I give this game a HUGE recommendation! Really having a blast with it so far. If any of my feelings change in the coming weeks, I'll do an update video to this one.

The story isn't that good but I was surprised how much I'm liking the main cast, they are really cute and I love the interactions they have with each other. They feel like real friends, which is an aspect I really appreciate seeing

This video got me into this game. Bravely Default II is by far my favorite JRPG in many years. Thanks so much for covering and recommending this absolute gem!

He remembered his password.

Born in 83. I’m 18 hours into Octopath. This game looks fkn amazing too.

I hate flooding the comment section like this but I can't watch right now and I want to appease the almighty algorithm Thanks for the upload

I've enjoyed the Team Asano JRPGs so far. Unlike Tokyo RPG Factory, they seem to understand the heart of classic JRPGs & I'm more than happy to see a game from them get announced. Now if only Square-Enix would use the engine from Project Triangle Strategy & Octopath Traveler to remake Final Fantasy IV, V, VI & Chrono Trigger.

Very thrilled to see you back I’m really glad to see the Bravley Series getting the attention it deserves the first 2 games have a very special place in my heart and for a long while I felt like one of the only people in the US anticipating the release when it was announced, hope your doing well I’ve been following since the early retrospectives

I think it is crazy I started watching Resonant Arc years ago before I finished college. I just got out of work and come home to a new video. Thanks for all the content throughout the years. Can't wit until you get 500k and then 1 million subs. More people need to see your amazing videos.

New video! I’m glad you addressed concerns other reviewers had and I hope you continue to incorporate those in your assessments of new games coming out. You’ve definitely swayed my opinion on this game and will give it a try.

We are very happy having loved the first so much, that you really enjoyed this game and they even improved upon a few things. Thank you so much for the upload and the time and quality you put into it.

This is the review I was waiting for! No one reviews JRPGs as thoroughly as this channel. Cannot wait to play this finally. Thanks👍

Ever since the first game I've been a fervent lover of the Bravely/Octopath series. I love the combat, the music (the moment I saw that Revo was coming back fot his one I legit screamed), the visuals and the charming story. I bought this the moment it came out and I've been having a blast. Excellent review as always and if anybody is on the fence about this because of the story or difficulty I just want you to know that the characters are really charming and if you really are struggling, there is a difficulty option that lets you put the game on easy.

Once I saw that the Freelancer job gave you 2 JP bonuses, I used a bunch of lures to do consecutive battles to Max out the level before even leaving the first area of the overworld. Now that im in Chapter 1 proper, I actually enjoy grinding in this game because the job combinations are so flexible and rewarding. Leveling Adelle as a Vanguard and Monk can allow you to draw aggro and gain strength from being attacked, which absurdly breaks your damage output that early in the game. Im excited to see what other combinations I can come up with

I’ve been loving this game and I think you’re review sums it up perfectly.

I was waiting for a great review before picking it up. You guys are the best!

Thanks for the video, Mike! Looking forward to playing this game as my first Bravely Default experience.

Just picked this up yesterday and I am SO in love with this game! Awesome review! 🤎

I'm glad you didnt say the game is "grind heavy" grinding is literally the cheapest way to pass a boss fight your stuck on. Most boss fights in this game can be passed under leveled as long as your using all the tools available to you and actually thinking. Some reviewers said its "grind heavy" and I had to cringe at the lack of brain power put into that statement.

Fantastic vid Mike! I'm glad to hear this title is overall living up to the series and to the strengths of the genre.

You know, I genuinely get excited when I see you guys upload haha!! That aside, I've been enthralled by these games since the first came out but I never bought it. I know they're driving the point that this one is separate but...ya just can't start at 3 ya know!

Great overall take and excellent in-depth analysis of the core motivating challenges that many seem to oversimplify or or misunderstand. Loving the game here -- cheers to that godmode axolotl in on the first overworld area with the *very* warm welcome to Bravely Default 2. :)

I don’t know, I’m only late in chapter one but I’ve liked the story so far and was caught off guard by a certain event during the chapter after beating the thief boss

Can’t wait to finish up with Tales of Vesperia and give this one a try. Loved 1, Second not so much, so I’m sure this is right up my alley. Thank you guys for the work you do! Love to see that Resonant Arc is back.

I kept looking for a review to trust and finally found that you had posted a video! Thank you for the review.

Love your review mate Hope things are going well for you and the team

My experience with this game is: I've not played the previous game [which as you said is not necessary], I played the initial demo months ago, and was surprised by how tricky it was. It seemed to require too much grinding. However, it still felt compelling to play in terms of exploration, its job system and deep strategizing. I might play the 'new' demo of BD2 and see if this game is worth giving another shot. Above all, good to see this channel uploading again. It feels like it has been a while.

