I know what you are saying! I could not just sit by while our Japanese friends got to play the demo so a couple of months back i bought it and gave it a go and the game looks to be pretty great! I mean not FFVII or VIII great but that all depends on the storyline behind the game, as the combat is very well done!

Roll on 2010 (whenever they decide to release it in the EU that is lol)

^ Interestingly enough 10 & 12 are two of my favorite in the series so far. I actually can't think of any main game in the series that I didn't enjoy.

If GOTY 2010 is going to be an RPG, it will be FFXIII. Mass Effect does not even come close.

Well realistically its only our opinions. :)

In Japan I believe FF13 will get it there.

But the rest of the world has swung much more to WTPG's over the last few years. WRPG's have grown amazingly good. Personally ME is one of the most enjoyable stories Ive ever played through and 2 sounds even better. I think we will se ME2 win GTOY across western media.

Im sorry I love Mass Effect as much as the next guy but the FFXIII from the demo I played is better and more innovative then ME's gameplay mechanics. And the best FF's IV,VI,VII,VIII and X have the same team working on XIII so you know the story is going to be good. And I can tell that this game wont have as many bugs and glitches that plagued and in my eyes kept Mass Effect from being a true WRPG classic. When Mass Effect released in 2007 it wasn't even considered a true contender for GOTY, with the likes of Uncharted, Halo and SMG all overshadowing it.

Final Fantasy IS one of the biggest franchises in the industry with each game after VII dwarfing Mass Effect's sales and hype and critical acclaim.

OP: I played the demo and honestly the battle system took me by a HUGE surprise. I couldnt believe that I was playing with a turn based system and Im shocked that the FF A-Team was able to evolve what looked like a dying battle system into something new and fresh. Honestly I hope there is a collectors edition because this game is worthy of it. And with the talent behind FFX making this game I know the story will be one of the best and emotionally tugging we will ever see. 

Um you do realise Mass Effect has a GOTY edition as it won more than 30 GOTY awards in 2007 right?

Im talking about real gamer sites that cover all systems making the competition that much harder and the award having more merit. The Game is good don't get me wrong and it received a lot of awards but from gaming sites of the same calibur as IGN didnt give it GOTY

Selnor - Like you said several posts ago, at this point this is about opinion. That's why in my post, I said IF an RPG wins GOTY 2010, it will be FFXIII. We are talking about a year that is guaranteed games like God of War 3, Gran Turismo 5 making their franchise's debut in the 7th generation. As far as I know Starcraft 2 is also slated for release. These only come to me off the top of my head because I am really anticipating them but think about all the great games that are coming or have yet to be announced for all the platforms.

IMO Final Fantasy XIII is on a completely different level of existence than Mass Effect. I will not even bother beginning to tell you about the time/money and team that is involved in the project. The series has proven time and time again for twenty years that it pretty much defines JRPGs. WRPGs have grown quite a bit this generation in part thanks to great amazing games like ME, but ME is not even better than Lost Odyssey IMO.

Right now this is somewhat derailing to this this though. As a member of both hype trains, I strongly suggest you try FFXIII when it releases cause it will be MASSIVE!

Though Im anticipating both games, Final Fantasy as a series has a much better pedigree in the areas I care about, namely story, gameplay, characters, music etc, than the first Mass Effect game. It just felt so sterile, and the plot was really really derivative. It doesnt come close to the complex and rewarding gameplay in older FF games like FFX and FFXII, sorry.

Oh right. I played IV on GBA and forgot theres no bar in the one on SNES..