Quote Originally Posted by Flying Mullet View Post
This is the biggest downer in Dragon Quest VII for me. After you go back and forth in time you have to keep speaking with townsfolk in both times before and after events to find the fragments of those slabs to open gates to the next area. So it wasn't even a minor detail or some side-quest you could activate by speaking with numerous NPCs again and again, it was to advance the game. Ugh.
I actually loved the time travel aspects of the game, but it did mean a lot of running around.

In FFXII, I did like to talk to everyone because it added to the atmosphere. I liked the fact that the Archadeans weren't all evil, just soldiers thrust into a situation outside their control.