Bravely Default II

 Switch
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 317 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 230 out of 317
  2. Mixed: 46 out of 317
  3. Negative: 41 out of 317
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Mistoltean
    Feb 27, 2021
    8
    The spiritual successor of old-time classic ATB Final Fantasy.

    First, tbh, I partially lose my hope with how SE do jrpg for quite some time and never play new FF after X. This game is a true spiritual successor to classic FF I-V. If you love FF V, this game is quite similar to many aspects such as job system and class change. The story is simple and set in a fantasy world, something    The spiritual successor of old-time classic ATB Final Fantasy.

    First, tbh, I partially lose my hope with how SE do jrpg for quite some time and never play new FF after X. This game is a true spiritual successor to classic FF I-V.
    If you love FF V, this game is quite similar to many aspects such as job system and class change.
    The story is simple and set in a fantasy world, something FF I-V and IX did well. No time traveling or change the timeline bs that the newer FF and even FF VII remake tried to add but failed to execute well, leaving the story as incomprehensible.

    The art style is glorious and beautiful, in particular, background, world map, and town. I hope more jrpgs follow this style, even though it is harder on their artists.

    The downside is that, since it is modernized of ATB FF, it might not be for you if you don't like turn based. Some mechanics are conservative. This means if you are more of a fan of modern jrpg or wjrpg, check the demo first if you still like the game as this game might not be mainstream.

    My score 8/10 is a temporary score as I just got my game today and it is based on the demo and the first few hours of the actual game. Will update my score and review it when I play more.    … Expand
  2. SylvaConnect
    Mar 5, 2021
    3
    Played into chapter 4 and I just cant do it anymore.
    + Starts off hopeful and engaging, drops off.....quickly.
    - Horrific story, CS skipping worthy. - bad graphics, even for a switch, jaggies all over no matter how expensive your tv is and tries to upscale. - -4 points for this one >>> Worthless filler or A to B quests, and tons of them.... this isn’t WoW. Im not bringing your idiot    Played into chapter 4 and I just cant do it anymore.
    + Starts off hopeful and engaging, drops off.....quickly.
    - Horrific story, CS skipping worthy.
    - bad graphics, even for a switch, jaggies all over no matter how expensive your tv is and tries to upscale.
    - -4 points for this one >>> Worthless filler or A to B quests, and tons of them.... this isn’t WoW. Im not bringing your idiot husband a fork in ruins, then a plate, then his food ALL SEPARATELY......even if the reward was a legendary weapon (its not)....this would be easily skipped in a decision on “what should i do next”
    - I have to waste 10 seconds of my life JUST to see icons on the map by zooming out, show them when Im running the heck around too. So stupid.
    - Hard mode doesn’t add much challenge. Game is too easy. A boss may surprise you here and there or a rare world enemy, but all of the bosses are more or less following the same rules with different counters, avoid the counters or just buff passed them with a bard and all is too easy again.
    - Environments, after the desert, are outright depressing from being so dull ugly disorganized messes. Graphics and performance are already poor, but once in ch3+ it feels like everything went back to ps1 days. Utter laziness.
    - Specials lasting the length the music plays (and not actual time/turns) is ridiculous. Some people dont play on x4 speed, and others like taking their time to plan moves even if they do.
    - Job systems should be fun, usually are. BD2’s is limiting, nearly no purpose of leveling some roles as they're just poor clones of others.
    - Card mini game is easy and outright stupid, for how confusing they start you off in it, its insanely simple and tactless once you figure it out with zero depth or enjoyment.
    - Normally I wouldnt dock for anti cheat but considering most wont put in over 40 hours in this game, breaking your sailboat for changing your switches system clock should NOT be a thing in SINGLE player games. Imagine the outrage if that happened in Animal Crossing.
    - Pales in comparison to bd1, while I dont give the first one a 9 or 10 either, i finished it and all its postgame, I will not be doing that in bd2. It honestly puts me to sleep.

