You know, between Pokemon Bank going live and Bravely Default finally being released in the U.S, I have not got a lot of writing done at all… I’ve been spending most of my free time playing video games. I can’t help it~ Poke Bank has gotten me back into Pokemon X even though Bank blocked half of my Pokemon oops and Bravely Default has me interested. I’ve been interested in Bravely Default since I played the demo; it’s a really nice game. If you were wondering, North America did not get the game when everyone else did back in December. It was released February 7th for us. Why? I dunno, go ask Nintendo. I hope this game sells well so the sequel, Bravely Second, won’t be delayed in NA like Bravely Default was.
I got the game yesterday. I decided to buy the Collector’s Edition of the game, which is really nice. It came with the game, an art book, some cards, the soundtrack, and in a neat box. The art book has the concept art for the game in it. I always like seeing that stuff because it’s nice to see how things were drawn before they were animated.
Isn’t it pretty~? I like Collector’s stuff. It was only $10 more than the regular edition so… It was a pretty good price for all of that.
Being honest, Bravely Default is a very typical JRPG and it rings with similarities to Final Fantasy, but that doesn't mean it's not good. It's a great game and if you're into JRPGs like I am, you'll probably find a lot of fun in this game. There are a lot of subtle hints to FF in the game….. Like how one of the main characters is named Edea and your spells have names like “Firaga”. It’s got a lot of nice nods to what is probably Square Enix’s most famous and beloved game. I play Final Fantasy as well so I appreciate all of the references to FF in Bravely Default.
Bravely Default keeps the basic turn by turn battle system. It’s very easy to get the hang of. Although, it adds something different with the Brave and Default features. Default lets you protect yourself for a turn to borrow past turns. So like, one turn you can Default and the next turn you can Brave, which gives you two moves in one turn. You can Brave up to four times in one turn but be careful, if you go past 0 BP (Brave Points) then you can’t move until you’ve hit 0 again. So you’ll leave yourself vulnerable to attacks.
The graphics are really sleek, but that’s just what I’d expect of Square Enix. Square Enix has always been great at animating their games so I always expect their games to have good graphics. The towns are drawn in like a hand drawn style (if you know what I mean) and it’s really neat to see the 3D animation characters on the 2D looking towns. It’s an odd combination but Square Enix did it well.
On that note…. HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO SURVIVE THE TEMPLE OF WIND? I swear to god, those damn statues keep putting me to sleep and they won’t stop. These stupid statue things are probably the most annoying enemies, even more annoying then the snakes that poison you every. single. turn. ఠ_ఠ Ugh it’s annoying. (゜-゜) Anyone have any tips on surviving the Temple of Wind? I’m only level 12 so…. Perhaps I should have trained a bit more at the beginning of the game instead of just going head first into boss battles. Oh well!
I like going recklessly into boss battles, it’s my thing as a gamer. I have a tendency to go recklessly and do one of two things. One: Win, sometimes miraculously and by pure luck. Two, get my ass kicked and then resort to training like I should have before the boss. I am a strategist gamer.... At times. Just not in JRPGs.... Or RPGs at all. I LIKE GOING IN HEAD FIRST, OKAY? The characters would hate me if they were real.
I’m staying away from the Temple of Wind for right now, I’m doing that lovely thief side quest to get some extra jobs and extra experience. So far, my party consists of a Black Mage (Edea), a Thief (Tiz), a White Mage (Agnes), and a Monk (Ringabel). I’ve been switching Ringabel between Monk and Knight. I need to get him new weapons; the ones he’s got now are weak.
Norende has been going well I think. I’ve got five villagers now so it’s sped things up a lot…. I’ve also got four nemeses, none of which I can defeat yet. Thank you random strangers online; much appreciated. (ﾒ｀ﾛ´)/ In their defense, I’m sending one of my nemeses to people as well. All’s fair in love and war, no? “ψ(｀∇´)ψ
Anyone else playing Bravely Default? Or am I alone in this? Someone give me tips on the Temple of Wind.