DQ vs FF

[Depression Moon]

I know that the Dragon Quest series has been around a little longer than FF and I have only played one game in the series. It might be a little unfair to judge the entire series just off of one game, but I'm guessing that the series on the whole is unchanging and probably cliched. For those of you hear who have played a bit more DQ what are your comparisons between the two series and I can probably guess that everyone probably prefers FF over it.

[sdm42393]

I've only played DQ8 and wasn't too impressed with it.

[The Man]

Honestly, these days I like the DQ series more, although I haven't played FFXII. The FF series went downhill for me after FFVI, with the exception of FFVII FFIX.

[LunarWeaver]

I liked DQVIII okay, but there were times it felt more like work than a game. I tried to play DQVI, but it was just VIII except ty looking.

Final Fantasy all the way iyam.

[Vermachtnis]

I don't like not being able to see my characters in battle in Dragon Quest. I know it's stupid, but for that reason alone I like Final Fantasy more.

[JKTrix]

I like Dragon Quest's generally simple story (not sifting through dialogue for any long period of time), quicker gameplay (except for 8, which got slow) and better music.

For me, it just comes down to simplicity and better music. I don't really care about the story in a lot of games, because there have been few game stories that have really impressed me. DQ keeps it pretty simple without getting particularly long-winded in combat or exposition.

Other things like the series 'charm' and 'innovative' story methods may be a little harder to explain to people.

[The Man]

It's worth noting that FFVI's entire second half pretty much wouldn't have existed without DQV, and if memory serves one of the creators even admitted as much, although I've lost the interview where they said that.

[Bastian]

Why wouldn't the second half of FFVI have existed without DQ?

I've actually been thinking about getting into DQ now that there are a few of them going to be available on the DS. One of the more recent ones for PS2 or 3 looked fun a while back.

Oh, and actually, I REALLY don't care much for the second half of FFVI. It's too optional. It feels like after waking up on the beach and finding out the world was destroyed, the game lost all purpose.

[The Man]

There's a sequence in which you get separated from the rest of your party and have to find all the party members again. I'd reveal more but it'd be spoilerish.

And I actually enjoyed re-recruiting all the characters more than any other part of the game, in part because it enabled me to learn more about their backstories, and also because it was so open-ended.

[JKTrix]

It's worth noting that FF's entire franchise pretty much wouldn't have existed without DQ, and the creators even admitted as much, although I've lost the interview where they said that.

Fixed for expanded accuracy :P However on that particular point, Dragon Quest IV actually starts you out with each individual member of your party individually. So you get part of their backstory and their purpose for this game bit by bit, until they all meet up with the 'Hero' in the last chapter. This happened in DQIV in 1990 (where FFVI came out in 94). I dont' know what happens in DQV since I haven't played it yet, but at least the concept of individual backstories for the party members goes back that far.

[Wolf Kanno]

I have a love/hate relationship with DQ. Its a series that takes almost every cliche and terrible rpg design imaginable and puts it all together into one game. This, cauldron of crap is so great that it inverts on itself and creates a title that for all intents and purposes is a very fun and enjoyable series. I do enjoy the DQ series but I cannot for the life of me pinpoint why. I hate the battles systems, the job classes are generic and boring, the music is mostly forgettable after the first game and yet I've always managed to play through them to the end religiously. It must be the work of demons or LSD laced into the disc... I don't know. I do recommend the series but its definetly "old school" people looking for deep story telling, enchanting world design, cutting edge graphics, and an innovative battle system should do themselves a favor and go else where.

[black orb]

>>> I played DQ7, it was fine.. I like Akira Toriyama characters and the nostalgia factor of these games..
But im a ff bitch, so i like ff games more..

[Bolivar]

One could go on for ever, because in some ways they're extremely different JRPG's, yet at the same time they are so seriously the same.

First off, people note how the FF series has much more differentiation among its games, but in the end these are only to a more (arguably) varying degree than DQ - its plot is essentially the same apocalyptic story between a disenfranchised villain and the life force of the planet, whereas every DQ is an ancient lord of demons being reawakened by some other villain, the heroes having some mandate from the respective deity of that game. Most FF have different interpretations on the same core job classes, or hybrids of 2, the battle systems just make a more complicated diversion to get to the inevitable point where a character at a predestined level learns Fire2, as you would in DQ.

I would consider Final Fantasy a little more cutting edge, a little more flavorful, and I give that series as a whole more favoritism.

But I do not think it's fair to hold cliches against Dragon Quest. DQ CREATED the Japanese console RPG sub-genre, just because they stuck to the winning formula that got all of your favorite developers rich, doesn't mean they're unimaginative. In the end they always came up with interesting deviations, such as in III, IV, V, and they continued to utilize that same formula well.

On a final note, I do think Dragon Quest VIII is much, much better than Final Fantasy XII, so in the most recent game department, Dragon Quest has the upper hand. Although I think everyone will agree Final Fantasy XIII will be better than Dragon Quest IX, on numerous levels.

[Markus. D]

DQ is very the same, each and every one.


FF keeps trying new things, so... FF.

[Wolf Kanno]

I feel that DQ gets hit with the "samey" aspect purely on the basis that its world design is always the same. It may have new locales but the fact is, you could drop characters from DQVII into DQII's world and they would mesh flawlessly. It would be like if every FF was like the first 4 Final Fantasy's in terms of design. From a gameplay standpoint, DQ does the same as FF in that they do create new battle systems in a way but its mostly a clever disguise from previous gameplay mechanics.

The DQ series keeps rebuilding the DQIII battle system while FF rebuilds FFIV's battle system. Though I feel FF has always been able to hide it much better cause they generally have had deeper customization systems and their choice of going to a much more cinematic view in battle screens allow players to take their mind off the more obvious gameplay mechanics. The only place I feel DQ has always trumped FF is in the area of linerality. The FF series has been moving to a very linear style of play ever since FFIV but DQ is always built around allowing the player to explore and see the world at their own pace. I will never understand how people can enjoy a game where it hold your hand the whole time and optional contenet only opens up in the last few hours of the story.

FF also utilizes its mythos in grander ways and places deeper philisophical meaning into their stories. DQ, in my eyes at least never goes that far cause its created to be enjoyable. DQVII for instance has many clever elements to its plot and pacing, yet it felt to me like they were utilizing techniques that Square was using for FF back in the 16-bit era. This is not a negative statement, I do feel some games should be made for pure enjoyment but I like to point out that FF can be appreciated on mulitple levels whereas DQ cannot cause its very specific in its purpose and design.

As for your last statement Bolivar, I'm actually looking forward to DQIX more than I am FFXIII. It will be very interesting to see how the legendary franchise utilizes the DS.