Okay, so here it goes. I have to admit something weird—never touched the original Bravely Default on that little 3DS gadget. Shocking, right? All my buddies kept telling me it’s the RPG of RPGs, right there alongside Final Fantasy. Anyway, fast forward to PAX East 2025. There’s this demo, Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster, just sitting there waiting for me. I thought, why not? Jumped in blind, I guess you could say.
First thing that smacks you in the face with this remaster? No dual screens. Yep, those old double displays are history. Bummer? Maybe. But the graphics? High-def, super crisp, like they went overboard compensating. Just had to ask the Square Enix rep if they’re rolling this out for Bravely Second: End Layer, too. She kinda dodged but seemed to like the idea. I’m claiming it if it happens.
Diving into the demo was like speeding through an RPG buffet. Timed demos, am I right? Skip, skip, skip, right past the dialogue and cutscenes. But that combat system, though. It’s quirky—Brave and Default. Brave lets you go full berserker with attacks but leaves you naked defensically (is that a word?), while Default’s like putting your warrior in safe mode, saving turns for later attacks. You stack those turns, go Brave crazy without consequences. Personally, I just mashed Brave, hoping things wouldn’t go sideways.
Oh, and there’s this elaborate job system. Didn’t poke at it much, though. Still, the game impressed me. Feeling a bit foolish I missed out on the 3DS version, but who cares? This revamped Switch 2 edition is calling out. It drops June 5, same day as the console, so schedule that in.
