Inspired by my Overrated RPG thread.
Final Fantasy X, whatever its other flaws, did something really ingenious with the Pilgrimage setup. It helped connect the plot in a logical way that few othe rFF games can equal. With an RPG, it's a huge time investment so you need some down time to process everything. However, you can't waste too much time or risk losing the intrigue and excitement of what's going on.
That's where XII and XIII went wrong for me. XII wasted so much time having us wander around killing Tusken Raiders that your brain melts and leaks out your ears. And who can forget the trek to Archades? And then there was the Old Archades part which was so bad it didn't even have voice-acting. And then collecting Chops....
With XIII, it's the opposite. The absence of towns and the "on the run" story meant STUF was always happening which left precious little time for anything to reallyb e digested. You just get bombarded with so many facts and who are these characters and WHAT'S HAPPENING.