Published , by TJ Denzer
Published , by TJ Denzer
Bravely Second: End Layer, by many accounts, wasn’t a perfect game, but it wasn’t a terrible one either. However, it would seem that Bravely Default 2 Producer Tomoya Asano was not a fan of its outcome and the shadow of it lingers over the development of Bravely Default 2. He recently apologized for Bravely Second in a Famitsu interview and claimed that overcoming the issues in the previous game was a core effort in the design of Bravely Default 2.
Asano’s apology was discovered in a recent interview he did with Famitsu which was published on April 14, 2020, translated in part by Siliconera. In the interview, when asked why Bravely Default 2 wasn’t simply called “Bravely Third,” in line with the previous sequel. Asano opened up that the team wanted to make up for issues in Bravely Second.
“I would like to apologize regarding Bravely Second,” Asano told Famitsu. “Despite lots of expectations for Bravely Second, I feel that there were parts that did not meet the expectations of fans. Our reflection on the shortcomings has become a strong rooted aspect of all the games our team is working on.”
Asano’s words spurred a little bit of confusion as many players enjoyed Bravely Second. For reference, Shacknews also scored the game well in our Bravely Second review, citing a strong class system, cool skill combination system, and a good classic JRPG feel, albeit a rather confusing story and reused elements from the first Bravely Default. The confusing story seems to have played a part in what Asano is talking about when he said the team wanted to get away from Bravely Second.
“This time, we returned to our roots, and decided to create a brand-new world and new characters, so that even those new to the [Bravely] series will be able to enjoy it 100%,” Asano continued.
It would seem the team on Bravely Default 2 wanted to wipe the slate clean and take what worked from previous games while creating a story and world that would invite newcomers and fans back in. It might be strange to see such odd distaste for a previous game that wasn’t actually so bad, but with Bravely Default 2’s demo out now on Nintendo Switch and the full game coming soonish in the 2020 gaming calendar, we won’t be waiting long to see if the refresh was worth it.