Now entering Fan Boy mode!
You know, I will never understand this sentiment. From both a story and game perspective I feel the WoR was a work of art. Not only was it a wonderful plot twist but it allowed the player to see the characters finally resolve many of their own personal turmoil. At the same time, the game decides to let go of your hand and give you a chance to actually explore the world. Witnessing the changes of the world is left to the players disgression and I feel the shock of discovery from ones own exploring is superior to having a scripted event.
I like having freedom to explore and see the world and it bothers me when the game rushes me from one plot point to another. But even better is the fact that most of the sidequests are story related events. I've always felt VI was a character driven piece. It's overall story is actually quite simple but it's characters and their reactions is what made the game have such a strong story. Having the second half of the game dedicated to resolving or expanding on characters was great. Certainly some faired better than other is having something relevant written about them but none of them ever felt like I was doing something irrelevant to the plot (scratch that, I always seem to forget about Gogo but then again I consider him to be a completely secret character)
Had there not been any dialogue or story sequences I can agree that the WoR would be boring but I saw it as a point where the plot focused on the important things. There is really nothing left to be said about Kefka and he never viewed your party as a threat so there was no point in getting him involved. The game gives you free reign to explore a new world at your own pace. The ability to revisit old locals you thought you knew and to discover new places. The WoR is one of the best parts of the VI game. I never saw it as a grind fest (for christ's sake people, it's not like VI needs grinding in order to beat. Grab Bum Rush and the Ragnarock esper, and just head to Kefka's tower:rolleyes2 ) nor was I ever bored. I thoroughly enjoyed it and wished that more JRPG's would be like this. I need more freedom in my RPGs and less story rails...