Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster Review - The More Things Change...
In 2012, when Square-Enix would first release the original Bravely Default: Flying Fairy, JRPG fans around the world were crying out for new, yet classically-inspired, turn-based action titles. Bravely Default: Flying Fairy arrived at just the right time for those fans, delivering a refreshing take on traditional gameplay systems. The game wasn’t without its weaknesses, and so, with the game finding a new audience on Nintendo Switch 2, the question is, can Square-Enix improve these elements, and will some 13-year-old systems be as impactful in 2025.
From the story, to the characters within its world, Bravely Default: Flying Fairy wears its Final Fantasy inspirations on its sleeve, proudly. Set in the world of Luxendarc, a world kept in balance by four elemental crystals, your party lead by Tiz and Agnes, must set out to reclaim the power of the crystals after they have been corrupted by darkness. For the time this story was fairly cliche, and in the years since it’s a type of narrative we’ve seen delivered in many other games, but there is an endearing way that Square-Enix’s writing team, along with their localisation crew, that sprinkle a seasoning atop it that ensures the story remains engaging throughout the game’s 60+ hour run time. For new players, there’s a lot to enjoy, though for those going around again, you may be feeling more inclined to button-mash your way through dialogue to get back to the action. There are a handful of really significant twists in the plot, however, delivered in extraordinarily impactful ways, and these still hold up more than a decade later, so don’t be reckless if you choose to push through the story.
The real star of the Bravely Default experience is its combat system, which at face value looks like the typical turn-based combat, mastered over decades, but adds one core system that shakes this structure to its core. BP, or Bravely Points, are an in-combat currency which determines the number of actions the player can potentially utilise with their character’s turn. Should the player choose Default, they will take up a defensive stance, where they will accumulate BP ahead of the next turn, while selecting Brave unlocks a range of combat actions, stacked according to the amount of BP you have available. It’s a wonderful system that bears maximum fruit during boss encounters, adding a tonne of depth and strategy, however standard encounters can sometimes get bogged down, or the best of the system cannot be utilised, meaning that players don’t have the time to experiment with the system, and refine their strategies before the baddies have been bested. Classic Final Fantasy is also present with Bravely Default including a job system which is one of the most flexible that I’ve encountered. You can swap between any of the 24 different jobs available in the game, allowing for many different permutations of party composition, while the abilities that you unlock as one of these classes can then allow for further party customisation.
The greatest problem with Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster is the HD Remaster component. As we’ve seen in the case of other Square-Enix remasters, and plenty of other efforts from their peers, remasters such as this have served as an opportunity to enhance some of the weaker elements of the game, and in an era where Square-Enix themselves have added mechanics to re-released Final Fantasy games, included speed-up modes to combat in Octopath Traveler, or the game’s balancing has been tweaked – there’s been unfortunately no balancing adjustment made to Flying Fairy. While there are many positives to the Bravely Default experience, the grind was one of the more tiresome components, especially in 2025 where we have more games than ever, and seemingly less time than ever to consume them. If you’re signing up to play Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD, especially as a returning player, be prepared for a slog at times, the game does include a speed-up feature, but the grind itself has not been changed.
As a remaster of a 3DS game there are a few other facets of the original release that needed work, given the game is transitioning from a dual-screen experience to a single-screen one. This is one of the great challenges of any re-release of a DS/3DS game, and for the most part, Square-Enix have been successful in their efforts to translate the experience to the Switch 2 display. The menu can now be found on the side of the screen, which can be a intrusive at times, but is up to the task for the most part. Streetpass functionality also isn’t available on the Switch 2, but Square-Enix concocted an alternative there as well. Some of the thrill has certainly been sapped because you would never know who you would pass and how they might be able to help your game, but the ‘Passing Souls’ system works quite well and means that the game generate some additional help for you, helping to rebuild Norende, and even assisting in combat.
Presentation is an area that also hasn’t seen much change for this remaster, and this facet was already a bit of a mixed back to begin with in 2012. While the game’s environments, developed to look like picture books with a pseudo-3D aesthetic, still look excellent, and shine even brighter for the increased resolution of the Switch 2, the game’s characters, in their chibi style look rubbish in comparison. At a design level, Tiz, Agnes, Ringabel, and Edea the party looks excellent, and their are some other throwback styles for characters that look the part as well, but the chibi style brings everything down. It was likely a decision made due to the limited power of the 3DS, but the game still pays the price for it now. The game’s musical score is lacking in variety, but what is there is amongst the strongest collections of music compiled by any composer under Square-Enix ever.
The old saying goes, “The more things change, the more things stay the same,” and for all that 13 years have passed since the game first released, not a lot has changed with this remaster, and not necessarily to the betterment of the game. The core of the game is great, and for those who’ve not played the game before, there’s more value that there is for those who’ve done this all before. The remaster is middling, but the core of Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD is still very good.
Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster was reviewed on Nintendo Switch 2 with a code kindly provided by Bandai Namco Australia.
