Zelda. Honest, while there are a few FF games that I love, Zelda is just straight-up more FUN to play. I feel like I'm on an honest-to-God adventure instead of just watching a movie play out really, really slowly.

deus ex VS. system shock nao!

"Can we not compare the detailed works of Da Vinci with the abstract works of Picasso? "

Delete above comment plox.

FINAL FANTASY is the winner.

Oh good god.

I'm having flashbacks of gamefaqs character contests all of a sudden. THis wont end well.

God damn you. This is like Sophie's Choice. D:

Honestly though, I have to go with Legend of Zelda. Because for that series, the gameplay always came before the story. FF I play through mostly to find out how the plot ends. LoZ I play because it's actually fun to explore around the world, find new stuff in unexplored caves, and defeat gigantic bosses while feeling like I'm doing more than just inputting commands for a separate entity. You really do become Link when playing, something that the Final Fantasy series - for all its strengths otherwise - hasn't been able to capture.

As for the bonus questions:

6. Obviously for FF, Aeris' death has to be included. It wasn't really the moment of her death though, it's fighting the boss afterwards with her character theme playing instead of the standard boss music. That dissonance just tore me up inside. That aside though, FFVI had one that made me bawl as well: watching Cyan's family board the Phantom Train. It was such a short scene, but very emotional to me.

As for Legend of Zelda, that would have to be at the end of OOT, where you defeat Ganon for the first time, and the whole castle collapses. I was just so happy to be out of that first fight and the escape sequence alive that I nearly shat bricks when Ganondorf was like "READY FOR ROUND TWO, BITCHES?".

FINAL FANTASY > ZELDA


BQ1. What are you hoping to see in the future from the series you voted for? Better english dubs. Can I get an a-men?

BQ2. Who was your favorite character(s) in each series? Why?
Zelda: Epona - that bitch sure loves them carrots.
FF: Chocobos - them bitches sure love some... greens?

BQ3. Who was your least favorite character(s) in each series. Why?
Zelda: The wannabe Mario Piranha plants in Ocarina of Time
FF: Quistis in Final Fantasy 8. Bayonetta kinda reminds me of her now... but Quistis is more of the secretly horny librarian milf cougar type that... in the end... doesn't get the hankypanky.

BQ4. What was your favorite item(s) in each series? Why?
Zelda: That long ass fake-sword that you had to go off on a large tangent to achieve from the giant brown guy on that volcano mountain thing... only to find out that it BREAKS within two minutes of use.... i still loved it though.
FF: MATERIA. none of that "draw" crap from FF8

BQ5. What was your least favorite item(s) in each series? Why?
Zelda: the heavy iron/metal/lead boots that let you walk underwater but walk as slow as a granny in the carpool lane.
FF: Wakka's ball.

BQ6. What was the moment(s) in each series that emotionally affected you the most?
Zelda: Getting up on Epona and riding her hard. Also smacking her to make her go faster.
FF: in regards to FF7, everyone's gonna talk about Aerith's death. as for me, it has to be Biggs and Wedge and... the rest of them. what were their names?

BQ7. Which series had better music? Which songs stand out the most to you?
Zelda: Epona's theme.

BQ8. What is your favorite level or environment in each series? Why?
Zelda: back during the N64 days, the change from night to day was pretty epic.
FF: Don Cornelo's (whatever his name is) bitchin pimp pad when you had to dress in drag.

