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[German Hops]

Which series do you think was better based on the first 11 games of each respective series?


If I had to pit each original release in the series against one another , my personal preferences would be:

-FF1 > DQ1
-DQ2 > FF2
-DQ3 > FF3
-FF4 = DQ4
-DQ5 > FF5
-FF6 > DQ6
-FF7 = DQ7
-DQ8 > FF8
-FF9 > DQ9
-I haven't played DQX, but I'm guessing FFX is better.
-DQ11 > FF11

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


FF1: 5 interesting classes (Thief sucks). Less linear, less grindy.
DQ1: Fun open world. Too redundant and grindy.

DQ2: Unique characters. Occasional lack of directions.
FF2: Boring from beginning to end. Poorly balanced.

DQ3: 6 interesting classes (Merchant and Goof-Off are useless). Fun battles and character growth. Lack of freedom in battle strategy near the endgame.
FF3: See FF2.

DQ4: Lack of control over allies in Chapter 5. Otherwise a great title.
=
FF4: Similar to yet better than FF1 in strategy and character growth.

DQ5: Hands down one of the best titles in the series.
FF5: A few fun classes. Poorly balanced after the halfway point.

FF6: Hands down one of the best titles in the series.
DQ6: Haven't beaten it yet, but not as good as DQ5.

FF7: Iconic game, changed an entire genre forever.
=
DQ7: Intensely satisfying 100 hour rpg, which sold over a million copies in Japan in the first few days.


Overall, I'd say Dragon Quest is the better and more consistent series of the two.
What's your opinion?

 

[Synless]

All I’ll say is DQV and DQXI are among the greatest gaming media I have ever played.

 

[killatopak]

Final Fantasy peaks are higher but DQ is consistently good.

FF is like going to a random restaurant where Gordon Ramsey is there. Except you don’t know if Gordon is the chef or if you’re on a set of Kitchen Nightmares.

DQ is like a home cooked meal by your family. It just warms the heart regardless if it’s your favorite dish or not.

 

[DragoonKain]

I'm not a big fan of the original DQ games. Hate the combat and battle systems. Early FF I think it's not even close. FF by a wide margin. Lately though? DQXI and even DQVIII are better than any FF that has been out in years. DQXI blows away any FF since FFIX.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

Final Fantasy peaks are higher but DQ is consistently good.

Close thread

Final Fantasy died after 10 (although 12 was also fun), and that was more than 20 years ago.

 

[Svejk]

Having recently played both DQV for the first time and FFXVI, DQ by a country mile. lol

 

[Punished Miku]

One day I will stick with a DQ and a Persona game. Even if it kills me.

 

[DGrayson]

Ff vi is probably the best for me but dq viii is a close second.

 

[a multicultural team of v]

The best and worst qualities of both franchises are that Dragon Quest is the same fucking game over and over and Final Fantasy tries to do different things each title.

 

[PuppetMaster]

FF has evolved and experimented with so many things.

DQ has been largely stagnant.

 

[BrunoCoel]

Dragon Quest is the same game since the 80's.

Final Fantasy is my choice.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

Played DQ I-VIII and XI, played every FF aside from II&III and never finished XII.

DQ V, VII and VIII are the best three.

DQ never got worse but DQ XI retconning amazing character development was dumb as hell.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

FF by far. I feel like FF really pushed the genre forward, in terms of story, characters, visuals, and gameplay mechanics.

I’m glad DQ exists for those who prefer that type of nostalgia-driven old school JRPG but it just does nothing for me. The battle system feels so bland and clunky. The story structure of “go to next town, solve some local problem that’s unrelated to your main quest, get some breadcrumb that points you to the next town, repeat” is boring and played out.

 

[POKEYCLYDE]

Final Fantasy has a lot more trash but also a lot more bangers. DQ8 is amazing though. I think I'd give it to Final Fantasy though.

 

[Fbh]

My experience with DQ is very limited.
Growing up Final Fantasy was always way more attractive to me, specially during the Ps1 era (which is when I got into JRPG's). Square was doing these cool unique worlds with the awesome pre rendered backgrounds and impressive CG cutscenes from time to time, meanwhile DQ looked more dated and felt like it was just doing "Generic Medieval Fantasy Dragon Ball" again and again.
I never really liked the music either in comparison, always preferred the stuff from Nobuo Uematsu vs Koichi Sugiyama.

Tried DQ8 during the Ps2 era because of all the praise but I got bored with it, never really cared about the world, plot and characters which is a must for me in a JRPG.

That said I did like DQ11 more than FFXIII, XV and XVI. (aside from the horrible music)

 

[StueyDuck]

I've played very few dragon quest games. But from the few I have played... it always felt like beginners intro to jrpgs where FF felt like Daddy Jrpgs

 

[ungalo]

What's your opinion?

My opinion is that FF wipes the floor with DQ.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

I've played very few dragon quest games. But from the few I have played... it always felt like beginners intro to jrpgs where FF felt like Daddy Jrpgs

Dragon Quest is Final Fantasy's Daddy but yeah.

