Completely and utterly true. I once had an argument with someone when I said I didn't like Spirit's Within because it wasn't what Final Fantasy really was, and they told me FF was all about sci-fi. That's the problem; most people played 7 and 8 and made their decision that that was what FF was all about.
I've played 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10, and I love 9 the best. It's simply brilliant, my favourite game.