Bravely Default rightly wanted to inherit yesterday’s J-RPG by combining its traditional elements and a certain sophistication in 3DS, extremely innovative concepts to support it. Principles urged to seize in Opus End Layer, which looks like a parody extension. So with Bravely Default II, Tomoya Asano seeks to take things seriously, or rather the asterisk, to turn them into a true second episode of the series. A difficult task for more than one …
Brave Standard II begins on the sunny shores of a previously unknown continent, Excillant, along with a new quartet of heroes who are united almost immediately. However, there is a familiar atmosphere there … Is it the endless intrigue surrounding the crystals, the wooden sound of the Celtic flute or the lush 2D rendering of the three-dimensional settings, which are somewhat pixelated elsewhere in close-up? In any case, the nostalgia works immediately and proves that the Asano team knows who it is for. This can be seen in Revo’s return to the score, rather short pieces that nonetheless contain amazing compositions. It would therefore be wrong to stop this retro impression, which is also conveyed by the a priori very classic character design despite more pronounced features (and longer legs). Just as the orchestrations in day and night versions are rejected according to the counters in order to underline the atmosphere, which is sometimes exotic, sometimes disturbing, the issues addressed quickly change from a lightness to a darker tone.
The weight of the words
This pursuit of maturity is based on much, not to mention a deadly dramaturgy, a deadly poignant leitmotif that is decidedly inspired by time. In addition, the obvious ecological, religious or social allusions creep in so seriously that their satirical aspect is palpable. The minimalism of the staging falls quickly and happily into the grandiloquent thanks to the high-quality synchronization in English or Japanese, which accompanies the main dialogues and is admirably transcribed in the language of Molire. The dramatization is therefore limited to camera movements to depict cities, which more than ever resemble imposing frescoes of fascinating beauty. This is all the more true as they are more common thanks to the enlarged surface area and screen resolution. An invitation to explore, aided by appearing over the course of many side missions, taking into account the exciting comings and goings of pedestrians (possibly replaced by carriage rides).
Unexplored countries
Despite a field of vision that is too narrow, the outer surroundings are much more tense and hilly, which emphasizes the feeling of space and hides the chests in the recesses. The same goes for the lush vegetation that we need to cut off, an evolutionary force very useful for discovering pretty prey and starting hostilities to the advantage when encountering enemies. These are now visible and have a behavior that changes depending on the team level. While the most dangerous, known as “rare,” get stuck, the slightly stronger flee headfirst while the weakest flee, a reaction that eventually makes it possible to corner several. This method creates chain battles, synonymous with less random bonuses than that ofFinish level. In this case, it’s pretty easy to disperse, except in narrow spaces like dungeons and other deliberately labyrinthine caves, where a map wouldn’t have been superfluous to find all the treasures without wandering there too long.
ATB Powered
Indeed, the fights want to be even more strategic and challenging. Their concept is of course still based on the duo of the same name “Brave” and “Default”, which each allow up to four rotations in a row or save them in a defensive stance. This principle, permissive or even abusive in the face of the confrontations so often sent from the center, comes up against more resilient opponents to weaken the mechanical side of the mechanism. In the same logic, the bosses – still for the most part still owners of Astrisken, in other words Jobs – have a terrifying force, it’s a little artificial. Aside from their increasingly aggravated twisted maneuvers (or the confused term for the lack of magic points), the challenge essentially stems from disproportionate life indicators and high speed, a central factor in adjusting the difficulty. The introduction of the famous “Active Time Battle” contributes to the legibility of these games, which represent real proof of perseverance even with theoretically simple adaptation.
Massive weapons of destruction
This revised upward balance is not only reflected in the integration of the weight of the equipment in addition to the affinities to limit the degenerate configurations, but above all in all classes. A certain number of them come straight from the previous sections, such as the essential freelancers. Others have the appearance of more modest conversions, the image of the bard with less dazzling talents than that of the artist or tamer releasing trapped creatures (a use that is therefore limited) rather than learning the skills like the vampire or the flinomancer. On the other hand, the Master of Shields effectively replaces the Knight because of his versatility, just like the Dragon Knight, who is less chilled than the Valkyrie. And the really Indian classes are characterized by their originality, which is illustrated in particular by the Pictomancer. Aside from the variety of his offensive and defensive skills, this unclassifiable colorful magician has the passive skills of an amazing door, let alone combined with those of other jobs.
The back of the cards
These skills, which we can relate to other professions, seem to be less numerous in general, as specialization is clearly preferred. The latter, who fail to create their own special movements that are now connected to the classroom, actually bring with them a second great specialty that they once mastered. So keep in mind the basics of optimization (which is simplified by the ergonomics of the menus, despite very practical abbreviations) that are required here to triumph … A bet on the length of the maritime expeditions reported in text form and optional Go online while the console is in standby mode with lots of key finds. The “B & D” game offers more depth, both in its rules, which were easily adopted from Go, and in its collection, although it favors decks built around the best cards to the detriment of pure strategy. In short, a gigantic Pope who only reveals all his wealth after the final graduation. However, only experienced adventurers will be successful in the face of such challenges and will also be offered at an early stage. If it does not rise to the heights reached by the very imperfect and beyond revolutionary first episode, Brave Standard II stands out bravely and surely as his brave successor.
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