    - + points for grinding, its the only fun part in the game

    Someone wrote something about p5r, remedial. P5R blows this game out of the water in every way imaginable. I really was hyped for this game. My advice, don’t be.
    This is 100% one of those “Im bored, MAYBE, just maybe, Ill play bd” games    … Expand
  3. TuxKick
    Mar 2, 2021
    7
    Even on a casual playthrough the game is extremely difficult. Abilities like Examine provide no meaningful information on enemies besides what they're weak to. Imagine whittling down someone's health only to find out they have an ally that heals everything back to square 1. Examine doesn't tell you anything about abilities or immunities. I have never needed to look online for help on aEven on a casual playthrough the game is extremely difficult. Abilities like Examine provide no meaningful information on enemies besides what they're weak to. Imagine whittling down someone's health only to find out they have an ally that heals everything back to square 1. Examine doesn't tell you anything about abilities or immunities. I have never needed to look online for help on a CASUAL playthrough of any game. Other than this, the game is great.… Expand
  4. spectre855
    Mar 7, 2021
    9
    I am really enjoying this game. I'm about ten hours in and the job system feels so mechanically good. The story is average and the cut scenes may be a little cheesy but the gameplay strikes exactly the right notes of jrpg feel. Also the soundtrack is surprisingly good.
  5. owenw218
    Jun 10, 2021
    8
    Overall I am very pleased with this game, and if you like JRPGs this is a fantastic entry into the genre.

    Spoiler Free! Pros: + Combat system is fun and dynamic + Stat expansion - Weight, chance to be targeted and speed matter a lot + As a result of the cool stat expansion from typical jrpgs, grinding is actually kind of fun but not necessary (I bet the game and most of the    Overall I am very pleased with this game, and if you like JRPGs this is a fantastic entry into the genre.

    Spoiler Free!

    Pros:
    + Combat system is fun and dynamic
    + Stat expansion - Weight, chance to be targeted and speed matter a lot
    + As a result of the cool stat expansion from typical jrpgs, grinding is actually kind of fun but not necessary (I bet the game and most of the optional end game stuff on Hard mode)
    + Easy Normal and Hard Mode, and New Game +
    + Decent story, felt engaged enough throughout
    + Square Enix Goodness
    + Music is really good and catchy, and there is a wide variety of it
    + Story that mostly hits all the marks and feels good finishing

    Cons
    - Graphically this feels like it was originally designed for 3DS, animations get a bit stale toward the latter portions of the game
    - A few plot points fell flat, you beat the boss, then let him get away for no logical reason other than plot, happens enough that it's like come on guys stop letting this happen.
    - Several scenes in game would have been much more impactful if they had a more robust animation, think cinematics from FF7 onward.

    Overall, this is a pretty great game, a few things stop it from being a 10/10, but none of them stop it from being a really great experience.    … Expand
  6. kosterix
    Mar 7, 2021
    2
    The UI and playability in the switch demos (there are two, try them out if you don't believe me) are far worse on the switch than on the 3ds. Best advice is get a 3dsxl, download the bd1+bs demo while you can - then play it to completion, buy bd1 then play and finish it, then play the bs demo. Make sure to not play bs before finishing bd1, because the intro spoils the game otherwise.
    BD2    The UI and playability in the switch demos (there are two, try them out if you don't believe me) are far worse on the switch than on the 3ds. Best advice is get a 3dsxl, download the bd1+bs demo while you can - then play it to completion, buy bd1 then play and finish it, then play the bs demo. Make sure to not play bs before finishing bd1, because the intro spoils the game otherwise.
    BD2 plays on a different universe, but storywise doesn't come close to the 3ds version. Switch versions are usually far worse than the originals, but you already knew that.    … Expand
  7. Aranea_
    Feb 27, 2021
    8
    It doesn't try to reinvent the wheel and that's why I personally enjoy the game a lot.
    You either know what you're getting yourself into; i.e. an old-school RPG in the image of the golden days of Final Fantasy, or you don't and you might feel surprised by sudden Difficulty bumps at each boss fight.

