I was having a discussion about art last night, and I realized why I always liked the Phantasy Star games better than Final Fantasy... and why I believe Final Fantasy is more popular. It's quite simple really. Phantasy Star presents us man as a hero, while Final Fantasy offers flawed characters as the people that drive the world.
Final Fantasy games, IV, VI, VII, in particular, offer us main characters torn by a terrible inner conflict, with Cecil, Terra, Cloud all in serious doubt of their own abilities, and all have to undergo a great deal of growth in their view of reality and morality to even fight. Some, like Terra and Cloud suffer complete breakdowns. This isn't just related to the main characters either; nearly every individual is crippled by self-doubt in these games.
On the other hand, the Phantasy Star series, we have characters that have their different reasons justifying their quests, but none doubt their efficacy for a moment, other than Chaz, (which is why I don't like him,) but even he doesn't reach the lows of self-esteem that haunt the Final Fantasy heroes. He has a reasonable defense, for though, he is not yet a man at his age of 16. Still, he admirably asks why he should take on a responsibility abandoned by a divinity.
Take someone like Rudo, out to avenge his wife and daughter, but we aren't dragged through his grief during the game. We don't have to endure a quest for him to regain his confidence. One could argue that this is simply a limitation due to age of the PS games, and lack of depth, but still, the Sega programmers didn't cut out part of the code to insert little egos into the game, so that's irrelevant.
I know this is why I've always loved the PS series; because it presents "man as he should and ought to be". Heroes should be strong, and sure of themselves. The time to find an ego isn't on the battlefield. Sadly, I think people's ego problems is a strong contributor to why the FF series is so popular. Too many people identify with it. I'll take strength, and therefore Phantasy Star every time.
What are your views on this argument?