Dragon Quest vs. Final Fantasy vs. Chrono

[Pike]

I'm guessing FF is gonna come out the winner here seeing as this is an FF forum but I'm curious to see if anyone enjoyed one of the other series even more!

[Pumpkin]

Final Fantasy

I've only played DQV and Chrono Trigger, and I've tried Chrono Cross but ehhhhhh

FFIX is my favourite game ever!

[Rez09]

I've played the majority of the Final Fantasy titles, and only all the way through DQ 1, 2, 3, and 9, with a bit of dabbling in 6, 7, and 8, so, much as I adored DQ1, 3, and 9, I've got to go with Final Fantasy.

[Spuuky]

Dragon Quest is better.

[Wolf Kanno]

In terms of series, FF is the best of the bunch, but personally Chrono Trigger > All of them.

[VeloZer0]

In terms of series, FF is the best of the bunch,

I can't dispute this. I would consider the average Chrono Game better than the average FF game, but with a sample size of 2 I can't really consider it a better series overall. Also considering I have two FF games that I like more than any Chrono games.

[Bolivar]

Well, you can't compare the two prolific giants in the genre to to a 2-game series, one of which the creators of those giants collaborated on.

It's tough, man. Final Fantasy should win by default for that FFVII-FFX stretch where they released four of the best games ever made in a span of about 4 years. But DQV absolutely brutalizes any of the 2D FF games while DQVIII is arguably the epitome of the genre.

I refuse to vote.

[chionos]

I refuse to vote.

Lazy ass. Or coward. =P

Though I can't argue with your reasoning.

I did vote, however. There's a number of ways one could choose to quantify their choice here, and I chose to go with averages. If Final Fantasy were, say, FFVI, FFVII, FFIX, FFT, FFX, FFXI, & FFXII only, for me it would easily be the greatest series of all time. But there are other titles in the series that bring it down. Mainly FFXIII, but as was mentioned, other than FFVI, the 2bit era does not stand up to the DQ assault, and I have a hard time making up my mind about FFVI vs. CT. DQ might fare higher in my standings, but there were several DQ games that were, well, basically just boring. Also, I don't like Toriyama's characters, which wasn't really so bad in the background during the 2D era, but the transition to 3D brought that element of the games to the foreground and kind of ultimately ruined them for me. Or at least, kept me from enjoying quite as much as before. In the end, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest have each done me wrong at some point, and Chrono never has, so it kind of wins by default. I mean, other than the fact that I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for a new game that's never....damn, can I change my vote? smurf Chrono, and smurf SE for teasing us with two brilliant games and never bloody following up on them.

[Christmas]

If only Chrono has more games in its franchise.

[Garland]

If I were to make this thread, it'd be DQ - FF - SaGa. DQ never changes. You buy a Dragon Quest because you liked the last one, and you won't be disappointed. That's why it got my vote. Final Fantasy is a little more willing to reinvent the wheel. After the first five, every FF could be a total reimagining of what Final Fantasy is. SaGa, continuing along the spectrum, hails from a planet totally devoid of wheels. Imagining the next SaGa title is like imagining what civilisation would look like if octopi evolved advanced brains before apes. SaGa and FF have higher highs, but lower lows. DQ is DQ. If all FFs were of the 1,3,4,5, 9,11,14 & 16(probably?) model, it'd get my vote. That and I actually like cheery over angsty.

[cheesesteak]

I voted for Chrono, if only b/c it is the one series of the 3 to have a story continuity and gameplay (to an extent) identity.

I'm not too familiar w/ DQ, but I understand each game is its own story, perhaps w/ minor references here or there. Not sure how the combat or RP mechanics are throughout the series.

FF definitely has no identity besides chocobos, summons, sometimes moogles, and sometimes classes. Final Fantasy is basically Square's "our best effort RPG that we'll slap some summons or chocobos in." But no world continuity (besides spinoffs), no gameplay consistency, etc. I honestly don't really view FF as a real series anymore.

Chrono? Okay, it's not perfectly consistent. Different teams on each game (kinda like a variety of FF's and I assume DQ), and the combat and RP systems are way different between Trigger and Cross. But they're still in the same continuity, share some characters, have other shared tidbits like rainbow gear, a visually varied playable cast, Triple Techs, abstruse/obscure side quests that'd put FromSoft to shame, etc. Top-tier music (which to be fair isn't really part of GAME, moreso just happenstance of the composer talent). Even though it's just 2 games, it's an actual SERIES.

Plus, if we talk simple quality over quantity, Trigger and Cross are both highly rated to me. FF? I haven't liked a new FF (keyword "new", so counting launch FF14 and not FF14ARR) since FF12...17 years ago. So Chrono is 2/2, while FF is like 10/15, the last 3 being huge whiffs for me.

[Fynn]

FF is probably the one that I come back to the most and has the biggest hold over my heart that I just don’t feel is appropriate to defy anymore lmao


That said, this is a brutal choice. Chrono Trigger may be one of the tightest game experiences out there and Chrono Cross has a lot to love about it too. I got into DQ very late, since I think this was around 2015, but I loved it so much since the very first moments. Though I was admittedly underwhelmed by XI

FF just has so much going for it. It may not be as consistent as DQ or have as complete a feel as CT, but it’s just a series unlike any other in that every entry truly brings something now. Being sucked into the XIV rabbit hole right now, I don’t see that changing for me anytime soon

[Vincent, Thunder God]

In terms of one I'd like to return to probably crono.