I just gave the Nintendo Switch 2 a go, and found the best demo of the new hardware in the most unexpected place

Today, I visited the Nintendo Switch 2 experience in London. It was a really pleasant atmosphere; lots of kids of all ages visibly brimming with excitement to get their hands on the Switch 2 for the first time. Roars of excitement as gaggles of mates played the abysmally-named Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV. Hollering and whooping as one middle-aged bloke beats a handful of crestfallen kids in Mario Kart World.

My primary purpose in coming here was to test out the hardware for the Switch 2. It’s all well and good that we’re getting shinier games, faster loading times, and better performance, but – for the average punter – the main difference with the Switch 2 is going to be in the hardware. In the bigger screen, the updated JoyCons, and those new custom CPU/GPU units making everything come to life. But, perhaps the most fascinating prospect is ‘the mouse’.

The mouse! Now, the price point for entry, $449.99, is steep. But if Nintendo is packing the Switch 2 full of quirky gimmicks and funky toys, hey, maybe it’ll live up to its cost, after all. Whilst we’ve got amazing experiments like Switch 2’s Welcome Tour showing us what to expect of all the bells and whistles squirreled away beneath the plastic and glass of the hardwear proper, how will other games implement this functionality? Will it be as instrumental as the touchscreen in the DS family of machines, or will it be as… forgettable… as the touchscreen in the Vita family of machines?

Well, there’s one game I played today that really surprised me when it comes to incorporating this new functionality. It was in Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster (stop me if you’ve heard this one before), and it was tucked away in the mini-games. Yes, really.

There are two new mini-games in this RPG re-release that specifically leverage the two JoyCon and their mouse functionality; a rhythm game where you basically guide your chosen character through a Theatrhythm/Persona Dancing All Night-inspired sequence, and an absolutely unhinged airship mini-game in which the collective characters all backseat drive the dandy, and part-protagonist, Ringabel, as he tries desperately to pilot his vehicle through an aerial course of madcap nonsense.

Now, for a start, these mini-games seem like they’ll only work on Switch 2 – I can’t imagine a Steam port making you plug two mice in to play the rhythm game, for example (though maybe they could use the Steam Deck’?’s trackpads?). Secondly, they’re… excellent? All the functionality and playfulness of the Welcome Tour, but within an actual honest-to-God game where there’s something at stake. The mini-games are tucked into the ‘Game Corner’ menu from the main screen, but a handler at the event tells me they’ll also be accessible in the main game, and will offer actual awards.

The rhythm game (Luxencheer Rhythm Catch) is my favourite, and from what I could see at the event, it was popular with the masses, too; a couple of players would finish their slot and immediately join the queue to play it again. It mostly reminds me of the Persona Dancing games, but with a touch of the readable and gorgeous UI from Theatrhythm to make it a bit easier on the eyes. Using the mice, you’d click, swing, and glide your hands across a your play surface to – in essence – do a little dance with your hands to match the action on screen.

I always thought they way you used your stylus in Theatrhythm made you feel like a little tiny conductor, tapping out rhythms and conducting the undulations in melodies with your little baton. I feel Bravely Default HD makes you do the same with your hands; making you tap and jive like you’re a jazz dancer in a ‘40s club. Or something. It shows off how precise the JoyCon’s mouse functionality can be, and how entertaining it can be to make you position, click, and tap along with some good music.

The second game (Ringabel’s Panic Cruise!) is less impressive from a hardware point-of-view, but has the playfulness I’d expect from a first-party Nintendo game, if I’m being honest. You pilot an airship through a series of rings whilst fulfilling busywork shouted at your by your allies (‘Pop these balloons! Flip these switches! Wrench this nut!’) It’s… absurd. It’s called ‘panic cruise’ for a reason, I guess.

Your left-hand mouse will need to control altitude via a vertical lever that pilots you up and down, and your right hand will need to crank a wheel left or right in order to steer. If that wasn’t enough, various bits and pieces of your cockpit will break, leak, or make nosies at you every few seconds, requiring you to pull (click and drag) on a rope to toot your whistle, flip switches (click) to satisfy a crew member, or wrench (click, drag, up, down) to stop a valve from spitting steam into your face.

Again, it’s only a couple of small actual mechanics, but the creativity and ingenuity Square Enix has shown in shaping them into a distinct, fun, and most importantly weird experience actually gives me hope that non-first party developers will find the joy and the funkiness in what this odd offering of hardware can do.

Given that games will retail at $80 per unit, you’d expect that we’d get some extra features crammed into the overall experience. It’s easy to be cynical about this; I certainly was when I sat down to play Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster. But, if I have to pay for my games twice and shell out full price for a 3DS remaster, I’m glad there are little surprises like this to make it worthwhile.

For Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster has gone from being a weird little niche game that looked quite odd on the launch line-up to a proper example of what this this hardware can achieve. I was going to buy it anyway, but now I’ll buy it and use it to show my friends and family why this isn’t just ‘a slightly bigger Switch’. It’s a good launch game, and something the Switch 2 desperately needs to prove itself out the gate, I feel. Good job, Square Enix.