There are 24 different jobs from which to choose in Bravely Default. Four are found early in the game via plot events, four more in the late game via plot events, as well, while the remaining 16 are unlocked via sidequests. Progression for both sidequests and the story is made easy by exclamation points found on the map screen. Orange ones mark your next destination for the story, while blue ones mark the next sidequest location. Sidequests are few in number, but are quite involved, and the reward is always a new job. They culminate in a battle with an opponent who belongs to the class that you will unlock, so you can see what they’re like in battle before you get them. At one point in the game, all of the final bosses for sidequests will be able to be challenged again, so if you missed a job, you can go back and get it. It makes for good training, as well, as they reward a lot of level and job experience.
Job levels cap at level 14, and each level up earns you new skills. Skills fall into two types; those which can be used in battle, and support skills. Subclasses can be set, so you can use in-battle skills from one other job. The number of skills you have available from your subclass depends on how much you have leveled up that class; a subclass which you have previously maxed out will give you access to all of their in-battle skills, whereas putting your subclass as one you have never used will only give you access to their most basic skill.
Support skills are passive skills which can be equipped via the menu. You start with one slot and gain another each time you awaken a crystal, so by the end of the game, you will have five slots. Some skills take up just one slot, while others will take up two or even three. The cool thing about these is that you can equip passive skills from a different class, provided your character has already leveled up enough in that class to learn the skill. It’s a very nice, very fiddly system that, for people like me who love to customise characters, is very satisfying to play around with. One of the more notable jobs is the Salve Maker, as its level one ability is compounding. Compounding items can increase their restorative abilities, and there are also ways to reduce your opponents’ defensive capabilities or bolster your own defences by compounding.
On magic, there are a few different types, including your standard white and black magic. We also see some summoning magic; these ones must be earned by fighting with the wizards scattered across Luxendarc, as opposed to buying it like the other magics. Time magic contains abilities such as haste, slow and regen, as well as earth-aligned attacks. What I found the most interesting (and, frankly, pretty cool) was the addition of sword magic. This takes black and white magic and applies it to the equipped weapon for 10 turns, allowing you to dish out elemental or maybe status inflicting damage for ten turns when you use physical attacks. I didn’t play around with this till the postgame, and found myself wishing I’d discovered it much earlier.
The handy side menu I mentioned earlier doesn’t just give access to Norende. There’s an option to save which is only available in the overworld; as there’s an autosave that records your data on every floor, this did not feel limiting. On the side menu there’s also an option to update friend data for when you StreetPass, access to D’s journal and, later, an option to call your airship. D’s journal belongs to Ringabel; it’s the only thing he had with him when he woke up without his memories. It contains entries which forecast the future, and also acts as an item compendium, bestiary and glossary of terms, people and locations. It’s a very handy tool.
Bravely Default both looks and sounds amazing. I dabbled in the Japanese version of the game when it was released, and was struck by how pretty it looked. That feeling never left even as I reached the end; I was still admiring the beautiful artwork even as I trekked towards my final battle. The soundtrack is great to listen to, as well, especially the themes for the special attacks; Tiz’s and Ringabel’s were my favourites.
Upon completing the main story, the game will prompt you to save clear data, and you will enter the post-game. There isn’t a whole lot here aside from boss battle rematches, but it’s still fun to mess around in. They’re also quite difficult, so those looking for a real challenge will relish these battles. The difficulty can be adjusted at will via the menu, so you can change to an easier or a harder experience any time you like. In all, the game’s story took me 50 hours to complete, which was far more than I was expecting.
Bravely Default is a solid return to form by Square Enix. The game completely nailed the battle system, the ability customisation, the job system – I had so much fun messing around in the menus and optimising my party. The artwork is totally unique, and it works wonderfully. The soundtrack is a great one to listen to, and the story is compelling. I had minor issues with the English voice acting, but the characters were a lot of fun to play as. Bravely Default is an RPG player’s dream, and an absolute must for all fans of the genre.
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Review copy supplied by author. The game can be found for $59.90 AUD at EB Games Australia, £39.97 at EB Games UK and $39.99 at GameStop.
