Who is Final Fantasy's "other half?"

It's been traditional to give that distinction to the Dragon Quest series, but they've been absorbed by Final Fantasy, and have drifted in and out of the international scene over the years.

So who is the contender that's out to knock Final Fantasy off its high Chocobo?

This list says that, in terms of sales, the Tales Series is the only non-SE property that ranks, and is a straight-up JRPG like Final Fantasy/Dragon Quest.

And it's waaaaaaay down the list. Final Fantasy is at 110 million, and Tales ranks in at a paltry 13.77 million.

So the question is, what can the Tales Series do that Final Fantasy can't? What is its position on the spectrum?

...To be perfectly honest, it really only seems like it sells well because of its similarity to FF. It doesn't attempt to set itself up as a serious contender.

I say, somebody needs to come along and punch SE right in the face with a JRPG-style game that deconstructs their entire approach to storytelling, gameplay and worldbuilding.

It isn't healthy for one company to own that much of the market. SE have gotten lazy with the FF series because they have no competition.