    Not being able to steamroll through the game like in a lot of modern RPGs? Sign me up.
  8. ExplosiveBolts
    Dec 26, 2021
    0
    Horribly boring story, gives you zero motivation to care about anything that's going on. Overall bad character design and voice acting. The FFV-esque Job system is absolutely not enough to save this game. I wish I could get a refund.
  9. Poochingus
    Apr 2, 2021
    5
    If you want to play this game or this series, just get a 3ds and play bravely default 1 and bravely second, both amazing games. BD2 is frankly borderline bad. This game is the poster child of a mediocre sterotype in terms of a classic JRPG. This isn't praise, but it isn't an insult, it makes it exactly as medicore as it gets. The story in the first 2 games(why isn't this called bravelyIf you want to play this game or this series, just get a 3ds and play bravely default 1 and bravely second, both amazing games. BD2 is frankly borderline bad. This game is the poster child of a mediocre sterotype in terms of a classic JRPG. This isn't praise, but it isn't an insult, it makes it exactly as medicore as it gets. The story in the first 2 games(why isn't this called bravely default 3 by the way?)

    Short list:

    THE GOOD
    -Looks pretty
    -AMAZING dynamic music
    -character classes are fun
    -the combat style of brave and default is still fun(frankly should be adopted by other games)
    -more voiceover than before, slightly less quality in some cases, but overall top tier English VO
    -Great as a handheld switch title
    -You can FINALLY put status effects like poison on bosses!!!(the first games didn't allow for this meaning you had to use other strategies, making most status effects useless since normal mobs were pointless to status).
    -Farming job points(JP) to level up your jobs(classes) on each character is much much faster than before if you know what to do.

    The Bad
    -removed tons of quality of life features. single hand combat isn't as easy or good
    -removed the bravely second feature(a really really cool feature from the first 2 games)
    -removed the calling in friends feature for battles
    -passive resource gathering is reduced to simply sending out a boat to gather instead of a cute village building minigame that gave you specific items you could farm and control what it passively gathers.
    -grinding isn't very passive like in the past(these games are built around grinding, in the first two games you could grind by mashing a button with one hand while watching tv)
    -terrible story. I cannot overstate this enough. The first two games had great plot twists, subverting expectations, like real life, nothing is so black and white. Here, everything is pretty straight forward. They tried to make the sub-stories have conflicting characters, but nobody stays around long enough for me to care and then they just disappear forever. Nobody sticks around for very long except the main bad guy you first meet.
    -removed any sort of overworld airship to travel easily like in the past 2 games
    -really boring anticlimactic ending
    -removed the ability to save equipment set ups, so you have to manually redo any good set ups.
    -most character development left to unsatisfying side quests.
    -lack of romantic tension(okay maybe this one is just me, but I liked it in the past games).

    Neutral changes
    --overworld monsters mean you can choose to attack or avoid monsters if you want, after a certain level, monsters run away from you, no annoying random battles, just changes how battles work
    -some jobs(character classes) are better, others are worse than in past games, but that is always the case. I think bravely second had the best overall in terms of jobs. But this game fixes the annoying and useless issue of the one job that uses items(salvemaker in this game) and its a great and valuable class.
    -they added an action meter, this brakes a lot of potential careful strategizing. Some people will say its negative, and I agree, but it opens up other strategies if you can work around it. I never liked action meters in RPGs though. This makes the speed stat more powerful.

    summary:
    Seriously just buy a 2ds and get bravely default 1 and bravely second. This game isn't really worth it. But if you insist, play this game first, then bravely default 1, then bravely second(the first two games have linked stories, and this game is unrelated story wise). You will see the games get better. Sadly I can't suggest this game, even to a seasoned RPG player. Only a fan of the series would be able to enjoy it, and even at that, I was frustrated the whole time knowing they could do better. I don't know what happened.    … Expand
  10. toshimik
    May 3, 2021
    2
    Casual mode should be a LOT easier. With limited time there's no fun in grinding. Casual only slow monsters down but they still have a crapton of hp and still hit hard.

