I don’t think many people realize how big of a deal this is. After March 9th, two majorly successful franchises in the RPG realm will be released within the three months of each other. Both on next generation consoles, and both from different sides of the world. The new age of gaming is upon us, and with advancement, there is destruction. At the end of the year, we will have a good indication of where the industry is moving towards, and what games are the most successful in the RPG world. Is change good? Or are we forgetting what made these games so enjoyable to begin with? In 2010, who will reign?

Essentially, these video games are not competing directly. Really what I mean when I say Mass Effect 2 vs. Final Fantasy XIII is Western developed RPGs vs. Eastern developed RPGs in entirety. These behemoths represent the pinnacle of their respective corners of the ring, and time will only tell what the people really want.

Mass Effect 2 we already know is absolutely brilliant, practically redefining what an RPG, and even a video game, can be. With branching dialogue choices and seemingly limitless outcomes depending on the players actions, Bioware took the term “role playing” to the next level.

As wonderfully interactive as this is, the detriment to that is narrative. Because Commander Shepard, protagonist in the Mass Effect series, is so customizable, he really has a shallowness to him. It’s like if you bought a brand new CD with amazingly cool album art and track titles, but when you really get into the actual music, it kind of feels over produced with no feeling. That is how I would best describe Shepard. Bioware attempts to recoup for this by creating amazing supporting characters and an extremely expansive universe to explore, but when it comes down to it some people just won’t be satisfied playing such a limited character.

Final Fantasy XIII strives in this department, creating complex characters and story telling that is extremely deep and expansive. The Character development is what eastern RPG games hook into, making you feel for these characters and remember their struggles. Instead of being the character like you are in Mass Effect, you are instead watching and guiding them along their journey. This is exactly why we will always remember Cloud Strife or Chrono, while in ten years most likelyforgetting Master Chief and Commander Shepard.

Though Eastern RPGs do have wonderful characters, the control needed to implement this design really takes away from the interaction the player has in the story. Some even say playing a Final Fantasy is like walking on a straight line and occasionally pressing x. I wouldn’t go as far to say that myself, but they do have a point. When it comes down to it, Final Fantasy and most eastern RPGs are much less interactive than western developed games of the same genre. Why play a 60 dollar game when you can get the same experience implemented better in a movie or book?

It is also important to note the impact of the new generation of gamers. My younger brother for example is 13 and has never even touched a Final Fantasy, and has no plans to. He said himself “Single player games I have no patience for.” Maybe Mass Effect is appealing to our further deteriorating attention spans and adjusting to a world that moves fast? If so, the nostalgia card Square-Enix and other Eastern RPG developers count on will soon become extinct, or in the least continue to drop.

So the question remains then. Which is better? Which game will have better sales when the year closes? Obviously “better” is subjective, but sales don’t really lie. Either way, It will be interesting to see which direction the industry moves towards in the coming years, and seeing the further split between western and eastern gaming audiences.

Me? I am going to sit back, watch it play out, and enjoy the best of both worlds. Who said you can’t love both?