Final Fantasy (Nintendo) versus Final Fantasy (Sony)

Choosing sides: It's pretty damn hard to believe now, but once upon a time all things Final Fantasy were synonymous with Nintendo. Those Shiva-summoning shenanigans were all on one platform, offering big-headed characters, basic-yet-enchanting play mechanics and a cast of characters that stayed with you long after the game was done. Post 1997, the series kept all of the above, but became more known for outrageously gorgeous cutscenes and over the top summoning attacks. And hair. Lots of finely prepared hair.

Highlights: This could more or less be called Final Fantasy VII versus everything else. Before Cloud took us to the Lifestream and back, the Fantasy games appealed to a niche audience. FFVII took it mainstream and set a precedent for almost all other RPGs to follow - make with the CG movies or else. After VII and VIII, Square made one last trip to the old school with IX, but the world seemed more interested in Squall's inability to express human emotion than Zidane's positive outlook. With Final Fantasy XII, the gameplay and visual style have dramatically changed again, perhaps drawing another line in the Al Bhed sand.

The outcome:Try as they might, fans of classic Fantasy have been unable to get anything more than remakes and ports of their cherished titles. Meanwhile, Final Fantasy XIII looks even more sleek and stylized than anything that’s come before, so those hoping for glowy-eyed black mages should just prepare for Matrix-style action scenes. There's a planned remake of SNES favorite Final Fantasy IV in the works, but it looks like the cutesy, super-deformed characters are gone for good.