Criticism of the game is almost completely correct, and it’s still GOTY.
I’m not counting the personal complaints about story, Odin fight, characters that people didn’t connect with. That’s going to happen in every game. I’m playing FF9 for the first time right now, and have those criticisms.
What I really mean, is the comments about side quests, gear/crafting, linear design, and difficulty.
Side Quests: Yes, they are a bit rough in the early game. Most side quests in the late game are actually great and I love what they did. Those moments wouldn’t have had the same impact without the “small” quests before, but I do think they are a bit lackluster. I think awarding more ability points as rewards (instead of crafting materials) would have been a better choice. That gives people more access to abilities earlier, and people usually only care about gear because is gives them access to other abilities. Which leads to…
Gear/Crafting: What is there to say? We all know what’s wrong with it. I’m actually fine with fewer necessary materials to craft, as that expedites a lot of grinding. I love that, but there’s really barely a reason to get excited about anything. It all just falls into your lap. While I’m glad I don’t have to Card Mod, grind, or get 0 seconds on a chocobo, I really wanted to earn the ultimate weapon.
Linear Design: Yes, this game is VERY linear. However, I started playing FF when I was 9, and I used a guide the whole time. So while they may have been “open world” my approach to the game was very linear. I don’t miss getting lost or not knowing where to go. The only thing I would say, is that the game could have benefited from a distraction. Blitzball, Cards, Chocobo Racing something to engage with. That way there’s a bit of levity, or you can take a break.
Finally, difficulty: This is what bothered me the most. I’ve never played a pure action based game, and I breezed through this game. I didn’t quite 100%, but I did do every quest and every hunt. The monolith things where you have one eikon, I didn’t get through. I don’t agree with locking NG+ behind story completion. Completionists won’t like it, people here for the action don’t like it, and people who just want story will play the other mode. Plus, there’s the rings they added to the game already. I just don’t understand why they intentionally had a VERY easy mode, but didn’t give access to hard mode right away. I get it for the story, but it just seems like a time waste and SE should be better than that. I bet the gear system feels far more impactful in NG+.
Final Thoughts: All that being said, it’s an amazing experience. I think the game will unbelievably successful. This is absolutely the right direction SE should take, and I hope they keep iterating on this formula. I think we could be entering another great era of SE and Final Fantasy. CBU3 is the real deal.