Gus Mastrapa: If we play Final Fantasy XIII in 2009, I'll be genuinely surprised. Square Enix won't rush this game. And that's a good thing. Thing is, as I play more of its classic RPGs, I'm becoming less enamored with its new stuff. I'm getting bored with Final Fantasy's needlessly baroque architecture, outlandish costumes and overwrought storytelling, especially when they don't add anything to the game. There's a disconnect between the fan-service aesthetics of the series and the nuts and bolts of their role-play. Please, guys, tell me this game isn't going to be anything like Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. What a stinker that was.

Russ Fischer: I can't argue with the problems of the fan-service approach Square has taken of late, and Square really has something to prove with this game. They set a technological bar very high from the very first offline demo back in 2006. I think that's proving to be a red herring, in both the development and fan anticipation. All I want is a good, involving story. Square has come through with the high-profile promise of tech plus story (in Final Fantasy VII) and I don't doubt it can do so again. I'm hoping the increasingly Holy Grail-like status of this game keeps Square's eye on the prize rather than pushing them to make the be all and end all Japanese RPG. I'm skeptical, but patient. Like Gus, I'll be shocked to see this in 2009.

Outlook: Pre-rendered to "dubious."