Bravely Default for Nintendo 3DS: A Review by Default

Bravely Default is the new title in the Nintendo 3DS library that attempts to resurface Japanese RPGs. The following is an overview of what the game is all about:

Plot (3/5)
The basic framework of Bravely Default is not novel, for you find quests, job points, an overworld map, battle music, and of course, the battles themselves. The plot itself is nothing new - a village is laid to waste by a mysterious force. It is up to a beautiful girl, Agnes Oblige, to embark on the mission of bringing the village back to life.

It must be noted, however, that Nintendo 3DS cameras and an AR market has been used to play the opening sequence in augmented reality impressively.


Goals (4/5)
Agnes is joined on her quest by Tiz, who is another character from the devastated village. Your goal is to rebuild the village. To do so, your character is given a map along with supernatural powers, allowing you to supervise the reconstruction of the village. Tasks will be assigned to the villagers, and as always, you will have to earn more workers to get jobs done faster. The ‘StreetPass’ option helps you in this regard, and you can also use Sleep Points (explained below). Ultimately, you are left to decide whether to speed up the building process, or see the village come to life as you complete other quests.

Playing Techniques
You can attack up to 4 times in a row. This is the ‘Brave’ feature that you can avail from the start, but it will prevent you from making the same number of attacks after the blows land. The ‘Default’ feature on the other hand works like this:

Your character will not attack for a certain amount of points while absorbing attacks from the enemy. This helps you accumulate ‘Brave Points’ which enable you to launch multiple attacks.

Let’s talk about the Sleep Points. These can be earned by going into Sleep Mode while the game is running. Alternately, you can purchase Sleep Points with real money via the eShop. You may actually be forced to avail this option since the former process takes 8 hours to generate one Sleep Point! Once earned, these points allow you to freeze time in the game. So, you can attack even when it’s not your turn. Helpful during intense battles.

Presentation (4/5)
Bravely Default - Nintendo 3DS features rich presentation, highly impressive for a handheld RPG. You will enjoy the silky smooth 3D effects at the flick of the 3D Slider. The background is worthy of special mention, and it plays an instrumental role in not only launching the story of Agnes, but denoting high and low points of your battles. Without a doubt, the developers have taken a lot of care to design the overall feel of the game.

To Play or Not to Play?
Will you enjoy Bravely Default? It kind of depends on much you like sitting through sagas, managing workforces, and running around in magical worlds that remind you of your Super Nintendo playing days. But all in all, Bravely Default manages to deliver a high level of quality, and you will find it hard to put down once you begin playing.