The top choice is the most recent game?  Yeah, that suggests that the fans polled for this have pretty short memories.  It reminds of a time back when I was in high school when MuchMusic (Canada's MTV) had a "best videos of all time" countdown as voted by the viewers.  Of the top ten only ONE video was not from the current year.

So I'm going to take a guess that since the most recent title is number one and the second most recent title is number two that the vote has been skewered by noobs.  Lists like this usually need some perspective.

I'm sort of surprised that DQ IV was relatively low on that list...and, I didn't realize that III was so popular. 

I would agree with you except for the fact that this is a list for the FAVORITE DQ game, not THE BEST EVER MADE. Of course DQ IX is popular. Not only is it recent it appeared on a system that is widely popular and must likely attracted a lot of new fans whose first game was this one.

It still lacks perspective.  If someone's favourite game was the most recent game they played, odds are they're just an idiot.  It does happen legitimately but in a poll like this it seems too likely that it's biased.  Ever know someone who when they come out of almost every film is all "that's my favourite movie ever!" and that the current song dominating the radio is their favourite song and their favourite show ever always happens to be one that is currently on the air.  I can't stand those people, they're idiots.  That's likely what this.

It's not a big deal, dude. I personally won't lose sleep over that fact. I'll say let them have fun. If Japan thinks DQ IX is their favorite game then fine.

Eh, it's no real different than the people who claim games like the original Legend of Zelda or Super Mario Brothers are their favourite when there are technically superior games out there, and it is likely it is their favourite because they played it first. It still sounds like you're treating "favourite" as "best" when really "favourite" is so subjective that it is elitist to tell somebody they're wrong. There can be a variety of reasons someone chooses a game as their favourite, and if a game giving them their first experience is one of them, well, that's their choice.

I wouldn't say that someone is wrong for having something as their favourite.  But I can tell them that I think their reasoning for it being their favourite is silly.  If someone considered a game to be their favourite entirely because they had not played anything else or it was the most recent game they had played I would consider their opinion to be very superficial and place little value in it.

I don't think it's superficial, but I don't view favourites as absolute. Favourites are something that can change over time and through experiencing more, so although I don't put much stock in it, I see nothing silly about it. It's just what they enjoyed at the time.

Oh God, my first choice was their last, and my second was 20th.

I agree with Mop in this instance. For example, my favorite Mario game is Super Mario Bros. Yes, it was the first Mario game I played, but it is also the Mario game I play the most, even today. Using fan logic, I am severely wrong on this because everybody knows that Super Mario Bros. 3 IS the best Mario game ever made. Granted, I really love that game, but Super Mario Bros. is still my favorite, followed by Super Mario World and then Super Mario 64.

From what I heard, Dragon Quest IX is a very expansive RPG, one with many quests to partake in beyond the story segments. Not a lot of offline RPGs can be like that, and the fact that DQ IX is very deep on this regard it might just be a lot of people's favorite game.

One other factor that makes these lists inaccurate (if you goal is to create an UNBIASED list ranking what games are "the best") is how many games each voter has played. If you've never played Dragon Quest Swords, you're never going to vote for it.

That being said, I totally agree with the top two on this list (as best I can, not having played every game). I've played DQ9 longer than most other games I've played. I've played it for 200+ hours so far. The only thing that DQ9 isn't very strong with, IMO, is the story. And DQ8 had a story that I thought was engaging and fun.

For me, other standouts are DQ:Swords for being non-standard, but still upholding the level-up type mechanics and spirit.

The ones I didn't particularly like were DQ7 (for some reason) and the original was pretty bad (even though I still enjoyed it... it's just really archaic).

Others I enjoyed (but played pretty much one after another, so I can't say how I'd rate) are 2 & 3 (NES) and 4 &5 (DS remakes).

I'd say DQ1 (Dragon Warrior) is my favorite simply because of the memories I have with it. That game hooked me on RPG's for life. I still have pretty much all the music and sound effects ingrained into my brain. :)