I absolutely love this game. The normal critique for this game is "the bosses are hard" but thats why i love it. Managing jobs is fun for me. Free-form class systems are fun to me.

Perfectly summed up my thoughts of the game! If the story's template remains close to the original game then I'm looking forward to some wacky plot developments near the end.

This game is so good and I think your review sums it up pretty nicely!! I would like to add two elements that I find a great addition (in case you did not mention them?). Weight balance and Chance to be targeted influence the strategic decisions of equipment in such a vital way! I think modern JRPG have dumbed down these decisions too much. Optimization and raw increase in stats makes the equipment choices very simple... it is basically equip whatever new you get. Excited to play more of this one!

The combat gives me a bit of an SMT IV vibe, meaning that it's almost like a puzzle. You'll brave/default, buff/debuff, use moves that cost HP, heal the party, use your Special and it really feels like your put in the work to beat that boss, both before the fight and during the fight. It's also a very rewarding feeling when you fail and rethink your strategy and job allocation. For example I'm building Gloria as a Paladin, kind of. So I leveled up White Mage and Vanguard and it works great but sometimes I might need her more as a healer so I put her in the White Mage class so that her healing spells are stronger than it would be if she was healing as a Vanguard and vice versa, sometimes I need her to tank. It's awesome.. for some reason I skipped BD1 as well as B.Second on the 3DS.

When I played the first Bravely game after FFV, the difficulty rocked my shit! But now 3 games later after mastering the combat, I am finding this one fun + the perfect amount of challenge on Hard. So I empathize with the people playing this series for the first time, still figuring everything out.

nice to hear from this channel and to hear about this game, coincidentally I am currently playing ff5 and really enjoying it so upon hearing this review I can't help but think this is something I would love as well so thanks for the heads up, also I can't wait for you to release the new versions of the videos for the ff series since I love how your style has evolved and know your new videos on them will be great

Thanks for providing such a detailed review. I think this is something I'll have to pick up.

I finally tracked a decent priced copy of the first game so starting with that one, definitely picking this one as well in the future.

The difficulty of this game reminds me a bit of Vagrant Story. In VS, boss fights (and many regular enemies even) could seem insurmountable until you invested some time into uncovering its deep gameplay & crafting system. Once you come to grips with that, the game's challenge becomes much more manageable. It felt incredibly rewarding in Vagrant Story, and it's the same in Bravely Default II. I love it!

Hit the patreon goal already! I cant get enough of your content! :)

I wasn't too sure on the boss fights at first, but I'm absolutely loving them now too. Imo, the new counter mechanic encourages you to experiment with multiple jobs which is something the previous 2 games lacked. You usually could stick to 1 tried and true setup and get through the entire game with it. In terms of story, I thought it took a while to get going, and while I'm not finished with it yet, I definitely don't even consider it close to bad. There's definitely some dark moments I didn't think the game would cover.

I think an FF6 remake done in a similar style to this would be amazing!

This game is my 80s and 90s jrpg childhood on steroids. I love this game.

Any thoughts on the cats game within in BD2? Read that it's like a mix of Triple Triad and Tetra Master? Sounded awesome

Resonant Arc is spot on. I wasnt going to get this, because I didnt care for the character models and I didnt think I would like the cast. But I was bored, and bought it anyways on a whim, and I am glad I did....This game is what new final fantasies SHOULD have been (except maybe with grander graphics, but they can afford it on that ip lol) The cast is stellar, the art style grows on you, and the story is fantastic....And the job system is a lot of fun, and keeps it fresh waiting to see what youll unlock next. There are plot twists that are NOT predictable like most rpgs that are expertly handled....All in all, Ill say it like this...When I got ahold of the original final fantasy 7, I couldnt put it down for a long time. When remake came out, it felt like every other action/rpg and I lost interest quickly. This game is like the old style games that were so fun you couldnt stop playing. They dont make them this good very often as jrpgs go, but maybe this will be the wake up call to developers like square to STOP trying to turn RPGS into action games, and keep em classic like this.

I'm really enjoying my time with this one! I also played BD1, but there I felt like the balancing there was really bad. Like every boss was 10 levels above the other enemies in the area. Luckily, I can definitely not say that about this one! They're difficult, but not grindy. A good strategy will get you success.

It's amazing that the Switch is getting so many good jRPGs. Personally I'm still waiting for the next Metroid game to buy the console, but I love that it is receiving so many quality titles. Great video as always, Mike!

Good god, I have so many jrpgs to catch up on. 3 Tales games, some of the DQ games, at least the FF7R, then the frist 2 Bravely Defaults. Thanks for the spoiler-free review!

I've really been loving this game so far. Great blast from the past!

Words can’t describe how much I love the bravely series ❤️. They’re just soooo good!

