Second, character growth is largely governed by a sophisticated job system - you can make your heroes mages, bards, rangers, etc. Conversely, you can also choose to buckle down in a defensive position and store actions for future turns. It’s a great way to quickly lay waste to whole groups of enemies, but if you don’t play your cards right you can leave yourself open to multiple attacks from any enemies who happen to survive your barrage.
But the Bravely Default series is also known for a couple of minor twists on the traditional JRPG formula, and both return here.įirst, when in combat you can choose to “borrow” up to three future turns and unleash four actions at once. The player chooses actions for each protagonist when it becomes his or her turn, selecting from a range of attacks, abilities and items.
Combat takes the form of typical turn-based battles, with enemies lined up on one side of the field and heroes on the other. They travel around an overworld map pocked with towns and dungeons filled with monsters that must be battled in order for the party to grow in strength, advance the story, and accomplish various primary and secondary quest objectives. Together, they set out collect a set of stolen magic crystals with the power to unleash natural catastrophes if used with nefarious purpose. We’re quickly introduced to a quartet of heroes that include a wandering noble and his hired mercenary, a sailor washed up on a shore, and a princess of a fallen kingdom. The report does not mention Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13, the final game in the Final Fantasy 13 trilogy that launched in February to mixed reviews and a lukewarm reception.Ī sequel to Bravely Default, Bravely Second, is already in the works, as is a job class-focused Monster Hunter-like spin-off using the same art style, Final Fantasy Explorers.Building on game systems and a style of storytelling originally designed for Bravely Default and its successor, Bravely Second: End Layer (both released for Nintendo 3DS), this new entry in the series will feel familiar from the get-go. The financial report also mentions "favorable sales" of Final Fantasy 10/10-2 Remaster, an HD upgraded version of 2001 title Final Fantasy 10 and its sequel Final Fantasy 10-2.
The company contributed its rise in net profits from sales of the MMORPG, which was rebooted last August under the guidance of producer/director Naoki Yoshida after a failed first launch in fall 2010. Square Enix's most recent financial earnings report for the year ending Mashowed that Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn is the Final Fantasy title to beat, with net sales of 94,571 million yen (around $928.8 million USD), an increase of 5.7 percent in sales compared to the same period last year. While the game is not a true Final Fantasy title, the game does borrow many elements of the 27-year-old JRPG franchise: a focus on narrative and character development, different job classes players can develop - such as mages, warriors and thieves - and a storyline focused around crystals that protect and power the earth.Īs a fairly new IP, Bravely Default has already inspired Square Enix to reexamine its approach to developing JRPGs. Shortly after its North American release - where it sold 200,000 copies in its first three weeks on the market - president Yosuke Matsuda stated that the game inspired the company to realign its focus on content for core gamers and "heavy JRPG" fans. The game's lifetime sales, including downloads, exceed one million copies - 400,000 copies in Japan and 600,000 copies overseas, Square Enix told Dengeki. Nintendo 3DS role-playing game Bravely Default has sold one million copies worldwide, placing it ahead of most recent titles in Square Enix's long-lived Final Fantasy RPG series, Dengeki Online reports.īravely Default launched in Japan in 2012, in December 2013 in Europe and in North America this past February.