Dragon Quest III and Final Fantasy are both high fantasy RPGs. They have a lot of similarities and only a handful of differences. This Dragon Quest game feels like it is closer to what the first Final Fantasy game was doing.
Dragon Quest III is still a fairly new game to me. I played it a bit back in the mid 1990s, and never really connected with it. In the 2010s, I sat down and really tried to beat it. What I found was a very good RPG.
The first Final Fantasy is something that I’ve played countless times, because I never bothered to keep track. It was fun for a while, but I got a little fatigued from playing so many times. The game feels like I’m on autopilot when I’m playing it.
Neither of these games is bad. They’re solid RPGs that have good stories, graphics, and gameplay. Let’s compare them and see what each of them has to offer.
Game Descriptions/Overviews
Much of what is in these games, as far as setting and gameplay go, is similar. Both games are high fantasy RPGs that have turn-based combat. It makes comparing them that much more fun, and coming up with a winner a little hard.
Final Fantasy is a high fantasy RPG where you form a group of four characters. Combat is turn-based, and you’re free to explore the game’s world. In the game, you have to restore the light to four crystals and eventually break a 2,000-year time loop by defeating Chaos. It is a pretty good story, and something that Square would repeat in other games in the series.
Dragon Quest III is a turn-based high fantasy RPG where the player forms a party of four characters. Three of them are randomly created by the player, and the fourth is the “hero” character. In the game, you go on a quest to defeat an evil wizard who wants to destroy the world. After he is defeated, the true enemy shows up, and you travel to the world from the first two games in the series.
These are just general descriptions of what happens in both games. They both have quite a few side quests, and you have some options to customize your party. There is a hidden enemy that pops up at the end, or near the end, of each game. Let’s get into the main differences between them.
Main Differences
Despite all the similarities in this game, there are several differences. Aside from the settings, the games differ in gameplay and graphics. Those are the two big things that I’ll be going over here, and I might think of something else that is significantly different.
The party systems are a little different. Both games have you form a party of four characters, but the classes are different. Dragon Quest III also has one main character, while the other characters in the party are interchangeable. Final Fantasy doesn’t really have a main character that drives the plot forward. The player’s party has no dialogue, and they aren’t developed during the game.
The magic systems are very different. Final Fantasy lets characters learn three spells for each level of magic they can learn. There is a set number of magic points for each level, which feels like the developers were deterring players from using it until it was necessary. Dragon Quest III gives characters a pool of magic points, and they learn spells as the game progresses.
Final Fantasy is a darker game than Dragon Quest III. Its graphics aren’t as bright and cartoonish, and there are more robots in this game. Dragon Quest III has better enemy sprites. I simply like them more for their creativity, detail, and overall artwork.
These are the big differences I can think of. I know there are a bunch of small things that separate these games, but I want to keep this brief. Let’s get into what each does better than the other.
What Does Dragon Quest III do Better?
Dragon Quest III does a handful of things better than Final Fantasy. This is much closer than I was expecting it to be. The graphics for the enemy sprites are better, it is more cinematic, and I like the enemies more.
I like the graphics in Dragon Quest III more. The enemy sprites in this game are a little better. I like the bright and colorful graphics and the variety of enemies. Dragon Quest III has the more detailed and creative enemy sprites.
Dragon Quest III is more cinematic than Final Fantasy. Some of this can be attributed to Enix’s development team having more experience with making RPGs for the NES. They put some great things into this game, and got the most out of what they had to work with. The cut scenes in this game are much better than what is offered in Final Fantasy.
Dragon Quest III has a better magic system. Characters have a pool of magic points to pull from instead of having a tiered system. You also learn spells as your characters advance over the course of the game. This is something that Final Fantasy games ended up doing.
Those are the three big things that I think are better in Dragon Quest III. These are mostly personal preferences, and not some declaration of one being bad. Let’s get into what Final Fantasy does better.
What Does Final Fantasy do Better?
Final Fantasy does several things better. I had more fun with the story, the dungeons are better, and the reveal that this was a time loop was better. The character classes in Final Fantasy are a little better, or at least more familiar.
While I like Dragon Quest III’s story, the story in Final Fantasy is more fun for me to play through. You’re always discovering some lore with this game, and this is helped by the main characters being “fish out of water,” archetypes. Because they don’t have dialogue, it makes more sense for no one to know them, or that they don’t know what is going on.
I really like the dungeons in Final Fantasy. They’re much better than those in Dragon Quest III. I like how difficult they can be and how complex they are. While I know how to navigate them now, they’re still fun to explore and get through.
The character classes are more familiar to me. This comes from playing the game so many times, but I like how iconic they are and how each one can be useful. While I sometimes default to one specific party, I do like experimenting with different combinations.
The user interface is also better. I’ve mentioned this a few times with the other Dragon Quest games, but I really don’t like their menu systems. Final Fantasy eliminates this, as you have an action button to interact with NPCs, treasure chests, and locked doors. It’s just an easier way of doing things.
Those are the things that Final Fantasy does better. There are other things, but I don’t think they’re significant enough to bring up here. Let’s get into which is better overall, and which game I want to play again.
Which is Better Overall and Why?
I like Final Fantasy more than Dragon Quest III. While both are solid RPGs, I have more fun playing this game. In this case, I gave it to the game that I have fond memories of playing. Despite being a little fatigued by the game, I think it has the better story and gameplay.
I like the story for this game more than what is in Dragon Quest III. Final Fantasy has a familiar story that is told quite well. I also like messing around with different party combinations. Those are two of the things that kept drawing me to this game.
Other RPGs can’t really compete with the memories I have of this game. It is a solid game that I remember playing with my friends. Nostalgia might be blinding me on this one, and I’m okay with that. Final Fantasy on the NES is what I expect from an RPG on that system,
I have played this game too many times over the years, but it is a solid RPG. For RPGs on the NES, this is the game that I tend to compare the others to when I’m playing them. Let’s get into which one I want to play again.
Which Would I Rather Play?
Dragon Quest III is the game that I would rather go back and play. The graphics and story are good enough, and I liked messing around with the party system. It is also the newer game to me, as I’ve only beaten it a few times.
This game has great graphics. They are bright and colorful, and things look very happy. The enemies look great in this game. You see the same enemies from the previous two games, and then some that are new. It’s something that I love in this series.
The story is also a lot of fun. It has a nice twist to it that was very cool when I first saw it, and I think the developers did a great job of working this game into the series. It is fun that this game is a prequel to the first game, and the story was set up quite well.
This is the newer game for me, and it is the one I want to revisit. The graphics and story are very good. As someone who grew up watching Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, I’m drawn to the graphics. The enemies, in particular, are very creative, and I’m glad that the developers stuck with them as long as they have.
Conclusion
This was an interesting comparison. Dragon Quest III has some very cool things in it, and I like the graphics quite a bit. Final Fantasy has the better story overall, and I like how everything matches the darker tone.
These games aren’t too far apart in terms of gameplay. What separated them was my memories of each game, the story, and the user interface. Aside from those things, there really wasn’t much separation between them.
At the end of the day, I like Final Fantasy, but Dragon Quest III is the game I’d revisit. Both are solid RPGs, but one is newer to me. I’ve only beaten Dragon Quest III a couple of times at this point, and I’ve played Final Fantasy to the point of being fatigued with the game.
If you liked this post, please check out some other posts in this series. Such as Phantasy Star III vs Dragon Quest III or Inindo vs Destiny of an Emperor.