Bravely Default: Where the Fairy Flies

Bravely Default is a rare jewel among RPG games found on the Nintendo 3DS. What makes this game amazing is how well it utilizes all of its available features and the amount of work completed in the game. Focusing on just one aspect of the game doesn’t do the game justice. Bravely Default is often called by fans; the “Final Fantasy that never was.” Bravely Default was made by Square Enix, the maker of the Final Fantasy series, as a separate original series. Though the abilities, weapons, armor, and mechanics are similar to those of Final Fantasy, Bravely Default offers something new for everyone.

The game begins with a little fairy named Airy asking the player to stay until the very end of the game before proceeding to introduction CGI movies for each of the main characters; Angés Oblige, Ringabel, Edea Lee, and Tiz Arrior. From there the player is thrown into the world of Luxendarc; a world with five distinct continents. The story begins like any other RPG game; the player is given a mission and proceeds through the world of wonder and mystery to fulfill their mission. At one point in the game, it will leave the player confused as the game takes an unknown turn after the mission is “completed”. Luckily the character development and the interactions between the other characters are full of emotion and humor providing the player strength to continue the game. By the end of the game, players will be so attached to the characters of the game that they may even shed some tears.

The music of Bravely Default is also something to be excited about as it ranges from all different styles; from the quiet immortal winter town, to the upbeat and sassy town of fashion. The artwork of the game enhances the unique feeling of the storyline as a whole. All of the towns and characters in Bravely Default are hand drawn in a “child’s storybook” style. Through the use of 3D graphics and gyroscopes, the buildings pop out giving the town elevation and unique characteristics. Each unique setting influences different character reactions. Seeing how each character interact with their surroundings is enjoyable and provides quick, fun distractions from the main plot line. As a bonus, the game has full voice acting. This enhances the player’s interaction with the characters allowing you to slowly peel away the layers of their intricate personalities.

The one thing that makes Bravely Default different from other turn-by-turn RPG games are the new battle features; Brave and Default. All other turn-by-turn RPG games have each character attack once per turn. The battles in Bravely Default run on a system called “Brave Points”. Brave points determine how many times the character can attack in one turn and are restored by 1 every turn. Players can use “Brave” to attack up to four times per character in one turn. If the player “braves” into -4 the, the player must wait several turns until their Brave Points go back up to 0 allowing the characters to attack again. Default is the defending system of the game and it also raises the character’s Brave points up by one. This new battle mechanic is also utilized by enemies within the game, pushing the player to come up with strategies to obtain victory in battle.

Bravely Default is huge on strategy. The player can have all their characters maxed-out to their highest level, but that won’t be enough to beat the game. Players must use their minds to come up with the best possible strategies to win. There are many possible combinations as there are fourteen different jobs the characters can utilize. Whether it’s using combinations like the Dark Knight/Ninja or the Swordmaster/Pirate, players have a wide variety of options to play with.

Another feature that Bravely Default uses is the augmented reality card reader. Within the instruction booklet, there is a card that can be scanned with the AR card reader on the 3DS and will play a scene that will leave the player asking questions. The card within the booklet is one out of many. Bravely Default doesn’t have any after game for the player, but it does have the New Game +. New Game + allows to start over the game, but have the choice to transfer over their levels, jobs, weapons, and armor over. New Game + does not offer anything new, but the chance for dedicated gamers to do a speed run.

Overall, for those who have a 3DS and are looking for a new game to play, Bravely Default is highly recommended. The game is very engaging and well worth the money. It’s more geared towards the experienced gamers out there looking for something new. This game is not for kids as there is much content that kids shouldn’t be facing at their age. There’s a reason the game is rated for teens.