Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster (5th June 2025)

[Julius]

Well that's not a mouthful. 

 

Edited April 2 by Julius

[Glen-i]

I'm all in. Love this mental game!

...Once I get the Switch 2, that is. Definitely can't preorder it.

[Dcubed]

Surely this can’t be Switch 2 exclusive?

I’m sure Switch 1 can handle a cheap 3DS port.

[Julius]

I have to admit that I thought the opening shot was Garnet and that this was for the IX Remake 

Guess that's being saved for Not-E3... 

[Julius]

1 hour ago, Dcubed said:

Surely this can’t be Switch 2 exclusive?

I’m sure Switch 1 can handle a cheap 3DS port.

Confirmed as Switch 2 exclusive, per the S-E press release:

Quote

One of the greatest RPGs is flying back exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5, 2025!

BRAVELY DEFAULT FLYING FAIRY HD Remaster is a remaster of the first game in the BRAVELY series - originally released in the West as BRAVELY DEFAULT and in Japan as BRAVELY DEFAULT FLYING FAIRY.

The game is a refreshing take on the classic RPG with a story about Warriors of Light and crystals reminiscent of the classic FINAL FANTASY games. It features a party of highly memorable heroes, a tale set in a vibrant world, impressive character customization and a battle system that stands as one of the most fun and strategic in the genre.

The game was a big hit, selling more than 3 million copies worldwide and winning acclaim from critics, and was also the inspiration for the brilliant OCTOPATH TRAVELER series. Now it's back for Nintendo Switch 2 - and it looks and plays better than ever before!

Wild. Because I totally agree. 

[Jonnas]

This one was a surprise... as in, I'm surprised they didn't just make this into Bravely Default+Second.

I'm hoping this leads to some new arrangements for this godly soundtrack.

[Julius]

So, uh, this one only gets weirder. 

On the upside, price-wise, but maybe an orange flag in terms of effort put into this? It seems to be a budget release: US$39.99 (below), and listed for €39.99 (nedland)...

...on the downside, it's one of the new "Game-Key Cards" – as in, the game will require a download and not be included on the cart. 

So, let's just get this straight: this is a HD remaster of a 3DS game which will be available exclusively on the Switch 2 - a launch title at that - which is actually looking like it's a budget release which isn't going to have a physical release actually containing the game on the cart...

Edited April 3 by Julius

[Dcubed]

If even Bravely Default (a ~3GB 3DS game) is cheaping out with the cartridge? Then I expect this to be the norm with pretty much all 3rd party games.

Pretty much every 3rd party is going to take the piss here.

[EEVILMURRAY]

All the texture smoothing in the world isn't going to make this good on a large screen. 

 

And how dare they shorten the title, now it will just go "Lying Fairy"

[Glen-i]

Spoiler

Iksnay on the massive spoilers there, @EEVILMURRAY

And it's actually "Lying Airy"

 

[Dcubed]

It’s weird that they’re using the Japanese title instead of the western one here.

[Julius]

New trailer: 

Quote

BRAVELY DEFAULT, the first title in the BRAVELY series, comes to Nintendo Switch 2, remastered in high definition. Discover the origins of the classic Brave and Default battle system alongside new and enhanced features, including all new minigames!

Still can't decide on whether I'm picking this up at launch...but the radio silence on performance/patches on Switch 2 for other S-E JRPGs I need to catch up on is certainly helping its case! 

[Julius]

@Hero-of-Time mentioned it in the Street Fighter 6 thread, and it was taken down earlier today but is now back in stock: the game is currently available on Amazon UK for only £24.40. 

Have taken a punt and put down a pre-order. We'll see if I keep it but that's too good an offer to refuse immediately! 

[Ike]

Put an order in. Shame I missed Street Fighter.

[Hero-of-Time]

Why the hell have they removed the 0% encounter rate option in this version of the game? 

It was great to toggle on if you just wanted to carry on with the story without the hassle of encountering enemies. 

