The pace of battles is a recurring issue in RPGs in general these days. Lots of games are looking for ways to avoid the stereotype of battle systems and thus speed up the pace and/or streamline battle. Square Enix's games appear to be no exception.

One of the biggest criticisms at launch was that the combat system was... well, boring. In response to this, they have made moves to tie it into something more exciting and fast-paced, which of course results in things finishing quicker, allowing you to move on to the next foe.

Sorry buddy, but slow battles just isn't the way things are going these days.