 

[StueyDuck]

Dragon Quest is Final Fantasy's Daddy but yeah.

I know what you mean. I just mean in terms of story and complexity FF always seemed bigger and better where DQ (again I've played very little) seems very simplistic in comparison, nothing wrong with that, pokemon is still the biggest jrpg out there and I think that shit is brainless.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Dragon Quest doesn't have an Identity problem and you always know what you are getting. I love every mainline Dragon Quest they put out. XI is top tier JRPG.

Not the same case with Final Fantasy. Which is largely hit or miss.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

One day I will stick with a DQ and a Persona game. Even if it kills me.

lol this is me exactly. I’ve started most of these games but never finished a single one. Every time I’m like “man there must be something special for people to speak so highly about this game, wow it looks so polished and nice, can’t wait to fully immerse myself in this world”. But I always lose interest eventually. Farthest I’ve made it was 30 hours in DQ11. Think I got kind of close to the end of Persona 2 Eternal Punishment as well, somehow.

 

[Punished Miku]

lol this is me exactly. I’ve started most of these games but never finished a single one. Every time I’m like “man there must be something special for people to speak so highly about this game, wow it looks so polished and nice, can’t wait to fully immerse myself in this world”. But I always lose interest eventually. Farthest I’ve made it was 30 hours in DQ11. Think I got kind of close to the end of Persona 2 Eternal Punishment as well, somehow.

Exactly. I'm sure I will still buy DQXII too. I read the comments like #2 in this thread, and they're always there. And I have absolutely no idea what they're talking about. If I ever manage to fully conquer one of these games to completion I will either become a fan finally, or I will finally have the authority to confidently talk immense amounts of shit on the series. It could go either way. 50/50 at this point.

 

[ssringo]

Really I take Final Fantasy across the board (comparing similar release years) until FF12 and then on it's Dragon Quest easily.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Exactly. I'm sure I will still buy DQXII too. I read the comments like #2 in this thread, and they're always there. And I have absolutely no idea what they're talking about. If I ever manage to fully conquer one of these games to completion I will either become a fan finally, or I will finally have the authority to confidently talk immense amounts of shit on the series. It could go either way. 50/50 at this point.

Just recently I have finally gotten over FOMO and accepted they’re not for me. I feel like DQ fanboys are like the equivalent to the grown men who shrieked and wept with uncontrollable emotion when they saw the Milennium Falcon in the Star Wars ep VII trailer. It’s a joy I can never experience no matter how hard I try.

I loved the JRPGs of the SNES-PS1 era, but what I loved was how they felt so fresh and innovative.

 

[Sleepwalker]

Final fantasy by a landslide.

 

[TheInfamousKira]

Final Fantasy for me, but it's my favorite franchise.

 

[Orenji Neko]

Like both but when compare

DQ>FF
DQ2>FF2
DQ3=FF3 like both。got both early teenager when came out。
FF4>DQ4 FF4 is favorite FF。
DQ5>FF5 DQ5 is favorite DQ。
FF6>DQ6
DQ7>FF7
DQ8>FF8
DQ9>FF9 DQ9 nice memory feeling of DQ3 in similar。FF9 good but slow。
DQ11>FF10

Online
FF11>DQ10 played FF11 many years。

 

[Punished Miku]

Just recently I have finally gotten over FOMO and accepted they’re not for me. I feel like DQ fanboys are like the equivalent to the grown men who shrieked and wept with uncontrollable emotion when they saw the Milennium Falcon in the Star Wars ep VII trailer. It’s a joy I can never experience no matter how hard I try.

I loved the JRPGs of the SNES-PS1 era, but what I loved was how they felt so fresh and innovative.

You may be right. For years I've been slowly trying to figure out the psyche of the modern JRPG fan, and I do still include myself in that. It's a complex mix of lots of different types of people so you can't make completely broad generalizations. But one thing I do know is that the least reliable information you can get is impressions from a JRPG fan about JRPGs. You just have no clue what it means unless you know the person well. You don't even know what decade of reality they are living in until you talk it out at length. They could still be living in 1997, 2007, a couple live in the present too.

 

[Mozzarella]

I played only few DQ games, not a big fan of the franchise.
I like FF better.

 

[German Hops]

Mozzarella, I am shocked.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

DQ is possibly the most nostalgia-based IP in gaming. The games are consistently good, but they’re also a masterclass in stretching things way beyond their limit and they’re invariably a grindfest. No, fuck off, you haven’t not grinded in DQ since I don’t care when. You always grind in DQ. Finding an area with metal slimes and keeping trying until you’ve killed a few counts as grinding in anyone’s book. And you did it, boyos. Every time, in every game. Stop trying to sell me the “you don’t have to grind in DQ” bs. Just stop.

FF is hit-and-miss in its trying different things, but kudos for never quitting. They should just have the courage to let 7 go.

Oh, and however shitty a FF game may be, you can be sure of one damn thing.
FF’s music will invariably be amazing and shit on DQ’s music from a very high place.