Edited April 24 by Hero-of-Time

[Glen-i]

27 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Why the hell have they removed the 0% encounter rate option in this version of the game?

For some mad reason, this seems to be based on the original Japanese release, which didn't have a 0% option.

Edited April 24 by Glen-i

[Julius]

5 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

For some mad reason, this seems to based on the original Japanese release, which didn't have a 0% option.

Can't have a basic Chrono Trigger port but anyways here's a HD remaster of a 3DS game (which requires download in the physical release, because while we think our games are high quality they don't deserve to be complete on the cartridge) that's old enough to be in high school based on the Japanese version without the QOL features you enjoyed in the West before

Yep, that sounds like a Square Enix release to me 

Edited April 24 by Julius

[Glen-i]

2 minutes ago, Julius said:

Can't have a basic Chrono Trigger port but anyways here's a HD remaster of a 3DS game (which requires download in the physical release) old enough to be in high school based on the Japanese version without the QOL features you enjoyed in the West before

It wasn't even just in the West, Japan also got that version (Subtitled "For the Sequel").

It makes me wonder if there'll be any teases for Bravely Second in this?

A few extra cutscenes, some tweaks to certain jobs (For example, Freelancer had a passive that reduced the rate of encounters, but was changed to Poison Immunity, because the 0% encounter option was added), an optional superboss, and even the Bravely Second mechanic itself was added to it. I know for a fact that the mechanic is gone, because it wasn't in the demo at the Switch 2 Experience.

[darksnowman]

Quote

we asked our Square Enix rep on hand about this, who confirmed you will still be able to set the encounter rate to zero; it’s just not an option from the very start. 

https://www.rpgfan.com/2025/05/10/bravely-default-flying-fairy-hd-remaster-hands-on/

Now that seems to be cleared up, if only the game was actually on the cart...

[Julius]

I've cancelled my pre-order for this ahead of the Switch 2 launch next week. 

£25 is a great price to get it at, but I also don't doubt it'll drop lower than £20 come Black Friday...around the time DQ I & II HD-2D drops. While I'm certainly not a fan of the whole Game Key Card direction, to make it even worse for me as someone who collects physical games is the horrible chunk of text placed at the bottom of the front cover is simply disgusting (same goes for Switch 2 Editions). 

The main reason I've cancelled it though is because I can't help but feel like other JRPGs deserve my attention more, and I don't want this game to end up just replacing another on my shelf for a few years before I finally get to it, so 

[Hero-of-Time]

2 minutes ago, Julius said:

 While I'm certainly not a fan of the whole Game Key Card direction, to make it even worse for me as someone who collects physical games is the horrible chunk of text placed at the bottom of the front cover is simply disgusting (same goes for Switch 2 Editions). 

The boxes for Switch 2 games in general are ugly. I've seen a fair few fan mock ups on Era and all of them are better than what Nintendo have put out. I still don't know why they are the size they are either.  The carts are tiny and they could have easily got away with using 3DS sized cases. 

[Julius]

7 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

The boxes for Switch 2 games in general are ugly. I've seen a fair few fan mock ups on Era and all of them are better than what Nintendo have put out. 

100% agree, I just think the Game Key Cards and Switch 2 Editions somehow make it even worse. Which is really saying something. So long as Switch 2 Editions release and their base Switch releases get upgrades, I'll be buying the original Switch release purely for the case aesthetics 

The wraparound image is nice at least, but that's about it. Why that Switch 2 border at the top needs to be so thick when they're clearly pushing people towards digital with the moves they're making is beyond me, because that would imply they're expecting/planning for less of an in-store presence. I've said it before but just invert the red/white scheme of the Switch to white/red for Switch 2 and you're golden! 

10 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I still don't know why they are the size they are either.  The carts are tiny and they could have easily got away with using 3DS sized cases. 

Because they don't care for plastic waste and aren't happy with how quickly the world is burning up. 

The image of Chibi-Robo burning was a threat, not a meme