I dislike it because your control on things is limited to one player and gambits. Yeah yeah, you can switch leaders and also select actions for your other members, but let's be realistic. Unless you want to change characters every single time, the game is going to do the work for you. Also, black magic is now basically useless.

Overall, I'd say it was a good system. I just don't think it was a change that the series needed. ATB is my favorite, and the greatest rendition of it is in X-2.

Random encounters versus non-random encounters is something that I can't decide myself. I like random encounters, but I understand the qualms some people have. I think XII did away with them nicely. XIII on the other hand...