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Bravely Second - End Layer


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#1 Mani Kanina

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Posted 15 March 2016 - 06:12 PM

So, the game has been out here in Europe for a while, and I'm currently sitting at the end game having played through it all.

And I must say, I really like the game. It fixes most of the major problems I had with the first game, and I can certainly see myself replaying it. (Unlike the first one). Lot's of new interesting classes, compelling new story, etc. I know it's not out in the US yet, so I won't spoil anything, but I do think it's a game worth playing if you're into RPGs, and specifically RPGs with a heavy focus on character building. *coughFF5cough*

On a related note, if anyone has this game and want to trade friend thingy-majingy, let me know! (It works just like the first game, and I prefer to send healing moves). :3

A lot of people were disappointed by the new OST, I too was when I first started playing. But some of these songs are the type that grow on you. The standard battle theme is not really as good as the one in the first game, for example, but it's still pretty good. I also love some of the new boss songs etc, and they do feel like they fit in with the recycle music from the first game, even though it's a completely different composer.


So yeah, not to hype up the game or anything, but it's everything I wished Bravely Default was~


Minor Spoiler


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#2 Norzan

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Posted 15 March 2016 - 06:24 PM

I'm just glad that they didn't do that certain thing they did in the first game in the sequel. That thing honestly made me stop playing the game and i hope it never happens again.

 

 

Still, i'm honestly really looking forward to playing the game. Might buy it in the next coming days.



#3 Nicholas Steel

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Posted 15 March 2016 - 07:17 PM

I'm disappointed that turning off XP gain, Gold gain, Discipline Points gain etc. don't buff the other aspects... so I can't like toggle off Gold to boost my XP and Discipline earning. I figured it'd be a no brainer, they could've added an extra option to toggle this extra behaviour on/off so that masochists can still play it their way and those that are struggling or want to more quickly farm a particular kind of thing can do so more quickly/easily.

 

I haven't beaten the first game because it seems to get extremely grindy? I dunno, I think I stopped playing right before an event that would've led me to areas that granted large XP again. The first chapter of the second game spoils a crap ton of stuff in the first game and while I'm okay with that as I wasn't super invested in the original game... I can see other people thinking of jumping the gun and not liking the early spoilers... so just a warning to other players that they should definitely try to beat the first game before starting the second game.

 

In regards to gameplay and tweaks, it seems like their taking the Golden Sun approach of not making many changes (Other than to character classes). Uhm, I like that I can create multiple configurations for the Auto-Combat but I dislike that I still can not manipulate the speed of combat during my own turns in combat, I can only manipulate it during the enemies turns which is bad as quick combat speed shortens the amount of time messages appear on screen for... if each combat starts with combat speed defaulted to normal speed this wouldn't be an issue.


Edited by Nicholas Steel, 15 March 2016 - 08:15 PM.


#4 Matthew

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Posted 15 March 2016 - 07:18 PM

I never bought Bravely Default, but I'm interested in Bravely Second. Should I play Default first?



#5 thepsynergist

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Posted 15 March 2016 - 07:18 PM

If only the music was as good as the first Bravely Default.  Attack on Titan style music was really fitting in this game.



#6 Nicholas Steel

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Posted 15 March 2016 - 07:35 PM

I never bought Bravely Default, but I'm interested in Bravely Second. Should I play Default first?

Bravely Second's first chapter of gameplay spoils all of the plot twists in Bravely Default and is a continuation of the story from Bravely Default.


Edited by Nicholas Steel, 15 March 2016 - 08:16 PM.

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#7 Mani Kanina

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Posted 15 March 2016 - 09:07 PM

I never bought Bravely Default, but I'm interested in Bravely Second. Should I play Default first?

Short answer: No.

If you were never entirely sold on the concept of these games enough to pick up the first game when it came out then I think it's safe to say that the better option is to just skip the first one. Story wise it's a sequel to the first one, this means that it expands upon it and reference past events. There is no worry about getting lost, because the concepts that need to be explained or done so, but many of the plot points/plot twists from the first game also get mentioned.

But here's the thing, the plot moved you forward in the first game, but it was not exactly the most interesting or amazing plot. I'd compare the plot, much like the gameplay, to Final Fantasy 5; There are some interesting things happening, and it does bring the game forward, but it's not a game you play for the plot. (And thankfully, the second game has a much more interesting plot.)


Honestly, I'd recommend just jumping into Bravely Second, it's somewhat a leap forward in regards to gameplay and a fair bit of tedium from the first game has been cut out.

Edited by Lunaria, 15 March 2016 - 09:09 PM.

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#8 Anthus

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Posted 26 March 2016 - 03:57 PM

I'm waiting patiently for this. I 100%d the first one, and I really hope that they don't (major first game spoiler: )

Spoiler

but other than that I tremendously enjoyed the combat, story, characters, and general design (as you can probably infer from my avatar ;))



#9 Mani Kanina

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Posted 27 March 2016 - 11:41 AM

Anthus, to answer your question without going into any details:
Spoiler


#10 Anthus

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Posted 29 March 2016 - 11:54 AM

That is good to know. That was literally gonna determine whether or not I actually bought it at full price :P

#11 Anthus

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Posted 28 April 2016 - 04:22 PM

Just got this today finally! Anyone else have it yet? I just started so I don't have access to Abilink yet, but I'll edit this when I do.

#12 Anthus

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Posted 17 August 2017 - 12:11 PM

(Special shout out to the search feature; I was certain there was a thread for this.)

