Definitely agreeing with you guys here, I really feel like the implementation of voice acting was somewhat of a step down for games. Unless you do a really great job of casting like Final Fantasy XII, you're never going to be able to beat the way the voice sounds inside the player's head while reading it. Not to mention I like to read a couple outstanding lines over and over again if it's really well written, and a lot of games with voice acting, you can't go back to view the scene again unless you have another file (which is something I did for FFXII).

I also agree that text keeps the story inside the gameplay, by having you move to NPCs and press a button to initiate and progress the dialogue. It absolutely is a part of that RPG charm.

It's kind of hard to define what exactly what immersion means at any given time for games, keeping story and dialogue in the "game" is part of it, but I also feel like a big short coming of FFXIII was keeping me obsessed with the game system, all the progression and customization and trying to figure out every nook and cranny of those features. I wanta serious gameplay designer who pushes him/herself to the limit trying to think out a game system with a lot of ingenuity. I'd love to see Ito brought onto the next main FF for this, every FF he's directed has been exceptional on this part.