Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remastered might become a problem for my work in the near future - hands-on

Ask a dozen people what their favorite RPG for the Nintendo 3DS was, chances are high you'll get at least a few people that fondly remember Bravely Default - myself included. During a visit to Square Enix's NA headquarters, we had a brief chance to go hands-on with the upcoming remaster, and much to my horror there might be more than a passing reason for me to get absorbed in the game all over again.

I have to preface this with a few things; first off, there's been an open question among fans about which version of Bravely Default this remaster is based on. If you didn't realize there was more than one version of Bravely Default, that's all well and good - according to Square Enix NA, despite the "Flying Fairy" subtitle, this remaster is using the international release as its base. The Japanese website for the game backs this up, with a few caveats; game balance is designed around the game's international release version with some additional tweaks, but does note that some content that tied the game into the 3DS sequel Bravely Second isn't present. Now, this could mean that the teaser movie at the end of the game is gone, or that the Bravely Second gameplay feature is missing, or both. We don't know yet, and neither did the representatives that we could speak with - and the same goes for whether the game supports the Nintendo Switch 2 camera. 

Now, with that out of the way - what's properly new? As Square Enix has already detailed, the game is now remastered for HD screens, including of course the Switch 2's own screen. We only got the chance to play the game in docked mode, but the upscaling for the game's assets works mostly well. Comparing the remaster to the 3DS original, some of the punchy contrast of the original release has been toned down, and looking closely at certain assets you can sometimes tell when the transition wasn't done perfectly. However, without comparing the two releases side-by-side the majority of the time I'd hazard players will be hard-pressed to notice. Especially for new players, this feels like it will easily be the preferred way of playing the game as 3DS hardware continues to age.

The real meat and potatoes of the remaster, however, comes from a place you might not expect - two new minigames centered around the Switch 2's "mouse mode" for the new joycon controllers. One of these is a rhythm game where you cheer on a character of your choice as they dance to one of the games' many songs, the other a sort of Simon Says mad dash to keep your airship under control. You might think this is purely a distraction from the main game; you might even be correct. But unfortunately for me I actually really enjoyed the rhythm minigame, and Bravely Default's soundtrack. Add in the fact that these minigames can unlock quality-of-life features in the main game as well as previously untold lore for the series? If you're anything like me, you can understand how this could set a quite dangerous precedent. There's already too many new RPGs to play this year, and here I am preparing to fling myself right back into a classic from my high school days.

As for how it works, specifically - using both joycons as mice, you move two light sticks across the screen. When you separate the two, a line between the two can bisect solid notes. When notes light up in blue or pink, you have to press the shoulder button on the corresponding joycon over the same note. When a green line pops up on the screen, you bunch up both joycons near the center to give a cheer. It feels like some sort of demented Osu! game mode in the best ways, and I usually hate Osu! This vexes me.

Beyond that - there's really not that much more to say. While the game's physical release being stuck on a Game Key Card is a disappointment, nearly everything else about the remaster looks off to a promising start. Here's hoping it can stick the landing when it drops on June 5, exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2.