Bravely Default: Where the Fairy Flies [Please use spoiler tags]

[windfall]

BEWARE: There are some un-hidden spoilers in the thread.​

Please be courteous and LABEL story spoilers in spoiler tags. It's unfair to people who haven't started the game.

Bravely Default was originally released in Japan in October 2011. It has been localized and is finally coming out on December 6th for the EU, and on February 7th 2014 for NA.

Bravely Default is a JRPG developed by Square Enix/Silicon Studio and is praised for its story, OST and unique battle system of "braving" and "defaulting". Below is the EU launch video:

Spoiler: video

It's available physically (a normal edition and a collector's edition), and for digital download. The digital download will require a whopping 26,543 blocks of free space! In contrast, Pokemon X and Y required 13,962 blocks.

Spoiler: Pictures of the collector's edition

Spoiler: EU

Spoiler: NA

The EU collector's edition comes with the game, a CD, artbook, a pack of 34 AR cards and a figurine, while the NA collector's edition comes with everything except the (aesthetically challenged) figurine.

• Links to pictures of the boxset: [1] [2] [3]
• Seems like the CD is just a sampling of songs (10, to be exact). Disappointing, but not unexpected.
• The songs are: Overture to Hope, Land of Beginnings, the Gongs of Battle, Windswept Bay, Land of Radiant Flowers, Horizon of Light and Shadow, Ship upon the Open Skies, He of the Name, Under the Hollow Moon and Sylvan Tranquillity
• EU: The book seems to be ~60 pages (hardcover). Softcover for NA

Here's a couple of reviews (will update as I find them):

Spoiler: reviews

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-12-03-bravely-default-review 8/10
http://metro.co.uk/2013/12/03/bravely-default-review-the-real-final-fantasy-4211093/ 8/10
http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/56144/reviews/bravely-default-review-review/?page=2 9/10
http://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/3ds/bravely_default 9/10
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2013/12/05/bravely-default-review 8.6/10

Metacritic: http://www.metacritic.com/game/3ds/bravely-default
official EU site: http://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-3DS/Bravely-Default-813488.html

Forum member Dizzi Paradise also posted her thoughts on the demo
http://www.belltreeforums.com/showt...-Fairy-Flies&p=2024060&viewfull=1#post2024060

Other News:
BDFF's sequel, "Bravely Second" has been announced as well. Here are magazine scans: http://www.siliconera.com/2013/12/04/bravely-default-sequel-bravely-second-announced-3ds/

The only bad thing about BD:FF (that I can think of, haven't actually played the game so I cannot comment) is that it has microtransactions. Thankfully, they're avoidable. In essence the "SP drink" allows you to freeze time to do more attacks in case you're having trouble. It will cost ?0.99/?0.89. You can also put your system into sleep mode and you can earn SP that way too.

Will update this thread periodically with new/interesting stuff I find!

 

[Silversea]

Yeah it looks interesting, I'm considering getting it.

 

[Chromie]

The name really is terrible. Why did SE/NoE have to change it?

 

[windfall]

The name really is terrible. Why did SE/NoE have to change it?

Yeah, Flying Fairy sounds much better than Where the Fairy Flies. :/

 

[Silversea]

Reminds me of some film I was told about named "A Scanner Darkly" or something. But odd names can be interesting.

Flying Fairy doesn't have the same "grace" to it. Its hard to describe.

 

[Midoriya]

I only had to watch 45 seconds of the video to know I'm most likely getting it.

 

[windfall]

I only had to watch 45 seconds of the video to know I'm most likely getting it.

