The JRPG may not be as influential or as prevalent as it once was, but it’s a genre that’s certainly not been wanting for quality or invention in recent years. The likes of Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story on Wii, Radiant Historia on DS and Persona 4: Golden on Vita are all strong examples, and in the last 12 months we’ve had stellar entries like Fire Emblem: Awakening and Pokémon X and Y on 3DS. Now you can add Bravely Default

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Bravely Default’s greatest success is arguably its battle system, from which it takes its strange name. It revolves around a risk-reward mechanic that is wonderfully executed and offers many tactical possibilities. Pick the Brave option and you can take an extra go - up to four moves per turn – but doing so leaves you unable to move again for that number of turns. Pick Default instead, and you’ll simultaneously store up Brave Points while reducing the damage you take from enemy attacks – so if you wait three turns, you can launch multiple attacks and still be free to defend or heal yourself before your opponent launches their next offensive. It’s often better to mix and match, so you’ve always got at least one team member free per turn to protect others or heal; alternatively, you could use one team member to identify an enemy’s elemental weakness so that the ally moving next can imbue their sword with the appropriate magic.It’s tied into a Job system that allows you to assume a variety of different roles, each with different strengths and weaknesses and associated skills and special moves. Valkyries, for example, have acrobatic abilities and are adept at using spears and shields, while Black and White Mages are better with rods and staves respectively, and have more MP to play around with. Skills you learn in one Job, however, can be used to support you should you assume a new role, so should you wish to teach your party’s healer some offensive summons, or even change tack entirely and become a knight, you’re free to do so at any time. Defeat key enemies and you’ll gain a new Job, and with 24 in total to choose from the ability to combine any two, you've got a huge range of possible tactics. You’ll need them, too, because the enemies in Bravely Default are smarter than your average JRPG grunts.If you find yourself struggling, you can change the encounter rate, allowing you grind through random battles before facing hardier foes, or even reduce the difficulty level. There’s also the ability to use special drinks that temporarily stop time, essentially allowing you four free turns for one character. While your supply replenishes each 8 hours with your 3DS in sleep mode, you can also spend real money to top up on these SP drinks. The presence of micro-transactions may be off-putting to some, but they needn’t impinge on your enjoyment, as the game is balanced to function without them – they’re best viewed as a premium cheat to get past a difficult enemy quicker without needing to grind. And it’s not as if grinding is much of a problem. In most encounters you can simply use Brave four times per character and whizz through weaker foes. The ability to accelerate battle speed, meanwhile, is not only a considerate addition, but also quite comical, as you finish off enemies in a blur of rapid slashes and magical strikes on fast-forward.The battles are Bravely Default at its most inventive, but the story is more familiar (though still well told). Your four-strong party is formed early and you remain with them throughout, which keeps things more focused than RPGs with larger rosters. Tiz Arrior is a likeable teenager whose village has been swallowed up by a huge crater, killing his family and friends. He joins Agnès Oblige, a priestess of sorts who is tasked with reviving four faded crystals before the world descends into chaos. The pair are joined by Ringabel, an amnesiac ladies’ man who carries a mysterious book that seemingly predicts the future, and Edea Lee, an officer from the enemy army in pursuit of Agnès, who defects when she realises the horror of her actions.The narrative skilfully carries a sense of grand scale while stirring in quieter, more intimate moments, and the dialogue is by turns witty and overwrought. The vocal performances are decidedly mixed, yet the characterisation is strong enough to paper over the cracks. One early sequence in which Agnès is asked to participate in a beauty contest, however, is almost unbearably creepy.Still, when the story falters, you’ll be swept up by the splendour of the world. The character art is simple and striking, but the world itself is gorgeous. Its arresting hand-painted backdrops teem with detail and scintillating colour, from the bold shades of a flower village to the verdant beauty of a rustic hamlet. The soundtrack plays its part, too, marrying catchy battle music and strident themes with quieter, mournful pieces to accompany the more tragic moments.There’s a similar sense of refinement throughout. Even apparent gimmicks are worthwhile – an aside that asks you to rebuild Tiz’s home town eventually supplies you with new items and weapons, with Streetpass helpers and online friends reducing the time it takes to construct new shops. It even recognises when you haven’t encountered other players and throws you a bone with AI allies. You can register friends to summon during battles, and combine forces with the Abilink feature, which allows party members to use skills they may not have learned yet. That level of polish extends to the game’s weighty side quests, which are fully voiced and scripted stories that add considerable depth and detail.