BQ9. Pretend you were the creator of each series. What are some things you would have done differently?
Zelda: add more masks in Majora's Mask
FF: bigger breasts on Tifa so that they become her primary weapons instead of her fists. Limit Break: Milk Gush

Final Fantasy
BQ1. What are you hoping to see in the future from the series you voted for? More of the same actually, but more old-school-ness added. I'm sick of not hearing the battle theme in the games. I wish it was just turn based combat again, if I want action rpgs I'll go to tri-ace haha

BQ2. Who was your favorite character(s) in each series? Why? Chocobos (no reason needed) and probably Zidane

BQ3. Who was your least favorite character(s) in each series. Why? I liked cloud, but he is also my least favorite because he is over hyped

BQ4. What was your favorite item(s) in each series? Why? Materia (I loved the system) and potions lol

BQ5. What was your least favorite item(s) in each series? Why? Dunno

BQ6. What was the moment(s) in each series that emotionally affected you the most? Aries dying (duh)
Getting the master sword the first time, or any puzzle beating on zelda excited me

BQ7. Which series had better music? Which songs stand out the most to you? Final Fantasy hands down. The scores are amazing, can't pick a favorite.

BQ8. What is your favorite level or environment in each series? Why?
I really liked the enviroments in FF8, they were beautiful for the time

BQ9. Pretend you were the creator of each series. What are some things you would have done differently? Remake FF7 and make shit tons of money. Zelda...add something new each one feels the exact same. FF tries to change some stuff around.

The best game out of both series is A Link to the Past, but the best series overall is Final Fantasy.

BQ3
My least favorite character in the Zelda series is Tingle. The why portion of the question is self-evident. By far, my least favorite character in FF was Wakka. He was loud, he looked stupid, his accent was obnoxious, and he knocked up a woman who was waaaaaay out of his league. Steiner is a distant, but still hated, second.

Final Fantasy. Better characters, more developed, etc. Some of the games suck, yeah, but there are many that are near and dear to my heart.

BQ1. Less generic characters (especially the hero), less generic over-the-top action to look "cool." Also, Xbox.

BQ2. Of all the FF games, probably Cecil or Golbez from FF2. For a game so old, it was neat to see Cecil develop from a Dark Knight to a very selfless hero. Facing himself at Mount Ordeal is one of my favorite video game moments. Golbez is legit for spoilerific reasons. You hate him for so much of the game, though. Seeing him in character sprite form is the coolest.

BQ3. Probably Quistis from FF8. Useless. Wasn't a fan of Quinna either.

BQ4. Maybe the Atma Weapon from FF3. Legiiiiit

BQ7. It's close, but I like the FF music because each game had dozens of songs. Atma Weapon's music from FF3 is probably the all-time favorite amongst video games.

BQ9. I would have kept Basch as the main character of FF12 instead of creating Vaan. Then maybe that game's story wouldn't have sucked so much.

Holy shit Zelda. Just Zelda. Please. Final Fantasy is fine and good, but goddamn Zelda.

BQ1. Okay, I'm just going to pitch this real simple: Legend of Zelda, directed by Eiji Aonuma with guidance from Shigeru Miyamoto, art design provided by Hayao Miyazaki, co-composed by Koji Kondo and Joe Hisaishi. Video games would be over.

BQ2. My favorite character is the Skull Kid from Majora's Mask! Such a moving little guy. Actually, you could replace Skull Kid with any character from Majora's Mask. So amazing. Any character from Majora's Mask or the cannon minigame roleplayer from Wind Waker. He so pringles.

For Final Fantasy, I'm going to say Balthier. My decision may not have the retro appeal, but really, you just can't do much better than that. He made that game's cast bearable.

BQ3. Least favorite character in Zelda? I want to lie and say Navi or Tingle, but truth be told, I have great affection for Navi and Tingle is hilarious.

Probably Ganon circa the Game Over screen of Zelda II. I will never forget that laugh. I heard it too many effing times.

For Final Fantasy? This was the easiest question yet. Vaan. Or mostly anyone from Final Fantasy VIII. I want to hit all of them.

BQ4. My favorite item is the hookshot in any game! It's still brilliant somehow! The grappling hook from Wind Waker comes in a close second. Can't get much more epic than that. Oh damn, what about the Bunny Hood from Majora's Mask? When it comes to pure mileage, I'm pretty sure that would be at the top of the list.

