Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this column are those of the participants and the moderator, and do not neccessarily reflect those of the GIA. There is coarse language and potentially offensive material afoot. Your lucky day will be February 30th. Don't say that I didn't warn you.

Now that I've seen the trailer for Final Fantasy IX, I have to admit that I've become rather excited about it. Not as excited as I'd be if, say, it was discovered that the entire purpose of the game was to out-dance the planet's denizens so they would reward you with the mechanical components necessary to form the head of your crashed spacecraft and return to your home world, but excited nonetheless. The environments shown look atmospheric and unique, and there's even a smattering of the technological elements that I dig. I'm still not certain of what to make of the character appearances, but I feel that this game is going to be an excellent addition to the series.

As for Final Fantasy X, I'm as anxious as anybody else to play a fully three-dimensional Final Fantasy, especially when it looks that darn good. I've always felt that 3D graphics were more immersive than the two-dimensional on the whole, and the idea of a title that allows you to explore every nook and cranny of fully-rendered villages and forests coupled with the excellent storyline that the series is known for is enough to make me drool even more than I usually do.

And then there's FFXI; the game that seems to be generating the most discussion and heresay. I'm not even concerned with FFXI just yet, as it's release is simply too far off on the horizon, and very little is even known about the game. Worrying about how Square will handle an entirely online RPG this early in the game is like getting worked up over the fact that the sun will burn out in several billion years. I'm sure I'll still end up fielding letters concerning it and stating my opinions regarding it, but I'm trying to pretend as though I'm rational on the occasion.

Of course, at this point you may notice that I'm prattling on even more than usual in these opening paragraphs. Those more savvy Double Agent readers will understand exactly what this means before I even go on to say it: today is going to be one of those lame columns that doesn't even have a single letter in it for one reason or the other. Yes, thanks to a busted computer, yesterday's emails are lost. However, it's nothing that can't be worked around, and so here's a topic for tomorrow to get a few more of the ol' letters rolling in.

It's already a given that FFIX will feature more stylized characters than FFVIII before it and FFX to come after. Do you feel that these characters will be able to convey as much emotion and involve the player in the game? Or do you feel that they will remove you from the experience, and should the game be enjoyable it will be despite their design rather than because of it? Let me know how you feel, and give me a good explanation as to why. You can do it. Now get to work.

-Drew Cosner