how is Bravely default, anyone playing?

[Mysteryshadow5`]

Topic, plus any other good 3ds rpg, and or stratagist games I should try?

Thanks!

[sirmola]

Bravely default is a great game ... untill halfway through. THen the world resets several times and you have to fight 4 bosses over and over. The mechanics are good enough to make up for it,though. If youv'e ever played FInal fantisy 5, Bravely default uses the same system but better. There is endless potential for mixing and matching battlefield abilities.

As for other RPGs:

Bravely second is a worthy sequal to bravely default, but you should play bravely default first.

The pokemon games are good, as usual, but you either already knew that, or don't care.

If you have a new 3ds, you can buy earthbound on virtual console, which is a cult classic RPG.

Citizens of earth is interesting, if not quite as good as the other games on this list.

There are a lot of promising RPGs that i have not played (like xenoblade 3ds, or SMT 4).

If you like specificaly generic snes era RPGs, i hear anything that Tecmo cranks out is ok, but they apperently get really samey realy fast

Of course, there is also the backward compatibility with DS games. Anything on a "good DS rpgs" list is still playable on a 3ds, and there are a LOT of great DS rpgs. (Radient historia is my favorate)

Of course, there

[Tables]

Bravely Default is an amazing game, great plot (until about 2/3rds of the way through), engaging combat systems, and the lategame has some really fun optional boss fights.

One thing some people complain about is the game repeating itself, but yeah it doesn't. You do have to fight four bosses four times each, which is pretty annoying, but it doesn't take too long, and you get the above mentioned awesome optional boss fights during it. Sadly the plot takes a bit of a nosedive around chapter 7, where without spoilers, basically the plot only works if you assume all of the main characters are idiots. The second half of the final chapter makes up for it somewhat though.

Bravely Second is a great sequel as well, to follow it up. Many improved Quality of Life options compared to Default, a more consistently good but slightly less exciting plot. Sadly no fun optional lategame boss fights, but at least the game has far less repeated content.

I really enjoyed Mercenary Saga 2 on the 3DS. It's a fairly cheap Indie game on eShop, which feels a bit like a blend of Fire Emblem and Bravely Mechanics in a simplified graphical shell. Characters level up and change classes, learn new abilities which you can mix and match however you want to build a team, as you fight through the story.

[Augestein]

One thing some people complain about is the game repeating itself, but yeah it doesn't. You do have to fight four bosses four times each, which is pretty annoying, but it doesn't take too long, and you get the above mentioned awesome optional boss fights during it. Sadly the plot takes a bit of a nosedive around chapter 7, where without spoilers, basically the plot only works if you assume all of the main characters are idiots. The second half of the final chapter makes up for it somewhat though.

The gameplay and enemies sure as hell do. And the boss fights really don't help because they are all boss fights that you've done before with very little variance between them. It really doesn't matter that the thief fights with the singer when the same strategy you use for "pirate and singer" combo works just as well. The problem is that you're fighting the same damn enemies over and over and over with higher and higher stats. There's nothing that ever pushes you outside of using what you've already done before outside of the final boss because the AI has the same strats with the only one that was different was the Alchemist fight with the Summoner by virtue that he kinda cheats.

2nd I find much better because it doesn't reuse stuff like that in the game to such an absurd degree.

Edited July 29, 2016 by Augestein

[Zera]

The first half of Bravely Default is pretty good. The second half recycles content like there's no tomorrow. Sure, there's no level grinding, but it's replaced by story grinding, which is just as bad. In any case, the traditional JRPG is an outdated genre. My only recommendations are the Paper Mario series, TWEWY, and Kingdom Hearts if you haven't played it.

As for strategy games, you may want to check out Advance Wars, a series made by the same developer as Fire Emblem. Other series of interest are Pikmin and Dillon's Rolling Western. But if you want deep strategy and engaging action gameplay, Sin & Punishment: Star Successor is my personal recommendation.

[sirmola]

In any case, the traditional JRPG is an outdated genre.

