Dragon Quest vs Final Fantasy: which games are the best?

[Raziya The Seeker]

FF barely has any memorable music, but at least it has some stuff like Battle on the Big Bridge, while I can't remember anything as far as DQ goes.

Pardon? FF7's soundtrack would have a word with you. The whole damn thing is an earworm. FF9's is a close second. And may I introduce you to Dancing Mad?

I get you with DQ's though, it's mostly good background music but not many tracks are memorable. Still, they set the mood well and there are songs that stand out. Not just the omnipresent battle themes either.

 

[Strategist's iconStrategist]

I've only played DQ1 and DQ5 but I'd take FF1 and FF5 over them, respectively. I'm pretty biased though.

 

[nobitakun]

Comparing this is like asking if you like more the color blue or the color green. But I can't help to feel kind of surprised on how lightly people say Dragon Quest VIII is way better than Final Fantasy VIII. I am sorry, but regardless of playing with Son Gohan with a bandana on his head, I find both games excellent. In fact, Final Fantasy VIII has one of the most ingenious combat systems in the saga while Dragon Quest is quite plain, which does not mean that's bad, it's just more classic.

That's why I don't feel I have the right to say one is better than the other, I just like playing Final Fantasy more when I feel it, and the same with Dragon Quest, or any other saga :)

 

[Yousef]

As a DQ fan, I gave FF every chance I could. I think FF7 and FFX are masterpieces, I thought XIII was ok, I thought XV was not good and I’m very meh on 8 and 9. I lost my patience eventually. It didn’t feel like FF offered anything unique compared to DQ or anything that DQ didn’t already do and was doing better. I’m absolutely open to be proven wrong. I have enough investment in FF to stay open minded about it. Strategist’s articles and my best friend’s constant gushing about it also both revitalize my interest in it and I do still own the pixel remasters.

 

[GardeniaSky]

I grew up watching my mom play FFVII on the PC before I even knew what FF was. I was a huge FF fan for years until recently.

Then when the most recent main Dragon Quest came out, I was floored.

I think I'm in the Dragon Quest camp. Final Fantasy feels like it's always trying to hard. At least the latest ones feel that way. Idk how else to explain it.

 

[Mopeybloke]

1 - DQ. While Final Fantasy is more complex and likely better, I only ever finished DQ because FF was too much of a chore.

2 - Both are chores. I think I prefer FF just because the remakes are very easy.

3 - FF. This is the better version of the first game. Music is better too. DQ 3 is the hugely influential, but I dislike the DQ job system even more than the FF one.

4 - Man. I think DS remakes compared, FF might win. Both are fairly good, but far from my favourite.

5 - DQ easily. Job system, lame story. DQV has one of the best stories in the series, and gives you the chance of playing with a bunch of classes in a more fun way than a job system.

6 - FF. DQ6 is the worst of the Zinithian trilogy. FF VI is the best of the SNES FF games. Also notable for not having a job system.

7 - I think I'll take FF purely for objective reasons. It wins an award for best game ever made. Also DQ7 is dragged out so much I could never complete it. Even getting to be jobs is a chore. The combat is super uninteresting.

8 - DQ comes in with big wins like a good story, a good ability system, and a great cast of characters. It modified the usual DQ system with tension, which changes the game quote a bit.

9 - FF scores with good decisions like following 7 up thematically, having a lovely art style, and being an RPG before the "quest" cancer killed the genre. It also doesn't have a job system, which is a big plus. Most of DQ9 is filled with these boring fetch/kill quests that are geared towards draining your life of meaning while you get closer to death. Awful game.

10 - FF default win.

11 - DQ default win. The game is good although it suffers from questiitis.

12- FF. Sure, DQ hasn't come out, but it'll be an action RPG and I rarely like those.

 

[MajesticSiN]

Too hard to say what would be best since judging that would just be opinion and therefore subjective. I am a fan of both franchises but my favorite had always been the Dragon quest series. It's like the RPG rock that may innovate a bit but no stray too far from it's core.

