor. The Japanese voice option is such an important feature; else players may end up growing to dislike certain characters for the wrong reasons.

In its bid to take players to the medieval worlds of RPGs, Bravely Default naturally exudes the auras of the Nintendo DS remakes of Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy IV. It has the same chibi-like character design that is smoothened out a lot better through the more powerful 3DS system, and the art style may even remind people of Final Fantasy IX in many instances. Despite these notable visualisation reminders to previous games, Bravely Default has a remarkable style of its own. The towns and other specific locations have such a gorgeous hand-drawn, painting-like design, with visuals popping out wonderfully with the stereoscopic 3D effect applied. In stopping to gaze upon such locations, there is the feeling that this is one of the most finely-crafted and graphically-appealing games on the 3DS.

The reverse side is that of exploring the dungeon areas. In a very classic Final Fantasy-like top-down viewpoint, the various caves and dungeons usually play out in mazes, with some travelling between floors and flicking switches to open doors necessary in order to progress. These areas are generally rather bland affairs, where all of that beautiful graphic design of the towns is virtually non-existent in these places, and are rather samey and limited in appearance. Very similar to the early Final Fantasy games, the bird's-eye view unfortunately shows off too much black on top of the walls, making the insides of many dungeons rather boring places to be. It is indeed a throwback to the games that started it all, but it really seems like a lot more could have been done with the dungeon designs. Certainly when thinking about a game like Final Fantasy IX, which has what could still be regarded as the most attractive art design and locations in the series, it would seem that Bravely Default really is lacking in its level schemes.

One aspect that most definitely isn't hit or miss is the wealth of options on offer for players of all levels of RPG experience. Whether this is the first game of its type ever being played, or if it is simply next in line after many years of role-playing, Bravely Default can be tailored to suit each individual based on personal preference. The gameplay difficulty can be altered between three levels at any moment, and there are options for how often random encounters occur, including being able to turn them off entirely. Anyone that has a dislike for grinding massively or getting forced into battles when they simply want to experience the story first and foremost will appreciate this choice hugely. Likewise, when a bit of levelling up is on the agenda, bumping up the encounter rate works wonders. Battles themselves can even be sped up so that animations play out much faster; it's almost impossible not to use this constantly.

Then there are the short, straight-to-the-point tutorials that ensure the game isn't essentially many hours of essays before actually being able to run free and play (as other RPGs like to do), and destination markers can be toggled on or off, so that players will never get lost or miss a clue on where to go next (which was a problem with The 4 Heroes of Light). Bravely Default is a welcoming beginner-friendly game, of which its many options will be valued just as much, if not more, by experienced RPG fans.

Although Bravely Default is a chunky quest that demands a lot of man-hours to see the story through, its side-quests are done a little differently when compared to other RPGs. These optional quests grant more to the development of the characters and are the method to bolstering the number of jobs that the party can equip. Bravely Default may have a smaller world and less variety in its side-missions when compared to other RPGs, resulting in only so much to do once the main plot is finished, but this angle focuses on requiring players to continue a bit of grinding and constantly increasing the power of their party to take down many non-compulsory foes and bosses.

That isn't all there is to this game, though. RPGs generally are a very solo affair, with communication between other players usually non-existent or very limited. To add a little more incentive to keep playing, Bravely Default gives players the chance to swap data online with their 3DS friends that also play the game to call upon another's character and special move to use in battle. If a friend is further ahead and has more powerful characters, then summoning the one they've sent could be the key to winning in a tricky boss encounter.

Rebuilding a village in a little mini-game of sorts also makes full use of the StreetPass and online capabilities of the 3DS. The more StreetPasses captured, the more new villagers that come over to rebuild the village and its shops, offering up new items and equipment for players to purchase. Some very creative thought has been put in motion with the network options for Bravely Default, really making the game feel like more than just a single-player adventure at times. Hopefully Silicon Studio will continue to make inventive use of such potentials in the future.

The biggest complaint would sadly have to come down to the final few hours of the game. Some odd decisions have been made to force areas to be returned to and bosses be repeatedly fought, which can in fact contribute to making the latter portion of this story becoming somewhat tedious. This doesn't mar what is an overall quality RPG, but it is a strange choice.