Bravely Second, the upcoming sequel to the hit RPG Bravely Default, was at the Tokyo Game Show for the first time in playable form to the press and public alike. The big thing that was being showcased at the show didn’t come in the form of brand new mechanics, a graphical remake or anything of the sort. The purpose of the demo seemed to focus more on the introduction of the new characters as well as to show one of the new jobs, the Wizard class.

The battle system from Bravely Second remains more or less the same as what can be found in Bravely Default. The Brave and Default systems are still in place and still serve as a good source for risk and reward in battles. Second also holds the same visual aesthetic that was found in the first game, so you can rest assured that you will still see some great stereoscopic 3D visuals, character models and the same watercolor-like look to the maps.

One of the new enemy characters, Amy, holds the Tomahawk job asterisk. She has a Native American-inspired design and she used some kind of a hybrid gun/crossbow for her attacks. Some of her abilities had her launching arrow-like projectiles at my party, typically keeping her striking with long range attacks. Another job that was shown off at the show for the first time is the Wizard class. Attendees were able to play the new job with Nicolai, a new sage-like character introduced in Second. Aside from physical attacks and using items, players are able to use his Wizard abilities where they can choose from a magic base and then from a specific type of attack. For example, in the demo, after choosing a fire attack, you can then choose from one of a few different types, like Arrow or Hammer. Once chosen, the enemy would get hit with a fire-based hammer attack. This additional touch makes the use of magic a little bit more varied and enjoyable and I can see it coming in handy for different elemental-based enemies that will appear later in the game.

Even though I only had a chance to play the demo for around 20 minutes, Bravely Second looks to carry on with the strengths of Bravely Default. The art direction is fantastic, the stereoscopic 3D effect looks great and the battle system is a great evolution of JRPGs. Bravely Second still doesn’t have a solid release date for Japan (it’s supposed to be released this Winter) nor has it been announced for the west at this time. Given the success of Bravely Default around the world, I would venture that it is safe to say that there is no good reason why gamers in the west won’t be able to play Bravely Second at some point in the near future.