Square Enix has now released BRAVELY DEFAULT FLYING FAIRY HD Remaster.

Now available on the new Nintendo Switch 2, this HD remaster invites players to relive the epic journey with enhanced visuals and brand-new minigames.

Originally released in 2012 for the Nintendo 3DS, BRAVELY DEFAULT FLYING FAIRY HD Remaster brings the unforgettable story, iconic characters designed by Akihiko Yoshida (FINAL FANTASY TACTICS, NieR:Automata) and innovative “Brave & Default” turn-based battle system to the current generation of gamers for the Nintendo Switch 2 system. The HD remaster is perfect for long-time fans to revisit the world of Luxendarc and for newcomers alike.

The Nintendo Switch 2 system exclusive remaster contains two brand-new minigames that utilize the hardware’s mouse controls. In Luxencheer Rhythm Catch, a rhythm-based game, players will use the mice as light sticks and put on a rousing performance. In Ringabel’s Panic Cruise, players will use the mice to steer an airship while fulfilling various requests from your party members, putting players’ multitasking skills to the test. Players can earn various rewards by playing these minigames such as the new notes, an accessory to completely disable enemy encounters and costumes to change the characters’ appearances.

BRAVELY DEFAULT FLYING FAIRY HD Remaster is set in Luxendarc, a world where four elemental crystals maintain peace and balance. When darkness suddenly emerges from the Great Chasm that left a gaping void in the world, the warriors of light will embark on an adventure to save the world from calamity. Players will join Agnès Oblige, the vestal of the Wind Crystal, Tiz Arrior, a kind shepherd and sole survivor of the Great Chasm that engulfed his hometown, Edea Lee, the only daughter of the grand marshal of the Duchy of Eternia, Ringabel, an amnesiac young man with a mysterious journal that has chronicled future events and Airy, a cryst-fairy, on an epic journey to restore light to the crystals and bring peace to the world.

Players can work strategically to control the flow of battle with the innovative “Brave & Default” battle system: Brave to expend Brave Points to increase the number of actions taken in turn, and Default to stock up a turn while shoring up defenses. With the game’s job system that features over 20 unique jobs, players can mix and match different jobs and abilities to experiment with a huge variety of party compositions.

Thrilling turn-based battles, which can be sped up by the player as desired, are enhanced further by a larger-than-life soundtrack from Revo, making BRAVELY DEFAULT FLYING FAIRY HD Remaster a can’t miss for RPG enthusiasts.

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When Bravely Default launched in 2012 it was a throwback to classic JRPGs that fans have been begging for as the big franchises like Final Fantasy have gone in their own unique directions.

It was well received and loved, so now of course there is the new Bravely Default II, and it’s more of that.

Now if you haven’t played Bravely Default on 3DS yet don’t worry this isn’t a sequel. Bravely Second was a sequel to Bravely Default, Bravely Default II is a brand new story in the Bravely Default series but unrelated to Bravely Default or Bravely Second.

Confused yet? It’s not much weirder than the Final Fantasy numbering.

But on with Bravely Default II. The game starts with the young sailor Seth finding himself washed up on a beach. He meets Gloria, the princess of a local town and soon runs into scholar Elvis and mercenary Adelle. Between them they need to find the four element crystals which were stolen.

So you know, a super JRPG story. One of the issues of the game’s story is that there isn’t anything that feels overly unique. There is nothing wrong with it, and the writing by JRPG standards is good, but nothing stands out as amazing. Same goes for the environmental design. Everything looks good, but there is nothing that screams BRAVELY DEFAULT.

Instead it all looks good, but ultimately forgettable.

What isn’t forgettable is the battle system which is the game’s name sake. In battles you have the normal options like attacking, or you can choose the bravely or default option.

Bravely lets you use more attacking turns which puts you into negatives, and default has your character defend, but saving an attacking turn to unleash later on. Getting your head around this is key early on because the enemies use this too.

So you might be chipping away at a bosses health and slowly make progress before discovering the boss has saved up four turns and wipes you out. Using additional attacks and going into the negatives can be useful when you want to end a battle before the enemy can finish you off, but if you don’t beat said enemy then they get a lot of free turns hitting your team while you wait to get back to a positive turn.

This is a significant aspect to the game. There were bosses I thought I was substantially underpowered for, but once I learned to use their weaknesses and use the Bravely and Default system strategically I kicked the bosses ass. Ok I scraped by but still.

