Bravely Second – End Layer

Bravely Second – End Layer is a role-playing video game developed by Silicon Studio for the Nintendo 3DS handheld console and is the direct sequel to Bravely Default. It was published by Square Enix in Japan on April 23, 2015, and by Nintendo in North America, Europe, and Australia in 2016. Two and a half years after the events of Bravely Default, Agnès Oblige has been elected the Pope of the Crystal Orthodoxy. She and Grand Marshal Braev Lee of the Duchy of Eternia seek to end hostilities between their groups with a formal peace treaty in the city of Gathelatio.

The ceremony is interrupted by Kaiser Oblivion, leader of the Glanz Empire, and his cryst-fairy companion Anne, who abduct Agnès and imprison her in their floating fortress, the Skyhold. Yew Geneolgia, leader of Agnès’ Crystalguard protectors, awakens a week after the attack and sets out to rescue her with fellow Crystalguard leaders Janne Engarde and Nikolai Nikolanikov. However, Janne and Nikolai are revealed to be moles for the Empire.

Later guided by Agnès through a crystal shard she dropped when she was kidnapped, Yew assembles three companions: Eternian Ducal Guard captain Edea Lee, the daughter of Braev who aided Agnès in their first adventure. Bravely Second is a traditional role-playing video game with turn-based action, and retains the battle system of its predecessor Bravely Default. This allows players to build up “Brave Points” (BP), or the number of user turns per character at any given time.

On any turn, characters can “Default”, or guard, and gain an additional Brave Points, or BP, to act multiple times on the same turn. New to the game is a chain-battle feature where a player who defeats a random encounter may continue to battle enemies in succession for greater risks and rewards. Players can receive up to three times the amount of experience and money. This also allows the player to level up each character’s “Job Points” (JP). Each character has access to many different Jobs (up to a total of 30) by gaining that Job’s asterisk.

The asterisk is usually held by another character in game world with that class. Bravely Default’s sidequests have been revamped; players encounter two Eternian asterisk holders in an argument about an ethical dilemma, and the player must resolve the conflict with the reward being the loser’s asterisk. This locks out the other asterisk until much further progress has been made. A similar feature to the first game’s reconstruction of Norende also appears, but this time involves rebuilding Magnolia’s homeland on the moon.