Which do you think is better and why?

I personally think zelda is better just cause Im probably stubborn. It is more hands-on with the fighting style and the story goes through pretty well with fun side quests.It has a normal size "world map" as you may call it which allows quick acess to areas .However it is kind of predictable, going through elemental dungeons and fighting ganon/gannondorf at the endand saving princess zelda .Final Fantasy on the other hand has a ok battle system with a load of items , weapons, and armor . The storyline is different for every game and provides hours and hours of gameplay with sometimes seeming long side quests.New characters and lands in every game with new ablilities. Depending which one you play it takes a while to get from one place to another by normal walking.FF7 dirge of cerberus took a new turn in final fantasy gameplay allowing :) first/third person shooting while still maintaining that final fantasy thrill. So you decide.

The answer to this is not a simple one.

I am generalising here. In general, Zelda has better gameplay. In general, Final Fantasy has better storylines. In general.

But its not that easy.

Zelda's gameplay changes throughout the games. The most obvious change is Zelda 2: The Adventures of Link, which is an EX based RPG. But, a common critism of the more recent Zelda games is that they aren't as difficult as the older games in the series.
As far as spinoffs go, Zelda has some pretty poor spinoffs. CDI zelda? A whole game about using a crossbow? Two games about Tingle? Tsk tsk tsk.
However, its good Zelda has stayed on Nintendo consoles, excluding the CDI games. The bad thing about this is that Zelda suffered by having a crappy cartoon spinoff. These were very common in the NES days. Have you heard of Captain Nintendo?

Final Fantasy's gameplay, for the most part, stayed the same throughout the series. Like Zelda, they became easier over the years, but the gameplay stayed the same until FF11/FF12. And the turn-based gameplay may be fun for a little while, but gets repedative quickly.
As far as spinoffs go, FF has spinoffs varying in quality. Most of them are compleatly average though, and only popular by fan demand.
Another problem with FF is the fact its games keep going between consoles. The best example I can think of is FF12, which is for the PS2 but has a Nintendo DS spinoff called Revenant wings. It also has some mobile phone games, and FF11 is avalible for Xbox.

Overall, both games succeed in some ways and fail in others. Its really up to personal opinion as to which series is the better one.

I've been in love with Zelda games for as long as I can remember. I like them because of the hands on fighting and the seeming "one against the world" feeling you can sometimes get from playing it.

Like I said, I've been in love with Zelda games for a long time. I might not have all of them, especially the ones for the handheld consoles, but I do have the ones for the regular consoles. Each game has its own story and its own feel to it which attracts me to it. I do appreciate though that Zelda has stuck mainly with Nintendo for its lifetime.

Final Fantasy games on the other hand have a whole 'nother thing going for it. I love that there are so many items that you can collect and that the sidequests add more playing time to the game. Sometimes you just don't want the game to end.

I do like the turn based battle system that it has because it can give you a taste of different fighting styles if you can't choose which one you prefer.

I really love the music in the Final Fantasy games also.

So overall, I can't really decide which one I like over the other since they tie equally in my mind.

Yea in the end it really matters on opinion since both series have their ups and downs. Final Fantasy seems to be popular among new gamers where old die hard fans still stick with zelda.

Zelda hands down. FF may have prettyful art and a complex storyline but it bores me too easily and having to choose your attack instead of execute them irritates me. XD I know it's all about strategy but I like to hit combo buttons or swing the Wii remote around to kill things. XD It's amazin. <3 Then again Zelda has a good storyline too and it really has that good ol' feeling when I play so Zelda all the way for me.
I don't have anything against FF I just don't fancy "strategy" games.

Nice to know theres more zelda fans out there ^_^ Twilight Princess really did deliver on its promise ,especially since we had to wait longer for it to come out then it was originally planned for.Even if you werent good with the wii remote you had the option of gamecube with its mirrored world making it also a challenge. This has to be one of the biggest game wars since pokemon was involved. lol thanks for your opinion MasterChiefrei

But of course! I was a little behind age-wise for the earlier Nintendo/gameboy versions but I loved to play it all the time and still do. >w<
We totally waited forever for that game to come out and I even drew a fun comic about a hardcore Zelda fan being in a fedal position in the corner all bug eyed while waiting for the game to come out. XD They did such a wonderful job on the graphics, characters, game play, plot...ok everything! There wasn't a thing I could complain about for this game so I was happy.
I'm just glad some one else likes it as much as I do too because usually people go for FF right away. ><;

Originally Posted by sly254

Nice to know theres more zelda fans out there ^_^ Twilight Princess really did deliver on its promise ,especially since we had to wait longer for it to come out then it was originally planned for.Even if you werent good with the wii remote you had the option of gamecube with its mirrored world making it also a challenge.

Actually, Twilight Princess was rather average, in my opinion. It was very easy, and I prefered Wind-waker syled graphics over the boring, unstylised world of Twilight Princess. The Wii version was very dissapointing, as all of Link's strikes were pre-programmed gestures. Did I mention it was easy? I normally need a guide to finish Zelda, and I didn't for this one. Yes, that's a bad thing.

But, I couldn't tell you if games in the Final Fantasy series at that time were any better, since I don't own a PS2. I will say though that it wouldn't take a mammoth effort to top Twilight Princess.

And, just to re-inforce the point, I like both games, but each series has its duds. Twilight Princess was one of them.

i like both Zelda and final fantasy but final fantasy wins hands down. because the storyline is so much more developed in the games for the most part, and also the Zelda games only recycle the same story line.

story example: princess or a person usually female goes missing or abducted. the hero link or not, has to go save her and then the evil monster is killed/banished and the land is saved.

as much as i love the games and the story lines for Zelda. final fantasy has a new story for each game so its always original.

I don't think you can properly compare Zelda and Final Fantasy to each other. It's adventure vs. and RPG. Not only that, but you're also comparing a game with a basically reoccurring story line (green clothed hero must save the world from the evil Ganon) with several different story lines all having to do with a group of people trying to save a world from something. They just aren't enough alike to compare.

I will say though that I do enjoy both series Zelda is close to my heart because OoT was the first game I ever beat (mostly) by myself. And Final Fantasy is close to my heart because I used to watch my brother play these games all the time. (It's how I fell in love with FF7 without ever playing it!)

I do wish they would stop making handheld Zelda games that I never end up playing. I want the new Wii one to come out already, I need another great Zelda adventure.

Zelda and Link's adventures are more action oriented adventures whereas Final Fantasy are more story and strategy based adventures. It's very interesting but I would have to say those who are more action would be Zelda choice and those true RPGer's would chose Final Fantasy.

although i grew up with zelda and it was my first RPG experience I have to say Final Fantasy, the graphics are amazing, the story lines kick butt, the abilities and artwork is beautiful. AND the music is the sexiest i've ever listened to lol

I'm simply going to vote for Zelda. I love those games but I do like FF.

Zelda FTW.

You usually don't get game over. No turn based moves. The storylines are usually magical. I have more fun playing them. The FF games go on too long and I don't want to finish them but I do. A lot of the characters are annoying and talkative. Link doesn't talk. I hate character relationships with the LOVE and fkljgsigjwa. Link, no love. He thinks he is with Zelda, but he isn't.

Everyone loves Link.