There is no doubt that flaws exist with this game, namely the poor pacing of the infamous second half, some of the voice acting quality, and how underpowered black magic is compared to physical combat. But the things that Bravely Default gets right, it really gets right.
And Bravely Default gets a lot of things right.
First off, the main feature of the game, the Brave/Default system. It's extremely well executed. So much so that I fear it may have tainted my opinion of a game I may have enjoyed much more were I not constantly reminded of how much better Bravely Default handled attack chaining: Radiant Historia. What Bravely Default's developers understood, and what Radiant Historia's developers did not, was that multiple factors can change when you link moves up. Bravely Default allows you to plan for them by allowing you to choose moves that, at the time of your planning, are impossible, allowing you to plan for MP restoration, Silence curing, etc. At no point did I find myself annoyed by some oversight in the Brave/Default system.
Second, the job system is awesome. They took the job system from FFV and expanded it immensely, adding a bunch of new features and much further depth to each job, with 14 levels to each job rather than the 3-7 of final fantasy V. The customization potential is so much larger it's insane, which makes replay value really high.
Third, this game has the best New Game + feature in video game history, and I mean that almost as an objective fact. The game hands you a checklist allowing you to customize what you want to keep. Do you want to start the game over with nothing but the job asterisks? Do you want to keep your levels and money but not your equipment? Do you want to start with a clean slate except that you want your progress on Norende village kept? All of these and more are allowed with Bravely Default's NG+.
Fourth, the soundtrack is absolutely fantastic. Revo/Linked Horizons did an amazing job, and there isn't a single song in the entire game I didn't like. I'm sad they won't be in Bravely Second, but here's hoping they make another awesome choice again.
Bravely Default is a fantastic game, and you're doing yourself a disservice if you like RPGs and you're keeping away because of what you may have heard about its exaggerated minor flaws.
Bravely Default: Flawed but Fantastic.
There is no doubt that flaws exist with this game, namely the poor pacing of the infamous second half, some of the voice acting quality, and how underpowered black magic is compared to physical combat. But the things that Bravely Default gets right, it really gets right.
And Bravely Default gets a lot of things right.
First off, the main feature of the game, the Brave/Default system. It's extremely well executed. So much so that I fear it may have tainted my opinion of a game I may have enjoyed much more were I not constantly reminded of how much better Bravely Default handled attack chaining: Radiant Historia. What Bravely Default's developers understood, and what Radiant Historia's developers did not, was that multiple factors can change when you link moves up. Bravely Default allows you to plan for them by allowing you to choose moves that, at the time of your planning, are impossible, allowing you to plan for MP restoration, Silence curing, etc. At no point did I find myself annoyed by some oversight in the Brave/Default system.
Second, the job system is awesome. They took the job system from FFV and expanded it immensely, adding a bunch of new features and much further depth to each job, with 14 levels to each job rather than the 3-7 of final fantasy V. The customization potential is so much larger it's insane, which makes replay value really high.
Third, this game has the best New Game + feature in video game history, and I mean that almost as an objective fact. The game hands you a checklist allowing you to customize what you want to keep. Do you want to start the game over with nothing but the job asterisks? Do you want to keep your levels and money but not your equipment? Do you want to start with a clean slate except that you want your progress on Norende village kept? All of these and more are allowed with Bravely Default's NG+.
Fourth, the soundtrack is absolutely fantastic. Revo/Linked Horizons did an amazing job, and there isn't a single song in the entire game I didn't like. I'm sad they won't be in Bravely Second, but here's hoping they make another awesome choice again.
Bravely Default is a fantastic game, and you're doing yourself a disservice if you like RPGs and you're keeping away because of what you may have heard about its exaggerated minor flaws.