    Sad I paid full price for this. Can't refund, that's why I tried to finish the game but I can't. It's torture.
  11. Gazillex
    Mar 7, 2021
    10
    Best turn base RPG in a while, if you liked the first FF games this game is for you.
  12. Wheatar
    Dec 19, 2021
    0
    Game is unplayable. While the art, story, pacing, and class systems are a 5 at best, the amount of grinding is absurd, and the boss battles are not able to be completed without large time investments killing “rare mobs for hours” in between each boss. The bravely series games have always been lazy, but this is a stain upon the entire jrpg genre. Avoid this game, avoid this series.
  13. DoctorZack
    Feb 27, 2021
    4
    It's a very long winded and ugly looking game. Its sadly just another JRPG with nothing substantial to contribute to the genre. If you're a diehard wait for a sale.
  14. Swichtman
    Mar 8, 2021
    9
    Clasico rpg con un diseño gráfico excelente una banda sonora y efectos muy buenos y una jugabilidad a la altura ,un rpg de bolsillo muy muy bueno y un producto que se nota que Square le puso Cariño .
  15. juljul
    Mar 10, 2021
    0
    Beautiful game with interesting story. Music is very enjoyable. Definitely love it!
  16. Eerokina
    Mar 26, 2021
    0
    Worst game in series 0/10

    1) the plot is **** of the level of Evil Attack GET THE 4 CRYSTALS AND KILL HIM)) in 1990 it was a channel, now it's stupidly ridiculous. Compared to the 1st bravely default where twist the **** out is heaven and earth. 2) Imbalance. It's everywhere. At first the game seems cool and challenging, the bosses are beating you up on hard. And then you grind for 3    Worst game in series 0/10

    1) the plot is **** of the level of Evil Attack GET THE 4 CRYSTALS AND KILL HIM)) in 1990 it was a channel, now it's stupidly ridiculous. Compared to the 1st bravely default where twist the **** out is heaven and earth.
    2) Imbalance. It's everywhere. At first the game seems cool and challenging, the bosses are beating you up on hard. And then you grind for 3 hours levels of all the professions, muffins for speed, and take out the bosses 2 skils in 3 moves.
    3) Imbalance again. Even without the grind, 3.5 abilka in different professions just break the game. Godspeed strike thief, counter defense ranger, attack all berserker. The second skill freelancer. In the end, you just with the right build (which is intuitive to understand) take out everything alive on any difficulty, even without a grind. Do you want to use 100500 other discounts from other professions? Or **** it, they're ****.
    4) Completed sidequests with no idea go to the ruins take away the apple, save the kitty, kill 10 wolves. With rewards on the level of 10 powwows. EVEN IN THE PENULTIMATE CHAPTER OF THE GAME!!!
    5) Flawed ux. Just a point: all sidequests are numbered. BUT YOU HAVE NO SIDEQUESTS JOURNAL. you don't know which ones you've done and which ones you haven't. They are not saved anywhere. It's just ux level b.
    6) single-cell card game in the style of ff8 and ff9(there they are good), which at the same time is complete **** and won by one deck you get almost at the start
    7) no idea dungee, 100500 redrawn the same mobs in 2021. Levels: BLUE GOBLIN at FIRST LOCATION, RED GOBLIN at SECOND LOCATION, GREEN GOBLIN at LOCATION 3, RED at LOCATION 4.

    And thats not all of the problems!!! Thus game is awfull. I played 50 hours and can tell it for sure - THIS GAME IS BAD.    … Expand
  17. JAGUAR10
    Mar 2, 2021
    1
    I've just played the Demo and the game is bad. Poor writing, stupid characters, same old, same old. Don't waste your money.
  18. arcanum2240
    Apr 3, 2021
    0
    This game is ducking impossible rofl. I'm no stranger to rpg's, but this is ridiculous. It's hard to the point that it's not really fun to play. Save your money for a better designed game. Uninstalled and moved on. Wish I could get a refund for it because I'm never playing it again.
  19. Alefrita
    Mar 17, 2021
    10
    Best RPG in a while. Definitely better than P5R where there is only repetitive combat.
  20. d4haxor
    Mar 10, 2021
    0
    Game would be solid if it wasn't for the awful card game. Best part is, you HAVE to play it in order to unlock a class.
  21. MrTusks
    Oct 25, 2022
    3
    Why does every encounter have to feel like a final boss fight? I don't have that kind of time anymore.
  22. Anb
    Sep 19, 2021
    5
    Generic, uninspiring story filled with stupid characters lacking depth or humor. Poorly running, worse looking game than 3DS original series. Unappealing change in visual design ruined pastel look that 3ds games had.

