Bravely Default: Thin Line Between Love and Hate

'Bravely Default: Where the Fairy Flies' is my favorite Final Fantasy in years. Sure, it's not 'Final Fantasy' in name, but it's a spiritual sequel to Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, and it's got crystals, airships, potions, spells ending in '-aga,' and many other classic elements from the series.

Yes, you can use healing spells and items to kill the undead.

It's as though Final Fantasy V and IX had a baby who got their best genes: turn-based battles, an intricate job system, full 3D character models, and the lovely pre-rendered backdrops of a 32-bit PlayStation-era Final Fantasy. And like more recent entries in the series, it has full voiceover for cutscenes, with the option to choose between English and Japanese voice actors.

For running on a relatively underpowered platform, Bravely Default is also very pretty. Character models (and the myriad job-based character costumes) are charming and detailed, impressive enemy designs range from cute to grotesque, weapons are fully modeled in battles, and the aforementioned backdrops use the stereoscopic 3D to great effect. The story is pretty compelling, too.

The Kingdom of Caldisla is breathtaking in 3D

   

Welcome

Hello, reader. Welcome to Mr. Saturn's Coffee, a video game review blog hosted by yours truly, the Unknown Jones. Stop for a minute, take a dip in the hot springs, and grab a cup of coffee. Together we'll reflect on the past and present of games as we discover favorites new and old. Comfy? Good.

Since you're reading this, you've taken the time to click a link or scroll down to the bottom of what will hopefully become a sizable collection of coherent and cogent blog entries. For that, I thank you.

If anything strikes a chord, a nerve, or note of any timbre with you, please comment, share, or email me. I'd love to strike up a conversation, receive requests for games to play, or be served with corrections to any inaccuracies.

Boing. Zoom. Dakota.

Listening: "Horrorpops Radio" on Pandora
Watching: "The Staircase" from Canal+
Eating: LifeSavers Gummies