Support NeoGAF

[TintoConCasera]

Sometimes I wish we got more straightforward JRPGs like the first Final Fantasy, just create your party and you're free to explore, regardless if you like the story or not.
Japanese devs focus too much on dialogue and exposition to the point of being boring.

I don't mind story heavy JRPGs as long as the story is good, but I agree and miss simpler games like that. I think my favorite Final Fantasy is I on the GBA, wish there were more games like that where you just explore cool dungeons and wreck monster shit.

I think that's the reason I enjoyed the DQ remakes on the DS so much. IMO they are basically that but with non-intrusive and really charming stories poured over the gameplay.

 

[Shifty1897]

I'm about 5 hours in and having a great time. Just got my fifth job. There's a lot of good game in here, and it really scratches that old school JRPG itch. I cut some grass in a dungeon and found a staff that was better than what I could buy in town, and that was really exciting.

 

[Exentryk]

I haven’t done it yet, but couldn’t you just leave your Switch on all night - utilize the items you get to help boost leveling? Combine that with the skill to JP boost. I’m not quite sure what I’ll gain if I leave it running for 12 hours wasn’t it?

You don't need to leave it on. Just start the expedition on the boat by speaking to the old lady, and then put the switch to sleep. Then you'll gain items while the game is asleep up to 12 hours.
Basically, do this whenever you're not going to be playing for free rewards.

 

[Northeastmonk]

About 5-6 hours in and I’m loving the game so far. Really grinding up the freelancer job to get to JP up as soon as possible.

It’s a 1.2 multiplier for JP at level 9 and 1.7 when you combine it with JP Up and Up. Wouldn’t you think an item could do better? Given that you spend so much time leveling the Freelancer instead of building up another class? I read where the original games had an item to help increase JP a lot better than the ability. I’m in the second area and I believe I’ve lost time leveling another class due to the JP skill. What’s frustrating is the weight limit. I had to take off my characters armor because they were 17/14 weight limit.

 

[Sejan]

It’s a 1.2 multiplier for JP at level 9 and 1.7 when you combine it with JP Up and Up. Wouldn’t you think an item could do better? Given that you spend so much time leveling the Freelancer instead of building up another class? I read where the original games had an item to help increase JP a lot better than the ability. I’m in the second area and I believe I’ve lost time leveling another class due to the JP skill. What’s frustrating is the weight limit. I had to take off my characters armor because they were 17/14 weight limit.

Given the situation at the beginning of the game, JP up is completely worth it. I trained Adele and Seth in freelancer straightaway up to JP up since the damage penalty of freelancer vs vanguard was minimal. Once I had JP up, Adele went to vanguard. Seth continued to JP up and up since I wasn’t interested in anything in monk past Bare Knuckle. Gloria trained in white and black mage up to solar and lunar powered then back to freelancer to pick up JP up since I didn’t need the better white mage skills yet. Elvis is the only one that didn’t train Freelancer at all since I was more interested in level 2 damage spells.

I just beat the Beastmaster Asterisk and Gloria and Adele both easily learned JP up without sacrificing much. Elvis is one level short of the skill, and Seth just mastered freelancer.

I never did any grinding aside from doing most of the side quests along the way.

JP up may not be the best way to increase JP at the end game, but I feel this investment will easily pay dividends in the long run (particularly any time I unlock a new asterisk)


I’ve not had any major issues with the weight issue at this point, myself. I’ve had to swap armor around a few times, but I’ve never had to go armorless. I actually like that at least one accessory has negative weight. I think this system could prove to be interesting depending on how the weight system is implemented overall. I’d probably prefer other systems of limiting equipment overall, but this one doesn’t hurt my feelings.

 

[RoboFu]

I want to like this game. Love the graphics and job system , but I hate the battle system .. why do all these new jrps have these gimmicky battle systems??!!

 

[Danjin44]

why do all these new jrps have these gimmicky battle systems??!!

You mean Brave & Default system? I actually like that system a lot it makes the combat much more interesting.

 

[RoboFu]

You mean Brave & Default system? I actually like that system a lot it makes the combat much more interesting.

nah it just grinds out the battles in a bad way.
I hope the next dragon quests keeps the same sensible battle system.

 

[SinDelta]

You mean Brave & Default system? I actually like that system a lot it makes the combat much more interesting.

Best job system I've encountered was Final Fantasy XIV (Trial.) You could switch to any class, each with its own storyline, gear progression, ect. I've seen people mention Final Fantasy V as having one of the best job systems also. How does Bravely Default measure up?

 

[SecretAgentHam]

I've never tried any of the games in the series. Is this game friendly to first time players and how does it compare to other RPGs like FFX or Golden Sun?

