Bravely Second Review

[Tamaki]

Hello everyone, I wanted
to write down some thoughts I had about Bravely Second in hopes that I can convince other people to try this fantastic game. I will keep it as spoiler free as possible and also discuss the game as if you have played the first one (I highly recommend playing Bravely Default first as Bravely Second does make references to the first game).

Gameplay
As far as gameplay goes, nothing has changed except for the specific available jobs. The Salvemaker job is gone now (sorry everyone who was using the Turn Toxic + Mimic combo), but there are 30 available jobs to choose from. Some of these are brand new such as the Catmancer job, and some of them you'll recognize such as the Knight and Swordmaster job. All jobs can be raised to level 10, and then after a certain sidequest is complete to level 11. If you liked the customization aspect of the first game, you will love this game even more.

There is also a minigame called chompcraft you can play to earn extra gold, if you are so inclined. More information about that can be found here

Story
The story this time around is arguably much more engaging than the story in the first game. Without getting into too many spoilers, our protagonist Yew Geneolgia of the Crystalguard serves as Pope Agnes's protector a few years after the events of the first game transpire. She is immediately kidnapped by the Kaiser and taken to the Sky Fortress. Thus, Yew and his friends embark on a journey to rescue Agnes from the Kaiser and take down the Sky Fortress. Along the way, you encounter a mysterious woman by the name of Magnolia who hails from the Moon and is hunting for malevolent and powerful creatures called Ba'als. Eventually, you learn of the Kaiser's ultimate goal and the origin of the Ba'als.

The dialogue is very well written and funny. Jokes are localized well, and the opportunity to rest at certain spots in dungeons to view a side story event and heal is excellent. All cutscenes (including in-battle cutscenes) are replayable from Yew's Diary (which serves the same function as Ringabell's diary from the previous game).

Similar to the first game, there is a major plot twist at the end of the game, and the ending is overall very satisfying, engaging, and moving.

And finally, the question I know you are all thinking: no, you do not have to beat the game three times to get to the true ending. While it is possible to miss the trigger for the true ending, it is very easy to go back and activate it.

Sound/Music
While the sound effects are nothing special in my opinion, the soundtrack is excellent. There is a "half soundtrack" available for purchase that contains the first few songs on the discography, my favorite being Battle of Oblivion.

Graphics
The opening of the game is an absolutely beautiful full motion video. The game graphics are essentially a copy of the first game. I personally find them charming, but if you didn't like the graphics in the first game, you won't like the graphics in this game.

Summary
If you liked Bravely Default, get Bravely Second. If you KIND of liked Bravely Default... you should also probably get Bravely Second, as the main flaw of the first game (having to repeat the same story line 3 times) has been removed.

Have you played Bravely Second yet? What are your thoughts?

 

[StockRolls]

Wow man, great writeup! Sucks nobody else gave you props for writing all of this out. I forgot about the original, never finished it but got it from a buddy because he wanted to swap me for a couple of games. I don't have enough money for all this cool stuff people keep recommending lol

 

[Tamaki]

Thanks! The original is pretty long. If I remember correctly I think it took me at least 40 hours to finish the main story with the true ending. You should definitely finish it. Maybe by the time you're done, you'll be able to afford the second one

 

[dustinb12]

@Tamaki thanks for this! I am huge fan of the original. It woke up the long sleeping rpg fan in me. I drug it out for 140 hours because i didn't want it to end. I loved the music, story, gameplay, grinding even. I was hoping for a review from someone who played it.

Here's my only problem: There are so many awesome rpg's i want to try out.

 

[Tamaki]

What other RPGs are you interested in? The Bravely series is definitely my all time favorite as far as the 3DS platform goes, so I'd recommend that before anything else.

 

[dustinb12]

@Tamaki i just finished Yokai Watch and i enjoyed the monster collecting gig, although i've never played a true Pokemon. Now I'm very interested. I also played Fantasy Life, which turned out to be probably my fav game ever, at least in the top 3. I've enjoyed some Dragon Quest also. Im currently looking at Stella Glow, Legend of Legacy, Pokemon Black, or X, or whatever, Fire Emblem Awakening, Monster Hunter. Not in any particular order.

If you recommend Bravely Second over all of these, i will definitely hold that opinion very high.

 

[Tamaki]

Well, I can tell you that however much you loved Bravely Default you will very likely enjoy Bravely Second even more. That will probably be the best metric against which to measure your love/desire to play those other games.

I haven't played many of the games you listed, but I can tell you that Bravely Second (from an RPG perspective) is definitely a better game than both of the Pokemon games. Fire Emblem is a very different style from Bravely Second so it's harder to compare the two. But like I said, the fact that you've played Bravely Default will give you a very good idea of how high you should prioritize playing Bravely Second.

 

[rz3300]

Well thank you for the review. I have played this one on and off, but not really for some time now. I cannot say that I really came across a good review though, now that I think about it. I really did like Bravely Default too so I am a little surprised I did not pick this one up more, but there is still time of course. Thanks for sharing.