I'm gonna be honest and say that this game is an elaborate game of dress-up and I love it! I had a good chuckle when the scrawny obviously-evil guy becomes a Monk. I thought it was going to be Time Mage or something. That fight was easy, as the tools to survive his brutal physical attacks are right there in Vanguard and White Mage. Aggravate, Defang a few times, throw up some Protect as shielding. And when he goes 4 Firebirds in a row, they only did 40 damage each to one Vanguard.

This series has games that respect my time. I grind jp on mooks in easy and fast speed, then play every boss fight on hard. Then i play through NG+ on lvl1 with no experience point gain but carry all the equipment and jobs over. When i can take down the hidden boss on my lvl1 team faster and more reliably than my first playthrough, that really showcases how strong the battle systems are. Btw, in BD1, i got a 40k damage single hit saved as a transfer on a red mage with a lvl1 character. That's just nuts that Bravely Default let's you do so!

This game has everything I need: 1. Class systems 2. No random encounter rate 3. Mini game - especially card game 4. Stunning music 5. Stunning graphics 6. Strong rare encounters for the challenge 7. Rare creature that runs away but gives great reward for killing 8. Good story 9. Good characters 10. Side quests with hidden story plots 11. Top TIER japanese voice actors holy crap, especially Adelle with C.C.'s voice from code geass and Elvis with Kakashi's voice 12. Fast battle for the grind 13. Offline rewards that are GREAT, like permanent stats increase and EXP/JP 14. Challenging boss fights 15. Difficulty choice 16. Hints at romance Some drawbacks however: 1. No way to see which side quests has been cleared 2. Lack of dungeon map 3. Some balance issues, as some skills are overperforming 4. Hard isn't hard enough (Hard in BD2 is easier than normal in BD1) And

Great look! This is def on my wishlist but in the meantime I'll have to revisit the original Bravely Default.

Fantastic review, you really are the best RPG analyst.

Cool, looking forward to this one. Played the first two instalments on hard no random encounters (yes mainly levelling on boss fight and sometimes a small jp exp grind to overcome the next one) and loved it. Played the first demo version and had tough time with the damn boss, but hearing that this game is full of them I'm actually really happy. My goal is making a robust party that can conquer any boss, seems to be tough cookie in BD2.

the side missions add alot of depth to the other wise standard story. It's been fun getting to know the charaters, but the job system and boss fights are truly awesome

Inadvertently how I learned Sakaguchi is still doing stuff with Mistwalker. This title looks pretty interesting as well. Usually, not always, I can count on your analysis and critique (FF7R being sole exception, I think). Younger opinions have cited "the cast's relatability" which tends to be a red flag, but I'm willing to look into the title.

I was initially on the fence getting this You’ve convinced me to buy it 👍

I love the towns... I get some hand-painted watercolor vibes from them!

Boss fights being hard. *laughs in shin megami tensei*

An honest review that doesn't bash the game into the ground. Nicely done, mate! While quick this was still enjoyable. It kinda brings me back to the good old days of video game reviews.

Great review. I’m playing on hard and loving it.

Finally a review by someone who knows what he's doing. Watching some other videos and they say you'll have to do some grinding. And no, you don't have to grind if you know how to make use of all the tools the game gives you.

The main story is classic and does its job with a few really good twists along the way. The highlight for me was the cast and asterisks wielders, they have great personalities and design, I didn't expect to like them so much especially after the demo that honestly didn't do the game justice. My only two very small disappointments : I did find odd that there isn't a summoner class since it's fan favorite and I didn't like that the necromancer job is just a mage, I was expecting it to be a job that can control undeads.

Your comments on the difficulty and complaints of unfairness are everything I have been looking to hear about that criticism of this game. Strategy games are all about making use of the system and learning the nuance of the game. Thanks for pointing that out and putting it in perspective! The fun of this series is exploiting the insanely detailed combat system.

recently I decided to replay all of the old school final fantasy games and was like "damn why the fuck don't they make them like these anymore" and boom bravely default 2 is up, glad someone as square still has some gears left

Thanks Mike! I didn't really enjoy the original BD as much as I'd hoped (I tend to prize story as well as combat), but you brought up a lot of things that I hadn't heard from other reviews, so it sounds like I might have to give it a go! =D

Great Video, are you gonna give your thoughts on Triangle Strategy?

I don't blame people for their impressions about the difficulty. If Bravely Default emphasized random encounters & resource management more, that might force people to stay turned on for bosses. But I'm really happy you take JRPG combat seriously and appreciate it on its own terms; mamy reviewers are very resistant to it for some reason.

I’m about 6 hours in right now. I’m loving it.

I just got this game, and as an old school jrpg'er, this game has really hit the spot.

So idk if it is the game itself, the cartridge, my switch or a storage/processing issue but my game regularly skips and cuts. Opening party chat takes a long time to open. Everything else is great, love how it's all voice acted but I do wish difficulty scaled the monsters health and there was a save/refresh upon changing as I've just gotten the berserker job and I'm one shotting mobs and clearing bosses in a few turns on hard.

