About two days before this big Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, I purchased a new set of charging cables for my 3DS. The old ones, assumedly, are consigned to the depths of a ‘misc draw’ somewhere in my house, cursed to never see the light of day again. I nabbed these £3 beauties because I have had a hankering to play some bonafide classics again, lately: Shin Megami Tensei 4, Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse, and the original Bravely Default.
Now, I’ve not been too fussed about the Switch 2 up to this point. The price point for entry, $449.99, is steep. Horribly steep, actually. And it looks like games will retail at $80 a pop, too. We’re still in the dark about exactly which games will be compatible. I’m not thrilled that we will have to pay for upgrades to existing Switch games if we want the nice(r) Switch 2 versions. I don’t particularly have a fondness for Nintendo first-party titles, outside of Pokemon. I was a Sega kid growing up, OK?
So I wasn’t like you, the vast majority of the audience that has clicked through to this piece, at the beginning of the Direct: I wasn’t going to get a Switch 2, day one. But I’m a sucker for RPGs, man. Especially RPGs with a classic Japanese development team behind them (but do we call them JRPGs? The debate rages on). And then, as my 3DS sat on my desk idling on the Home Screen, the original little icon for Bravely Default twinkling at me seductively, what’s that I hear on my TV? The battle theme? Oh my.
You can see the trailer below. And you know what? This little 2.43 minute masterpiece got me; I was right there on the Nintendo site jostling desperately in the virtual moshpit trying to secure my pre-order. $450 of my hard-earned money to play an RPG from 2013 – what the hell is wrong with me?
Look, I know the game is flawed. The late-game section is controversial, and pads out the run-time superficially – if you want to be uncharitable. But I enjoyed the way it really pushed you to be smart about how you managed battle resources and your character’s HP. I know I’m in the minority there, but that ending hike up a pretty steep difficulty curve put me in mind of the early Final Fantasy games. That’s not a bad thing.
The main character designer and art director is Akihiko Yoshida. Yes, the mastermind behind the visual style of both Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together. The world is crafted from various cities modeled on European children’s literature, a lot like Studio Ghibli’s works are. The art direction (both in the original and the fancy new HD Remaster) is so specific and stylised that the game had an ageless quality even on the dinky 3DS software. It looks great on that tasty new Switch 2 screen, I bet.
The script for the game was put together by Naotaka Hayashi, who you may recognize for penning Steins;Gate – and as such has a slightly more mature tone than some of the more shonen-focused games in the genre. There’s also a self-awareness in Bravely Default that’s kinda charming; there’s a willingness not to take things too seriously, and a penchant for sending up genre tropes. This is something the series has kept up over the next few games, too, and is really endearing against the mega-serious projects we’re getting elsewhere from Square Enix.
And then there’s the battle system. It’s super compelling. As innovative in the genre as Final Fantasy’s ATB system. Yes, really. Being able to really lean into the risk/reward aspect of combat that RPGs had been trading on up to that point – and being rewarded greatly or punished heinously for doing so – feels wonderful. It also opens up really cool conceit ideas for bosses, and mixes gimmicks into even the most standard ‘mob fight’ you can imagine that feels fresh 80 hours in.
I feel a little foolish that I’ll be putting down cash to play this, day one, when it releases on Nintendo Switch 2’s launch day. But you know what? It’s a wedge in the door, isn’t it? My unapologetic lust for niche RPGs will no doubt expose me to the absolute splendour of The Duskbloods, the nonsense of Donkey Kong Bananza, or the social chaos of Mario Kart World. At some point, at least.
So, don’t mind me when you’re all sampling the wonders of the Switch 2 launch line-up. I’ll be 200 hours deep in Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remastered, trying to max out all the characters’ jobs again. And I’ll be having a great time.