I felt like the entire game was a chore. I was excited about it when I heard about it all. I was happy about the new battle system and was eager to try it out.

Here's where I find problems. These are just my opinions, so yeah.

I didn't like the lack of a DEFINED main character. Yes, there were candidates to be main character but the fact there is no defined main character annoys me. You can have story development on all your characters and still have one person as the leader.

I didn't like the story. It had, as comma very well put it, no rhythm. The characters would accomplish something and announce the next step of their plan and then I would think "Okay, why are we doing this?"

I didn't like that the side-quests were so involved in the main plot. It's in the name: SIDE-quests. They should be something you do optionally. On the side. If you wanted to succeed at this game, you more or less HAD to go on hunts.

Basically, my biggest problem with the game (and with Final Fantasy on the whole now) is the fact that they are straying from the formula that made them famous. Look back at the other games. Final Fantasy VII. Were the graphics good? Not particularly. Was the story good? Phenomenal! Final Fantasy IV. Graphics? Basic. Story. Engaging and gripping. IX. Graphics? A step back from VIII to be sure. Story? Amazing. The J-RPG was about the story, not the graphics. Nowadays, they've made it too much about breaking graphical grounds than about the story. Sure, XII and XIII looked amazing but the story and characters are soooooo forgettable.

Also, best character in XII is CLEARLY Gabranth.

And now a fun fact: I bought XII on day one. I still haven't completed it. (Not aided by the fact that my PS2 is broken. But I'd replace it for Kingdom Hearts first, over XII.)