Final Fantasy 4 almost skipped so series could "beat" Dragon Quest

Final Fantasy series leads Takashi Tokita and Yoshinori Kitase say Square Enix considered skipping Final Fantasy 4 as a promotional stunt. In an interview on Final Fantasy's official website, Tokita reveals the company discussed calling the fourth entry Final Fantasy 5 so the series' fifth game would launch before Dragon Quest's.

Tokita began his first principal position at Square Enix working as lead game designer on Final Fantasy 4. Having previously worked on the third entry, he saw the move to the SNES as a chance to catch up to Dragon Quest. "In the NES era, Dragon Quest was released before Final Fantasy," he explains.

"So it felt like we were constantly trying to catch up. But FF was released for the SNES first, and while that came with its own pressures, it was also a chance to pull ahead since both series were tied with four titles each." Kitase recalls higher-ups discussing how to make the most of that position.

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