    It shows that BD2 was made by different team. The only thing that they have managed to replicate is core battlejobs mechanic, which is rather good. Everything else in this    Generic, uninspiring story filled with stupid characters lacking depth or humor. Poorly running, worse looking game than 3DS original series. Unappealing change in visual design ruined pastel look that 3ds games had.

    It shows that BD2 was made by different team. The only thing that they have managed to replicate is core battlejobs mechanic, which is rather good. Everything else in this sequel is noticeably worse than in BDBS.    … Expand
  23. rrafemi
    Dec 27, 2022
    5
    existe una brecha demasiado grande entre personajes y jefes de zona, aún tengas las armas y armaduras más potentes disponibles en ese momento. Farmear niveles no soluciona esa diferencia. Reducir su potencia y defensa tampoco supone una diferencia palpable

    Los combates están muy, pero que muy descompensados. Los enemigos de campo son fáciles y huyen de ti porque eres demasiado fuerte,    existe una brecha demasiado grande entre personajes y jefes de zona, aún tengas las armas y armaduras más potentes disponibles en ese momento. Farmear niveles no soluciona esa diferencia. Reducir su potencia y defensa tampoco supone una diferencia palpable

    Los combates están muy, pero que muy descompensados. Los enemigos de campo son fáciles y huyen de ti porque eres demasiado fuerte, pero llegas a un jefe y prácticamente no tienes opciones, ni siquiera en el modo fácil. Arruina por completo la experiencia de juego.

    Los jefes obviamente deben ser fuertes, pero en este juego la dificultad está muy descompensada.    … Expand
  24. Hooker21
    May 23, 2021
    4
    I adore Bravely Default and Second (3ds), but this...
    This is a very mediocre game.
    Weak writing job,
    Faded characters, nothing interesting happens between them.
    Ugly faces and costumes.

    If you are looking for an exciting modern RPG, then i insist!
    Go take a look at Trails of Cold Steel. (Vita, ps3, ps4, steam)
  25. HunterSeeker
    Mar 30, 2021
    4
    One of the intriguing things about this game is the job system. There's a great ability to level up multiple jobs and figure out how best to customize your characters. The story is very lackluster... The characters aren't that interesting and the plot devolves into characters saying "Oh! I had amnesia! So I have no idea who the culprit is who is causing all this bad stuff to happen!"One of the intriguing things about this game is the job system. There's a great ability to level up multiple jobs and figure out how best to customize your characters. The story is very lackluster... The characters aren't that interesting and the plot devolves into characters saying "Oh! I had amnesia! So I have no idea who the culprit is who is causing all this bad stuff to happen!"

    The boss battle design is fairly atrocious. Every one of them has a percentage chance to counter a specific job skills. Oh? Did you bring a Bard to the party? Well, get ready to get counter attacked for 40% of your HP. That isn't skill based gameplay. That's just guesing and testing. Battles on the overworld are quite long and tedious. For most RPG's, you will do fine if you fight almost all your encounters until you get to the end of the dungeon and fight the boss. This is not true for this game. The best way to gain levels is to either bunch enemies up or use the lure food.

    The side quests are also uninteresting fetch quests or "Kill X a set amount of times" quest. This game found a way to make fetch quests even more tedious than any other RPG I've ever played. There are some quests where you have to go talk to an NPC, return to the quest NPC, then walk all the way back to the NPC, return to the quest NPC, then go all the way back to the NPC, then finally return to the quest NPC.

    Overall, skip this game unless you really like games with tons of classes to choose and level up from.    … Expand
  26. roastbird
    Jul 3, 2021
    5
    Compatr to the first generation, it is less fun and more boring.

    It is lack for every part.

    2 doesn't have a music tune that is memorable Character design is bad. Graphic bad.

    Gameplay is the same, jobs are actually more interesting, I have to admit that.

    Story so far is terrible...
  27. Chell_R
    Mar 29, 2021
    3
    Boring. OBNOXIOUS, annoying dialogue, and REALLLLLY: (unfitting) disturbing f**ked up storylines... that make Bravely Second: look like it's for 10 yo's... (Child murder, public execution... am I playing BD, or Silent Hill Default...?

