Developed by: Cattle Call
Published by: Square Enix
Platforms: Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X/S and Windows PC

Originally released for the Nintendo 3DS back in 2012, Bravely Default was first conceived as a sequel to Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, a spin-off from the mainline Final Fantasy games. At some point in the game’s development, the decision was made to transition the title into its own intellectual property and move away from the Final Fantasy branding. Despite this pivot, the game still retains some core aspects from the Final Fantasy universe such as its focus on elemental crystals, its job system and recognisable items (“Phoenix Down”), but also introduces its own unique ideas – specifically the titular “Bravely Default” battle system.

A direct sequel (Bravely Second: End Layer) followed in 2015, with a spiritual sequel (Bravely Default II) released for Nintendo Switch in 2021. In a surprise move, the original Bravely Default was announced as a launch title for the Nintendo Switch 2 in June 2025, receiving a full HD remaster, brand-new minigames and numerous quality-of-life improvements to aid the transition from the Nintendo 3DS’ dual-screen set-up to a single-screen console. Since the success of that launch, the title has also been ported over to Xbox Series X/S and Windows PC, giving the franchise an increased presence in Western markets.

Bravely Default is set in the fantasy world of Luxendarc, which is kept in balance by four huge elemental crystals that help maintain the wind, earth, water and fire of the planet. These crystals are protected by the Crystal Orthodoxy, but a wave of Anticrystalism from the duchy of Eternia advocates using the energies of the crystals to better mankind. These opposing ideologies bear strong similarities between religion vs. science arguments in our own world, and the game has fun digging into the grey areas in-between these two organizations. As the story progresses, the game makes the player rethink the motivations of its side-characters, often revealing hidden truths that recontextualize their decisions – this is a clever literary technique and the plot is surprisingly more complex than it initially appears. At first glance, it feels very reminiscent of early Final Fantasy adventures with its seemingly formulaic “restore the elemental crystals” storyline, but it becomes much more complex in its second half. I will discuss plot twists from second half of the game in greater detail later on in this review, as it did impact upon my enjoyment of the game.

The four protagonists of the game are Tiz Arrior, the sole survivor of a sleepy village destroyed by the opening of a giant chasm beneath the ground; Agnes Oblige, the wind vestal charged with protecting the Wind Crystal; Ringabel, an amnesiac vagabond with a book that tells the future and Edea Lee, an Eterian soldier who defects from the army once she witnesses their atrocities first-hand. These four characters come together by fate and guided by Agnes’ cryst-fairy companion, Airy, decide to travel across Luxendarc to remove the darkness from each of the crystals and save the world. As players defeat various bosses during the game, they can unlock different job roles that come with unique abilities – such as a Thief, who can steal; a White Mage, who can heal, and Monks, who excel in unarmed combat. This job-class system will be familiar to those who’ve played Final Fantasy V – and Bravely Default adds its own spin on the concept by allowing players to combine two different classes to create a multitude of character combinations. Each job class features a costume change for that character, ensuring that each player’s party looks unique and full of personality.

The game’s defining gameplay mechanic comes from its “Bravely Default” combat system, which enhances the traditional turn-based battles by allowing players to either “brave” or “default” their turn. If a player defaults their turn, they will earn “brave points” and increase their defence against any attacks for the next turn, if a player decides to brave their turn, they will use up any brave points to get multiple attacks – potentially going into minus numbers if they haven’t enough points. This allows for some strategy in the combat, defaulting turns against high-damaging enemies to then deliver multiple attacks in a single turn. Other turn-based JRPGs often offer a “defend” option in combat, but this system actively encourages players to defend by rewarding them with additional attacks at a later stage. In some of the later boss fights, mastering when to default and when to use your brave points becomes a crucial strategy to success. The Nintendo Switch 2 version makes it even more intuitive by having the right and left shoulder buttons act as shortcuts for the brave and default options, making using this combat system as simple as tapping a button. This combination of the job-class system and the “Bravely Default” system elevates what could have been standard turn-based fights in something far more strategic and engaging.

The Nintendo Switch 2 remaster also updates some of the features that were unique to the Nintendo 3DS version, replacing its StreetPass functionality with online friend networking. Players can summon characters from their friends’ games to aid them in battle – ironically foreshadowing one of the twists of the second half of the game. The game also features a mini-game where Tiz attempts to reconstruct his village of Norende; players earn villagers through online friends and in-game “wandering souls” and can use these villagers to construct buildings in real-life, much like a mobile idle game. Each new building unlocks items to purchase from stores in-game, including unique weapons and costumes. Keeping both of these StreetPass features in the game adds a cool social networking element to the game and ties into the meta-fictional narrative of the storyline.

