Bravely Default: The Final Fantasy V remake?

I'm playing Bravely Default now and it's pretty good so far. The battle system is definitely intriguing and the job system is fun.

But that's just it. The job system seems fresh simply because the last game (that I can think of) to use it was Final Fantasy V. It's almost EXACTLY the same, save a few classes and skills. You would earn abilities that could be applied to other jobs, allowing for hybrid classes.

I'm not saying BD is bad by any stretch of the imagination. It's a good game, one that will hopefully popularize the JRPG genre again. But to call it the best JRPG in years seems silly to me; outside the battle system, very little is original. Other games like Xenoblade and Radiant Historia went further when modernizing the JRPG.

It's a great game. But not a "revolution" or the "best JRPG in years." If anything, it's a traditional JRPg that's just getting a lot of attention.

Discuss.

The job system isn't the only thing that makes it great. The Brave/Default system, special moves, friend summons, encounter rate slider, battle speed multiplier, Norende Village, spell scroll system, sleep points and whatever else I'm forgetting all work together to make it such a smooth experience.

It's a traditional JRPG getting a lot of attention for being modernized to respect the player's time and ease the frustration that most JRPGs elicit because they follow arbitrary traditions.

The one area Bravely Default doesn't touch in that regard is the story. It's the same story as always, unless there's a crazy twist at some point that I haven't gotten to yet.

Again, I'm definitely not saying it's bad. And yeah the stuff you mentioned are worthwhile additions, but the core gameplay is still fundamentally the same. Streamlining it so much while still retaining the challenge and gameplay of the genre is an impressive feat, too. But I've played a butt ton of JRPGs in the past few years, so it doesn't stand out quite as much to me.

The core gameplay is completely different for all the reasons Jordan listed.

@turtlethetaffer: There's a huge difference between traditional JRPGs and more modern ones like Xenoblade or any Final Fantasy after X. I loved all of those games, but they bear little resemblance to the games that popularized the genre.

I've had no interest in relatively recent RPGs that have tried to be traditional JRPGs, but Bravely Default manages to take that formula and make it into something I love again.

@JordanElek: Have you checked out Radiant Historia? Or dragon Quest IX?

What don't you like about newish games trying to be "old school?" Just curious.

I don't want to spend my gaming time grinding through a game with a traditional turn-based battle system, especially when the stories tend to be cliche or nonsensical. I used to be okay with that, but it's just not worth it to me any more unless the game is exceptional for one reason or another.

Dragon Quest IX was good, but I had to force myself to finish it. That game had a basic job system, too, but it wasn't as freeform and compelling as Bravely Default's. And the battle system was about as basic as it gets, which made the required grinding pretty painful.

I've heard good things about Radiant Historia but was never able to get it at a price I was willing to pay. Plus, it was somewhat of an unknown quantity to me, whereas I knew exactly what I was getting into with Bravely Default, thanks to the demo.

@JordanElek: Makes sense. We'll have to agree to disagree.

Again, I'm not saying that bravely Default is bad or anything. It's actually a great game so far. Just saying it doesn't feel like a revolution, or anything like that.

And about radiant Historia... It's a heavily story driven RPG, fairly linear in terms of that. The battle system is unique and fun, though; you manipulate turn order to basically shift enemies around a 9 by 9 grid so you can attack all the enemies at once. It's pretty deep and fun. Also, there's minimal grinding as long as you don't run from every fight (and enemies appear on the map, no random encounters). there's also two consistent timelines that you hop between to progress further in each one. Both timelines are pretty intriguing, and the story converges into a satisfying climax, especially if you do all the side quests. As far as story heavy RPGs go, it's pretty great, at least to me.

I don't even think we're disagreeing, lol. It's not a revolution, but it's a perfect example of a development team knowing a genre so well and loving it so much that they are able to refine the mechanics nearly to perfection, to create a game that absolutely defines its specific genre. It's like what EAD Tokyo did with Super Mario 3D World, in a way.

If someone were to remake Final Fantasy V with the exact mechanics of Bravely Default, I would love it even more than I already did.

Bravely Default is proof that SQ~EX still knows how to put together an RPG....It's getting attention because it still exists.

Radiant Historia was solid, and nifty, yet I lost interest in it's plight. I'm a sucker for crystals and saving the world+ though.

The job-system has been long overdue, and even though 4Heroes of Light, had the Hat system, the combination on abilities and jobs, totally trumps most anything this side of the SQ:EX merger. It's just refreshing to see a company that has gone totally future/politico; take a step back and get medieval again...and it works.

If eX-Death were a boss in this game, I would be fine with it, everything else propels the game/story/play to a new game....and one of the first for this generation.

I definitely wouldn't say it's a remake. It has that classic JRPG feel to it but with updated elements. I wouldn't call it the best JRPG in years either but there's a reason why it's rooted in retro Final Fantasy format. A lot of JRPG fans still love to play games like that (myself included). This game isn't meant to break down any barriers. It's meant to give a sense of nostalgia while enjoying upgrades to the game play.

@JordanElek: That makes sense.

Just guess it bugs me when people act like it's one of the only quality old school JRPGs in the past few years :P

I'd say least painful to play

All the other JRPG's still have those annoying parts, Bravely Default is the only one that's not a chore to play

The Brave/Default system is a splendid entry to the JRPG battle system. Not to mention all the extras such as Abilink, Summon Friends, and the Streetpass. I love the game and the job system. Just a great game.

@Jaysonguy: I've heard that there's a part near the end of the game that kills the pacing. Also, you must not have played very many recent JRPGs, because many of them throw away the annoyances. Hell even Shin Megami Tensei IV, in a series known for being old school as hell and very difficult, had almost no annoyances as far as the core gameplay goes.

Plus Xenoblade. Enough said.

Oh I think Xenoblade is horrible for level grinding, and backtracking.

Plus Bravely Default makes defense an actual thing now, I can't remember the last time it's worth defending in a JRPG

You really should play Xenoblade. Then you'd know that it has fast travel, and you'd get to the point in the game where you have things to do to gain levels instead of just randomly killing nearby enemies.

@Jaysonguy:

I don't remember ever having to level grind in Xenoblade, especially since you get tons of exp just for exploring. Backtracking was never a problem either considering the fast travel system was incredibly easy to use (dont really remember doing a whole lot of backtracking either unless I was finishing side quests).

@Jaysonguy: ... Did you actually PLAY Xenoblade? Any backtracking is pretty much imposed by the player and there's almost no level grinding required as long as you do a few of the side quests along the way. In my play through, I was level 80 by the end, and I don't think I EVER actually dedicated more than ten minutes at a time to grinding, and usually I was only "grinding" because I was exploring the huge maps.

ni no kuni.. i kno kno its on ps3 *flies away*

The job system was also in FFx-2 and in FF Tactics. As for defending in JRPG : Lightning returns is almost impossible if you don't block, Eternal Sonata, all the Tales Of *** etc