Heh, I actually loved everything about this game except for the weapon upgrade system. It was mostly too expensive to do any good throughout most of the game, and the bonuses didn't pay off (let's face it, most people would go for weapons and a select few accessories--and all the ones you're most likely to work on take a long while to upgrade fully).

I agree with that guy who mentioned Hope's speeches toward the end of the game. For the most part, the characters all enjoyed a dynamic between themselves the likes of which I've never seen in a previous FF (or any game at all, to tell you the truth).

Aside from the things that are almost universally praised (battle system, graphics), I haven't found a single reason to dislike this game, and almost always disagree with the reasoning of anyone who does. Most of the criticisms all seem to cater toward the differences between this installment and previous iterations, but you know what...Final Fantasy has been evolving for a long time now. It's about time something WITHOUT big towns, lots of people, and winding mazes came along. Especially since it wouldn't make sense to have any of them, considering the awesome story and feel to the game wouldn't make any sense at all were they there.