Bravely Default II just released their final demo on the Nintendo Store. I didn’t expect another demo prior to release date, but this is an extra added bonus – quite a bit of service from this much anticipated JRPG from Square Enix. I played the original demo and enjoyed it, so much that I went back to play the original game (that I didn’t enjoy as much).

This Final Demo tackles the first chapter of the game, straight after the prologue, which is exactly the same play through from the original demo. The difference is that the original demo shows it as “Chapter Two”.

There are story revisions from the original demo, which involved cutting the unnecessary dialogue between the party significantly (a real plus) and the introduction of Orpheus the Bard. Graphically, I feel that the Final Demo has better contrast in some parts such as the status screens.

More Options, Less Time

One thing that the Final Demo highlights is that it is the actual first chapter from the main game. You are able to rename the main character, Seth, and set your difficulty. One of the biggest complaints on the original demo is that the difficulty has been set to max and the “needless” grind that needs to be taken.

I only had to put up with the English dub for the main intro and change my dialogue options straight out of the gate. The biggest thing when you start is that every play through is capped at five hours. There is a timer at the top right-hand corner of the screen and once the runs out, the game will end.

Grinding Optional

They’ve also set up your characters to have a decent set of skills so you don’t waste your precious five hours grinding for job level and money. Just like the original demo, your base level is set at Level 9.

The UI has been fixed enabling access through the different status screens between Jobs, Abilities, and Equipment with each character. It’ll save you time versus exiting out of a particular screen to change equipment to match with the new abilities you have set.

You will also notice that the arrangement of the Jobs have been slightly changed clumping the magic using jobs and the physical jobs near each other. They’ve also added the full extent of abilities similar to the first game into each Job class allowing for a much extensive grind to master your Jobs.

Seth starts off a Level 6 Vanguard and a Level 3 with Freelancer, White Mage, and Monk. Gloria is a Level 6 White Mage, a Level 4 Freelancer, Level 2 Black Mage and Monk . Adele is a Level 6 Monk and could be a Level 4 Black Mage and a Level 3 White Mage, Freelancer and Vanguard. Elvis is a Level 6 Black Mage, Level 4 Monk a Level 3 for Freelancer and White Mage.

The combat is similar to the original demo and Bravely Default‘s combat system. If it ain’t broke, no need to fix it. One thing I’ve noticed is that some of the game breaking abilities and combos have been removed early in the game such as the Vanguard’s “BP by Default” and instead of the Thief class, you will receive the Bard. They’re probably saving those game breaking aspects for the endgame.

Grinding is optional, but I would suggest going through the story mission in its entirety and then finding out more about the world with the hours remaining. It’s quite straightforward, just keep following the diamond shaped icons around the Town of Savalon.

Endgame

While I did like the original demo a lot more, because even if you are stuck in the challenging bubble the devs have locked the characters into, there was a lot more freedom in grinding and setting up your characters. Locked within a five hour cap and a “curated” build feels like a guided tour rather than a world I could explore. It’s more free content though, so I shouldn’t be complaining.

The original demo isn’t available anymore. So if you have a copy, make backups. That’s unless you didn’t like that version and would prefer the kid’s gloves– I meant polished one even more. Either way, it’s a short JRPG experience, a taste of the real thing.

You will not be able to carry-over your save file to the main game, but you do get 100 Platinum Points when you download the final demo. You will receive those points within 30 days of download and only if you’ve downloaded it before the game’s launch.

Bravely Default II will be out on Nintendo Switch on February 26, 2021.