My favorite item in Final Fantasy is... uh... the phoenix down, I guess? This is why Zelda is blatantly better.

BQ5. My least favorite item in Zelda is probably the wicked looking armor you can earn in Twilight Princess. First, it runs on rupees (which is shit). And even if you do have a fat wallet, what the hell are you going to use it for? If you're like me, you had seen everything the game had to offer by the time you obtained it.

In Final Fantasy, it has to be the family of ethers. They're too damn expensive to be useful and you almost never find any on the field. You have to wonder why the developers even bothered.

BQ6. Oh my god. I love this question.

The theme of healing in Majora's Mask was driven home constantly. There is not one major moving moment in that game. There are dozens. Almost every Termina resident you come across has a tragic situation on their hands, whether it's personal or brought upon by the impending apocalypse. The opportunities for emotional catharsis in that game are numerous. And don't even get me started on that Song of Healing.

I can't leave Zelda without mentioning Wind Waker, though. The intro that tells of Hyrule's end? The first time you step foot in a Hyrule frozen in time? The finale, where Hyrule is finally laid to rest and you actually sympathize with Ganondorf, a character we had accepted as pure evil ever since inception? It's just too much. It almost makes all of the pompous, bloated plots of Final Fantasy seem trivial by comparison.

So that's why my favorite Final Fantasy moments aren't from the newer titles. Stuff like Palom and Porom sacrificing their lives, Celes almost committing suicide, and the entire opera scene? That stuff still hasn't been topped. I don't care about these incredibly artificial plots that are artificially injected with artificial characters to make me feel some sort of artificial emotion. Simple is best. The most moving moments of both Zelda and Final Fantasy can attest to that.

BQ7. Now this one is hard. I love the music of both franchises, but I think I'd have to tip the hat to Zelda again for the same reason as stated above. Simple works and I think Koji Kondo and the other composers who have worked on the Zelda titles realize that. Zelda may not always be bombastic, but it is always poignant. The Song of Healing, almost anything in Wind Waker, the Ocarina title theme... god, I could go on forever, but I have a feeling I'm creating a wall of text.

With regard to that sentiment, some Final Fantasy tunes fall on deaf ears with me. But others, like a lot of the more intimate tunes (Tifa, Aeris) of Final Fantasy VII, or powerful themes like Dancing Madly and One-Winged Angel, I love. I dunno, I don't have much to say here. I've thought about what makes Zelda so special to me a lot more than I've thought about Final Fantasy.

BQ8. Now this question is near impossible. I just can't choose one dungeon. I can't.

So I'll default to the one that probably left the greatest impression on me. The Shadow Temple freaked me the hell out and still gives me the creeps today.

For Final Fantasy... um, a lot like the Item question, I really can't say this applies much to Final Fantasy. It's not a series known for its amazing "levels." I'm going to say... Gold Saucer! Hooray. It's too bad I can't just talk about Chrono Trigger.

Aaaaaaaaaand I'm skipping question nine because I have nothing useful to say and I feel like people are staring.

I haven't played too much zelda titles, but phantom hourglass is a really good game. But I'm more familiarized wih FF series, so I have to say Final Fantasy.

BONUS QUESTIONS:

BQ1. What are you hoping to see in the future from the series you voted for? Return to the medieval setting and no generic tetsuya nomura's design of characters

BQ2. Who was your favorite character(s) in each series? Why? Link I guess and Kain Highwind

BQ3. Who was your least favorite character(s) in each series. Why? Edward from FFIV, because was really useless

BQ4. What was your favorite item(s) in each series? Why? Elixir, because are really useful for repleting the HP and MP of your mages characters during the final Battles or agains a super boss.

BQ5. What was your least favorite item(s) in each series? Why?

BQ6. What was the moment(s) in each series that emotionally affected you the most?

BQ7. Which series had better music? Which songs stand out the most to you?

BQ8. What is your favorite level or environment in each series? Why? Ether, sometime were expensive and you can only regenerate 50 mp generally.

