Bravely Default II Demo Feedback Results in New Difficulty Options

Nintendo uploaded a new video revealing game changes Square Enix made thanks to the Bravely Default II demo feedback. As promised earlier in the Nintendo Direct Mini Partner Showcase, Square Enix released a six-minute follow-up video. Players provided feedback via a questionnaire after playing the March 2020 demo. Thanks to people’s help, we’ll see things like more difficulty options and better turn order information.

The video kicked off with some proud statistics. Square Enix announced that over one million people played the demo. The company also received over 22,000 responses to the feedback questionnaire.

Here’s a list of changes thanks to the Bravely Default II demo feedback:

• Added three battle difficulty options: Casual, Normal, Hard. Players can change this at any time. The devs are making sure the early stages of the game are more forgiving. Additionally, later stages and climactic boss battles will be challenging for everyone, regardless of the difficulty level.
• Added turn order indications. A turn gauge for each character, similar to active-time battle systems, will represent allies’ turn orders. For enemies, exclamation marks will indicate which monster is about to attack. The devs noted that they did consider implementing turn gauges for enemies, too, but this would have skewed the battle balance too far into player’s favor.
• Added the ability to skip battle intro scenes.
• Character portraits inserted behind the action menu in battles to easily identify who’s going to act.
• Added more detailed battle info on the battle info screen.
• Adjusted monster movement speed and behavior on the overworld. Weaker enemies now run away, while stronger enemies glow red. Players will have a better idea of whether they’re at the right level to fight them or not.
• Added an “Underdog Bonus” to experience gains if a player beats a tough enemy at a low level.
• Increased the sword swing range on the overworld. It is also easier to swing the sword while running now.
• Changed the font color and background in menus. Also adjusted UI elements to make the text easier to read.
• Reworked the plus and minus buttons in menus to avoid tricky inputs.
• Added the option to run by default.
• Added the option to change the button used to perform Default in battle.
• Jobs are now easier to view and manage in the menus.
• Countless more…

Bravely Default II will release exclusively on the Nintendo Switch on February 25, 2021 worldwide.