I really enjoyed this video on Bravely Default 2.

Been waiting a year for this got it as soon as I could and am loving it. Love most games with jobs to master and abilities to combine. I find the equipment weight system to be pretty cool, cant just wear whatever you want without taking penalties.

Excellent and fair analisis.

I'm roughly 30hours in and I'm really enjoying the game; I've been a fan of the Bravely Default series since my first boss fight with Barras and Holly. In saying that I feel like this entry has taken a few steps back in terms of core gameplay systems one of which being the 'Once More' mechanic. In short it's the ability to have another round of enemies after clearing one lot, this in turn helps with grinding. Yet in this entry the way you do this is through 'Lures'; so it is still present but in my opinion it's not as streamlined as Bravely Second.

I really need to try this now.

I don't think having some clichés are a bad thing per say, it's the way they are handled. Take a look at FFIX , it's a total cliché, but perfectly made.

Unreal Engine 4's per-object motion blur is a thing of beauty.

Played BD on my 3DS and yeah the boss fights there are fairly challenging. I knew that this is going to be the same for this game. You can't just hack your way to victory. It takes some grinding and a lot of strategy and preparation. Sure it's annoying but at the same time I don't want them to change this. This is what Bravely Default has been all about.

WISH this were coming to PS. Any chance you've heard anything on the release for Ruined King? Seems to have come & gone but can't find it anywhere. Battle Chasers was such a gem, hoping for RK soon!

Great review

its fun to grind every job class for every chacacters

This is everything I want on a JRPG, every "FF5 sequel" is must-play for me.

Loving this game so much.

You touched on the difficulty of the game perfectly. The boss fights are indeed hard, but if you have good synergy with your job mixings then even if you're at a disadvantage you can still come out on top. I've wiped to one boss so far and I just hip Chapter 3. Loving the difficulty level.

I am definitely going to have get the other two after finishing this one.

Im also really digging BD2, I really enjoyed the previous titles aswell. Literally just started the game and have only done the first 3 little story sections, so I cant speak much, however Im excited to keep playing. Its very refreshing to be immersed into a familiar yet new experience after searching for decent oldskool-esque JRPGs the last few years and/or replaying the oldies for the X amount of times. My only gripe thus far, is how cringey the character battle dialogue can be imo. Example being, Adelle says something like "Everyday, everyway, I get more awesome" upon leveling up...Wishful thinking, but I hope we get an option to disable the battle chatter. Ive been switching to Japanese when Im out on the field to maintain sanity lol

I've been enjoying it a lot. I'm in chapter 3 at the moment and I'm about halfway through the chapter. I'm starting to get more complex jobs and it's just getting better as I go. And of course more difficult, especially since I'm playing on hard mode.

Having a grand old time so far. Certainly feels like coming home. Only two gripes/things I'm yearning for a little is the encounter sliders from the first game, and the fact that the more "picture book"-esque look of the first game has been lost a little in the transition to Unreal Engine and cleaner 3D models. Also why they don't have Default mapped to the L button like the first game is beyond me, especially when the original deliberately had R for Brave and L for Default for ease of access.

Ngl I thought the counter system was dumb at first too but now I actually like it. I still feel that chapter 1 bosses used some that were a bit too much like Anihal's "counter any ability" with an earth AoE but i admit that I didn't take time to learn how it works.

Great video

The only boss that didn’t feel fair was the Thief job, and it was easy to abuse stats in the game to cheese boss fights. Just a day of job grinding, and the next chapter’s boss fights felt a little too easy. Different job combinations are super fun and fluid though and those end game portal fights are great challenges

Might have to check this out at some point, reminds me of FF3 on the DS

So the question is, since they are both extremely similar games: should I get Alliance Alive HD or Bravely Default 2?

just got this one yesterday. cant wait to start it but i have to finish crosscode first.

I bought it yesterday, at first i was skeptical, because of the first game, but after friend convenienced to me try out the Demo, and i really liked what i played. At first i wanted to get Crash Bandicoot 4 for Switch, but i broke my Arm and can't Play Platformer, but a Turnebased RPG, is Perfect.

Love your work on the Final Fantasy series and I'm super excited for the newer versions that you're working on! You ever gonna do a review on FF XIV and it's expansions!? I REALLY think you'd love it.

You love to see RA uploads

Glad you're willing to criticize it as well. How is the equipment progression?

It's good to know they have the combat down

Another thing I've noticed is that the game seems to be a bit more generous in terms of money. And another balance change was not being able to control the encounter rate. I think the system of having monsters on the map run away from you is good enough to make players grind *just enough* to be able to handle the next boss, while not completely ruining exploration.