10 year anniversary was reveal-free
October 11 saw the 10th anniversary of beloved RPG Bravely Default, which first launched on Nintendo 3DS in the fall of 2012 — Yep, that long ago, folks — To celebrate the birthday, Square Enix held a special live stream presentation, featuring original producer Tomoya Asano — To the dismay of fans, however, no official word was forthcoming on any new release or remaster… at least, not directly.
During the live stream, a HD version of the original Bravely Default intro was screened, depicting the attractive fantasy adventure in resolutions never before seen. Following the video, a wistful Asano commented: “Looking at the [HD] opening movie of Bravely Default, I feel like announcing a remaster of Bravely Default would be the best possible thing. And something that the fans would desire. But, for now, I’m unfortunately unable to announce anything like that.”
“‘For now’ let’s just say…” added the producer, tantalizingly.
The Nintendo DS adventure, which is known as Bravely Default: Flying Fairy in its native Japan, spins a fantasy yarn of four protagonists, thrown together in a quest to recover four elemental crystals, swallowed up by ever-increasing darkness. As is the wont of many Square Enix RPGs, Bravely Default is highly regarded for its melodramatic storytelling, lush visuals, attractive characters, and engaging, turn-based combat. Beloved by both critics and players upon release, it was succeeded by 2015’s Bravely Second: End Layer, and 2021 sequel Bravely Default II.
A remaster of the original game, released for Nintendo Switch, would be a guaranteed seller — offering a big-screen revisit to the series’ faithful fanbase, while appealing to newcomers who might have missed out on the Nintendo 3DS version the first time around. Asano’s comments suggest that the possibility of such a release is on the table, and perhaps cogs could possibly be in motion already.
For now, however, we will simply have to wait, and hope, and see.
