What consumers expect of a FF-title

[Malakhim]

Am I the only one that thought XII was awesome?

Not by a long shot.

Final Fantasy XII did a lot of great stuff. Problem was that Nomura's legion fanbase and the Final Fantasy X fans all poo pooed it likely because they just can't handle Matsuno nuance and intrigue.

"Everything is automated! The game is playing itself!"

Of course many didn't realize that if you never wanted to use Gambits(and why wouldn't you?), then you could easily just operate the game like any other ATB-styled entry in the series.

"The story is crap!"

The story is about an overarching conflict and all the motivations, machinations, and history behind it(also Han Solo). You aren't going to find some water physics-defying Tidus/Yuna sap going on here.

"But the music, man! The music!"

Sakimoto created a pretty sweeping score for a a sweeping epic(noun, not adjective) that had plenty of musical themes throughout, although they were much more nuanced than Uematsu's work. I guess it's all up to interpretation, but everything from Cerobi Steppe to Golmore Jungle to the Dalmascan Estersand was pretty fitting.

"But what about Vaan!?"

Well... You got me there. If it's any consolation, Vaan(and probably Penelo as well) was never supposed to be in the game to begin with, as the main character was always supposed to be Basch.