I was up until 2:30am last night. Let me put this in perspective for you a little bit. I just went back to work from a much needed 10 day winter vacation on Thursday. During that “anything-goes” break, I did all the things that help me relax; read, write, record, exercise, and of course, play games. When taking out the nights that I was out on the town, the number of times that I stayed up past 1am during that break tallies up to a big fat whopping zero. In fact, I haven’t stayed up playing games that late in about 2 months. I’ve noticed this about myself and had decided that it was because I’ve become more responsible for my sleeping schedule and I’m just generally “growing up”. After playing the Bravely Default: Flying Fairy Demo, I’ve realized that I just haven’t had a game that I literally couldn’t put down in a while.
I’ll start with what originally piqued my interest about this game; the art. As soon as I saw the first Nintendo Direct Trailer for BDFF, I knew it was a game I had to keep my eye on. Not only was it a turn-based RPG, but the graphics were lush with color and character. The graphics aren’t similiar to Ni No Kuni, but like that game, BDFF could win players over with it’s looks alone. Going into the demo, I felt I knew what I was getting into as far as graphics went, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. BDFF is a game that makes holding your 3DS at awkward angles 10 inches in front of your face worth it. The 3D implementation in this demo is seen throughout and it is indeed a treat I have not experienced anywhere else. That’s right folks! There are still unique experiences to be had in gaming. The cities come to life like pop-up storybooks. The clouds move along your screen as if you could reach into the 3DS and feel the water vapor. The battles take place on a proscenium stage where you’re sitting front row. After every flourish of the graphics, you can’t help but smile and give a standing ovation in your head.
(I could go on and on about the graphics but it’s better you just see it for yourself. Keep in mind that you won’t get the 3D experience from the trailer or screen shots. I want to stress that this game is one you have to see in 3D.)
The battle system is introduced fairly fast in the demo. Having played many an RPG in my day, I had no problem jumping into it and running with two small daggers. But there were times when I didn’t know how a certain stat affected my choices. For example, it was never explained in the demo whether an A or S rank was better for weapon proficiency. From experience in other games and from visual cues, S seemed to be better. But when I asked the game to equip my characters automatically using optimum settings it would often pick a weapon with a proficiency of B or C etc.
The actual battles are typical turn-based RPG gameplay a la games like Golden Sun where you select all your party actions first and then watch them play out against your opponents. The two things that make BDFF different from those games are the customization and the Brave/Default system.
Customization in the game is a major hook because right at the beginning of the demo you have full control over what classes your party is going to consist of. They give you 8 classes to choose from and you can switch any of your character’s classes at anytime outside of battle. Having played many hours of Dragon Quest IX, I know how fun this can be when the game gives you creative freedom over what abilites you learn. Many games such as Final Fantasy Tactics have done this before and it looks like they’ve successfully incorporated it into this game. I’m particularly happy that I no longer have to stop what I’m doing and visit some random npc to change my class.
The Brave/Default system is most interesting and must be very important judging by the fact that it’s in the title. Basically during battle, along with standard actions like “Attack” or “Items”, you also have “Brave” and “Default”. When you select Default, your character will defend during that turn and as a bonus, get an extra action stored for use in subsequent turns. When you select Brave that’s when you get to use that extra action. For example, if my character selects Default on his first turn, then on my second turn I have the option of attacking twice using Brave. It’s kind of complicated to explain, but I assure you it’s a welcome addition to the genre as I’ve seen nothing like it.
I haven’t forgotten this is a demo review, although it would be easy to do so because the demo is presented so well. Playing demos for RPG’s has always been weird since the days of the PS1. Generally they would just throw you into the game about 30 minutes in when battles actually start taking place. I know I’ve even skipped RPG Demos because I didn’t want any of the story to be spoiled… ahem Mass Effect 2. But BDFF really pulls out the trump card by not giving you much story at all and even stating that the quests in the demo don’t appear in the full retail release. They also let you know that by playing the demo you will unlock gear and upgrades that will help you in the early parts of the full game. It generally only takes me a couple hours max playing the demo to know if I’ll be purchasing the game, but the BDFF Demo gives you reason to go beyond just that. I’ve clocked over 5 hours now and while I’m playing to have a headstart when the game comes out, I’m also having lots of fun. That’s important too.
I could go on and on about this game. I wasn’t even able to touch on the music or the online character sharing or the robust streetpass feature that will have me leaving my 3DS on while traveling… please just listen to our podcast to find out more on those features. Simply put, the Bravely Default: Flying Fairy Demo has not only sold me the game, but if this was my first foray on a 3DS at a friends house or at a local game store, it would have sold me a 3DS.
The Bravely Default: Flying Fairy Demo receives a much deserved 9/10. It’s one of the best demos I’ve ever played, and if it wasn’t for the confusion I had with the stats, the menus, and the small grinding that asks you to streetpass, it would have received a perfect score.
I had already planned on purchasing this game, but it’s now going to get a pre-order. I’ll be getting the normal version but there is a collector’s edition that will probably be very limited so jump on that if you’re interested.
Bravely Default: Flying Fairy launches in the U.S. on February 7, 2014 for Nintendo 3DS at 39.99 for the Standard Edition and 54.99 for the Collector’s Edition.
/cheers
Derrick Bettis Class: Chiefly-Editor Level: 99
Stats:
Hours played: 4
% spent with 3D on: 63%
3DS colour: Flame Red
