It was really pretty. It just doesn't have the magic of previous Final Fantasies though.
I think part of my problem is that, at the time, the jaded big hair anime disgrunted pre-teen tough guy pretty boy a-hole anti-hero/hero protagonist got REAL old.
These characters feel trite, and I don't see anything I haven't seen before. I didn't particularly like the side games. The card game trend is obnoxious, not fun. The graphics were pretty. The sounds wasn't as memorable as seven.
I really feel like this game was a big downturn. It took the big cinematic, big story method from seven, and tried to box it up and do it again, and it just didn't work. It doesn't have the same heart. The love interest is dull. The hero is vapid and annoying. The characters didn't touch me at all. The story never dragged me in. It just didn't make me care.
It was pretty. That's all.