@cip_raziel: I doubt it will have invisible random encounters and I'd expect battles to take place in the field (I'd be disappointed if they went back to separate battle areas.) I wouldn't expect an open world game either, but when they said, "express an environment [where] character actions affect the scenery" that sounds to me like there will be a lot of interaction with the environments, which would be great.

It will be really interesting to see how they handle the world map. Making it into connected zones like FFXII could work decently, but it might bring up problems for vehicle travel, so I'd prefer they use a traditional overworld like FFVII had.

@overachiever89: Sounds like a great idea. I'd enjoy madden and NHL much more if they did that.

@Megawizard: lol Gilbert Gottfried for Cid? I wouldn't be able to take the character seriously.

@Ripper_TV: I think the knee joints look a little strange but idk how else the they would be done to keep the mobility.

@seven7swords: haha, I've actually been motivated by video game characters to hit the gym in the past too. It's time to start doing that again...

@djroth: I think the list was created by all of Gamespot staff so it makes sense to see a variety of taste and games ranked in strange places.

Edit: although that doesn't excuse typos on a game title at a pro site... Reminds me of a top 10 YouTube video I saw where they misspelled Planescape Torment as Planetscape Torment and the narrator even kept saying Planetscape.

@jayskoon93: The original Kingdom Hearts came out when I was an adult and I probably didn't get into the story quite as much because of that. The story wasn't necessarily bad in my opinion, but the gameplay / battle system was so good that I still had a great time with the game and it's sequel.

@toffifee: I think I understand where you're coming from. I consider Final Fantasy IX to have more of a "fairy tale" aesthetic than any others in the series. There were aspects of it that reminded me of a childrens play, puppet show, or a Disney movie. Final Fantasy XII has a more mature tone and a plot that revolves around politics, so I'd agree that the overall story of IX is more fantasy based than XII.

When I think of the world, music, and general atmosphere of IV, V, X, and XII, it feels more like a unique and even magical fantasy environment to me then IX. This is certainly just a matter of opinion here, but somehow the familiar fairy tale setting of IX doesn't feel quite as fantastical to me as the unique settings of the others I mentioned. Keep in mind, I tend to prioritize the experience of the gameplay over the story telling, but I respect that other gamers don't have the same priority.

Final Fantasy IX is in my top 6 games of the main series, and I tend to prefer those medieval fantasy settings to modern ones as well. Still, I think XV has shown enough potential that it might provide the fantasy elements I enjoy, even though it has a superficially modern day setting. We'll find out soon enough if XV can deliver on the high expectations the series used to meet. I think some of the pessimists might be surprised after we can sink our teeth into the game - at least I hope that will be the case.

Despite our apparent differences, I think we'd both agree that the series has hit a low point recently, and we can only hope that the developers have managed to start figuring out what it takes to make the series great again.

@Sesshomaru2183: That implies that any time a person criticizes someone, the person being criticized automatically did something wrong because someone is complaining.

@DeathCrusher91: I was thinking the same thing. Overall, the PC emulator will likely have better features although it lacks trophy support for those that find that important.