I also disagree.
Your points of contention are a matter of preference. Everyone is different.
ARR Was very small (In comparison to HW/SB) - everything was easy to reach - HW made that longer and harder - SB far more so.
There are some nuances that make it....difficult - but that's part of the game.

I personally enjoyed the dialogue and stories - I starve for it even now. But I'm not you....everyone is different.

ALL Final Fantasy games have this "Traveling" aspect..... it wouldn't be FF without it.