Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster | REVIEW | NINTENDO SWITCH 2

''BRAVE BY DEFAULT''

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Developed: Square-Enix

Published: Square-Enix

Genre: Role Playing

Release Date: June 5th, 2025

Platforms: Switch 2

*Review copy provided to me by Square-Enix

Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster is the comeback of a classic 3DS RPG and it is developed and published by Square-Enix. Having had success after success lately with RPG's whether large hit titles or even lower budget hits, Square-Enix decides lets try to keep the ball rolling by remastering a 3DS classic, but this time for the Nintendo Switch 2. But was this the right title to give the remaster treatment to? or is this their first TRUE miss? Only one way to find out, so lets go!

''WELCOME TO MY STOOP''

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GAMEPLAY:

One of the unsung heroes of the 3DS was an RPG that really surprised people and captured their imagination due its story, gameplay elements and graphical art style. Hard to believe its been 11 years since it was released and now its back again here in 2025 in a more polished fashion for the Nintendo Switch 2. With several games from Nintendo themselves getting updates and Switch 2 versions of games that give a higher resolution output, along side better framerate, Bravely Default remaster got me thinking, ''hmm.. I wonder what all changes have been made to THIS version of the game over the original''. To my surprise, there's actual a fair bit quality wise that keeps the charm of the original game, but at the same time, moving a game to HD with higher end assets, does take away from that 3DS style of charm that the art work had going for it due to hardware limitation of 2014. But lets just be thankful its not on the remaster level of the previous Silent Hill Collection, cause good lord was that an abomination. Abomination of Silent Hill's collection aside, here in Bravely Default, your goal is restore Luxendarc's crystals that are losing their power by taking on the roles of this games heroes, Ringabel, Edea, Agnes and Tiz. I know what you're thinking, ''oh so they're crystal bearers then'' and to that I say, uhh.. kind of? considering this game originally started off as a sequel to Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes Of Light and then just became its straight up own new IP and borderline spiritual successor instead. Which luckily it worked out perfectly and we didnt end up in a Dirge Of Cerberus scenario, praise be to Jenova for that one. As you push through this gorgeous adventure and various environments, you'll come across both inventive and villains with personalities that you cant help to love, but know you're supposed to hate as well, sorta like me with Sephiroth, because if he was like ''Join me, Amanda, and together we will change fate forever'' like he did to Cloud, I'd be like ''shoooot you aint got to tell me twice, SUMMON THE METEOR!'', Id be totally down. Beyond the main quest is probably where you'd get stuck quite a bit to be perfectly honest. No not because the main campaign is hard or confusing or anything, but because there are some quests in this game, should you attempt to seek them all out, that are just as good, if not better than the main campaign itself, which is shocking to be honest, especially for people who love them some dungeon exploring. As stated, visually this game is still stunning, even if, like I said earlier, going to the uptick of HD, it loses some of its old charm and story book like feeling, but the landscapes itself, along with its environments, overworld, dungeon designs, characters and animations, look even better than before.

Gushing aside, just what type of game is it in general? well obviously its turned based you big goof and for those that are unaware, the battle system itself is the progenitor to Octopath Traveler, another game that has become in itself a classic over the years to RPG fans all over the world, similar to Ehrgeiz. Ok no sorry, not Ehrgeiz, I just couldn't help myself, I just look for excuses to reference that title...and while I'm here, hey Square, when are you going to give THAT ONE an HD remaster? hmm? I'm waiting!. Using the games Brave and Default game mechanics... because you get it? Brave...Default... Bravely... Default... Peanut butter...Jelly....apples....oranges... Tifa...bikini... wait where was I? oh ya the games mechanics. Using the Default mechanic you're able to store charges that give you an advantage for a future turn, while its other half, Braving allows you to use up to 4 actions at once to either overwhelm your foes or create a strategic advantage in battle, should you properly execute it, because the same strategy that you use on normal enemies, wont be as easy when challenging a boss fight or side battles that are even harder than normal enemies, so planning is key. Party customization is key to not only getting through hard to beat bad guys, but also allow you to unlock new job classes for you to experiment with and switch to when maybe one job and class doesnt work to your advantage, this makes it sort of like a guessing game... no not like Guess Who where you have to find all the different bald people, but more so like putting together an intricate puzzle till everything fits into place perfectly - that's the battle system in a nutshell. By mixing in a variety of primary and secondary abilities, you're able to take over 20 job classes, yes, you heard me, over 20 job classes and combine it with passive buffs to get even more optimized customizations for your characters. Much like other traditional RPG's, yes, grinding is a factor in order to level your jobs, which might irk some people a bit, but luckily, a fast forward feature can help turn sluggish slow battles into a much faster paced time so you don't have to sit around for an eternity. On top of better UI design, fast forward, special features using the Mouse Control for this game are implemented as well with Ringabel's Panic Cruise that has you in first person view using the Mouse Controls to fly your ship around in first person view and even pet a kitty!. Aww such a good kitty. In addition to that is also Luxencheer, which is a rhythm based game where you must use both Joy-Cons to match the objects on screen as they fly towards you, which can be pretty fun as long as you dont get distracted by what's going on in the background. Oh hey what's that? oh crap, crap crap crap!

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''THANKFULLY I CANT CRASH THE AIRSHIP''

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OVERALL:

At the end of the day Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster ends up a really great time and holds up as much as it did 11 years ago, but this time with even more quality of life improvements and features. I can see there being gripes though, mainly for veterans from the 3DS era due to the fact that Streetpass from 3DS is no longer here and instead is replaced by a new online system has you use random spirit NPC's for the mini game, Norende rebuilding. Other gripes I can see is with the upgraded visuals taking away from its pop-up book like aesthetic, however, with redesigned UI, amazing soundtrack, high quality voice acting, Heal All now as a feature, recommended dungeon levels, fast forward ability, over 20 jobs, new mini games that utilize the Mouse controls of Switch 2 and loveable characters, makes Bravely Default HD Remaster a must own on Switch 2, especially if you're a RPG fan or even if you loved the original on Nintendo 3DS. You won't regret it. So with all that having been said, my verdict is clear, GameNChick says BUY NOW

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