Bravely Default is an astoundingly good classic-style RPG. The combat is absolutely delicious - the job system is diverse and flexible, the Brave/Default mechanics add a delightful amount of dimension to boss fights, and the overall game feel perfectly captures the feeling of a true classic Final Fantasy-style game. The story and game structure test your patience in their late stages (an understatement, certainly), but the cast is wonderful, the villains are memorable from start to finish, and the game's core twist is awesome. This game was trapped on the 3DS for far too long, and having it on modern platforms is absolutely fantastic.
I really adore the main party in particular when it comes to the cast, but I mean it when I say that pretty much every major character is memorable and leaves a mark on you. Theming them around the jobs they give you upon defeat results in a wide variety of personalities and philosophies, but the developers also make efforts to subvert expectations when it comes to personality and job pairings, which helps greatly in letting these characters make a big impact with limited screen time. They're not universally great, of course - the obligatory pervert sage character I could have done without - but the duds are enormously outweighed by the hits, especially the main cast. Edea my beloved I would die for you.
Now, look, alright, the late game thing that everyone has probably heard about is a drag. I think it probably goes on two or three segments too long for most people, and I think it's fair to have a decent amount of disdain for the monotony of it. What I don't agree with is the idea that the back end of this game ruins the experience of the front end. Yes, it's a drag, but it's worth pushing through to experience the true end of this game, which circles right back around to the high quality of the rest of the story to that point. Plus, Bravely's side content is so comparatively sparse that if you really want to, you can rip through that monotonous set of segments relatively quickly by cutting out the fat surrounding them. It's the game's major flaw, certainly, but it doesn't kill the rest of it.
Bravely Default is a delight. It's the perfect game to recommend to a friend who crows about Final Fantasy no longer being turn based, because it feels like Final Fantasy III-2, or maybe an alternative FFIV with no ATB system. If you love classic, true turn-based JRPGs, and all the baggage that comes with the label, Bravely Default is the game for you, I promise. Thug it out and play it cover to cover. You won't regret it.
ringabel's panic cruise can burn in hell though