 

[Danjin44]

Best job system I've encountered was Final Fantasy XIV (Trial.) You could switch to any class, each with its own storyline, gear progression, ect. I've seen people mention Final Fantasy V as having one of the best job systems also. How does Bravely Default measure up?

I myself never got the chance to play FFV but lot of people compare Job system in BD series to FFV.

 

[Danjin44]

nah it just grinds out the battles in a bad way.
I hope the next dragon quests keeps the same sensible battle system.

I definitely don’t agree but I’m guessing you want more simple turn based combat.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[Danjin44]

"Why, yes honey. Do you have something against that?"

No I LOVE DQXI but also like turn based combat with interesting mechanics, I personally like brave & default system in BD series.

 

[TintoConCasera]

I honestly enjoy both types of combat systems, from the kinda complex like SMT's press turn system or Octopath's, to the simpler and faster like DQ's. The former usually feel more challenging to me while the later feel like a satisfying grind to me, almost like a turn-based Diablo game.

 

[Captain Toad]

It's not a huge difference, but I definitely prefer the style in Bravely Default or Octopath Traveler to the even more simple style of Dragon Quest.

I still love Dragon Quest, but I tend to get sleepy playing it as it plays itself and does so slowly.

 

[drganon]

The more reviews I read and my memory of the 2nd demo still fresh, this game sounds insufferable.

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

Very disappointed that auto battle was removed from this version (used it heavily in Bd1 and SL).

I get it, there are no more random encounters as all the enemies are on the map, but damn it’s making the grind this time feel SO much longer.

 

[Exentryk]

Very disappointed that auto battle was removed from this version (used it heavily in Bd1 and SL).

I get it, there are no more random encounters as all the enemies are on the map, but damn it’s making the grind this time feel SO much longer.

Yeah, the best we have here is repeat last commands per character. Better than nothing I guess.

 

[Sejan]

The more reviews I read and my memory of the 2nd demo still fresh, this game sounds insufferable.

I think it will really depend on your preferences in gaming. I love this game so far. Yes, there are changes, and there are arguments for each style of combat and equipment restrictions. Either way, the Bravely Default Series and Octopath Traveller have become my version of Final Fantasy since I absolutely hate what they have made the series into over the years.

If you like traditional JRPGs, then this game has a lot to love. If you don’t, then this game has nothing to offer you at all.

 

[Komatsu]

Loving the game so far and, exceptionally, I changed the voice-over language from JP to ENG - the British dub has many rich, interesting voices and the JP seiyus seem to be phoning-in their performances.

The plot, though basic, seems fairly interesting. The game is solid.

 

[Danjin44]

I changed the voice-over language from JP to ENG

I was going to change it to Japanese but I'm actually really warm up the the english voices, really well done.

 

[Captain Toad]

Very disappointed that auto battle was removed from this version (used it heavily in Bd1 and SL).

I get it, there are no more random encounters as all the enemies are on the map, but damn it’s making the grind this time feel SO much longer.

You can still put on 4x battle speed and repeat your last full move with a button press.

 

[Exentryk]

Here is a farming guide for chapter 1+:

 

[Ozzie666]

This game makes me wonder on the return on investment. It's a good, if not great game and has some great feels for old school JRPG lovers. As I said, how is the profit margin on these type of titles, compared to big huge budget. I know Nintendo used to harp on about cheap 3DS costs, but good returns. Maybe the money earned isn't sexy compared to AAA, but it must be substantial? Switch is just perfect for this.

 

[NahaNago]

This game makes me wonder on the return on investment. It's a good, if not great game and has some great feels for old school JRPG lovers. As I said, how is the profit margin on these type of titles, compared to big huge budget. I know Nintendo used to harp on about cheap 3DS costs, but good returns. Maybe the money earned isn't sexy compared to AAA, but it must be substantial? Switch is just perfect for this.

It isn't like your typical AAA game is being made for the switch in mind anyways. At most you get AA level games. I do wonder if mario odyssey and zelda even count as AAA if you compare the budgets they have to what the west usually works with. Then again I have no idea what their budget is as well, although I just keep doubting that it is anywhere near as large as any of Sony's big budget games.

 

[Chastten]

So, I'm taking my time with this game, almost ten hours in, and the boss in the cave of the desert town just fucking wrecked me.

I mean, I went in with the wrong jobs as I was just randomly grinding some skills, but yeah, didn't expect to get wrecked so hard. Loving it. Made me remember walking into the cave thing in Final Fantasy 3 with the endgame mobs that you could already enter close to the start of the game.

Anyways, so far it's a great game. I kinda miss autobattle but otherwise it's exactly what I'd hoped for. Music is 10/10 and I think the voice acting is quite charming.

 

[Andyliini]

This game seems to be shaping up to be quite a gem. I have only played through the first dungeon and then been exploring and grinding jobs. I also found some optional boss on the map who kicked my ass before I could even act once. Then again, I have only grinded Freelancer, so everyone can have JP Up to ease grinding of next jobs.