Two new minigames were added for the Nintendo Switch 2 release, designed specifically for the Joy Con 2 remotes and their mouse-control functionality. “Ringabel’s Panic Cruise” allows players to pilot the airship using both of the Joy Cons to activate the ship’s controls, whereas “Luxencheer Rhythm Catch” resembles a typical rhythm game, as players must hit various visual commands on-screen in the rhythm of the song. Both games reward the players with tokens that can be used to redeem exclusive items, weapons and costumes – offering a tangible reward that can be taken forth into the main game proper. This is a great addition to the title that enhances the original game, whilst offering something exclusive for Nintendo Switch 2 owners.

For the remainder of this review, I will be talking about the second half of the game and this will require spoiling a significant plot twist to do so. If you want to remain unspoiled, stop reading this review here. Otherwise, read on to find out my thoughts on the divisive final chapters of the game.

SPOILER WARNING

The first four chapters of Bravely Default flow like any other JRPG, with each chapter representing one of the elemental crystals. As you approach the end of the fourth chapter, it feels as if the game is coming to a natural conclusion – at this stage, I’d spent roughly 50-60 hours of gameplay and it seemed that I’d unlocked the majority of skills and abilities. Upon defeating what appeared to be the final boss, the players are enveloped in a white light and… the game seemingly restarts from the beginning. My first instinct was that it was time travel – one of my favourite genres – which would make sense given how the game involved following Ringabel’s prophetic journal. The characters were stuck in a time loop, doomed to repeat their actions again and again, and the plot encourages the players to explore the world and see what has changed in this timeline. However, it soon becomes clear that this is not a time travel story, and is instead a parallel world story. As a story idea, this was fantastic and completely revitalised the plot – transforming it from a stereotypical Final Fantasy clone into something more complex and narratively daring. However, on a practical note, it was extremely frustrating as it meant retreading old ground. The fifth chapter was effectively a redo of the first four chapters, albeit with some slight changes to the dialogue. The added convenience of the airship meant that there was a lot less walking between destinations, but it was still frustrating to repeat the same boss fights again and again.

The game has two types of missions; the core story arc, and a series of sub-scenarios which are optional and unlock additional job types. When it came to the fifth chapter, all of these sub-scenarios were unlocked again and the boss fights were replayable – albeit with less reward. Upon completing this fifth chapter, the game then pulls the same trick again and deposits you in another world for chapter six – forcing the players to retread their footsteps for a third time. This bait-and-switch continues multiple times – in fact, you have to defeat the same bosses an additional four times. While some of the boss fights do provide alternate dialogue – thanks to the parallel worlds – it doesn’t stop this second half of the game from being extremely tedious. As much as I loved the idea of parallel worlds and the underlying reason for these repeat visits, I think the game could have been engineered better to prevent it from feeling too laborious a task. Players are encouraged to break the rules and destroy one of the crystals, forcing the true enemy to reveal themselves – but this only results in a “false ending” and players can only get the true ending by completing all eight chapters. By the sixth chapter, I gave up on the sub-scenarios and just went for the four crystal bosses, and that was mind-numbingly repetitive. Only when I’d reached the final cycle and unlocked a new location to explore did the game become interesting again. Perhaps if the parallel worlds had been more different – it would have been more engaging as a player.

Bravely Default was a fantastic game for about 80% of the time I was playing it – the combination of its “Bravely Default” combat system and the job-class customization make it extremely rewarding and fun to play. Combat is strategic and often challenging – especially boss battles – where just using powerful attacks won’t be enough to achieve victory. I have to applaud the daring plot-twist midway through the game, even if it didn’t translate to fun gameplay by forcing players to repeat boss battles multiple times. The game also struggles with its tone at times; the animation style and character design is very cute and Chibi-style, but some of the storylines become extremely dark and nihilistic. There are multiple moments where characters are killed off rather callously – even children – and it doesn’t quite ring true because of the cutesy anime character sprites onscreen.

Bravely Default gets so much right in its first four chapters that it is very disappointing that the infuriating game design of its final four chapters leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. Expecting players to retread their paths once or twice is a tall demand, but doing so four times is extremely excessive and punishing. While the HD remaster spruces up the Nintendo 3DS’ graphics and UI for modern audiences, perhaps the game could have benefitted from a slight narrative remaster too.

Fun, but flawed – Bravely Default is a quirky little RPG that tries its best to reinvent the old-school Final Fantasy storylines, even at the expense of its own gameplay.

Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster is available on Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X/S and Windows PC via Amazon UK.