    Character dialogue and voices, have to quite literally... be the WORST I've ever heard/ seen: in the past 10 years... Obnoxious, loud, REPETITIVE,    Boring. OBNOXIOUS, annoying dialogue, and REALLLLLY: (unfitting) disturbing f**ked up storylines... that make Bravely Second: look like it's for 10 yo's... (Child murder, public execution... am I playing BD, or Silent Hill Default...?

    Character dialogue and voices, have to quite literally... be the WORST I've ever heard/ seen: in the past 10 years...

    Obnoxious, loud, REPETITIVE, disjointed: and ohhh yeeees... BRITISH/American VA'S...

    *Everywhereeeee...!!!

    Job's/Classes are the worst, and linear, they've ever been... Not to mention the most LIMITING,

    in strategy...

    All in all... a MASSIVE* step down from it's predecessors... and honestly... I hope they Remake the Original Bravely games: with BD2's graphics...

    because quite honestly... That's the only thing worth taking away, from this godawfully...

    BORING game.    … Expand
  28. scriabin
    Jul 17, 2021
    4
    I rarely write negative reviews, but this might be the most disappointing game I've ever played. I LOVED the original on 3DS and was hoping for something similar.

    This game was a huge letdown both in terms of story and in terms of gameplay mechanics. Gameplay: the boss fights are ridiculous, almost like a puzzle game that doesn't mesh with the rest of the gameplay. The experience    I rarely write negative reviews, but this might be the most disappointing game I've ever played. I LOVED the original on 3DS and was hoping for something similar.

    This game was a huge letdown both in terms of story and in terms of gameplay mechanics.

    Gameplay: the boss fights are ridiculous, almost like a puzzle game that doesn't mesh with the rest of the gameplay. The experience of fighting weak enemies along the way in no way prepares you for the extreme "strategizing" the the bosses require. Because of the limited information we are given about said bosses, we are apparently just supposed to try a million things out until something sticks. Given that an average boss fight can last for an hour if you haven't yet figured out "the trick," this trial and error process is incredibly time-consuming. Fine for gamers who don't have social and professional commitments away from their consoles, but for the rest of us, we have only so many hours we can put into a game, and the idea of spending HOURS randomly trying out strategies to beat bosses is a huge waste of limited leisure time.

    Usually, when I encounter this sort of thing in a game, I'll give it my best try for a bit and then switch to "easy" mode so that I can just get on with the game and story. In BD2, "easy mode" is still punishingly hard, requiring hours upon hours of either grinding or randomly trying out new strategies on each boss. The latter would be more forgivable if you could change classes/equipment mid-figh to speed up the "testing" processt. At least that would be more honest about what the game is asking the player to do: try random techniques until something starts to stick. Instead, you have to completely settle your jobs/equipment before each attempt, which again can result in hours of wasted time trying to guess the magic number. No worries if you have 40 hours a week to play games, but not all of us do.

    Generally, when a game is just too hard for casual players, they go online and ask the strategy guides to just give the darn answer to each boss "puzzle." In BD2, these solutions tend to be woefully stupid. For example, the first "final boss" at the end of Chapter 5 (the first of two bland "fake" endings) - can ultimately be taken down with a few contagion bombs. Just get the Salve-Maker Job and buy some ingredients from any local store, and you can deplete said boss of all MP relatively quickly. She just floats there for the rest of the fight, lamely shaking her wings trying to cast magic that never comes. Cheap and unsatisfying—the kind of thing that you would only come upon by trial and error. And yet without this trick, expect your party to get wiped out an HOUR into the fight when the boss suddenly starts spamming you with party-kill spells. At this point, it becomes a story issue as well. Because honestly, wouldn't this boss realize that she didn't have any MP left and... I don't know, try something else? Or run away? Nope, she just keeps wiggling her wings lamely for the rest of the battle, which by the way still lasted the better part of 30 minutes because she had such a ridiculous number of hit points. It stops feeling like a fight. It feels meaningless.

    Same with the final "final" boss at the end of chapter 7 - the "trick" is just using the ranger's paralyze ability and then you get to spend 20 minutes just slowly hacking away at her mountain of hit points while she is helpless to respond. It's not challenging, it's cheap. And it's not particularly fun.

