People worried about gender dynamics should remember that "all male" allows for different gender dynamics for narrative purposes and general script/attitude.

I'm disappointed at the lack of female playable characters because I tend to prefer having at least one of each gender in my 'main party' for FF games... however I do feel that this could allow for interesting scenes that we wouldn't otherwise be able to see.

Overall will just wait it out. More interesting to me is that it's a road trip. Does that mean we're back in the land of linear gameplay, moving from one location to the next and never returning? Hmm. I hope at some point we can return to the starting areas etc.