The battle system all comes down to opinion, I guess. Some like to be able to customize characters, whereas others prefer to have fixed abilities. If you ask me, the latter creates a bigger challenge.

As for the mini-games, a large number of IX's were sidequests, as opposed to mini-games as such (Stellazzio being an example). However, the mini-games that were there were varied and rewarding. VII far surpasses IX in terms of sidequests, but it doesn't mean that IX's aren't fun.

I'll accept that IX doesn't give you as much freedom as some other games. But if 'freedom' is being forced to complete every single sidequest before disc 4, I'll pass, thank you very much.