    And don't even get me started on the side quests. Carry a lunch from the town to the ruins. Oops forgot the fork, gotta go back to the town. Oops forgot the drink, got go back to the town. Oops, another inane thing, gotta go back to the town. Is running back and forth 4 times between a town and a dungeon supposed to be fun? I found myself asking the "supposed to be fun?" question far too many times playing this game.

    I continued to slog through this mess because I wanted to believe the story was going somewhere. After investing 40 hours, you want to see it through, and you want to believe that it will be worth it to do so.. BD2 has its moments, for sure, but not enough of them. (spoiler alert for the original) I found the story in the first game quite compelling, when the entire quest was turned on its head and the cutest sweetest character turned out to be a genocidal maniac—disturbing stuff, a compelling portrait of betrayal in the midst of a story about friendship. In BD2, I kept waiting to the twist, but it never came. There's basically zero character development. Everyone ends up exactly the same as when they started. By the end, the story has devolved into a series of platitudes about friendship and choosing to do the right thing. It would have meant a lot more if these characters ever had to actually make difficult decisions or change their perspective.

    72 hours gone. All in all, a terrible investment.    … Expand
  29. Dadpops
    Aug 31, 2021
    2
    Probably one of the more disappointing games I have played in a long time.

    Performance - Awful. Stuttering and lagging constantly through the game while everytime you move, the screen blurs so much it looks like your playing in a sauna and can't defog the screen. Voice Acting - If you go with the Japanese, then very good and enjoyable. If you go with the English, oh my god make it    Probably one of the more disappointing games I have played in a long time.

    Performance - Awful. Stuttering and lagging constantly through the game while everytime you move, the screen blurs so much it looks like your playing in a sauna and can't defog the screen.

    Voice Acting - If you go with the Japanese, then very good and enjoyable. If you go with the English, oh my god make it stop. So many terrible performances by the English VAs especially Adam. One of the worst, if not the worst VA I have heard in a game.

    Gameplay - The only reason I even put up with this game. I love job systems and this game, yet again, delivers on the joy of making as many kinds of teams as you would like an levelling them up to unlock their full potential. Switching to inidividual turns instead of team turns has slowed the pace down and made it feel odd, but you forget about it soon enough.

    Graphics - The city art is killer and so incredibly well done. The models for the characters are really bad though and how they contrast so much kills it for me. They look like shiny, rubbery, lifeless dolls. Wish they had gone with a different style for the characters but whatever. Also, the open world would look cool if you could even see it while moving.

    Story - I honestly cant even remember. This is one of the few JRPGs that I put down before I could finish. Felt like a chore playing this and at a certain point I just asked myself 'what's the point' and stopped. Will never pick this back up.    … Expand
  30. Oldones
    Mar 27, 2021
    1
    Mises en scène inexistante, graphisme 3ds, le jeu ne demande que de farm , histoire au ras de pâquerettes fait le minimum syndical pour un rpg.
  31. Vidinu
    Aug 22, 2021
    6
    Gorgeous graphics game with lovely music. The combat and job system is quite fun. The downside is that the story is somewhat simple, it has a lot of spam and boring dungeons and it becomes very repetitive at the end.
  32. Jofe
    Apr 30, 2022
    2
    Bad script, bad writing, completely uninteresting characters from start to finish. Lore has no substance. The game is a game-design failure.
  33. Edea
    Oct 18, 2022
    5
    The story is boring and the characters lack charisma
    As has been pointed out in many other reviews, the various accents used in the English dub distract from the experience... what were they thinking?!
    I don't understand the reasoning behind the removal of dungeon maps... thought the sequel boasts all kinds of QoL improvements?
    I'd rather play the 1st game any day
  34. Trunks252
    May 8, 2023
    5
    This is my first time playing a Bravely game, and I have to say I am somewhat disappointed.

    Visuals: Great environments and animations. Servicable character and monster designs. Audio: The music was unintrusive but also uninspired. Many tracks just seemed to copy Final Fantasy. I found the English voice acting to be a mixed bag. Some characters sounded absolutely atrocious, or grated    This is my first time playing a Bravely game, and I have to say I am somewhat disappointed.

    Visuals: Great environments and animations. Servicable character and monster designs.