BQ9. Pretend you were the creator of each series. What are some things you would have done differently? I have to recognize that the zelda's game have really great gameplays, so the only thing that I will make different will be the story, I would like a more engagin story, but generally are good.

In FF is hard to say, but maybe some personalities from some characters.

My vote goes to The Legend of Zelda.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to easily say Legend of Zelda on this. Although I do adore Final Fantasy I'm not nearly as interested in it anymore. Besides, Zelda got me where I am today. Were it not for Zelda 2 I wouldn't be here on this website now. Probably.

BQ1.
Honestly? More of the same really. I know there are people that are getting tired of the formula but really that's the main reason I like it. I await each Zelda game knowing full well it'll be one of the greatest experiences I'll have that year. All this talk of innovation and change should be left to other games. I just want my Zelda.

BQ2.
Zelda: Windwaker Ganon - The dialogue this guy has is truly terrific. I'm not going to spoil anything but anybody that's defeated Ganon will know the line I'm talking about. One of the most finely crafted, yet subtle, piece of dialogue written.

Final Fantasy: Kefka - He was just a bad guy. A truly terrifying bad guy. He had no emotional issues. No justification. No reason really for what he did. He did it all simply because he could. That was it. And there lies one of the most dangerous men alive.

BQ3.
Zelda: Navi (OoT) - Need I really say any more?

Final Fantasy: Gogo - He just looked stupid.

BQ4.
Zelda: The Spinner (Twilight Princess) - It was just really, really good. In fact a lot of the items in Twilight Princess were amazing. Just a shame it gets a little stick nowadays.

Final Fantasy: The Ultima Spell (FFVI) - After getting that one I proceeded to rape the game. It felt so good going through the final dungeon with everyone armed with Ultima.

BQ5.
Zelda: The Invisibility Cloak (ALttP) - It just never really did that much for me. It was one of those optional items you could collect but didn't have to have to finish the game so I never really found much of a use for it.

Final Fantasy: Speed Drink - I never really had a use for Haste. I always liked to hammer the attack buttons rather than play strategically. Brute force always prevails.

BQ6.
Zelda - Probably the moment in Ocarina of Time where you first enter the Temple of Time to collect the Master Sword. The music plays eerily as you enter somehow giving you an impression of the past. It still gives me tingles down my spine.

Final Fantasy - Easily the moment in VI where Cyan and Sabin exit the Phantom Train only for Cyan to see his wife and child again leaving to the after life. The dialogue in that actually made me cry.

BQ7.
This is very difficult. My two favourite video game soundtracks are Wind Waker and Final Fantasy VI. They are both perfect for their respective games and both cover a broad range of genres. I suppose to be pushed I'm going to have to go with Wind Waker purely for 'The Legendary Hero' and 'Dragon Roost Island'.

BQ8.
In Zelda my favourite area is Dragon Roost Island. There's just something about the inhabitants and the surroundings that mesh together so well. The music really brings the whole place to life. So much so that I wish it was my home away from home. To live on that island would just be a dream. Of course that also applies to Koholint.

As for Final Fantasy I'm going to have to go with the Zozo. I actually feared for my life going through that city. The sense that any moment you would be attacked was thrilling!

BQ9.
For Zelda I would definitely steer future games towards the Wind Waker environment. At least just once anyway. Oh, and I wouldn't have made Zant such a moron at the end of Twilight Princess. And I would have built in a 'skip Water Temple' cheat into Ocarina of Time.

Final Fantasy seems to have lost it's way for me lately. I would have stuck with a more rigid, simple battle system. All I need is an attack, defend and magic command and I'm good to go. Lost Odyssey got this down perfectly. It was like the Final Fantasy game I had wanted. Also the androgony has got to go.

