A new direction in Final Fantasy while maintaining the basics that make it the best RPG series.
The new battle system allows the player to not have to do anything during a battle. This sounds boring or like an awful choice but in reality it is a fresh experience and most importantly, fun.
To truly play the game without interacting in battles you would have to know exactly which gambits to set for each situation otherwise you will find yourself often pausing the battle to make an input. This battle system is a hybrid system that allows commands like "Attack" to be made automatically if you don't want to have to keep pressing it every turn like in previous FFs, but when you want something more specific like "Cure" you can input it yourself.
The story is like any other FF, large in scale, and very dramatic. So prepare for another big journey to save the world!
The sound has less memorable tunes than previous FFs but still sounds right for each situation. The graphics are better than FFX because SE used less polygons in this game in exchange for sharper textures and it payed off nicely.
There are tons of side quests to be done. Hunts are the main side quest you will be forced to do once to show you how it works, then you can go off and do them yourself. There are a lot of hunts and each one gives unique rewards you cannot get in the main quest like weapons and spells you can purchase.
The main quest is easy enough except for some boss battles where you will need to micromanage the entire time and gambits just don't cut it. The side quests however are much harder and some of the later hunts and espers you encounter in these side quests are extremely hard without special setups or unless you are level 99.
Overall this game is another great FF that you have come to expect. Square Enix has not disappointed in the main series, the spin offs and other smaller budget FFs are another story.