How Bravely Default’s epic soundtrack empowers players

In gaming, music can do more than sound good. It can give players information and help strengthen their emotional attachments to characters. Few have done this better than Bravely Default.

Bravely Default is a role-playing game that Square Enix created in 2012 for the 3DS (although it didn’t come out in the U.S. until 2014). It is a fantastic experience, simultaneously borrowing some of Final Fantasy’s best traits (like the Job system, which let characters master different classes and mix and match abilities) while employing its own unique ideas, including a battle system that lets players use turns themselves as a resource. It became a hit for Square Enix, selling over a million copies and spawning a sequel, Bravely Second, in 2016. But Bravely Default doesn’t just stand out because of its RPG mechanics. It also has one of the best soundtracks in recent gaming history.