Well, I just started it, and it has been a joy to play. SE definitely still knows how to make a good RPG. I haven't heard many people outside of Japan talk about it, but I can for sure say that its been really fun to play, the voice acting is amazing, the music is epic, and I'm just having a blast. This and Luigi's Mansion 2 were my must have games for the latter part of 2012.

@Konata I don't see why it wouldn't, though it would be a bit of a wait if, for example, the translators are just starting work on it. Its a massive game with a big story, like Fire Emblem or Time Travelers. It would take a long time to translate all of the dialogue, plus I'd imagine the story might be a hard sell at times. Its definitely a bit dark, which contrasts with the art style at times.

I haven't been talking about it, but I have been sitting quietly in anticipation that it eventually gets announced because it looks rather awesome.

We(Specifically, I.) need linkz!

Linkz

I imagine a localisation wouldn't be announced for at least a couple of weeks even if it was already decided. A major question they're going to be asking about a western release it "Should we brand it as a Final Fantasy game?" and I imagine they would want to see the Japanese reception before they commit either way.

I really hope the game does well in Japan and comes west though. Japanese retailer impressions seem to indicate that there's healthy demand for the game which is definitely a good sign.

I'll only post one link for fear of being accused of spamming: http://www.rpgfan.com/boards/index.php?topic=10073.0

I can't imagine it would be in their best interest to rebrand an unrelated game as a Final Fantasy game, especially these days. This isn't the mid-90's, where most people wouldn't know the origins of a product, if the game is the major subject on some websites that some users are saying it is, then they know it is not a Final Fantasy game, and these people are going to be the game's main audience. And either way, just playing the game you would know its not a FF game. The music, tone of the story, character interactions, art style, its all so different. Yes, in terms of being a Japanese RPG, and the character design, there's some definite FF blood in there, but it would be like rebranding Chrono Trigger as a Final Fantasy game. I can't imagine they would think people in the west are that daft anymore. Yes, I understand your point, that having the game ride on a larger and more famous game's coattails would increase its chance of sales, but while playing this game, I'd actually be kind of offended if they did that. Its an entirely different experience.

You can make the connection to Final Fantasy without trying to rebrand the game. Just print a "from the makers of Final Fantasy" sticker and put it on the packaging or something. It works for movies.

I'm curious too about how the game will sell here. They sure have been promoting it quite a bit.

It would still work to increase sales. It shouldn't but it would. I mean, Final Fantasy changes up its own games in the main series so much anyway, might as well use the name to help sell an actually good game.

Yes, and I understand that, but the potential for SE to create a new brand name, a new franchise would basically die, and Bravely Default would not be able to sell based on its own merits. If you play the game, you would understand, it really is an amazing product, and entirely different from Final Fantasy. I feel like they would be under selling it by "inserting" it into another game's series.

BTW, the game's title is Bravely Default: Flying Fairy. There's no "The" in the title.

Look at your own tagline. SquareEnix is creating a new franchise, not a sequel or a spin-off. It is definitely a SE game, and has the potential to become its own series, or a really good one-off game.

The game is a sequel to Final Fantasy : Four Heroes of Light, using the same art style and also using all the same monsters. It has a classic FF job system and even uses some classic FF jobs like Black Mage, White Mage and Dark Knight(which are clearly based on Cecil). It even has FF in the subtitle. Rebranding it as FF would not be strange at all. I do agree that it might do the game a game a disservice it would also inarguably sell a lot more in the west as a Final Fantasy title than as Bravely Default. I imagine the better the game does domestically the more chance there is that they will keep it as Bravely Default so you better convince everyone to bu it!

@Oregano The game is not an official sequel to the four heroes game. It stemmed from development sessions for a sequel to that, but the game changed direction and isn't even made by the same development team, and the director, writer, and composer are all different people. They're even going for a totally different audience at this game has a much higher maturity rating than the DS Final Fantasy titles.

This game is definitely on my radar now, since Famitsu gave it a glowing review. Heck, I would've have bought it before, because I love RPGs, but now I'm really hoping it gets localized.

What was the famitsu score?

36/40. And it wasn't a major game from a distinguished franchise, either.

I know it's not literally Four Heroes 2 but the lineage is quite clear. Also, about the bit in bold, FFXII and FFXIII has entirely separate development teams(although both were in SE, unlike Matrix and Silicon Studios) and the director, writer and composer were different people. Giving it the FF name, or even calling it Four Heroes of the Light 2 would be kind of misleading but not at all surprising.

Also I believe BDFF actually received 38/40(9,10,10,9). I think out of Square Enix games on Nintendo platforms only Dragon Quest IX has scored higher. Four Heroes scored 33/40 IIRC.

It really isn't a sequel to FF: 4 heroes of Light. As far as I understand, it has more in common with FF5, if even that.

Yeah, sorry, you are right. Jeez, that makes it even better looking.

We have a Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr; all with the goal of seeing that this game is localized!
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BringBravelyDefaultFlyingFairyToTheWest
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BDFFLocalize
Tumblr: http://bdfflocalize.tumblr.com/

@Oregano Yes, I do understand the comparison. And like I said, there is some (very clear) Final Fantasy blood in this game. To me, it would be more like a second cousin than a close relative. Haha, I'm not really good with the metaphors/simile.

And hey, I consider anything above a 32 score to be really good. I mean, that's an average of 8 for the reviewers. I can see why, this game is really good.

I'm a bit surprised at how dark this game is getting though, I mean, its definitely darker than the DS FF games. The story (and some of the designs of the towns and backgrounds) remind me a bit more of Ni no Kuni than FFIII or FFIV.

Even though i really want this i don't think i know much about the actual gameplay. xD Is this turn-based or real-time?