Japan is and always has been the most prolific producer of role-playing video games in the world. In fact, Eastern-style role-playing games are so distinct that they have their own designated acronym: the JRPG. Back during the infancy of the genre, when Nintendo managed to gain a foothold in the Western game market despite the Video Game Crash of 1983, it was very common for The Big N to choose not to localize JRPGs out of fear that they wouldn’t sell well in America. Producers often thought that these games were too slow-paced, too numbers-based, too particularly Japanese in their idiosyncrasies. This mindset has diminished somewhat in the decades following the Famicom, but there are still many examples of unlocalized JRPGs all the way up through the present day.

 

In order to better understand Japan’s unique relationship with the RPG, it is important to study two of the country’s biggest, most prominent role-playing series: Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. They both sell millions of copies with each new entry and have spawned dozens of spin-off games in every conceivable genre. Notably, they are also both developed and published by the same company, Square Enix. Despite these similarities, FF and DQ have very different philosophies in regard to style, story, and JRPG conventions. By examining the histories of these two series and the company behind them, we can better understand their place in the modern gaming landscape.

 

In many ways, the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest series started off very similar to each other and then drifted apart as the franchises progressed. When it comes to settings, for instance, Final Fantasy transitioned out of its original Dungeons & Dragons-inspired, Tolkien-esque high fantasy aesthetic and took on more of a science fiction flavor. This change from alternative medieval past to speculative dystopian future occurred incrementally throughout the release of the NES and SNES titles, but took a big leap forward with Final Fantasy VII, the first PlayStation entry. Unlike the regal castles and dwarven mines of the first game, VII primarily takes place in a gritty urban jungle, with advanced technology and evil megacorporations. Since then, the series has oscillated between different settings, sometimes returning to its titular roots and sometimes featuring modern-day product placement. Final Fantasy XV notoriously includes real-life cars like the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. Meanwhile, Dragon Quest is staunchly loyal to the realm of vaguely European fantasy. Even in the rare occasions when more technological elements are introduced, they do not stick out as being different because they are portrayed with the same characteristic whimsy as the rest of the franchise.

 

Part of the reason for the differences in the two series is the difference in their creative teams. The original Dragon Quest was a collaboration between Yuji Horii (the game designer), Koichi Sugiyama (the composer), and famed Dragon Ball mangaka Akira Toriyama (the art director). These original developers, often referred to as the ‘Big 3’ of DQ, have been directly involved with every single mainline game, and it is not difficult to see how their influence has shaped the course of the franchise. 

 

Sugiyama’s approach to video game music, for example, echoes the approach that Dragon Quest takes as a whole: refine, refine, refine. His penchant for sweeping, grandiose tracks existed since the start of his career as a composer, but such a primitive piece of hardware as the Famicom could never do justice to the symphonic suites that he was envisioning. With each new console generation, however, technology improved and Sugiyama’s scores came closer and closer to being fully realized. Nowadays, Dragon Quest music is often performed by huge orchestras, both in the games themselves and in special dedicated concerts. Even after thirty years, though, the most epic, most famous, most archetypal song that Koichi Sugiyama has ever written is still the Overture, which has played during the title screen of every game in the series, whether in 8-bit chiptune or philharmonic splendor.

 

Despite the iconic status of the Dragon Quest score, the Dragon Quest art style is perhaps even more recognizable worldwide. Akira Toriyama is a unique case among video game art directors in that he holds an incredibly special place in Japanese art history as a whole. His signature take on the standard anime art style was inspired by those who came before him while also being cited as an inspiration by hundreds of manga artists who followed. The historical significance of this style gives Dragon Quest an identity that is undeniably Japanese, so much so that it is considered Japan’s “national game,” even while being largely inspired by the European Middle Ages.