 

[CG4R12I4N]

As someone who played all the games bar DQX and FFXI because both are MMOs, I feel like DQ went downhill pretty fast right after V whereas FF got consistently much better after IV. Plus Uematsu tracks are much more memorable than the samey Sugiyama shits. Also Japanese gamers actually preferring FFV over DQV plotwise is never not funny to me.

 

[Mopeybloke]

Also Japanese gamers actually preferring FFV over DQV plotwise is never not funny to me.

That's why we can't have nice things!

 

[Hourai]

First game, Final Fantasy. The first DQ is rough, and not in a fun way. FF1 isn't the best of the Famicom games, but it's good.

Second game, Final Fantasy. I actually really like FF2, even if I do agree that it's SaGa Zero. And don't listen to people who talk about stat grinding by beating yourself up; the game is beatable without any stat grinding.

Third game, Dragon Quest. Much as I like FF3, it's not even a contest.

Fourth game, unsure. There's merits towards both being better than the other. If I had to choose one, maybe Final Fantasy? But I could also turn around and say Dragon Quest ten minutes from now.

Fifth game, Dragon Quest. Not even a contest. For everything neat FF5 did, DQ5 is better. The story is great, monster recruitment for your party is good, if a little iffy, Deborah in DS is great, etc etc.

Sixth game, Final Fantasy. Not even a contest. DQ6 is kinda mediocre, even if it does have some neat things (if you keep rejecting getting your corporeal forms back, the witch eventually tells you that you'll do it anyway, because you have no choice. But you do it without Milayou, because you said you weren't going to), but it's a passable game compared to the start of FF's golden age.

Seventh game, Final Fantasy. I adore DQ7, and consider it the second best in the series, behind 5. FF7 is just better, however. Coming from someone who hated it until they played it in 2019 after being disappointed with Remake.

Eighth game, Dragon Quest. I'll be honest, I don't care for DQ8 that much. It was my first DQ game, and it made me think I disliked DQ until I was told DQ5 was like an FF game. Which made me try DQ9, which made me realize my issue is DQ8 and not DQ. I just really dislike FF8's combat, to the point it's soured me on the rest.

Ninth game, Final Fantasy. FF9 is one of my favourite games, and so DQ9 isn't going to compete. It's a very good game; it just has extremely stiff competition.

Tenth game, Final Fantasy. Last great FF game; not that it matters when its competition is a region locked MMO. Interestingly, I hated FF10 for two decades because I couldn't ever manage to stay interested enough to play after the Chocobo Eater. I finally just forced myself to keep going, and ended up loving it almost as much as FF9.

Eleventh game, Dragon Quest. I never played DQ11. I just know my friends love it, and its competition is an MMO.

 

[xuvetyn96]

I've only finished DQ1 and FF7 so I can't say yet... but I really want to finish all of them. So I'll get back to you when I do, however long that is!

I don't really mind. I enjoy both of them. Although not related to the topic Phantasy Star was the game that really got me into RPGS.

I like that Phantasy Star is pretty different compared to the early DQ and FF games of the time. Instead of a high fantasy setting, it has a science fantasy one. It's more influenced by Star Wars and other Western media than it is by manga. It has first person, Ultima-esque dungeons that you need to map out by hand and Wizardry style combat. Plus, it had better graphics due to utilizing the Master System's capabilities. It's a shame the series sort of fizzled out after Phantasy Star Online.

 

[Prism_Red]

 

[Iguana-0]

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Woulda liked the SNES games better hadn't they had that stupid First Person view s*it like Wizardry did.

 

[Jvsouza11]

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Me too.
"ONE MORE GOD REJECTED!"

 

[cheepsheeps567]

hello friends my favorite final fantasy is 10 and my favorite dragon quest so far is 5 , 4

 

[Pandaprewmaster325]

Didn't try dragon quest yet but I'm telling you from now even before i do..... FINAL FANTASY ALL THE WAY ALWAYS WILL ALWAYS WAS

 

[MewFantasy]

Dragon Quest XI was amazing and was the first one I played. HD remake of III was also very good. I've played the 'old' versions of I, II and III as well on nintendo switch.

For some reason I haven't been able to actually finish a FF. I'm now playing FF1 gba edition and we'll see how that plays out and if I'll try other games (both FF and DQ).