The sleep mode sailing is also great idea, why haven't more devs used it? I even like the english dub (especially Elvis). It sounded somehow off in trailers, but the game itself has solid voice acting and varied accents. If the rest of the game is this good, this should easily be the best Bravely-game ever made. Certainly deserves to sell at least a million.

 

[Danjin44]

Really loving the game so far the combat is fun and addicting and Jobs are really fun to use, I especially like beast master because like SMT/Persona I’m trying capture as many monsters as possible.

 

[Captain Toad]

Really loving the game so far the combat is fun and addicting and Jobs are really fun to use, I especially like beast master because like SMT/Persona I’m trying capture as many monsters as possible.

But you don't keep the monsters in this one, right? To use their skill, you release the caught monster forever.

 

[Danjin44]

But you don't keep the monsters in this one, right? To use their skill, you release the caught monster forever.

Yup once you use them they are gone unless you have caught multiple of them.

 

[Sejan]

But you don't keep the monsters in this one, right? To use their skill, you release the caught monster forever.

Yeah, but once you level up BM a bit you get a passive that automatically catches enemies 30% of the time when you kill them with the BM. Also, there are plenty of times my beast master happens to go when the last enemy is low on up. It’s easy enough to spam capture and ensure you get it. It really doesn’t take any real effort or additional time investment to have an army of monsters at your disposal and their strength can be amazing.

When I fought the chapter 3 boss in the forest I was able to do 6000+ damage with off the chain (lvl 12 skill) and a few monsters. The monsters also gave me access to elements that I didn’t have a good way to access, yet. Overall, I’m loving the beast master class far more than the equivalent class in Octopath Traveler. It’s more effective and easier to use with a number of solid non-monster based skills as a bonus.

 

[Cherry Sonoshee]

The story seems even worse in this game compared to the first BD. At least there the characters were charming and had some conflict between them that was fun to follow. Here everyone is so buddy buddy right from the get-go and it's pretty boring.

Also, games are miracles that they even happen, somehow you get all this talent and resources together and you create something............so generic. Why? I mean I guess that's the point of BD, to be a throwback. But I think I'm tired of generic whatever fantasy in Japanese RPGS. They all feel the same. Here's the desert Arabian place...Here's the European castle place.. and so on. These aren't interesting worlds to learn about.

Also why no maps in the dungeons. This game just seems so tedious complete with lame fetch quests. JRPGS can do so much better.

I don't know it's ok.

 

[EDMIX]

I myself never got the chance to play FFV but lot of people compare Job system in BD series to FFV.

Really? I thought for sure you went thru the whole FF series lol

Yea FFV's job system is amazing (I hated the story), Bravely Default series is basically the older FF titles in terms of a spiritual thing. Same concept, different name. How is Bravely Default 2? I love the first 2 games and didn't really like that the art style changed a bit in this new one. Bring back the chibiness lol

 

[Danjin44]

Really? I thought for sure you went thru the whole FF series lol

Yea FFV's job system is amazing (I hated the story), Bravely Default series is basically the older FF titles in terms of a spiritual thing. Same concept, different name. How is Bravely Default 2? I love the first 2 games and didn't really like that the art style changed a bit in this new one. Bring back the chibiness lol

I'm almost end of Chapter 3 and currently loving it and really warming up to visual style and also surprised how much I like the english voices. When I played the demo I wasn't feeling the english dub so I was going play the full release in Japanese but as I played the game end up really liking the english voices.

 

[Cherry Sonoshee]

Also why the fuck do you not have a map or the ability to pan the camera in dungeons in BD2?

I don't know if I'm enjoying this game. Everything seems needlessly tedious and grindy. I enjoyed the first one, so I don't know why I'm not enjoying this one.

 

[Kimahri]

Also why the fuck do you not have a map or the ability to pan the camera in dungeons in BD2?

I don't know if I'm enjoying this game. Everything seems needlessly tedious and grindy. I enjoyed the first one, so I don't know why I'm not enjoying this one.

When you're on the 3rd or 4th floor of yet another massive dungeon that is just a labyrinth where every section looks precisely like the one you were in just before, the lack of a map becomes a huge pain. I'm SO damn tired of these dungeons. They are too big. I always enjoy them fairly decently for the first floor, then I start getting bored with it, but have to endure more and more floors only to end up fighting some boss man who is immune to everything my most recent job acquisitions have to play with.

It's getting old really fast.

And those stupid side quests. Fetch this, go there, go back, go there again, go back again, there again, ad nauseum.

I've played for over 20 hours and I've just been in a handful of dungeons, they're that big.

 

[Rean no Kiseki]

"Why, yes honey. Do you have something against that?"

