It’s best to be on task and grind through this expedition and gain as much XP as possible. Upon elevating your level, enemies with weaker attributes will tend to avoid confrontation. I appreciate the addition of having our party sprint across maps, rather than whimsically gallivant casually through each town. It delivers a sense of urgency while venturing from one side of the kingdom to another. Artillery can be collected to reveal items hidden in tall grass and shrubs scattered in each area. A long with the main story – which meaty in itself – there are an abundance of side quests for the player to revisit once they have completed the campaign, or may want to pad their experience by coinciding with the story quest. These can be commenced by approaching an NPC, and engaging in their request. They’re predominantly fetch quests, but are worth the reward in each.

An overhauled Brave system seemingly heightens the overall participation in each battle. Sure it may hold hands here and there, especially those that are unfamiliar with the role-playing turn-based mechanic. BP’s or Brave Points are divided between each party member to utilise. You may find yourself spamming the Brave Command, much like I did near the beginning, but as you find your groove, a technical aspect begins to instinctively kick in. A careful selection of melee and ranged attacks will depend on your character’s class and how you assign them. Health Points and Mana will deplete within each specialised attack, with each ability showing their attack or magic’s cost. Personally, the satisfaction of spending up big on my BP’s, and laying multiple attacks was enthralling, but recycling this technique without real experience will come at a cost later in the game. Best to learn early on, than risk it all.

Accompanied with an exemplary overture, Revo’s “fantasy” aesthetic meshes a magical melody in what would be described as melancholic. After the composer’s memorable feat in the original entry, a composition of gorgeous tunes are spread out here to suit almost every occasion. Blown away by the opening sequence as it contrasted from subtle harmony to booming orchestra, an arrangement of tracks shed light on many emotions that I was not prepared for playing this incredible game. While each overworld demonstrated identity through certain facets, the most important was its music. The battle theme had slight change in tone depending on the enemy, or boss fight you were engaged in. The English dub cast did a tremendous job in localising the title, given the circumstances they were under within COVID-19 restrictions. There are some audio mixing issues, but nothing that takes you out of the experience entirely.

Bravely Default II is quintessential role-playing magic. A wonderous campaign, fuelled with passion and desire. Heart and charm elongate this lengthy adventure worth your attention. A sixty hour time-sink that refrains from fluff, but does everything to keep you hooked within its creative story. A rag-tag group of ambitious travellers unite to take down a looming threat to overthrow the kingdom of Halcyon, and bring peace Excillant. From beginning to end, the plot never stopped delivering quality. This escapade of epic proportions will go down as one of the greatest JPRG’s, continuing the excellence that is Bravely Default’s legacy.