The EU launch trailer is really well done! I hope EU players on TBT buy it and let us know how it is xD Were you thinking of getting the regular edition or the collector's edition? c:

February is such a long time to wait @_@

 

[VillageDweller]

eu player on tbt buying it representing here eu something i tried to form a sentence

I've had my eye on this game ever since it was announced o: Definitely getting it C: (or well asking for it for christmas c: )

 

[windfall]

eu player on tbt buying it representing here eu something i tried to form a sentence

I've had my eye on this game ever since it was announced o: Definitely getting it C: (or well asking for it for christmas c: )

Make sure to report your impressions! 8D

 

[Midoriya]

The EU launch trailer is really well done! I hope EU players on TBT buy it and let us know how it is xD Were you thinking of getting the regular edition or the collector's edition? c:

February is such a long time to wait @_@

I'm not sure yet about the edition. And I'm American, so yeah I have awhile to wait.

 

[Peoki]

Ah, it's nice to finally see a thread for this game.
I'm really liking what I've been seeing and hearing about this game recently. Been interested in picking up the collector's edition since NoA announced it in their direct, though I'm avoiding online pre-orders this time since previous game packaging on my CEs have arrived damaged near the corners. (pls no. I have major OCD, lol)

Amazing story and incredible soundtrack to boot. I'm sold! February seems so far away. Looks like I'll have to finish SMT IV to pass the time. Also, I've been following a few threads on another forum and cannot seem to grasp the concept of Brave/Defaulting in the battle system. I hope the game will provide a better explanation. Everything looks great otherwise.

dat EU figurine tho

 

[Chromie]

Lucky Europeans. I guess I can finally start playing SMT IV while I wait. Someone should post their thoughts on the demo.

 

[Dizzi Paradise]

Here are my thoughts on the demo (in the UK). I'd been looking forward to this so much - hubby is a big FF fan and one of my favourite games ever is DQIX, so everything we saw for this game, all the trailers etc, made it a must-buy. We've both downloaded the demo, and we were both disappointed. Firstly, I think having the demo add more to the full game as this one does is a fantastic idea. But...

The graphics aren't nearly as impressive as we thought they'd be. The colours are muted and a bit muddy, and there were places during the first 5 minutes after the intro where I couldn't tell where on the screen my character was. It all just blends in. I wasn't expecting it to be as bright and colourful as DQIX, and I'm playing on a 3DS XL so I expect some pixellation, but this was just not pretty to look at and difficult to make out details due to the colour palette used. I gave up at this point and went back to Pokemon.

Hubby persevered and got to the first battling section. He couldn't win. No matter what strategy he used, his team ended up wiped out. I think he managed to get through one battle with one team member still standing, healed everyone up and then died the next battle. He was playing on the harder mode, so thought he'd give the easy mode a try, but couldn't work out how to change it as the demo has only one save slot. So he deleted the demo and is still debating whether to download it again and try easy mode. Right now he's not sure it's worth it.

Now, keep in mind, that we were already sold on this game before we downloaded the demo. Hubby loves FF and is an FF veteran, so turn-based combat, level grinding and so on is not new to him. This game is really not what we were expecting, certainly graphically, and unless we're missing something big (which is a possibility - others have played the demo without getting wiped out every time so there must be something we're missing) the gameplay isn't quite what we were expecting either. We both found the game pretty much unplayable, for different reasons.

All of the above is really not to dissuade anyone from buying and playing the game, but I strongly advise you to try the demo before spending out your hard-earned cash. It may well be that the problems we had with it won't be problems for you and you'll love the game as much as we thought we were going to. But try the demo first. You've got nothing to lose, and as the demo adds extra to the full game, everything to gain.

 

[BellGreen]

Yeah, Flying Fairy sounds much better than Where the Fairy Flies. :/

I'm in NA and I think Where the Fairy Flies is much better lol.

