Having played past the...
inevitable mid-story twist
I can easily say, don't believe all you read on the internet. Play for yourself before you let yourself be unduly influenced. Some of the things I was reading on this forum had me worried, but I'm glad to see this is perfectly in line with most Final Fantasy games.
Now, it's obvious to me that some either played a different game from the one I'm playing, or are simply distorting reality for the sake of painting Dawntrail in an undeservedly negative light, likely because their hatred for a single character makes them lose every semblance of nuance in their judgment.