According to the interview to Motomu Toriyama (Final Fantasy XIII-2's game director) on the latest issue of Dengeki Playstation, Noel Kreiss, the new character that will join the Final Fantasy XIII cast in the upcoming sequel, will have a very important role in the story. To be more precise, he might actually have the most important role, as the developer confirms that we will progress through the game mostly controlling him and Serah (that had a quite secondary role in Final Fantasy XIII).

Square Enix seems to be determined to adress most of the complaints caused by the latest single player Final Fantasy game, one of which was the lack of a compelling male protagonist. We can't help but wonder (and hope) if they will also try and fill the gap left by the lack of a strongly emotional romance in the story, sadly missing from the series since Final Fantasy XII.

The possible relationship between Noel and Serah might easily be up to the task.