 

[windfall]

Ah, it's nice to finally see a thread for this game.
I'm really liking what I've been seeing and hearing about this game recently. Been interested in picking up the collector's edition since NoA announced it in their direct, though I'm avoiding online pre-orders this time since previous game packaging on my CEs have arrived damaged near the corners. (pls no. I have major OCD, lol)

Amazing story and incredible soundtrack to boot. I'm sold! February seems so far away. Looks like I'll have to finish SMT IV to pass the time. Also, I've been following a few threads on another forum and cannot seem to grasp the concept of Brave/Defaulting in the battle system. I hope the game will provide a better explanation. Everything looks great otherwise.

dat EU figurine tho

Definitely finish SMT! I really enjoyed it, I'm actually slowly going through a second playthrough right now. The tokyo map is horridly annoying though xD

Honestly I don't really understand the brave/defaulting system either. lol. I read a couple reviews and they generally seem to say thr game eases you into the system so it should be alright?? We need the demo :c

yeah the EU figure.... Glad we don't get it 'cuz it doesn't really need to see the light of day.

Here are my thoughts on the demo (in the UK). I'd been looking forward to this so much - hubby is a big FF fan and one of my favourite games ever is DQIX, so everything we saw for this game, all the trailers etc, made it a must-buy. We've both downloaded the demo, and we were both disappointed. Firstly, I think having the demo add more to the full game as this one does is a fantastic idea. But...

The graphics aren't nearly as impressive as we thought they'd be. The colours are muted and a bit muddy, and there were places during the first 5 minutes after the intro where I couldn't tell where on the screen my character was. It all just blends in. I wasn't expecting it to be as bright and colourful as DQIX, and I'm playing on a 3DS XL so I expect some pixellation, but this was just not pretty to look at and difficult to make out details due to the colour palette used. I gave up at this point and went back to Pokemon.

...

All of the above is really not to dissuade anyone from buying and playing the game, but I strongly advise you to try the demo before spending out your hard-earned cash. It may well be that the problems we had with it won't be problems for you and you'll love the game as much as we thought we were going to. But try the demo first. You've got nothing to lose, and as the demo adds extra to the full game, everything to gain.

Thanks for taking the time to write that out for us!! I was gunna quote the whole thing but decided it was alot to quote xD I really appriciate you typing your impressions! It does make me a little nervous for the game, to tell the truth. I thought the screenshots and trailers looked great, and the gameplay looked interesting as well. From what I've read in the reviews, the game eases you into the brave/defaulting system, so if you and your husband decided to buy the game, hopefully it won't be so difficult :c

I actually only preordered the CE because I'm a sucker for artbooks, and thankfully amazon doesn't charge until they ship it out. I will definitely take the time to play the demo when it's released in NA.

I'm in NA and I think Where the Fairy Flies is much better lol.

Looks like we will just agree to disagree lol.

 

[BellGreen]

Just watched a trailer and the voice acting is pretty bad :/ I think I'd play with English voices and see what I think.

 

[Peoki]

Definitely finish SMT! I really enjoyed it, I'm actually slowly going through a second playthrough right now. The tokyo map is horridly annoying though xD

Honestly I don't really understand the brave/defaulting system either. lol. I read a couple reviews and they generally seem to say thr game eases you into the system so it should be alright?? We need the demo :c

yeah the EU figure.... Glad we don't get it 'cuz it doesn't really need to see the light of day.

Haha, something doesn't feel right when I'm playing SMT. IIRC I'm at the bit just before reaching Tokyo- which is only a few hours in. Anyway, I have until February to finish it as I'm not interested in picking up any games until then. My backlog is mostly cleared for the holidays. Finals are the only thing holding me back atm.

Bravely Default demo? Yes please. Considering the release date, I'm assuming we'll get it no earlier than mid-January.. now if I could avoid spoilers until then. lol

Here are my thoughts on the demo (in the UK). I'd been looking forward to this so much - hubby is a big FF fan and one of my favourite games ever is DQIX, so everything we saw for this game, all the trailers etc, made it a must-buy. We've both downloaded the demo, and we were both disappointed. Firstly, I think having the demo add more to the full game as this one does is a fantastic idea. But...

