i personally hated MANY aspects of it.. but it was still a great game.

like you said.. monster arena ROCKS
the fmvs are top notch like the moonflow one, bevelle palace before and after the *ahem* ceremony

IMO random battles got MORE annoying than previous games.. and actaully after playing chrono trigger.. i think they shoulda kept that system then intergate the movement with the battles like chrono trigger.

the sphere grid was refreshingly new but customising abilities onto weapons wasnt that great. nice new concepts of break ____ limit but most of em are pretty useless with the exception of BDL.

im really dissapointed in the difficulty of the battles tho >_< most of the bosses you arent even fighting for your life... compared to FFV. but then true enough there was a increase in the difficulty curve once you passed into mt gagazet and sometimes it just toook a bit of planning and insight to deal with certian situations. (excluding the boss) mostly confusion, self destruction, nearly physical immune enemies then suddenly the change to a locked party. the turn system is solid but for some reason quick hit kinda messes it up because the same person takes his/her turn over and over again to a point then suddenly its someone else's turn. also it bothered me that some enemies were so fast/slow that they would actaully take turns instead of say like FFVIII they would just keep attacking you till you killed them or till you were dead.