why settle for less, hmm?
as far as progession and pacing goes, there is a lot more freedom than in other strategy games. since i was never forced to go to the next point in the story, i could squeeze in as much training and resource management as necessary. this takes away a great deal of stress.
the meticulous customization of my party members got to be stressful. there will always be a lingering feeling of "did i equip this guy optimally?" or "did i get those abilities i was after, or set 'em correctly?". these essentials can only be done outside of battle. i didn't like getting screwed by running into an unexpected scrap only to find i hadn't prepared thouroughly! if you've got a large threshhold for stress, you won't have much of a problem.
as you might have figured, this game plays like chess, except on a field with scenery, varying elevations, and terrain types. everyone takes turns based on their speed attribute. what makes the gameplay stellar (for some) is that you must THINK before acting. there are factors to consider, what actions are appropriate for a unit in regards to their strengths and weaknesses, the safety of your teammates, whether they be ailed or in mortal peril, and which enemy is the largest threat. i know that's stating the obvious, but really, that makes a game a lot deeper. plus, it's a rewarding game, due to the feeling of satisfaction you get when you win a battle that was seemingly hopeless, or even if you've just done something clever. most satisfactory of all is finally conquering a storyline battle that you've attempted countless times. as far as challenge goes, the opposition knows how to make you sorry, especially if you rush into a storyline battle underleveled . you must be watchful of your allies too, seeing as if they are killed and their corpse is left unattended for long enough, they dissolve, and you don't want that. fortunately i have never faced such a tragedy, but that is HARSH. the random encounters get to be woefully easy, though. once you catch on to how to handle specific situations, the beasts won't give you much trouble.
what's the problem? grinding. you must grind for JP (job points) so you can teach your units abilities. you must earn them by acting (usefully). there are things that make this seemingly simple process a turn-off. abilities can have excessive prices. JP only count toward your current job, making it difficult to create an effective hybrid. you can't take very many units into battle, and the ones that suck will have a hard time earning JP. when your party gets large and cumbersome, you're bound to have some dead weight, and it would help to discharge anybody who constantly stagnates. let's face it: grinding is not fun at all. it is mundane and predictable.
i also found the brave/faith system slightly flawed. they are, for the most part, sedentary stats, and there are few opportunities to permanently raise them. brave determines several things, but foremost, it is a factor in one's ability to dish out physical damage. if a unit has pitiful brave, you better hope their faith is damn good, or they get the boot! but faith is a frustrating and confounding statistic. it determines skill with magic, but also how much a unit is affected by magic. low faith is advantageous since a unit will take low damage from spells and is less likely to catch an ailment. at the same time, they won't benefit much from curative spells, and buffers will probably MISS (yes that is possible). speaking of magic, it doesn't fire off immediately, so if someone moves out of range or the target area, your plans may go horribly awry. not that that's only a bad thing. yeah its LOOOOONG. dragged out by the grinding, but at least it'll last you.
this is something that every final fantasy fan, as well as strategy/RPG fans and intellectuals, should play. it'll test you in ways you might not have thought possible, and is a rewarding experience indeed!