Final Fantasy series leads Takashi Tokita and Yoshinori Kitase claim that Square Enix considered skipping Final Fantasy 4 as a promotional stunt. If the company had decided to go directly to FF5, the multi-entry JRPG series' fifth entry would've launched before Dragon Quest's.
In an interview on Final Fantasy's official website, Final Fantasy 4 lead Tokita reveals that Square Enix considered calling the series' fourth entry Final Fantasy 5 in order to surpass the company's most popular JRPG series, Dragon Quest. Originally launching one year before Final Fantasy's first entry, Dragon Quest continues to hold the title of Square Enix's longest running series.