I've played through this game twice. It is a visually magnificent game, but I can't get past a number of unlikable characters and some of the strictest linearity in any FF game ever.
It's really noticeable when you first reach the Gapra Whitewood early in the game and see a number of branching paths going into the forest -- of which you can't take any. It feels like there was a lot of ambition on hand and things got in the way of execution -- maybe they ran short on time or spent too much budget on pretty-ifying the game? Needless to say, the first ~25-30 hours of the game are like this. Then it commits a deeper sin.
[SPOILERS (minor) AHEAD, READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL]
Once you touch down on Gran Pulse, the game gives you the illusion of freedom by letting you wander out into the world in any direction you desire -- except that if you don't head directly toward a certain group of monsters, any other encounters are likely to annihilate you on contact. Gran Pulse essentially becomes a trial-and-error test of which encounters are the ones that are okay to fight and dictate which area you should be in until your party becomes hardy enough to take on the next big threat.
[END OF SPOILERS]
I wasn't fond of the Eidolons or Paradigm system, either -- but these issues (for me) were negligible compared to the sheer linearity imposed on the player with a ragtag crew of (mostly) frustrating characters.
It's really noticeable when you first reach the Gapra Whitewood early in the game and see a number of branching paths going into the forest -- of which you can't take any. It feels like there was a lot of ambition on hand and things got in the way of execution -- maybe they ran short on time or spent too much budget on pretty-ifying the game? Needless to say, the first ~25-30 hours of the game are like this. Then it commits a deeper sin.
[SPOILERS (minor) AHEAD, READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL]
Once you touch down on Gran Pulse, the game gives you the illusion of freedom by letting you wander out into the world in any direction you desire -- except that if you don't head directly toward a certain group of monsters, any other encounters are likely to annihilate you on contact. Gran Pulse essentially becomes a trial-and-error test of which encounters are the ones that are okay to fight and dictate which area you should be in until your party becomes hardy enough to take on the next big threat.
[END OF SPOILERS]
I wasn't fond of the Eidolons or Paradigm system, either -- but these issues (for me) were negligible compared to the sheer linearity imposed on the player with a ragtag crew of (mostly) frustrating characters.