Yuji Horii, creator of Dragon Quest, details the main difference between his saga and Final Fantasy

Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, two franchises that have elevated the JRPG genre to the highest level and continue to reign supreme today. Yuji Horii, creator of Dragon Quest, was interviewed by Game Informer and asked whether there was competition between the two sagas when Square and Enix were independent. The creative’s response revealed what, in his opinion, is the main difference between the two sagas.

“Way back then, when Final Fantasy originally came out, I was definitely paying attention to it because it was something we needed to look out for. But there’s one key difference that I really saw back then – the protagonists in the Final Fantasy titles, they speak a lot. Whereas for Dragon Quest, the key objective for [the games], or the experience it offers for the player, is that the player becomes the protagonist themselves,” says Yuji Horii.

Two very distinct sagas

The Japanese creator also comments that “in Final Fantasy, you kind of observe the protagonist, but you’re not necessarily becoming the protagonist in the games. So I thought that was a really interesting and stark difference between Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, but I didn’t necessarily see them as a rival back then.”

The Dragon Quest Hero, a silent protagonist in each installment, is part of video game history. Horii took the opportunity to talk about his favorite Final Fantasy installment, emphasizing that he likes the series and that “when I first saw Final Fantasy X, I recall feeling this was the ultimate perfection of Final Fantasy.”

Follow MeriStation USA on X (formerly known as Twitter). Your video game and entertainment website for all the news, updates, and breaking news from the world of video games, movies, series, manga, and anime. Previews, reviews, interviews, trailers, gameplay, podcasts and more! Follow us now!