I have to disagree with you somewhat there, if only because most "newer" genres have heavy real time elements, and some of us really dislike those. It's nice to take things slowly and deliberately (that's why i like FE so much). I agree that most JRPGs don't innovate much, though. (see also, anything published by tecmo). Some rpgs, however, continue to be excellent and innovative. Radient historia for the DS is a good example. It has an exelent story and exelent gameplay based on enemy formation management and combos that is very unique. The content recycling keeps bravely default from being in radient historia's league, but its still fun.

I have to second that recommendation for "the world ends with you", though. I had tons of fun despite the real time elements. Great and unique mechanics, great plot (with great gameplay/story integration), And its a DS game, so you can play it on a 3ds.

[B.Leu]

I recently 100% it. It was a great game. I don't regret it even hours spend on it.

... Except those purely spent on upgrading the village, those sucked.

When I've heard about the 'recycle' thingy (because it was impossible to not be spoiled that), I expected the worse thing ever, I was surprised by how much not annoying it was to me.

Basically, spoiler about the recycle...

Basically, you're stuck in a loop where you have to awaken the crystals all over again, the thing is, you still have the airship, it's character development for the job Master,

and finally, it's free EXP, JP.(999 by each boss fight), chances to get things I forgot to get, and the like.

It only became slighty annoying to me right after I unlocked the final job, and had the smart idea to Master it, then masterized those I did not, but all in all, it was not such a big deal after all, we have this nice thing in the option menu that allows us to skip random encounters.

Good plot, good characters, perfect musics (this alone make every fight a pleasure to do), a good plot twist meta ... it's a very good game.

Though if I have to be honest, the plot count too much on the fact that every characters are retarded. Looking at Edea and Breav moreso.

My favorite character is Ringabel.

For Bravely Second... well, I did not player it much, and I accidentaly erased my save, how, I dunno. From I've seen, the music is great, not as much as Default Imo, a better gameplay, better graphism. Sounds like a good sequel.
But for the love of me, so far, I find the plot and the team characters dumb as all hell. Except peek-a-bang. peek-a-bang is cool.

If Cecil was a weak and dumb as Yew, oh boy, there is so many things that is wrong in Yew's writing, I don't know where to start.

Edited August 3, 2016 by B.Leu

[Kirie]

I thoroughly enjoyed both Bravely Default and Second. the repetition in the first game didn't bother me much at all, though I seem to be in the minority with that. Second had better gameplay, though I thought the music and characters weren't as good as the first one. Definitely looking forward to the next game in the series.

[Original Alear]

I haven't beaten the game. I didn't even think the first half was very good. I stopped when the repeating started, because I figured that if I didn't like it that much at that point, I wouldn't like the rest.

I think the story is pretty bad, and I didn't have to put much thought into winning most battles (I remember getting wiped by some dragons that appear on the world map for a sidequest, thought). Not recommended. It's one of the only 3ds games I have that I haven't beaten (the other being SMT4, and also monster hunter gen, but that just came out).

It's definitely a competent game, but I think there are many games time is better spent on.

Edited August 3, 2016 by HELP

[DragonFlames]

I love Bravely Default and its sequel a great deal. What sold it to me were the intriguing and endearing characters and the battle system as well as the gameplay in general. The story is nothing special for RPG standards, but I still loved the hell out of it.

Other 3DS RPGs I can personally recommend are:

Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millenium Girl (also a dungeon crawler, really hard, but also really fun)

Etrian Odyssey II Untold: The Fafnir Knight

Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan

Stella Glow (a strategy RPG not unlike Fire Emblem, but with a higher focus on story)

Tales of the Abyss (an action RPG and a port. The original game came out on PS2. It's really hard to find, though.)

Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars (a dungeon crawler with visual novel/dating sim elements (and fanservice. Lots of it). Also available on PS Vita if you have that. It also has what is probably my favourite normal battle theme in any game ever. Have a listen.

) Edited August 13, 2016 by DragonFlames