
Originally Posted by
Skyblade
Bravely Default was created specifically to be a spiritual successor to Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, released for the DS a couple of years ago. Because of this, it maintains a number of elements of the series, including ability and item names.
Nevertheless, it is not a direct sequel, and does not tie in to the world or story of The 4 Heroes of Light, nor does it use the Final Fantasy name. While this does make it a new IP, it has about as much in common with the Final Fantasy series as any of the other games in the series have with each other.
The one thing I will say is that keeping it a separate entity has allowed it to maintain its own identity and stay true to the roots it was aiming for. Without the "Final Fantasy" name, it avoided investor scrutiny which could have easily pushed it into the same sort of messes that the main series is currently in. So, while not a Final Fantasy game in a technical sense, it is just that, a technicality. Bravely Default holds the heart and soul of the series, and keeps it closer than any of the current games that actually bear the name.