It's been said time and time again: JRPGs are the gaming equivalent of comfort food. They're the hearty stew that gets you through winter or the tub of ice cream that softens a bad breakup. No matter when you first encountered the genre, whether it's with Chrono Trigger or Dragon Quest XI, that feeling will likely resonate.
It's no more true than with Square Enix's recent spate of neoclassical JRPGs - a term coined by me, right now, and one that I'm very proud of. Because the shoe fits: Bravely Default, Octopath Traveler, and the criminally-overlooked Various Daylife all share a similar design philosophy that harkens back to the JRPGs we cut our teeth on, while feeling very modern at the same time.
Bravely Default 2 is the latest offering in this subgenre, and, in many ways, it's the best one yet. It's the culmination of the design philosophies that inspired those before it, but it also keeps one eye on the future. The result is a confused title that can't quite decide what it wants to be, or commit in either direction, but one that's full of charm, wit, and flourish nonetheless.
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