Please, avoid the spoilers as I've only just got the game.

1) Do you get to actually walk freely across the world map, or is this game entirely done through a fixed route? Just a yes/no answer is fine, I don't need to know when, so long as I am able to in the future.

2) How long is this game, relative to games such as FFVII / FFVIII?

That's all, thanks in advance.