I think people like FF10 more because it was more manipulative. It relied on cheesier characters that spilled their hearts out every time they had a chance. The plot was not predictable, but it was formulaic. The storyline was interesting, but not intriguing or even inspiring. There was some good voiceacting on the part of Auron, but generally Tidus was whining the whole way through which was a real turn-off.
What made it even stranger was how every character was clearly there to fill a role. I mean, think about it. I realize the whole "It's my [Tidus'] story" aspect was played up a bit, but the problem with some of the older FFs is that they're stuck on making each of the characters cliche'd companions instead of actual characters in themselves. They provided backstory to make it SEEM like they were rounded or complex, but in the end it really felt shallow. Really what they're doing is simply filling in slots in the party.
That's not to say FFX was bad - actually it was pretty good. But FFXII was interesting in that it didn't focus on prividing that (dare I say it?) emo-Anime feel that sucks so many in. What it did was try to create a continuous, possibly believable, world. The MMO feel that many complain about is a by-product of making the world just so much more "alive". For example, you randomly find other guys (hunters or Clan Members) who are doing their own thing, and perhaps will throw you a heal or help you out on a hunt. When you complete a quest or a hunt, you'll hear people in a nearby city talk about. The whole experience is much more complete and the sheer amount of content is amazing. Yes, the characters aren't as transparent as in FFX, but that's not a bad thing. The fact that you DON'T know everything about them makes them more believable and interesting, as opposed to the stereotyped characters usually scattered throughout the other FFs. Also, their voice acting is just SO MUCH BETTER than FFX's it's not even funny. I know some people might like the anime-style of FFX (sort of...), but FFXII's theater actors were just so much more believable and the writing was almost always superior.
But most people just run the main storyline expecting the same anime-plot progression and character "development" that they're used to. Maybe that's what people like about FF. Maybe that's why everyone bashes FFVIII. FFVIII was the other game that tried to break the limited scope of the franchise and develop the context - the world.
Ok, that was pretty long and most people prolly won't agree, but what the heck. But yeah, I voted for FFXII 8)
Edit: Oh, and the Arabian?/European mix of cultures was just too darn cool. The art style was amazing in my opinion. But to each their own.
Rekalys
Level 21 and only 4 posts? areyouawizard.jpg 
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