I was not very taken with the Final Fantasy III remake on the Nintendo DS. True, the same team would later work on the Final Fantasy IV remake that I was fine with, but for some reason I had been left apathetic enough to allow Four Warriors of Light to pass me by. Similarly, while I heard a lot of people discussing Bravely Default, it was hardly on my radar. Even watching the Nintendo Direct didn’t churn up a keen interest into the game.

Yet a demo is a demo, and a demo is free. Plus, I needed a quick break from Project X Zone, which was starting to become a tad repetitive.

Sometimes a demo will kill interest in a game, and other times it will generate another sale. I was going to wait a while before buying Bravely Default, but now I’m really eager to get it as soon as possible. It scratches a certain itch that I forgot I’ve been yearning for these days. A turn-based, traditional Japanese role-playing game with easy to comprehend yet deceitfully deep mechanics. The game is challenging, or at least, it is until you think about it.

Player actions become a currency in Bravely Default’s combat engine, with one “Battle Point” earned per turn and then spent with most actions. The only way to avoid spending a Battle Point is to “Default”, which is the equivalent of defending. Storing up Battle Points, to a maximum of three, allows the player to use the “Brave” function. As long as the player has BP to spend, they can activate Brave and unleash a series of actions and abilities.

The first thought is to just unleash a bunch of attacks all in one turn. To do so would be to ignore the variety of abilities granted to the different character classes, such as the Swordsman’s “Nothing Ventured” combined with the Knight’s “Full Cover”. Yes, the Swordsman or Knight could strike four times, or you can guarantee multiple counter-attacks with a boosted attack multiplier.

While a lot of role-playing games have been focusing more on action-oriented real-time combat, trying to keep the genre hectic and fast-paced in the ever changing world of video games design and technology, Bravely Default reminds us why the “slower” approach can, at times, be just as exciting. Every new area seems overwhelming at first, with foes dealing a great amount of damage while seeming to soak up your blows as a sponge. Yet time, patience, and crafting character abilities and skillsets with care will boost the abilities of the party, and soon those once difficult foes will become a cakewalk.

Perhaps best of all is the amount of customization the game permits. One of the advantages of the Final Fantasy games on the SNES (and for Chrono Trigger as well) was the ability to adjust the battle speed and whether enemy actions would wait while you were in the item or spell menu. It allowed players to make the game easier or more difficult, modifying it to fit their needs.

Bravely Default allows for similar customization, but perhaps best of all is the ability to adjust the random encounter rating. By default enemies do not attack overly much, but you can reduce or increase the rate at which you are confronted by beasts and other assorted never-do-wells. This means if someone in your party has fallen or you find yourself low on magic or supplies, then you can simply reduce the encounter rate to -100%, which means no monsters will attack you at all. On the other hand, if you wish to grind a bit, you can push the meter the other way and find a new batch of trouble every few steps.

There are a variety of other customizations available, but that is likely the most frequently used. It is a genius system that I hope to see implemented more often.

Anyone with a Nintendo 3DS should at least give the demo a spin, though it will be a lot more difficult than most games tend to be these days. Or at least, more difficult at first. In order to truly succeed at the game a player must learn how to properly use Battle Points, know when to store them, and know when to go into BP debt. A careful study of each character class and their abilities must also be taken in order to best combine and mix skills together, forging a lethal team of warriors to fend against the dark.

Yet anyone with a longing for the older days of the Japanese role-playing game, the Golden ages of the Super Nintendo and original Playstation, will find much reason to own a 3DS with Bravely Default. It is made by those that understand what many of us loved about those older games, while experimenting with the systems in a fresh new manner.

I look forward to playing the game in its entirety some time next month. I just don’t know when.