I find that most of the time an RPG can be played "wrong" it has more to do with the designers doing a shoddy job explaining the various mechanics to the player so they shoot themselves in the foot, or they program the game so loosely that exploiting the game becomes the norm. I feel this is why FFII and VIII get a lot of flak on the game design side of things.

Personally, I hat when games have very rigid playstyles. FFX and XIII really only have one way to play them for most of their game and it made for a rather boring experience for me. I feel RPGs work better when you have more control and agency on how it all works out, which usually involves more broad options.