Bravely Default is one of the two newest games that I have bought, which I bought alongside a Kingdom Hearts game during the last week of August, yet of all the 3DS games that I own, this is the one that I have been playing the longest. Way back when I had my original 3DS, I played the demo for the game a lot and I really liked it. I figured it was a lot like some of the other RPG games that I liked to play and once my demo had expired, I knew that I had to get the full game so I could play it as much as I wanted, and once I did get it, I fell even more in love with it.

GRAPHICS 8/10

The graphics are pretty unique in my opinion, and that’s a good thing because it gives a new feel to the game, however there are some aspects that I don’t like. I like the character designs, but I don’t like the way that they interact with the environment. For instance, most of the times when you are traveling through an area, it looks like you are a giant running through a painting. Heck, when you first start the game in the village, it looks like a giant cutout from a pop up book, but there’s nothing wrong with it and it gives the game a sense of uniqueness. For a grade, the graphics are fairly good and get an 8 out of 10.


SOUND 8/10

I’m not in love with the song, but I am on good terms with it. For the music, it’s a good soundtrack with an epic orchestral theme, which does sound amazing, but it’s not really my kind of music. If there’s someone who is a fan of this kind of style though, then the music could probably blow you away. Beyond the songs you have the standard sounds and though they don’t really add too much to the game’s feel, they are fun and work well with the movement of the game and the music. It’s a job well done on the sounds and soundtrack and for a grade, this aspect is going to get an 8 out of 10.

ADDICTIVENESS 9/10

The game is A LOT of fun! There’s so much to do, and the fact that it’s just like any other RPG in most ways makes it even more fun. If you find RPG’s to be addicting then this game should be no different because it has the same gameplay in a way. You get to go around battling all sorts of creatures and going on various quests while leveling up your characters. I was already a huge fan of RPG games before I had started playing this so I already knew that I was going to quickly fall in love with it and find so many things that I like about it. I’m sure there are many people who will be the same as me and find different aspects about the game that make it fun to them to the point where they don’t want to stop playing. For a grade, it’s very addicting so it gets a 9 out of 10.

STORY 8/10

There’s really too much of a story to talk about it all, and even though I have already been playing the game for many many hours, like dozens, I’m nowhere near understanding what the entire thing is about. The game begins with your character arriving in a town after watching his hometown being destroyed and then gets sent on a bunch of missions, and eventually a group is formed and they go on fighting evil. The story can get a little confusing after a while because things begin to repeat and the story unfolds basically while doing things over which reveals a lot of info, but can also be confusing. Yes, I got confused, but overall it was an intriguing story and for a grade, this aspect gets an 8 out of 10.

DEPTH 10/10

Oh boy does this game have a TON of depth. First off you have the world, which when you put in all the things that you can do within it, it gets huge. It might not look big, but it offers so much exploration and stuff. Then you have the standard RPG depth, you have your team of members, which are all different, various weapons and armor, skills, and a large assortment of enemies and creatures that you need to fend off. The game has a lot to offer, which lead to a VERY LONG play through, which can be even longer if you grind levels or just like exploring, and for a grade, the depth aspect gets a perfect 10 out of 10.

DIFFICULTY 3

The game can be a little bit hard at times, but when it does get hard all you need to do is do what you need to do in most RPG’s and that’s train. I remember when I first started playing, I didn’t want to be caught off guard so I super grinded, meaning that before I even went off onto my first main quest, I walked back and forth and battled dozens of creatures so I could gain a bunch of levels and get a ton of money to get all sorts of cool weapons. From then on, most of the creatures were really easy to beat. If you find yourself in a pickle, that’s all that you need to do, just keep training and eventually the game will be easy. Overall, it’s not hard at all and for a grade, gets a 3.

PROS

I really like the whole job system of the game. There are a ton of different jobs that you can take on throughout the game and you can level up each one, and with each job you get various skills and abilities which is a really cool feature. It’s a fun way to get more active in the game and even though there’s so many things that you need to learn, it makes the game easier at times.

OVERALL 8.7/10

Overall, this is easily one of the best RPG games that I have played so far on the 3DS along with Persona Q and Pokemon. It did not disappoint me from the demo, when I first played the demo I was excited about it, and I thought it was a cool game, and more than a year later when I got the full game, I still believed that because it was fun. Everything about the game seems to work really well and it all blends together to make an exciting environment for gamers. If you like RPG’s and have a 3DS or any other system in the 3DS family, then I really suggest that you give this one a try because the game has so many good aspects that you can easily find yourself occupied for many hours. Of all the DS and 3DS games I have played since I got my new system, I would say that this is easily one of the 4 best games of them all because of all the fun it has to offer and for a grade, Bravely Default is going to get an 8.7 out of 10.

I enjoyed this game very much. I thought the art style was pretty cool, especially in towns and things like that. The enemy design is pretty cool as well.

Overall it's a fun RPG for fans of the genre, and it adds to added depth where you can change your characters around based on their featured "skill"

I know that a sequel is supposed to come out next year. I'm excited to play it.

I am always surprised to read a non-phone review from you .

You should do it more often as these games are usually longer, making you practice your reviewing talent better. Although you could have gone into more details (what is so unique about the graphics? are there tracks that attracted your attention more than others?) but you still deserve a solid 4.

janus : Sure, buy me a few non phone games and I will write a few.