I dont see how its not a final fantasy. So what the battle system is changed or it has none of the old summons (i still really miss Ifrit and Bahamut though), most of the spells are the same (or related to old ones), there's plenty of references to old FFs (for christ's sake, this game is set in freaking Ivalice). It doesnt have the old battle system which i liked, but this new system works well too...and one fantastic thing about this system is that you can go into the main menu right during battle and apply LP points, and thats pretty useful.

The most awesome thing about this game though, i think, is the story. Not only is it insanely long, but its unique. Its political (but then, so was the original Tactics), its complicated (but not confusing), certainly not cliche, it has modern technological stuff in it but it still manages to keep a good fantasy feel to it.

This game is certainly a Final Fantasy, and moreso than Final Fantasies X and X-2, i'd argue.