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| Jesse Woo |
A new system will force difficult choices.
02.06.15 - 1:27 AM
A recent stream by Square Enix and Dengeki revealed new information and footage from Bravely Second. The stream shows Edea for the first time participating in battle, confirming that she will be a playable character. The party is composed of Patissiers, the job class acquired from an Asterisk Holder named Angelo W. Pannettone. Pannettone is a baker with a bad attitude and is accompanied by fan girls who believe his sweets are "to die for."
The Patissier's job skill is called "make sweets" [Jesse's translations] and includes abilities like "patisserie," "decoration," and "flambé." Patisserie will produce cakes with various effects such as status afflictions, elemental attacks, buffs, and debuffs. It even makes a cake that will draw enemy aggro on a target party member. The job should allow for some interesting strategies in combination with other jobs classes. To see the gameplay footage, skip to 1:03:00 mark on the video below.
Another new feature revolving around asterisk holders is called the "Barter Sub-Scenario." In that system, Edea will arbitrate a conflict between two asterisk holders from the previous game, choosing to side with one. The party must fight whichever one she does not side with, and receive their asterisk as a reward. The holder that Edea picks will reveal more of their story and background, but the party will not receive their asterisk. Apparently these segments flesh out quite a bit of story so the system is designed to force hard choices between job classes and story exposition. It is unclear whether players will have other opportunities to obtain the asterisks they miss in the Barter Sub-Scenario.
In the scene featured at the 45:00 minute mark, the Thief Asterisk Holder Jackal asks for help quenching people's thirst, while the Red Mage Asterisk Holder Fiore DeRosa implores Edea to fight Jackal in order to save mankind. There is no right answer; it is up to players to choose whose story they want to hear and whose asterisk they want to claim in victory.
Lastly, in response to a question of whether Bravely Default save data will play a role in the game, the presenter mysteriously hinted at "something nice," and promised an announcement in the near future.
Bravely Second comes out in Japan on April 23rd on the Nintendo 3DS.
