Aside from the new features, the team at Square Enix has smartly pulled the best ideas from Final Fantasy, while leaving out the stuff you don't want. Chief among these is the job system, which was one of the best features of both FF V and the Tactics series of strategy spin offs. It’s essentially a more fluid form of character customization — instead of having characters that are locked into roles like healer or fighter, you can change their focus at any time. As you play you'll be able level up these jobs, unlocking new abilities while also discovering new, more useful jobs by taking on side quests. It really gives you control over your squad, and is flexible enough that if you don't like a decision you've made, you can always switch back.

It's 'Final Fantasy' where it counts

But while the game largely borrows the best traits from the Final Fantasy series, it falls flat in a few places, most notably with the story. There aren't any truly memorable characters in the vein of a Cloud or Zidane, and the sometimes grating voice acting can make the verbose dialog feel even longer than it already is. It also has some strange moments of casual sexism that feel at odds with its otherwise cute and charming setup. This mainly centers around a creepy old mage who is constantly leering at the female members of your party. At one point he tells a young woman who he has known since she was a child that she's grown to be plump and jiggly. Later on he invites her to stay in his bed.

Thankfully, the frustrating moments of Bravely Default are fleeting. It's a game that will remind you why you fell in love with Japanese role playing games to begin with — that amazing sense of adventure coupled with the joy of strategically building your party. Bravely Default started out life as a sequel to the DS game Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, so the FF nods aren’t too surprising. But according to producer Tomoyo Asano, even as the game grew into something outside of that universe, the team decided to keep those nods to make it more approachable. "We felt like these are things that are familiar to people and make it easier for them to get into the game," he told Kotaku.

It might not have the name, but Bravely Default is pure Final Fantasy where it counts.