Building comparison
head to head
Dragon QuestvsFinal Fantasy XII
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Dragon Quest
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The 1986 original that founded the Japanese RPG template.
Final Fantasy XII
Optimization · Pure Optimization
JRPG where you program party AI through its gambit system.
Dragon Quest leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Final Fantasy XII leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Dragon QuestFinal Fantasy XII
Axis by axis
Execution0 vs 1
Final Fantasy XII leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Dragon Quest
Menu commands only
Final Fantasy XII
Gambits automate combat away from the hands
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Dragon Quest
No adaptive opposition
Final Fantasy XII
Enemy AI is fixed and exploitable
Variance2 vs 2
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Dragon Quest
Battle RNG and unknown world first time
Final Fantasy XII
Rare spawns and drop RNG
Optimization7 vs 8
Final Fantasy XII leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Dragon Quest
Grind thresholds and routes are fully solvable
Final Fantasy XII
Programming gambit logic IS the gameplay
A matching score does not mean a matching test. Two games can both sit at 10 on execution and demand completely different things of you - which is why the reasoning above matters more than the number beside it.