I enjoy FF the most over the course of the whole series, but Ocarina, Windwaker and Link to the Past are games that never get old and I will always return to (can't say the same for Final Fantasy 1 through 5). FF series wins this one for me just because Zelda has gone too long re-using too many old story ideas and plot devices.

BQ1: I don't know what to expect from Final Fantasy, but I hope they really concentrate on writing and plot development for future games. Zelda needs a make-over in the worst way. They need to throw out a lot of the things they're recycling in every single Zelda storyline and start with something worthy but new.

BQ2: Tingle.

BQ3: Tingle. 'nuff said.

BQ6: FFX storyline in general probably involved me the most on an emotional level. Zelda has a bit more of an innocent feel over the course of the series, but playing through Windwaker just makes me happy.

BQ7: Zelda is inconsistent, but has more memorable anthems. FF series is better with general background/overworld music, but I'm not as fond of the major themes.

Ima write you a big essay Fronz for this, but right now, I got a act utilitarianism paper to write that's due tomorrow, so Ima get back to you with a wall of text. Loving that you expanded the debate as well, multiple bonus questions, preview's of next week's debate, taking user suggestions for BQ's, and whatnot, hell yeah.

Aw jesus, really? Zelda by default. That's a hard one to debate as both series have their merits. Zelda gets the win for me by being there first and by being the series that despite never really changing much, still stayed fresh and fun with each iteration.
BQ1 - HD Zelda? A Final Fantasy game that isn't milked to death in sidestory BS...

BQ2 - Link, Terra (FFVI). Link from LTTP is my fav, and Final Fantasy VI is just my favorite FF game period.

BQ3 - Tingle. Cute jokes aside, he's a waste of space to the series that serves no purpose and his very existence has turned into it's own bad joke. For Final Fantasy... Cloud. I get it. He's emo about things. Aeris dies. Get over it.

BQ4 - Hookshot for being the most badass thing to change the way the Zelda series is played. Once the series went 3D, it blew my mind to use the Hookshot in my gameplay. Final Fantasy, the Ultimate Weapons in FFX. Seriously. Lulu's weapon requirements were freaking retarded and brilliant at the same time. I wish more games did punishing shit like this for such meager rewards.

BQ5 - The candle in the original Zelda. The red candle was a waste because I'm spending my time with that one flame and suddenly I get this massively better candle later in the game? What was the point of that shitty candle? Worst weapon in a FF game? Um... Anything that prevents Petrify? How often does that happen?

BQ6 - Playing the original Zelda had it's wow moments, but for Final Fantasy... The Opera House in FFVI.

BQ7 - Final Fantasy by far. The score for each Final Fantasy game is a character of it's own. As for Zelda, Ocarina of Time is the most memorable.

BQ8 - Link to the Past, the whole concept of flipping between worlds in that mirror was mind blowing at my then young age. It's still a pretty bad ass dynamic that isn't used enough in game design.

BQ9 - Shiggy? I would've left Nintendo and taken the series to Xbox or Playstation. Nintendo's letting the series go stale with recent console titles in favor of gimmicks to drive the title's sales.

Final Fantasy... I'd knock off milking each title for a billion spin offs and work on making the stories more focused and whole on their own. It really diminishes the "Final" aspect to the series to see a "Final Fantasy: XYZ 2 - Advent Adventure: MAXIMUM VERSION" and sit there and NOT know which game in the main series it originated from.

Neither the SMT Series', specifically Persona.

Why? I find them far more engaging due to their writing, story and use of humor. Though FF VI was damn good.

/FLAME ON!

I'd have to go with Zelda, because I've liked the series at every stage of its' evolution, while my interest in Final Fantasy dropped off after it went to 3D.

Bonus Question 9: If I was working on Zelda, I would put in more detailed and nuanced worlds (competing empires, bigger towns, etc.)

Next Week's Debate Bonus Question: What series had the more creative weapons set? (Basically, it's the variety of slightly unique alien weapons from Halo vs. the single, highly innovative, Gravity Gun)

Zelda. Wind Waker is one of my favorite games and it's more charming than any Final Fantasy game I'll ever see.

