The Nintendo Switch has plenty of JRPGs to play at the moment and they just keep on coming. At the end of February 2021, a new challenger entered the fray: Bravely Default II. This video game is the third entry in the Bravely series, following Bravely Second: End Layer in April 2015 and Bravely Default in October 2012.
Bravely Default II takes place on the continent of Excillant and features a compelling story through the journey of a group of four exceptional characters. This dream team is comprised of Seth — the lone seafarer, Gloria — the refugee princess, Elvis — the traveling scholar, and Adelle — the fairy mercenary. The party in question are not just the main characters too, they are the four heroes of light, destined to defeat the Night's Nexus and save the world.
10 Seth Can Actually Be Left For Dead
After Seth's ship gets caught up in a brutal storm, he goes overboard and washes up on the shore of Halcyonia. Seth, after meeting Sir Sloan and Gloria, discovers that it was the Wind Crystal that saved his life on that fateful day.
Shortly after he rescues them from Selene and Dag, Seth is contacted by the Wind Crystal again before the first boss battle in the game. It tells him that he is breathing right now only thanks to the Wind Crystal's sweet, sweet blessing. At this moment, the player is given the choice to either keep living or just die; a timer even appears on the screen.
If the player lets the timer run out, a "Game Over" screen will appear. It is the same one that triggers if the party falls during battle. The only way to progress (after the game brings the player back to making the choice again) is to choose life and have Seth walk towards the light.
9 Gloria Ain't No Ordinary Princess
While she may be only a refugee when the player meets her, Gloria is (or was) also a princess. She once ruled over the kingdom of Musa, a country that is now no more thanks to the Holograd Empire.
When Gloria was still leading Musa and protecting the Wind Crystal and the other crystals from evil, she did not just sit around on her throne all day. No, in fact, Gloria used to train with the soldier and participate in their combat practice sessions. They were even hesitant to enter the battlefield when she was present because Gloria was recognized as the strongest fighter of the whole army.
Why did she bother getting in all those workouts? The player finds out that Gloria believed she needed to defend her own life in battle (all on her own)if necessary.
8 Elvis Hails From A Community Of Nerds
The town of Wiswald, which is where Elvis became a man, is famously known across Excillant as the forest of knowledge. Those who inhabit this city all have a high IQ. They are all scholars, just like Elvis.
Beyond carrying around a book, which turns out to be the Librarian asterisk, Elvis is (obviously) quite intelligent. When it comes to INT, a standard attribute in RPGs defined as measuring deductive reasoning, cognition, knowledge, memory, logic, and rationality, Elvis boasts the greatest amount among the party.
7 Adelle Refuses To Change Her Shoes
When Elvis and Adelle first met, before the party even embarked on their journey together in the game, he purchased a pair of shoes and gave them to her. By the time they reach Savalon during the story, Adelle's shoes are one step away from totally breaking.
However, she protests just buying a new pair and throwing them away. Adelle cherishes her shoes too much to replace them because they signify the beginning of her and Elvis's journey (and therefore relationship, too). In the game, she chooses to have them repaired instead.
6 Seth Is Best As A Dragoon
When it comes to strength and speed, Seth is the man. While going Thief is a decent choice, he shines best as a Dragoon (for his main job). Seth was born to hold a spear in his hand and use it to deliver powerful blows to his enemies while draining them of not only their health but also their mana.
And while the player might want to make Seth's sub-job Thief, they would be foolish to not go Berserker and simply turn him into an absolute powerhouse.
5 Gloria Is Best As A Red Mage
Even though Gloria is featured as a White Mage in her vignette in the game, she performs best as a Red Mage. This is because going Red Mage (as her main job) allows Gloria to conserve absurd amounts of mana and chain spells together to restore the party's health from ridiculously low amounts to good as new.
She still needs to go White Mage as her sub-job, of course, to have access to her healing skills and abilities.
4 Elvis Is Best As A Spiritmaster
Despite being featured in a vignette as a Black Mage in the game, Elvis dominates the battlefield as a Spiritmaster (as his main job). The good thing about Spiritmasters is that they make the character's sub-job a lot better, so he still goes Black Mage for his sub-job.
Through this pairing, Elvis boasts an extraordinary amount of high magical defense while also having access to healing spells (in addition to his magic attacks).
3 Adelle Is Best As A Vanguard
Although Adelle is featured in her vignette in the game as a Monk, she is a force to be reckoned with as a Vanguard (as her main job). Thanks to the blessings of the Vanguard, Adelle can protect the party with shields and attract enemies' attacks onto herself (while maintaining high amounts of defense). She is even able to counterattack.
And while Adelle will achieve high levels of defense (and health), making her sub-job Swordmaster will allow her to have a high attack level as well.
2 Seth Is Not Like The Other Pirates
While Seth may be a commoner and seafarer from beyond the Outer Ocean, he does not act greedy or mean-spirited. In fact, he has a pleasant personality and goes out of his way to make others feel better.
After the group knocks out Anihal, Seth comforts her. He lets her know that she can rely on them for company if needed. Even Prince Castor winds up apologizing to Seth after realizing how wonderful of a person he is (despite being a plebeian).
There is also optional dialogue at some point in the game that features Elvis and Adelle complimenting Seth's ability to cheer up others (perfect strangers or even enemies included).
1 Gloria Sacrifices Herself To Save The World
There is not just one ending to Bravely Default II. That being said, one of them is sad and the player may choose it accidentally.
If the party decides to take on Edna, Adelle's sister, she will disturb the Night's Nexus's slumber and set it loose on them and everything and everyone around them. The only way to save the world following this point is for Gloria to sacrifice herself to seal away the Night's Nexus. She gives up her own life for everyone else.
The good news is that after the credits roll, the player (upon booting the game up again) finds out this tragic ending was just a vision that Elvis's book foretold. Therefore, it can (and should) be avoided the second time around.