I haven't played the full game yet but judging by the demo BD2 DEFINITELY has the better and more interesting boss fight, i liked XI but it’s challenge and diffculty is a downgrade from the previous console DQ (VIII), also who ever came up with the idea of act 3 should be fired immeditly!

 

[Sejan]

I haven't played the full game yet but judging by the demo BD2 DEFINITELY has the better and more interesting boss fight, i liked XI but it’s challenge and diffculty is a downgrade from the previous console DQ (VIII), also who ever came up with the idea of act 3 should be fired immeditly!

BD2 definitely has some tough bosses. I’ve been playing in normal and have died a couple times against some bosses (I’ve progressed toward the end of chapter 2). There were a few times that I don’t know if I would have won a battle if I didn’t have things set up just the right way.

I’m not completely sold on certain things about the battle system (examining an enemy should show their resistances and absorptions in addition to their weaknesses), but it is absolutely a fun, tense, and strategic game when it comes to boss fights and occasional normal enemies in just the wrong circumstances.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[Shifty1897]

I've been playing this docked and it's been perfectly fine, but I just turned it on in handheld mode and my eyes are bleeding. No AA and what resolution is that, 360p? I know Unreal games typically run at a lower resolution but damn this thing needs a patch.

 

[Sejan]

I just finished the sidequest to unlock the Salvemaker asterisk. Wow. That battle was a lot tougher than I expected it to be. I was probably a little underleveled, but that boss gave me a run for my money. Overall, I’m very pleased with the boss battles so far, they have been tense and I love the feeling of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.

 

[Nico_D]

Just finishing up the desert. Playing on normal and I honestly haven't ran into any difficulty spikes yet. Sure, enemies are running away and the boss still gives a good and challenging fight - isn't that just the way it should be?

The soundtrack is amazing!

 

[Sejan]

Just finishing up the desert. Playing on normal and I honestly haven't ran into any difficulty spikes yet. Sure, enemies are running away and the boss still gives a good and challenging fight - isn't that just the way it should be?

The soundtrack is amazing!

I didn’t run into anything too bad until the very end of chapter 1 and a couple of places in chapter 2. I just started chapter 4 and most of the difficulty comes from the bosses which can be handled by properly building out your team. The snow area was another difficulty spike, particularly with an early side quest that you absolutely want to do.

 

[TintoConCasera]

I haven't played the full game yet but judging by the demo BD2 DEFINITELY has the better and more interesting boss fight, i liked XI but it’s challenge and diffculty is a downgrade from the previous console DQ (VIII), also who ever came up with the idea of act 3 should be fired immeditly!

With that I can agree

Sorry for the offtopic but I've been meaning to play DQ XI soon. Without spoiling it too much... What's the deal with act 3? Is the game a slog or something?

 

[Danjin44]

I didn’t run into anything too bad until the very end of chapter 1 and a couple of places in chapter 2. I just started chapter 4 and most of the difficulty comes from the bosses which can be handled by properly building out your team. The snow area was another difficulty spike, particularly with an early side quest that you absolutely want to do.

This and good equipment really helps My seth had Dragoon as the main Job and Shieldmaster as the side-job and I have equip him the shield the blocks ice and fire attacks. That really helped against Domenic in Chapter 3.

Sorry for the offtopic but I've been meaning to play DQ XI soon. Without spoiling it too much... What's the deal with act 3? Is the game a slog or something?

Its classic of you think the game ends but it doesn't.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Its classic of you think the game ends but it doesn't.

Thanks! Tbh if the game is fine I kinda like that trope.

 

[SinDelta]

Can they patch in the Qol features that 1 and 2 had? It sounds like it would solve most of the issues people seem to have with this one.

 

[Sejan]

This and good equipment really helps My seth had Dragoon as the main Job and Shieldmaster as the side-job and I have equip him the shield the blocks ice and fire attacks. That really helped against Domenic in Chapter 3.

Taking time with equipment really goes a long way. The auto equip feature is great and is sometimes a good starting point, but there are always other options that will likely be better. For instance, if you are building a shieldmaster, but your are using a white mage 2nd class as a sort of paladin hybrid, you’ll almost definitely want to switch out for some healing power even if it costs you a lot of defense or hp. Relying on auto equipping will absolutely make the game a lot harder than it needs to be.

The other consideration is taking your characters down class paths that don’t necessarily make sense at first glance. A white mage may benefit greatly from the berserker passive that protects them from all status effects that cause you to lose your action. My tank loves her red mage passive that gives her bonus bp for taking hits. The investment of a few job levels in off classes can go a long way and can easily be acquired in the time it takes to go through a dungeon normally.

 

[Rean no Kiseki]

Thanks! Tbh if the game is fine I kinda like that trope.

It's not gameplay related but plot related.