 

[cireza]

Dragon Quest is super bland, never managed to get attracted to it, despite a few attempts. Music is a real issue as well, to the point I don't want to play because I don't want to endure most generic music ever for tenths of hours.

And then you have games like FF V or VIII or X which are simply brilliant and suck you in. And I loved XIII trilogy and XV.

 

[Saber]

Can't exactly who is the best...but Dragon Quest is certainly my favorite among all games.

Which reminds me that Dragon Quest Monster, one of my favorite catching monster games of all time, will release tomorrow and I'm fucking ready.

 

[Hero_Select]

DQ7 = FF7?

Big disagree.

also FF8 is legitimately great, DQ8 is extremely simple and has a very middling soundtrack.. so FF8 is better..

 

[kunonabi]

While I'd say Final Fantasy has higher highs personally the vast majority of the series is middling to crap so DQ wins on consistency and it still has some real bangers anyway.

 

[Lokaum D+]

FF for me, i think DQ needs to mature a little and i m glad that the OG music composer is dead, hopefully we can have a good OST in DQXII

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

You may be right. For years I've been slowly trying to figure out the psyche of the modern JRPG fan, and I do still include myself in that. It's a complex mix of lots of different types of people so you can't make completely broad generalizations. But one thing I do know is that the least reliable information you can get is impressions from a JRPG fan about JRPGs. You just have no clue what it means unless you know the person well. You don't even know what decade of reality they are living in until you talk it out at length. They could still be living in 1997, 2007, a couple live in the present too.

Man that is so true. I still like some modern JRPGs (Xenoblade series, some of the modern FF series, Star Ocean 6, some of the Tales games). But it practically feels like some people in this fandom are living in different universes.

You got
- the “anything but FF” crowd
- the turn-based purists who feel like they’re under attack and any turn-based JRPG is a victory against The Man
- the ones who will literally play anything with anime characters and EXP and will always white knight for games that received lots of criticism
- the ones who seem to always hate the latest game in whatever franchise but love the one just before it
- people who just really, really love that kind of shounen melodrama and get very personally invested in wacky anime characters
- the ones who every year predict that this year is the second coming of 1990s Squaresoft and the new golden age
- the ones whose first JRPG was Golden Sun and think it was the most legendary ground-breaking game of all time


It’s a pretty crazy bunch of gamers, always entertaining to follow!

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

Dragon Quest shits all over FF and has been a true jrpg franchise consistently since the start while FF is just a beta test for a possible new play style genre for years now.

 

[Mister Wolf]

I'm certain Dragon Quest 12 will be better than Final Fantasy 16 just as Dragon Quest 11 was better than Final Fantasy 15.

 

[Krieger]

The only Dragon Quest I played was Dragon Quest XI and it was the worst RPG I ever played. There was only 1 song for fucking everything, no japanese dub, a garbage story where 2/3 of it gets undone in the final 1/3, being forced to wait 5 minutes in real life every time after crafting something to craft something new, and lastly there was no strategy in the gameplay. You only needed the blue haired guy to win the game with his "3 hit + guaranteed critical hit for the next attack" combo. The girl with the bunny outfit also helps, cause her bunny outfit allowed her to do a 7 hit attack, but every other character was useless.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

Dragon Quest doesn't have an Identity problem and you always know what you are getting. I love every mainline Dragon Quest they put out. XI is top tier JRPG.

Not the same case with Final Fantasy. Which is largely hit or miss.

How many times do I have to ask you to marry me?

 

[Hudo]

Fucking hell. That's a hard question...

I think I like the NES to PS2 era FFs more, everything considered. After that, clearly DQ is the better series, by far.
That being said, DQ3 and DQ5 are up there with FF6 and FF9 as one of the best JRPGs ever made.

I voted for DQ just because DQ11S is better than every FF after 12.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Fucking hell. That's a hard question...

I think I like the NES to PS2 era FFs more, everything considered. After that, clearly DQ is the better series, by far.
That being said, DQ3 and DQ5 are up there with FF6 and FF9 as one of the best JRPGs ever made.

I voted for DQ just because DQ11S is better than every FF after 12.

Might want to read the first sentence of OP

 

[Hudo]

Might want to read the first sentence of OP

That's not the NeoGAF way.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

I pick FF. DQ has never clicked with me.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

i think DQ needs to mature a little and i m glad that the OG music composer is dead, hopefully we can have a good OST in DQXII

 

[Alexios]

Maybe FF stood a chance in the 90s but DQ definitely wins overall by now. Even its spin offs are generally better (Monsters, Joker, etc.) but the main games haven't missed a beat (though there are less). Wish Square would stop chasing DMC gameplay with FF, they have Kingdom Hearts for that bs.

 

[Lokaum D+]

jk

 

[MagiusNecros]

FF for me, i think DQ needs to mature a little and i m glad that the OG music composer is dead, hopefully we can have a good OST in DQXII

Oh please.

 

[AmuroChan]

For me DQ is comfort food and I know pretty much what I'm getting every time. FF is more experimental and regularly tries to reinvent itself, which sometimes works and sometimes it doesn't.