The FF series for me because there's a ton of great hentai for it. But no, really, the FF series. I've only played and beaten Zelda 1,2, LttP and OoT, while I played and beat all the essential FF games, so maybe I can't offer a fair assessment. The Zelda games have a lot of polish and are generally more memorable, but I've never once felt motivated to play any of them again. I don't really like going through the dungeons or fighting the bosses after doing it once. I do, however, like to replay the FF series as I simply enjoy the overall experience even more.

In all fairness, I could have gone either way. But I'd most likely find myself playing a FF game than a Zelda game.

BQ1. Square Enix makes too many mediocre/disappointing games these days. I'd like to see games come out that are as good as the SNES/PS1 FF games. Also, The World Ends With You has a ton of flexible gameplay mechanics that I wish I could see in their main RPGs (setting difficulty levels to boost drop rates/exp, for example). I don't know why they got it right in that game and not in any others.

BQ2. The King from the Zelda CDi games! Honestly...maybe Zelda, as she became increasingly more badass as the series progressed. As for FF, I'd say Cecil, Rydia, Celes, Locke, Ramza, Quistis, Fujin, Beatrix, and Balthier.

BQ6. Zelda - Don't know. FF - Zack's death in Crisis Core. It pained me even more than Aeris' death.

BQ7. I refuse to say one series had "better" music than the other.

Zelda - Main Theme, Great Temple, OoT's title theme, Gerudo Valley, Dark World
FF - Red Wings, Zeromus final battle, Feel my Blade, Burmecian Kingdom, Protecting My Devotion, Antipyretic, FFT Battle on the Bridge, Tina, Blackjack, Searching for Friends, Dancing Mad, Price of Freedom, The Oath, The Silence before the Storm ... Yknow, I could name at least 30 or 40 more, easily.


And that's all I'll write, I guess. Final answer: Final Fantasy.

(it does have a lot of good hentai. just saying.)

The Legend of zelda seris for me. They kept it simple the gamplay has always been awe inspiring and they know hot to tug on the hearts. Although FF can as well you felt more of a conncetion to link, a nameless character who just needed to save the world. and Ocarina of time was one of the first games i've ever played and is the best game i've ever played.
1. I would like to see more zelda games on platforms than the handhelds.
2. Link for obvious reasons
3. Navi again for obvious reasons
4. Besides the master sword the heart containers for the fulfilment you revice after encountering one
5. the whistle in twilight, why couldn't i get it from the beginning?
6. Beating gannondorf in twilight and relizing no game i have played has touched any of the zeldaa games; that zelda was my favorite and in my opinion the best sereis
7. Zelda, overworld
8. let link ,not even jump, but hop on command

Damn, man. Don't do this to me. I'll have to give this a lot of thought before I vote. D:

Some days, I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. I have never, ever in my life understood the love for Zelda as a series. LttP is an AMAZING game, don't get me wrong, and I understand how the original game was revolutionary... but that's it. Ocarina of Time is hands-down the most overrated game of all time. I have attempted numerous times over the years to play through it, and I just cannot do it. I'll get maybe three or four hours in before I surrender to boredom. I don't enjoy one second of that game, it's thoroughly mediocre (the graphics are pretty good, but meh), and I'll never understand why I'm the only one.

On the other hand, Final Fantasy actually got better as it aged, to a certain point, reaching a peak with the sixth (or seventh, depending on who you ask) entry, and coming close to that peak with the tenth as well. I haven't played all of them, but the only one I've tried that I didn't like was XII. The stories are fun to watch unfold, the characters are memorable (if sometimes cliche and contrived), and the music is always spot on. I'm a pretty casual FF player, but when I play, I love it.

Final Fantasy wins by a landslide.

The only Zelda game that would hold its own against a good FF game is LttP, but FFVI would still win that battle.