It’s been a long time since I was this excited about a video game. I love classic JRPGs; FFVII, Grandia and Lunar being some of my faves. I had been faithful to the Final Fantasy franchise until Squaresoft became Square Enix. :/ I couldn’t handle more disappointment after playing FFX, and still have not played a FF title past X. Instead I’ve been playing the earlier FF remakes, and classic JRPGs that I’ve missed, like Legend of Dragoon and Chrono Trigger. (I know…I know..)
Anyhoo, after playing the Bravely Default demo, I KNEW this was the JRPG that I had been longing for. Love almost everything about! I find Anges a little annoying and Tiz to be very typical hero, but Edea and Ringabel make up for the other two’s short comings and then some. (Even though I do wish Anges were less stereotypical Japanese modest female hero, and Tiz were a little more exciting.) Art style and backgrounds are gorgeous, jobs are wonderful, storyline is epic, and the characters are memorable and fun.
Sure, chapter 5 got a little frustrating due to repetitiveness, but there were enough differences in the side quests of chapter 6 that I ended up getting drawn back in (and felt it was really worth it) and chapter 7 was more challenging than the previous ones.
Hah, I was so obsessed that I spent a good portion of my time grinding in chapter 4 so I could enter ch 5 at level 95 with quite a few job classes mastered. I then mastered the rest of my job classes grinding in chapter 5.
All in all, I would most definitely recommend Bravely Default to anyone who misses classic JRPGs.
I think my favorite thing about the game is so ridiculous, but awesome, that I can’t contain my love of it. Ringabel as a Red Mage is fabulous!! So fabulously ridiculous that it compels me to cosplay it. I’ve already purchased the fabrics and I cannot wait to get started on it. DAT OUTFIT!!! What the heck is that rose on the arm for??? I can’t even! But because I’m the way I am, I’m in love with it’s absurdity. And I need to have it. With Ringabel’s hair. Tiz just can’t pull it off…
