I empathise with you, sir. I didn't really get Final Fantasy XII either. I don't think there has been a decent story since Final Fantasy X, and you have to go back to IX before you find an engaging one in my opinion.

Akihiko Yoshida...I just cannot warm to his particular artistic style. They were obviously trying to mesh some sort of pseudo-mmorpg style battle system into the mix as well. It just didn't quite sit right with me for some reason. I never got around to completing the game though. I will try to one day, but like XII-2, it is one of those games I have...but when I try to play, I just groan. Some things defy explanation; they're merely visceral.