IMO Squeenix is like a primitive organism with a very poor feedback mechanism. Square Co. used to provide games with a solid amount of side quests, customization, etc.. as well as a great varying game mechanics compelling story that drew fans in. Then Squeenix came out with FFXII which I personally loved that was very open ended and had tons of side quests and hidden thangs. Some fans complained that it was too open ended and the story wasn't compelling enough and then Squeenix releases FFXIII which, although it has a decent story and an excellent theme, is completely linear to the point where there's no time to "settle in" with the characters and no room to get a feel for the game itself. Playing FFXIII was just not fun past a certain point. I actually thought FFX was amazing even though it was linear, the only really annoying thing was the camera. The characters and story drew me in and the music was really well done. It also had some similarities to FFVIII which is my all time favorite.