My first Final Fantasy was on the GameBoy, and I'll -never- forget the day that Hatamoto (some kind of ninja-style mob) used Punch on me for 35,536 damage. I just stared in awe, because Punch was atrocious to use.
My friend was one of those who hated XII, but I rather enjoyed it and beat the living stuffings out of it. Seeing the reactions he makes to a lot of things, I think it came down to the word 'fantasy', more of a 'traditional' take on fantasy (medieval Europe, that kind of thing). And he hated Active Battle. I'm not sure, but I think the division between love it/hate it fell somewhere along those lines. Interestingly enough though, he didn't have that problem with VII and I couldn't stand VII. Different tastes and all that. I like XIII though, I'm about ready to (finally) beat it, provided I can stop powerlevelling in Chapter 11. I think XIV fits in well with the higher-numbered ones (X and up), and I'd hate to be asked to pick a preferred between XII, XIII, and XIV.
Wish it had blitzball. =(