    Audio: The music was unintrusive but also uninspired. Many tracks just seemed to copy Final Fantasy. I found the English voice acting to be a mixed bag. Some characters sounded absolutely atrocious, or grated on my nerves so bad I had to switch to Japanese.

    Story: Boring, to be honest. I found myself skipping most scenes after act 1, and eventually stopped playing altogether after starting act 4. Characters are mostly shallow and have little charm. There were a few cool scenes here and there. I could have put up with this story if I had liked the gameplay more.

    Gameplay: This is where the problems really got to me. Despite liking the combat mechanics, I had many issues with the job system and exploration. The abilities are extremely unbalanced, to the point where I only needed to spam 5 or 6 abilities every battle (despite having dozens available per character). Even during bosses, I would just need to use the same Body Slam and Pressure Point repeatedly while healing. Very little strategy.

    There are also gameplay mechanics that are just missing entirely. Things such as a mini map in dungeons, side quest tracking, and other small inconvieniences really add up to make things annoying. Some gameplay features are simply there to be restrictive, such as the equipment weight system. I would much rather be given bonuses for using the correct equipment, rather than feel restricted. Positive reinforcement over negative kinda thing.

    The game also expects you to grind, often needing you to battle even after clearing dungeons or completing all optional side quests to be strong enough to progress. It all adds up to just feel monotonous and unneccessary.

    To be fair, many people may like this game, and I'm fine with that. But I've played much better JRPGs. I got maybe 40 hrs in before I quit, so there is some merit here. But I can't recommend paying full price. Buy it $30 or less.    … Expand
  35. shado474
    May 12, 2023
    5
    A battling system that's promising, but surrounded by many many flaws in optimization.

    Loading times are frequent and a bit too long for that kind of game, especially during repeated enemy encounters. The menu is slow and the animations are often choppy. Regular battles can take a while when one strong enemy is present, but the reward is very small in the end. Boss battles are that    A battling system that's promising, but surrounded by many many flaws in optimization.

    Loading times are frequent and a bit too long for that kind of game, especially during repeated enemy encounters. The menu is slow and the animations are often choppy. Regular battles can take a while when one strong enemy is present, but the reward is very small in the end. Boss battles are that typical HP tank with occasional big spikes of damage input. This is where the "brave" system gets bad imo. It happens too often that bosses just take down the whole team with a series of 5-7 strong attacks at once. I generally like challenge, but that sort of 180 turn-around after an already 20-minute painful fight is very frustrating when it happens multiple times in a row.

    Overall not the worst game although I mostly listen the bad here, but definitely not something I would recommend. It is very tedious and the story isn't great.    … Expand
  36. Dragoduval
    Jan 23, 2023
    10
    Pretty much the best RPG that i played in years, so i recommend this game easily for anyone who love grinding just like me.

    Seriously we need more RPG's with well though story and gameplay instead of rushed crap.
next
Page:

Awards & Rankings

15
#15 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 111 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 80 out of 111
  2. Mixed: 29 out of 111
  3. Negative: 2 out of 111
  1. CD-Action
    Oct 12, 2021
    85
    I wanted to both scold Bravely Default II for its many flaws and kiss it for some stellar moments when it shone like a diamond. At the end of the day the latter decisively outweighed the former. The game boasts one of the best combat systems I’ve seen in jRPGs, towns that are a work of art, and a breathtaking soundtrack. If you like the genre, there’s a chance you’ll fall in love with Bravely Default II. [04/2021, p.48]
  2. GameByte
    Jun 1, 2021
    60
    There is so much potential here that doesn’t quite reach the mark, and it’s quite mind boggling as to why some of these problems exist when they didn’t in their previous work. However, with that incredibly addictive gameplay alone, along with the plethora of side-content, I can see traditional Final Fantasy fans having a lot of fun here, even if it’s a bit of a shallow adventure. Now that this engine has proven it’s worth in terms of gameplay, I am very excited for their next project if they have more time to spare in the writing room.
    Read full review
  3. Nintendo Force Magazine
    May 17, 2021
    90
    Bravely Default II is one of the Switch's best RPGs, and that's not small praise for an RPG on a system that's already home to some of the genre's best. [Issue #52 – May/June 2021, p. 69]
See all critic reviews »