Bravely Second Producer Aims To Release A New Bravely Game Each Year

Square Enix teased fans with a new trailer for Bravely Second at Jump Festa and all eyes are on the upcoming sequel of Bravely Default. Producer Tomoya Asano shared a few details on Bravely Second’s new character and development status during an interview with Dengeki.

Before moving onto the subject of Bravely Second, according to Asano, there actually haven’t been too many players who’ve purchased the SP Drinks in Bravely Default: For the Sequel, items that you can use during bottles which allows you to freeze time and do increased damage—a little something for players to get through the tougher parts of the game if they have trouble.

“There haven’t been many [buyers,] but it’s not something that troubles us,” says Asano. “On the other hand, we weren’t expecting it to sell too much, so we could say that it’s sold more than we had expected.”

On the subject of SP Drinks, Dengeki asks if the SP system will still be available in Bravely Second.

“Yes, that’s what we plan, but we’ll be using player feedback and data uploaded by Square Enix members as reference, and may make some changes accordingly… it wasn’t that bad right?” replies Asano with a laugh.

While speaking of what Bravely Second will carry on from Bravely Default, Dengeki points out that upon clearing the true ending of Bravely Default: For the Sequel, the game allows you to store your data on the Nintendo 3DS SD card. They ask what will it be used for in the upcoming game.

“We’d like to prepare some sort of benefit that it can be used for in Bravely Second, but honestly speaking, we’ve yet to decide on what,” says Asano. “So for now, please bear with the idea of ‘If you save your data [from the previous game] there may just be something good waiting for you.’”

Dengeki asks Asano how far along are they currently in the development of Bravely Second.

“We’ve completed the scenario outline, and we just about figured out how many things we’ll be required to make for it,” shares Asano. “We’re currently working on the artwork, while throwing what gets finished into the game.”

Asano also says that Bravely Second will be made to still be enjoyable for those who’ve yet to play the first game, but he still recommends players to play the first game in order to fully enjoy the upcoming sequel.

We recently got a look at a new Bravely Second character by the name Magnolia. Dengeki asks if it’s safe to assume that she’ll be one of the heroines in the upcoming game.

“That’s right. For Bravely Default, we originally pushed a little for the heroine, Agnes; however, in the end, she was surpassed by Edea in the popularity polls,” shares Asano with a laugh. “While we don’t know how Magnolia will be in the end, for now, we’re handling her as a proper heroine.”

In an earlier interview, producer Tomoya Asano mentioned that Magnolia will be a character who shows “adultness,” a feature he considered lacking in the original four heroes of Bravely Default. Now that Magnolia will be part of the mix, Dengeki asks if that also means we’ll be seeing a different party mood in Bravely Second.

“The four protagonists of Bravely Default were loved by everyone, so on top of thinking of the party’s balance, roles, and the structure of Bravely Second, there are actually a few parts we’re struggling with at the moment,” answers Asano.

In case you’re wondering, Asano also mentions that the weapon Magnolia is wielding on her illustration is actually a spear-type. They wanted an image that depicted her as a fighting female, so they went with a halberd. Dengeki asks if she’ll be some sort of magic knight, due to her being from the moon, but Asano says that won’t be the case.

Finally, Dengeki ends the interview by asking the producer when can we expect to see Bravely Second be released.

“Personally, I’m aiming to release a game for the Bravely series at least once a year,” says Asano. “So, we’d like to release Bravely Second for sometime in 2014.” Bravely Second is currently in development for Nintendo 3DS.