I just got Penelo in my party. I'm just having fun exploring the place, and I'll finally cover more ground with a second member. There's so much to explore in the beginning! I've spent 5.5 hours in the game, and most of it was just messing around.

I love how there's a side-quest to killing monsters. You not only get information on the monster (apart from HP and stats, but that's what Libra's for), but you get some history of the world too. And I think some give you side-quest information, too. The extra content for the Flowering Cactoid said something about collecting needles. If that actually comes to anything, cool. If not, whatever. I just like the detail.

"I'm already annoyed" has turned into "I'm already loving this game!" Even if the story turns out crap (although I hear it's one of modern FF best), I just like the world and exploration. I hope it keeps up.