The Bravely Default II demo wiped my party in the second battle

Bravely Default is probably my favorite game of the 3DS era. While not officially a spin-off of the main-line Final Fantasy games, Bravely Default feels like an FF title in everything but name. With its unique battle system – which allows characters to either save up or borrow attacks from future turns – Bravely Default has its own unique identity, while still feeling like an offshoot from SNES-era Final Fantasy. The spells end in -aga (Firage, Curaga, etc.) and you resurrect characters with Phoenix Downs. Good enough for me.

Whenever Square-Enix drops a demo, they usually get my undivided attention. Their demos are extremely generous, and often they contain content that is separate from the main game. The Bravely Default II demo, for example, takes players on a mini-adventure in the Bravely Default world, but with different characters and story beats from what will be in the actual release. If it follows the same pattern as the Bravely Default and Bravely Second demos, players will get a few goodies in-game for completing the demo. Square-Enix knows how to do it.

What I had forgotten about Bravely Default is how difficult the series can be. This is not a game that hand-holds players, nor does it gate off difficult areas from exploration. I found out the hard way, it is entirely possible to wander the wrong way immediately and be faced with some enemies that will clean your clock right out of the gate.

After exploring the demo’s initial town and picking up a few quests and pieces of equipment, I assigned starter jobs to each of my characters and meandered out of the main gates into the desert. The first mobs I came across were some little goblin guys, and though I had to fumble a bit to remember how the “Brave/Default” mechanics worked, I got through the battle generally unscathed, and my dudes popped up a level.

Heartened by this success, I wandered a little Eastwards, and when I saw a snake-like enemy bouncing on the map, I didn’t hesitate to barrel straight into it. This was an error.

The snake-guys (didn’t catch the monsters’ name) had attacks that could damage and poison my entire party. Though I fought valiantly, my little wanderers were all lying dead in the sand by the second turn. With only the most basic of abilities, my guys were no match for these monsters. “Fire” doesn’t do much against a foe with thousands of hit points.

Now, here’s the kicker. I gamely restarted at my last save, and wandered in a different direction. After grinding for about an hour, I went back to face the snake-guys. At this point, I had gotten second-level fire and blizzard attacks, and had access to Curaga on my healer. My monk had started fighting bare-knuckles, and was an absolute brawler against normal baddies.

And what happened? The snake-guys spawned into a battle with a few bee-guys as back up, and wiped my party again.

Oh well, back to the grind.

Bravely Default II doesn’t have an official release date yet, but it is expected sometime in 2020. The Bravely Default II demo is now available for free from the Nintendo eShop.