Yikes. Sorry to hear the demo didn't live up to your expectations. Perhaps you will have more positive opinions towards the game after giving the demo another shot. Many people have said the demo is quite difficult, so it's definitely not just you and your husband that are having trouble with it. I believe you can change the difficulty and other settings by pressing X while in the game. Play on easy until you've got the battle system down. Mix and match classes, adjust tactics for different monsters, etc.

Spoiler

Have you both completed the quests in town? I read that those will help a lot in leveling, in connection with that, you'll be able buy better equipment.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I'll keep this in mind, and hopefully my approach towards the NA demo ends undoubtedly. Please let us know if you decide to tackle the game again

Just watched a trailer and the voice acting is pretty bad :/ I think I'd play with English voices and see what I think.

I was told the voice acting in the trailer was poorly dubbed and that they are much more decent in the full game. There is an option to completely turn off the voice overs if you are not a fan of either the English or Japanese audio; I'm hoping this feature is performed correctly as FE:A had some issues that Nintendo did not care to fix.

 

[windfall]

Just watched a trailer and the voice acting is pretty bad :/ I think I'd play with English voices and see what I think.

I think it's too early to judge the voice acting just yet, since all we've heard are just clips of the voices. But I do agree that from what we've heard, it doesn't sound too good :/ Glad there's a Japanese voice option though.

Haha, something doesn't feel right when I'm playing SMT. IIRC I'm at the bit just before reaching Tokyo- which is only a few hours in. Anyway, I have until February to finish it as I'm not interested in picking up any games until then. My backlog is mostly cleared for the holidays. Finals are the only thing holding me back atm.

Bravely Default demo? Yes please. Considering the release date, I'm assuming we'll get it no earlier than mid-January.. now if I could avoid spoilers until then. lol

What doesn't feel right when you're playing SMT? Since you've just reached Tokyo, perhaps this map can help you out? I wish I saw this while I was playing through the first time... Tokyo is large and confusing since there aren't any road signs or anything. :c

oh gosh finals ;o; gl with yours! I'm done 1/5 of mine right now orz

I hope we get the demo mid-January! I think my reading week is a week after BD:FF comes out so I'm super excited

I was told the voice acting in the trailer was poorly dubbed and that they are much more decent in the full game. There is an option to completely turn off the voice overs if you are not a fan of either the English or Japanese audio; I'm hoping this feature is performed correctly as FE:A had some issues that Nintendo did not care to fix.

In one of the reviews, the reviewer said they thought the voices sounded bad initially but 20 hours in they thought it sounded fine and couldn't even distinguish what bothered them to begin with. So I'm hopeful in that regard!

But yeah the issue in FE:A was a tad disappointing.... they didn't even bother subbing the Japanese audio; they just used the English subtitles :c Normally I wouldn't care it just struck me as odd xD

 

[Dizzi Paradise]

Yikes. Sorry to hear the demo didn't live up to your expectations. Perhaps you will have more positive opinions towards the game after giving the demo another shot. Many people have said the demo is quite difficult, so it's definitely not just you and your husband that are having trouble with it. I believe you can change the difficulty and other settings by pressing X while in the game. Play on easy until you've got the battle system down. Mix and match classes, adjust tactics for different monsters, etc.

Spoiler

Have you both completed the quests in town? I read that those will help a lot in leveling, in connection with that, you'll be able buy better equipment.

Thanks so much for that Peoki, we'll give it another go. I wanted to love this game so much, and was expecting to, so it was doubly frustrating when we just... didn't. And we don't have lots of spare cash, so we don't want to be buying games we won't play, you know? Hope the wait for the NA demo isn't too long for you guys!

 

[Officer Berri]

Agent Kite showed me this game yesterday! It looks amazing and really fun so he and I are ordering the collectors edition! It sounds like it's going to be a wonderful call-back to the early era of RPGs and Final Fantasy so I'm excited to give it a try! Plus it's the first time I've been able to buy a collector's edition of anything! So I'm super excited for that too!