WK: For what it's worth, reading through the posts you made in the chapter threads, I don't think it was only the battle system which kept you going or anything like that. It looks like you got fed up after chapter 9 or so, and there were certainly always some things that annoyed you, but there were a lot of things that you said with appreciation as well. And I don't mean 10% of a post, I mean closer to 50%. Maybe you just remember the bad things far more than the good things, but I don't think you played the game all that long while you were under the impression it was rubbish. It looks to me that you were undecided over whether it was rubbish until quite far in.

Bolivar: I played throgh FFII despite thinking it was crap. It was a proper chore, too. There were a few things that I liked in it, sure, but the general gameplay which was 90% of the game (if not more) was something I couldn't stand. So I can completely understand that WK would play that far into a game despite not enjoying himself, although I am of the impression he has painted a picture in his head retrospectively that is much worse than the picture he was painting when half way through the game.

EDIT: I can relate to Bolivar in that I don't feel the global plot of FFXIII was anything to shout about, but I enjoyed the game anyway because of things like the settings, the characters, the lore and an enjoyable battle system. And when I mention lore, I mean the thoughts behind the entire universe, not the plot. It was very interesting for me.