If it got remastered I would give it another try. I have this thing about graphics. I can go back and play old games I've played before, but I can't play old games I haven't played before.

Nostalgia and "knowing" what everything looked like originally helps me get through the aging graphics - so without those I can't do it.

I hated the draw system, and the orphanage.

Just know I had to show up. But this is a battle already known. It's going to be Final Fantasy, and rightfully so. I love Final Fantasy as well. But Dragon Quest 8, imo, surpasses Final Fantasy 1-14 in every way possible. To me, it's a perfect game and it's why I love the Dragon Quest series so much. In terms of legacy, Final Fantasy has done so much more for the industry in terms of technology. Dragon Quest laid the groundwork for the console JRPG, and the job system. Both have contributed much to the industry.

I still don't think Persona or SMT comes close to either FF or DQ. I'm gonna have to go with Dragon Quest simply because Dragon Quest 8 was the first game I played that made me understand that games can be experiences, not just something you do to pass the time.

I also think voiced protaginists are overrated. I don't need somebody to speak for me, I like seeing myself as the main character. Othewise, it's like playing an on rails story in terms of my experience. 

Filthy mainstream gamer.

Final Fantasy has had talking protagonists since FFII. Also, Dragon Quest is about as mainstream as it gets in Japan.

It is personal preference when it comes to the tolerance of the amount of grinding one would allow, but I can see why it's not as much as  an issue in Final Fantasy becoming more and more mainsteeam.