I heard a lot of complaints about Dark Souls II's Majula lacking the same intricacy as Dark Souls' Firelink Shrine.

While it's true that the world isn't as interconnected as DS1, I think that Majula is really well done. Having a hub world where you can easily upgrade and repair equipment, bring all the NPCs together, and purchase anything you need is super cool. I really prefer DS1's approach, but Majula grew on me as the game progressed.