Bravely Second: End Layer Review

When I first played Bravely Default I was really skeptical as to whether Square Enix could tap a relatively unknown studio to create an RPG that properly captured the magic of those that have passed. But I was thankfully quite wrong. Silicon Studio put out Bravely Default: Flying Fairy and it was something really special. It was from the old school of RPG design but at the same time felt modern enough to stand up today. But it had a few problems that really made it fall apart at the end. Fast forward three years and we have Bravely Second – a sequel in almost every sense of the word. It’s a solid game, and while it doesn’t quite revolutionise the elements that Bravely Default brought to the table, it does a great job at offering several improvements.

Bravely Second is a sequel in every sense of the word – so if you haven’t finished Bravely Default and really care about the story then we suggest you go back and finish it first. Taking place a few years after the events of the first, it takes place in Luxendarc once more. The story follows Yew Geneolgia, a bodyguard of sorts to Agnes Oblige. Failing his job and seeing Agnes kidnapped at a peace summit, Yew sets off on a search and rescue mission – coming into contact with a mix of new and returning characters along the way. The story is a great and interesting ride and while it might dip into the rather typical archetypes of the Japanese RPG from time to time, it doesn’t squander its finale like Bravely Default did.

What perhaps makes Bravely Second such an enjoyable experience isn’t the storyline but more so the characters. While this might not be a widely held opinion – it’s rare that I personally find a protagonist in an RPG of this caliber that I genuinely find likeable. Yew is just that. He’s likeable and endearing. Other characters have their idiosyncrasies and quirks to them. Returning characters are where Bravely Second really shines – and it’s where fans of Bravely Default will really be happy they bothered with the first game. It’s not only fun to see Tiz and Edea interact again but also to see how they’ve changed as characters given what they’ve been through. Such delicate attention being paid to the writing of characters, both new and returning, makes Bravely Second a really fun RPG to play through.

Most of the little details that made Bravely Default unique carry over into Bravely Second – you can still either hoard or spend Brave Points mid-battle in order to either take extra turns or save them for later in the battle. This simple risk-reward mechanic remains as compelling as ever. Bravely Second offers a few new abilities. The new Consecutive Chance system further emphasizes the risk-reward mechanics by allowing players to chain together battles as they intensify in difficulty to reap greater experience and rewards. Being able to create your own gauntlets is a great feature, and those who don’t want to subject themselves to such a trial of attrition can easily ignore them too.

Another welcome feature that even Square Enix have been retroactively been adding into their rereleases is the ability to take further control of how battles are handled in the game. You can completely turn off battles, you can halve their frequency or even double them to play the game the way you want to play it. For those who are even more dedicated, you can even choose to turn off experience point gain and other rewards to provide more of a challenging experience. These options are fantastic because you can adjust Bravely Second to play however you want it. Stuck playing for a short amount of time? Up the frequency of the battles to make the most of your grinding. Just want to progress the story a bit more? Turn them down to offer less of a distraction. Those who want to just explore a dungeon will really appreciate the option to turn off battles completely.

Harkening back to the very first games of the genre, Bravely Second brings back the totally robust job system from Bravely Default. Much like in the previous game you are given total freedom to deck your party out however you like. You can have a whole team of mages, a whole team of thieves or even a team of people who channel the powers and abilities of cats to attack. We’re serious. Increasing quite a bit from Bravely Default, there’s now 30 different jobs that players can choose to make their party up with in Bravely Second and it’s especially fun to experiment with the skills and build your party from the ground up the way you like it.

Jobs are largely acquired by finding objects called asterisks, which essentially give that job to the party member you use them on. What’s a little bit more baffling about Bravely Second is how these are distributed to the player – it’s common to see jobs given as a reward of sorts when certain side missions are completed. But they’re usually gated behind some kind of choice that must be made, story-wise. This means that you’ll lock out some jobs a play through initially but they can be unlocked later on. As a minor complaint, you’ll also favour certain outcomes for the job they’ll bestow rather than the way the story plays out.

The game also is well paced and well thought out. Firstly, new options allow you to assign preset party combinations that can be switched amongst – effectively eliminating the need to waste time fumbling through menus needlessly. Furthermore on the pacing, there were never times where I would enter a dungeon and find myself criminally under levelled to take on the horrors within. To be fair, the game does now inform you what level range is most suitable before you take on a dungeon, but there was rarely a time where I’d have to go back to the battles in order to improve myself. Though in the rare instance you do need to, the ability to increase the frequency of battles can take away some of the grind associated with.

Bravely Second: End Layer as a whole has quite a lot to see and do. I managed to take roughly 45 hours or so to complete the main storyline, but those who want to complete all of the side quests and collect all of the asterisks and collectibles could easily extend this to 70 or 80. As we eluded to earlier, thankfully, there is no incessant repetition as the story plays out. There’s some here and there, as it’s unavoidable given the nature of the story, but it’s nowhere near as tedious as Bravely Defaults climax was.

In my review of the original Bravely Default I called Revo’s work on the soundtrack fantastic – providing a wide range of pieces that really get you into the moment and motivate you. Unfortunately Revo does not return to score Bravely Second, with Square Enix instead enlisting Ryo, a member of jPop band Supercell to score the experience. His contributions to the soundtrack are great, but never quite reach the heights of Revo’s work on the original game. The voice work has enjoyed a marked improvement compared to Bravely Default, withal the characters being much more likeable and relatable. One nitpick that I’m sure other Bravely fans would’ve picked up on is the change of pronunciation of Edea – but beyond that everything is fine from an audio standpoint.

Bravely Second carries over the stunning presentation from the original Bravely Default. The dungeons themselves, while they do reuse some assets from Bravely Default, are generally of a higher quality in Bravely Second for one. But it’s the expressive yet cute characters, the charming blend of both 2D and 3D elements and voice work that makes Bravely Second play and animate like a storybook of sorts – a painting come to life.