Japan Popularity Contest: Dragon Quest Tops Final Fantasy

While Japanese gaming tastes have shifted in recent years, they still have an affinity for certain genres that have fallen off in other regions.

And you might be surprised at what ranks atop the "Most Popular JRPG" list for gamers in the Land of the Rising Sun.

The poll results were published in a recent Famitsu issue (as cited by HardcoreGamer ). And if you were expecting Final Fantasy to easily take the #1 spot, you were mistaken:

Interesting, no? Of course, Dragon Quest has been running every bit as long as Final Fantasy and it's no surprise to see two of the oldest RPG franchises in the industry sitting atop the list. Still, did you think DQ would really top FF…?

For me, it's interesting. Obviously, FF is #1 but Suikoden is actually my #2 and aside from Dragon Quest VIII , I don't really care about the latter franchise at all. The recently released Dragon Quest Heroes was basically a waste of my time. I'd also maybe put Legaia and Star Ocean up there somewhere as well. What about you?