Bravely Default 2: Preview, Square Enix's JRPG shines on Switch

The first Bravely Default it was a real bolt from the blue for all owners of Nintendo 3DS. Released almost on the sly, it turned out to be a pearl for the stock of the big N, so much so that even alone it fully justified the purchase of the portable console. For this, the release of Bravely Second: End Layer - of which you can read our review below - had warmed the hearts of fans, but the overall experience did not turn out to be up to initial expectations. For this reason, Square Enix has decided to take a slight step back, and it makes it through Bravely Default 2. The work is preparing to arrive as yet another exclusive Nintendo Switch, which does nothing but consolidate an already important and solid line up. During the Mini Nintendo Direct recently released, the Japanese house surprised fans by announcing that the game demo had just been made available on the digital store. Precisely for this reason we catapulted ourselves to test the trial version, so as to get a clearer idea of ​​what we will be facing at the time of the official release.

Our first considerations are mostly positive, given that Square Enix seems to have treasured the mistakes made on the brand. Along the lines of what has been done in the past with the first chapter, the software house is ready to immerse us in a fantasy adventure worthy of the real JRPG. At the helm of production we always find Tomoya Asano, known not only for bringing this beautiful universe to life, but also for developing the most recent Octopath Traveler, always exclusively for Nintendo Switch.

Where were we

As for the plot of Bravely Default 2, we need to open a short parenthesis. The title, at least at the beginning, seemed to be a sort of plot twist, but in general we know very well that, albeit broadly, the series has always supported the theory of parallel universes, which is confirmed to us right now. This obviously can lead to quite different situations, which we will definitely go into and analyze during the new chapter. However, the general story is still quite confusing and we don't have too many details about it, as the demo itself doesn't offer any clarification. We understood, however, that, basically, each character has a specific purpose, but all four share the fate of recovering the elemental crystals. Slowly, and even in a little depth, the trial version begins to rattle off the story of the protagonists, and although the information at the moment is sparse, we are sure that in the base game we will be submerged by intricate and cohesive plots. Gloria seems to play a more main role than the others, a sort of And one to be clear: she is the princess of Musa, the city from which the crystals mentioned above have been stolen. There are also to follow the girl Elvis e Adelle, the first is a scholarly magician who tries to decipher an ancient text left to him by the master, the second is his bodyguard. Finally there is Seth, a sailor who survived a terrible storm and who owes his life to crystals.

These will be the four characters who will accompany you; we are sure they will reserve some surprises in perfect Bravely Default style. We must say, however, that we have not been particularly impressed so far, they seemed quite flat and, in part, already seen and reviewed. However, we realize that this is a fairly immature judgment, to draw more precise conclusions we will inevitably have to wait for the review site. Historically, however, the brand has always relied on subtle group dynamics, so it seems really strange to us that they neglected this aspect in production. There is another great precision to be made, the proposed demo is not a real part of the game, but it is for demonstration purposes only, useful to give us a clearer idea of ​​the direction of production.

A Mr. JRPG

Let's put everything in context: during the demo you will find yourself at Savalon, a city located in the middle of the desert and which is suffering from the instability of the crystal of the water. The group must search for clues to continue their journey. Here it immediately stands out that, for the first time in the series, to mark the goal there will be the cursor directly on the game screen, and this also applies to the secondary missions which, of course, will be visible with a special marker so as not to confuse the players. Said this, exploration has remained the most classic, only now as you progress through the levels you will get passive skills who will help you. For example, we got a skill that allowed us to see the exact number of chests still to be opened on a given map, and we're sure there will be many more things to discover. If the city of Savalon gives us a great glance, the world map has also been totally revisited to keep up with the times. The enemies are clearly visible, hitting them will give you a small advantage and, on the contrary, if you are caught off guard you will leave with a small penalty.

Here there is a beautiful and important question to rattle off, because the first thing that is said after turning on the demo is that the difficulty is higher than in previous games. Does this by chance mean that we are talking about a turn-based Souls? Absolutely not, but it means that to overcome certain difficulties you will necessarily have to turn on the brain. Bravely Default 2 exploits in an almost exceptional way the shift component of the clashes, forcing you to play strategy and tactics. The title will put all the necessary tools at your disposal slowly, how and when to use them will depend on you, but the ability to bi-class each character will be crucial. In fact, as in perfect style of the series, the classes will dominate the combat system: you can put one as the main one, which will also affect the character's statistics, and one as a secondary one that will flesh out your skills with something different. than the primary style. Precisely by virtue of what is written, it seems obvious to us to tell you that the combat system has remained unchanged, newbies will have to do some practice with the Bravely and Defaults system, but nothing too complex; in a very short time you will learn to juggle better and things will go quite smoothly. Having said that, however, do not underestimate the enemies, since even the most apparently harmless ones can create many problems.

However, try not to limit yourself to one or two classes per character, Brevely Default 2 itself pushes you a lot to experiment and diversify, don't be afraid to change your mind about the nature of the protagonists' style. Given the difficulty, to force this you will also have to be of an adequate level, which already during the demo forced us to undertake a significant number of battles. To us it all seemed very balanced and satisfying, given that the difficulty curve will satisfy JRPG fans who are not looking for free battles but want to feel the pressure of the real challenge. To satisfy all the other senses, however, there is a unique graphic style, almost hand-drawn that manages to give a fairytale tone to the entire production. Suffice it to say that only Savalon is a feast for the eyes and while we pass through these magnificent scenarios we will also be accompanied by a splendid background soundtrack. Precisely from the musical point of view, the work stands out in a perfect way, offering melodies that will warm your heart and spirit.

In conclusion, we can say that Bravely Default 2 is preparing to be yet another thick exclusive for the Nintendo Switch, something that both the owner of the console and the fans of the JRPG can not miss. Silicon Studio seems to have learned from mistakes and now we can't wait to dive back into this fascinating universe. We are convinced that such productions are always good for the market and, although it is still early to judge the work, the potential to give the general public a real gem is all there.