Picture what it takes to make a game a classic turn based JRPG. Think of every characteristic those games have in common, you have pretty much summed up Bravely Default II, for better and worse. Still it was a heap of fun and had a gorgeous soundtrack to boot.

The post Bravely Default II (Switch) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Square Enix has just announced to us at STG that BRAVELY ARCHIVE, the first mobile app from BRAVELY DEFAULT series, is now available in Australia and New Zealand on both the Apple App Store and Google Play for mobile devices.

Taking place in a parallel world 100 years after the events of the original BRAVELY DEFAULT game, BRAVELY ARCHIVE tells a brand-new, original story featuring a cast of fun and mysterious characters unlocking the secrets of fate and destiny.

Players will discover the Anastasis Library and research the crystals of the world and their ties to our own destiny, whilst also battling the mysterious ‘Breakers’ who seek freedom from their pre-destined paths. Featuring a musical score composed by Revo (BRAVELY DEFAULT), BRAVELY ARCHIVE marks the series’ first entry since 2016 and an exciting return to the world, characters and gameplay fans around the world fell in love with.

Using simple and accessible touch commands, players can explore mysterious dungeons and locations across a vast fantasy world, upgrade and enhance your diverse and powerful team with 41 different jobs (each with their own unique skills and abilities), and take part in fun turn-based RPG battles using innovative ‘flick’ commands to devastate enemy monsters and villains.

Players can also look forward to recruiting fan-favourite characters from the BRAVELY DEFAULT series, including the popular and powerful hero Agnès from the original BRAVELY DEAULT release. Additionally, players can team up in Guilds of up to 15 players to challenge Raid Bosses for the chance to obtain additional rewards and items.

BRAVELY ARCHIVE is a free download with in-app purchases.

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Epic RPG Bravely Second: End Layer is coming to Nintendo 3DS and 2DS in Australia and New Zealand on February 27th 2016. Building on the critically acclaimed Bravely Default, the sequel offers both newcomers and returning fans a vast role-playing adventure, filled with deeply strategic combat, unforgettable characters and much more.

Bravely Second is the latest addition to the stellar line-up of varied RPGs on Nintendo 3DS and 2DS, joining titles like Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, and recent release Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros. It also kicks off a landmark year that will see Fire Emblem Fates, Hyrule Warriors: Legends, and both DRAGON QUEST VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past and DRAGON QUEST VIII: Journey of the Cursed King all reach Australia and New Zealand before the year is out.

The story begins when the evil Kaiser Oblivion abducts Agnès Oblige, the heroine of Bravely Default, and her bodyguard Yew Geneolgia pledges to rescue her from the kaiser’s Skyhold, an impregnable fortress floating high over Eternia. Along the way, Yew will need to team up with Magnolia Arch and other new faces, plus a few returning heroes like Edea Lee and Tiz Arrior, to survive foreboding dungeons and conquer fearsome enemies.

Bravely Default’s innovative Brave and Default tactical battle system returns with even deeper layers of strategy. As before, players must balance risk and reward in turn-based battles: characters can make multiple moves in one turn, but this leaves them unable to move in subsequent turns. One new feature in Bravely Second lets players put their skill and their nerve to the ultimate test: after winning a battle in a single turn, brave warriors can immediately start another, more difficult encounter for the chance to earn increasing rewards. Chaining these battles together is a swift way to level up characters and jobs, but defeat means losing everything earned during those battles, so discretion should always be the better part of valour.

To conquer these tougher battles and devastatingly powerful enemies, players will need to make good use of the 30 character classes, known as jobs, to equip their characters with the skills necessary to survive. As characters gain job experience by battling, they learn new skills and abilities, giving players totally new tactical possibilities. For example, the new Patissier enfeebles foes with delicious desserts, while the Catmancer uses a deep understanding of felines to increase the team’s abilities and find useful items.

Upon its launch on February 27th, the game will be available as a Deluxe Collector’s Edition including an Original Soundtrack CD, Agnès Mini Figurine and a Deluxe Artbook of around 250 pages. The game will also be available solus and as a downloadable version from Nintendo eShop. A pre-launch demo focusing on the Three Cavaliers – Yew Geneolgia, Janne Angard, and Nikolai Nikolanikov – will act as a prelude to the adventure, and even allow players to unlock rewards in the full version of the game, depending on their progress in the demo. The demo will be available in Nintendo eShop on February 12th, 2016.

With a vast world to explore, a deep tactical battle system to master and much more, Bravely Second: End Layer will kick off a great year of RPGs on Nintendo 3DS family systems.

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