I thought I read about some FF that had parties of more than five where you didn't actually control what the individuals did but set up strategies so that if someone died they would swap out with one of the other ten or whatever. Or some such weirdness.

Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is that once things started to change aesthetically with VII and then gameplay wise thereafter, I had zero interest in any post-VI games (except IX, of course).

That's why I was super stoked to see Final Fantasy Gaiden . . . but then super irked to see it get no US release. It looked like a new FF game in the style that I loved.