I need to get away from my massive ranting about the story for a bit, so I'd like to share something I don't think I've shared before, my single biggest problem with the gameplay.
Those who know me on these boards know that I'm a firm advocate of FFTA and FFTA2's progression systems as opposed to the original FFT's.
The reasons for this are partially because I just really, really like the progression system in those games. However, there's also the fact that, due to my own gameplay quirks, I find FFT's system nearly unplayable.
See, the thing is, FFT's system is open. Incredibly open. With the exception of very, very few abilities, you can basically learn everything from the get go. There is nothing at all to slow or gate progression in any way. This leads me (an admittedly odd player) with a ton of stuff to unlock, and no end in sight. It's always a question of "ooh, just one more ability" or "just one more job, so I can get better levelling stats".
Further, you can optimize JP progression fairly early, and set up entire battles just to grind out JP. Unfortunately, as you do so, you also gain experience. The problem here is that Exp is very, very bad in this game. Because griding experience levels you up, but doesn't increase your gear, and gear is gated in this game. And, since enemies in random battles level up as though your gear levelled up with you (especially monsters), you can, after only a couple JP grind battles, wind up in a position where the enemy massively overpowers you, to the point where enemies in random battles can one hit kill your characters.
This is where I stall out on the game. I don't ever find a natural progression for job unlocks. If I just progress through missions fighting to win, I unlock JP incredibly slowly, and wind up with no real job progression. But, if I stop to level jobs, I wind up getting overwhelmed by incredibly powerful enemies that I really have no chance of beating.
I've never found a happy medium in this game, a point where you could just progress naturally, and that's why I loathe this progression system. While the FFTA (or, especially FFTA2) gates progression such that you're always moving, and can choose in what direction, but it never gets overwhelming.
This was mostly a rant, but it's also sort of a request for advice. How do you guys play it, and how do you balance your progression in it? How much griding do you do, and how fast do you keep moving through missions?