Bravely Second: End Layer is the much anticipated sequel to Bravely Default, a game which was on some staffers’ top ten lists for 2014. Bravely Second released today, alongside a Collector’s Edition. I took a break from my grad school studies to pick up my preorder of a perfect example of what Collector’s Editions should be. Someone on staff will be reviewing the game shortly, but until then, we wanted to present the CE.
For starters, the box is absolutely beautiful and bigger than I anticipated, even having seen what comes in the CE when I ordered it. I guess I just anticipated it being smaller. In fact, the conversation I had with the GameStop employee that handed it to me went something like this:
Him: “Do you want a bag?”
Me: “Uhhh…” *thinking*
*Employee places box on counter*
Me: “Yeaaah, I think that’s a good idea.”
(At least he didn’t call it Braverly Second like the other employees did the last two times I was in there.) He and I briefly talked about the first game, which we agreed was very good, and then I went on my happy little way.
Anyway, Edea adorns the cover, as you can see, and the back shows the four main characters in foil. I have about a 50/50 record of keeping the boxes that any of my CEs came in (it depends on how sturdy/pretty the box is), and I think I’ll be keeping this one. The material is sturdy enough that think it’ll hold over time. It does, however, pick up smudges and dirt pretty easily, as I learned when I set it down to take pictures of it.
Inside is more fun. See below.
To the left is an artbook, which I’ll have more detailed pictures of, and to the right is the game (top) and original sountrack mini album (bottom).
There’s nothing of note (other than the game itself) in the game box, so I’ll focus on the soundtrack a bit more.
The CD case does not list the tracks, but iTunes tells me the track listings are as such:
- Bravely Second Main Theme
- Battle of Oblivion
- Gathelatio, Seat of the Orthodoxy
- The Imperial Army
- Theme of Yew
- Ready to Go?
- The Adventure Begins
- Hold Your Breath
- War Bells Toll
- Joy of Victory – Bravely Second
Supercell’s ryo composed these songs, a change from Bravely Default’s Revo. It’ll be interesting to see how the shift (which happened due to scheduling issues) affects the feel of the game from an aural standpoint. It’s promising that ryo has played and beaten Bravely Default, and even had maxed his characters to 99. Someone who has spent that much time with the first game will hopefully have a good understanding of the series.
This leads us to what many fans probably most anticipated: the artbook, which is roughly the same size as a standard letter paper (8.5 x 11in). It’s interesting in that it is a paperback book, but it has two paper covers on it. Here is what it looks like with everything on it:
The description on the bottom right reads:
This art book contains over 500 images detailing the various design stages over which the Bravely Second: End Layer world was brought into life. The images range from early design prototypes for characters and backgrounds, to special supplementary pieces for the OST sleeve case, the Bravely manga and various other Bravely-related merchandise. Additionally, we have also included numerous images from the Bravely archive, as well as a unique collection of illustrations drawn specifically for this book by Yuno-san, one of our chief contributing artists.
Above, you can see the smaller cover taken off. Below is what it looks like without any of the covers.
The book is 255 pages in full color. I tried not to flip through it too much, so as to not potentially spoil myself, but I did pick out a couple pages that I think are safe to share:
It might be a little difficult to tell, but the pages are sturdy, fairly thick, and easy to turn. Some of the writing on the images is in Japanese, but as you might be able to tell, there are captions in English at the bottom of most, if not all, images. I really look forward to flipping through this once I get through the game. Though the notes appear to be sparse (a sentence or two per image), there are so many images that I think there will be plenty for fans to read through.
So there you have it, folks, the Bravely Second: End Layer Collector’s Edition. I hope everyone who wanted one was able to get a hold of it, and regardless of if you got the CE or not, I hope you give the game a shot. If you’re not sure if this game is for you, there is a demo available on the Nintendo eShop where you can earn bonuses that will transfer onto the game, should you buy the full version. So even if you did get the game or are getting it in the future, it might be worth getting the demo anyway.
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