Yuji Horii on the Differences Between Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy

Dragon Quest first arrived in Japan in 1986, with Final Fantasy following a year later in 1987. Long before Square and Enix merged in 2003, the two franchises developed side by side as distinct forces in Japanese role-playing games — often perceived by fans as rivals.

Last month I traveled to Tokyo to visit Square Enix’s Shibuya offices, preview Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, and speak with the remake’s development team for Game Informer’s cover feature. While there I spent ninety minutes interviewing Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii about many topics, including how his series compares to Final Fantasy. Horii didn’t frame the relationship as outright hostility, but he acknowledged he watched Final Fantasy closely as it evolved.

Horii explained that, to him, the most notable distinction is how the games place the player in the story. “When Final Fantasy first appeared, I was definitely paying attention to it,” he said. “But the big difference I noticed was how characters are presented. In Final Fantasy the protagonists often speak and have their own on-screen presence. With Dragon Quest, our goal is for the player to inhabit the role — to feel as if they themselves are the hero.”

He emphasized that Dragon Quest protagonists tend not to “suddenly start talking” within the game world; the series aims to keep the player’s perspective central. “Final Fantasy characters talk a lot,” Horii continued. “That’s not a bad thing — I like Final Fantasy. When I first watched Final Fantasy X, I remember thinking it represented the series at its peak.”

A fair assessment — Horii knows his classics.

Release information: Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is scheduled to launch on February 5 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

For more on the remake, read this overview of the digital issue and see our full Dragon Quest VII Reimagined cover feature. If you don’t already subscribe, subscribe here to access the cover story, a detailed preview, and an extensive interview about the history of Dragon Quest with Yuji Horii: The History of Dragon Quest.