I don't remember if I got NES Dragon Warrior or Final Fantasy first.
My DW was one of those free copies Nintendo was giving away with Nintendo Power subscriptions, and I eventually finished it.
Believe me, I TRIED to get into FF but I could never get past the Earth Cave no matter how much I grinded. That game made me swear off FF games...until I played my friend's FFIV (well, FFII on SNES) and fell in love with it.