 

Since the release of DQXI, the latest entry, Mr. Sugiyama and Mr. Toriyama have passed away. However, given Dragon Quest’s general philosophy regarding tradition, there is reason to expect that their influence on the franchise will continue to be quite extensive. It is quite rare, though, for a series as long-running as DQ to have creators that are so hands-on the whole way through. Much more common is Final Fantasy’s approach, which has seen the original creators take on a smaller, almost ceremonial role in newer games, if they contribute to them at all. Yoshitaka Amano, for instance, was the original art director of the series but has since been relegated to designing each game’s logo. Other FF art directors have come and gone, giving the franchise a constantly shifting visual identity that is not always apparent at first glance.

 

Throughout this essay, there have been hints that Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy each have their own comprehensive, underlying philosophy that can explain the drastic differences between the series. While these philosophies very often bleed through to the music, art, and stories of the games, they are perhaps most apparent when studying the gameplay of the two franchises.

 

When analyzing the breadth of Final Fantasy’s design principles, it feels as though the series is best described as ‘mechanically restless’. It is constantly trying new things, creating unique combat systems, razing the ground and planting seeds in the ashes. Even in Final Fantasy II, the second ever game, the developers couldn’t help but go against the barely-set precedent, for better or for worse. Instead of leveling up all of a character’s stats by defeating enemies, each specific stat is only leveled up if that character makes use of it. For example, a character’s maximum health would increase if they took a lot of damage and the effectiveness of their healing magic would increase if they cast a lot of healing spells.

 

This system is still considered an oddity, but there are plenty more cases of unorthodox gameplay throughout the mainline series, especially in regards to the long-standing RPG tradition of turn-based strategy. Final Fantasy IV introduced the highly influential Active Time Battle (ATB) system, in which the turn order of the player’s party is determined by a timer. The latest few games, FFXV and FFXVI, have abandoned turns altogether and pivoted to be real-time action RPGs.

 

Dragon Quest, conversely, has continued to fervently embrace a standard turn-based combat system, even in the MMO DQX, which is unusual for that genre. Instead of attempting to re-invent the wheel for each game, the DQ developers attempt to refine series staple mechanics to be the best that they can possibly be. While there are occasionally some new gameplay gimmicks, the functionality of physical attacks, magical spells, and consumable items has remained basically unchanged since the 1980s.

 

The aesthetic values and gameplay design of these series are so intertwined that in many cases it is impossible to say which influenced the other. Regardless, though, the fact remains that they have fundamental differences on almost every level, the reason for which can be found in the origin of the two franchises.

 

Yuji Horii’s mission with the original Dragon Quest was to bring the scope and excitement of contemporary table-top RPGs and PC-based RPGs to the Famicom. Ever since the very beginning, Enix’s DQ has been the primary steward and inheritor of the JRPG tradition, at least when it comes to consoles. In the same way that Kyoto purposefully maintains its reputation as a historic, traditionalist city by disallowing skyscrapers and bright lights in the evening, Dragon Quest purposefully maintains its reputation as a no-nonsense RPG by sticking to a reliable formula that fans of the series find comforting. As such, it does not seem unusual that the series can come off as being set in its ways.

 

Final Fantasy carries no such responsibility. The original FF game was famously Squaresoft’s last-ditch effort as a studio, hence the oft-repeated rumor that the ‘Final’ in the title was in reference to it potentially being the final game that the company would release. The developers of FF1 were primarily concerned with differentiating themselves, with standing apart from the crowd so that their game could attract enough curious buyers to halt the company from its inevitable descent towards bankruptcy. Even on primitive hardware, they still chose to tell a complicated story involving time travel and ancient technology, as opposed to a typical, morally unambiguous fairy tale. Although Square is no longer in dire financial straits, it seems their desperate need to innovate and stand apart from the crowd has stayed with them to the present day.

 

Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy represent two distinct schools of JRPG thought. Preceded by its lofty legacy, DQ has consistently found greater success in the Japanese market by striving to provide a familiar experience. Informed by its history of shattering conventions, FF has consistently found greater success in the international market by striving to provide a brand-new experience. The continued coexistence of these franchises, both under the same Square Enix umbrella, proves that there is an audience for both styles of RPG, and the game industry is all the stronger for it.