Bravely Default II

CGMagazineChris de Hoog

9/10

Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster revitalizes a cult classic JRPG, and plants the genre's flag firmly on the Switch 2's soil.

Gamer EscapeJustin Mercer

9/10

We don’t get JRPGs of this caliber every day. With a turn-based battle system that not only facilitates experimentation and customizability but also serves up a real challenge, Bravely Default II is a game that knows how to engage its players. Its narrative doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but there’s tangible effort put into these characters and plenty of surprises to be found along the way. The addictive moment-to-moment gameplay and the amount of content on offer is well worth the price o...

Press StartJames Berich

8.5/10

Bravely Default II is a fun sequel that does it’s best to improve on it’s predecessor. While the dungeon designs are simplistic and the side quests lack variety, it’s hard to ignore what Bravely Default II does well. A combination of great artistic and audio direction and an engaging battle and progression system make Bravely Default II stand out from the rest. Make no mistakes. It’s an earnest throwback to an often forgotten era of RPGs and a stellar modernisation of the classic Final Fantasy formula.

Pure NintendoKirk Hiner

8.5/10

Bravely Default II is a prime example of a development team at the top of its game. The map exploration and turn-based combat are as tight and fluid as any JRPG I've played on the Nintendo Switch, but a couple problems on the periphery prevent it from being as great as it could have been.Read More

Attack of the FanboyBrandon Adams

Bravely Default II doesn't do all that much to differentiate itself from the games that came before it. How you'll feel about that will depend on what you want out of the game: do you want something that is familiar and comforting, or a title that innovates on a decades-old formula? If you're here for the former you'll absolutely enjoy your time with Bravely Default II, even if some of its failings start to grate on you. If you wanted the latter then the excellent combat, art, and music will help you overlook Bravely Default II's otherwise tired tale.

Toms GuideJordan Palmer

Bravely Default II is an excellent turn-based JRPG, full of rich gameplay systems, endearing characters and flexibility that welcomes new players. You don’t need to have played the previous games to enjoy this one.

VGChartzPaul Broussard

7.5/10

Even Agnes wouldn't call this unacceptable.Nearly ten years after the first Bravely Default, the long awaited third (and very sensibly named) entry in [...]

MMORPGJason Fanelli

7.5/10

If you’re a lapsed Final Fantasy fan who wishes the series would return to its 2D roots, boy do I have a surprise for you. Square Enix heard your wish and granted it, only with a “Calypso in Twisted Metal” style swerve: it’s not called Final Fantasy, it’s called Bravely Default II.

GamingTrendDavid Flynn

75/100

Bravely Default II is a good RPG that undermines everything amazing the previous two games. The new battle style discourages risk taking and thus less freedom with the job system. The first 30 or so hours are great, despite a slow start in terms of gameplay, but the last 20 are too frustrating to be worthwhile and the story ends on an unsatisfying note.

WayTooManyGamesBaylen Marston

7/10

Anyone whose has made themselves familiar with the JRPG style has most definitely heard of the company Square Enix, who is responsible for the franchise that has become my unhealthy addiction, Final Fantasy. Jokes aside, the fantasy is anything but final, with the franchise soon to release its sixteenth major installment. If you are new to the franchise, you can rest easy knowing you don’t have to worry about playing them in order, because even though the games play similar to each other (a...

MonsterVineNick Mangiaracina

Finally, we land on the technical issues Bravely Default 2 has. Primarily, the performance is just not what I’ve come to expect in 2021. This series has primarily been on handheld consoles less powerful than my cell phone and its first foray into the console space has extremely long and far too many loading screens, hitching on entering the menu and party chat, and some frame drops during in-engine cutscenes. It is an absolute bummer to see how poorly this game performs considering its single-platform target and the previous games being on much worse hardware. The character art is another thin...

Lords of GamingHector Ramirez II

Unscored

Square Enix’s Bravely series finally makes its grand debut on the Nintendo Switch with Bravely Default II. Since 2014, the series has been defined by its revamped turn-based gameplay and classic Final Fantasy signatures adapted to the modern era. Bravely Default II stays true to its JRPG roots layered with...