 

So, I bought this game over a year ago, and played it for about an hour or two, and didn't touch it again until recently. Why? I dunno, I just wasn't feeling it. I didn't like the new main character at first, and some of the early writing is downright cringible. I'm very happy to say my opinion has made a complete 180 once I got past the slow prologue, and began getting the characters and the first handful of jobs. I'm going to try to surmise my thoughts so far on this game. I just got to chapter 2.

 

The Story:

So, as a tropey JRPG, of course the story is an important focus, right? Yes, it is. Like I said, it starts out really generic, and almost bad, but the characters make it good once you get through the first three hours or so. The voice acting is actually really good, but the writing can be a bit on the corny side at times. One thing I don't like about the presentation of cutscenes is the way that characters have a few seconds pause between lines when they get cut off, interrupted, or scared. It totally breaks the flow of the conversation. This is pretty minor, but it could have been avoided if they went with fully in-game animated cutscenes, instead of just having the character models stand in front of the area's background, and talk. Given the amount of dialogue, and cutscenes, I can see why they did it this way. I never liked this approach, but again, the characters (even Yew) are quite likable. As for the actual story, it does seem a bit more involved then the first game. It's a bit too early to call it better, or worse, but it is different enough to make my time spent with the characters mostly memorable in what otherwise would be a fairly generic story (so far). I like what they did with making you choose which asterisk holder to help, but I hate missable stuff, so there's that. I'll take a thief over a red mage any day though, especially in this game, cause holy shit, are thieves OP

 

The Job System:

Which brings me to this. The job system is back, and awesome as ever. You can still have a main job, and pick skills, and a secondary set of commands form any other job you have (a la FF5) which makes for some ridiculously OP combinations, even early on. The Charioteer has an ability you get early that lets you equip a third weapon to your head slot. They also have an ability that levels any weapon rank up to S. This can be used with a thief to make a OHKO powerhouse. Thieves also have the ability to steal HP and MP, so use that as a secondary set with any magic using class, and you'll basically never run out of MP. The jobs have always been the core of this series, and they do not disappoint here. Oh, and they got wise, and added the ability to save a bunch of preset jobs, and equipment load outs, which is great if you like one team, but want to change to something else, without remembering all that.

 

The Combat:

Okay, if this game gets called out for any one thing, it's being filled with a bunch of chibi girls grindy. Really grindy. Now, this can be true, but it's all how you play. You can still control the flow of battles by turning them off altogether, or doubling the encounter rate. What I typically do, is turn off battles, and explore the entire dungeon. Then, I'll turn them up to +100% and fight stuff there until I'm at, or above the recommended level for the place. I will usually do this near a traveler. Call it cheap, but it's what I do. I'm not a fan of random encounters, at all, so this is my work around. the game is also less grindy if you know what you're doing, and build a good team. You can also save up to three pre-set attack lists, which some might argue exacerbates the grinding, but whatever. It's a JRPG. So, yeah, you'll be fighting a lot, and watching cutscenes, but you have more control over how you fight then any other turn-based RGP I've ever seen. The Brave/ Default system is a genius mechanic, that brings new light, and a faster pace into this done-to-death style.

 

Other notes:

The music isn't as catchy, as the first game. Why does Magnolia speak French? Do people speak French on the moon? If you change the subtitles to French, will she speak in English? Oh wait, you can't. Why do people always insist the annoying, high pitched Japanese voices are sooooo much better? Minett needs to die. It felt so good to kill her. That's dark, games shouldn't glorify murdering children. There can be a bit too much dialogue at times. I find myself often reading it, and skipping them actually saying it, unless it's a big cutscene, or I'm genuinely interested which happens more often than not. Oh, and can we talk about how addicting Chompcraft is? I played it for over an hour straight when I unlocked it without even realizing it. A few sessions later, I have all the tools, except the highest tier ones, and over 2 million CP. I think I have a problem. Someone should make a mobile spin off, I'd totally play it on the can or something.

 

All in all, if you're a fan of this type of game, you should check it out. It's not for everyone, but it's pretty approachable. I'll probably write more later, but maybe not, we'll see. 



#13 Norzan

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Posted 17 August 2017 - 12:25 PM

I also played for like 2 hours, quitted and haven't touched it since. I think i got burned out from the series because of the certain thing the first game did and that certain thing actually made me stop playing the first game altogether. Haven't touched the first game in a big while too.

 

 

Spoiler


Edited by Norzan, 17 August 2017 - 12:27 PM.

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#14 Anthus

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Posted 17 August 2017 - 12:45 PM

I remember stopping for a while too, in the first one because of that. It was a poor choice, and felt like a really cheap in your face way to extend the game. Thankfully, the second game does not do that, apparently, but I've yet to see for myself. My friend I was playing the first one with also quit at about Chapter 6, or so for the same reasons. I don't think I'd replay the first one. If you play for the combat, this one has some quality of life changes that outclass the first game. 



#15 Norzan

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Posted 17 August 2017 - 01:39 PM

It's a shame because i actually like the gameplay, characters and music. I was even somewhat enjoying the story. But that crap they pulled was just too much and it just made me quit.

 

I know RPGs by nature have to be somewhat long, but i was 80 hours in and i just wanted for the game to stop. I actually got so pissed by this that i spoiled the rest of the story for myself. And i even got more pissed because there's a postgame dungeon and those are some of my favorite things in these types of RPGs.

 

I think i'm still going to give Bravely Second another shot. It's probably been around a year since i bought it, so maybe i'm not so burned out now.


Edited by Norzan, 17 August 2017 - 01:43 PM.



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