Final Fantasy XII was released before it would have been accepted by the FF fanbase.

[Scoobes]

Galvanizer said:

 

Scoobes said:
I couldn't gel with the game when it released and I doubt I would have gelled with the game if it released this gen. 

The main problem was that it was a game of unfulfilled potential. I actually quite enjoyed the battle system, the story itself should have been brilliant but was told rather poorly and then you had these two random characters that appeared to be the main protagonists at the start, but as the game progressed it became apparent they were blatantly added in to fit some stupid, soul destroying market research SE had done. So much for artistic vision!

The annoying this is that with a few changes I could see myself rather enjoying the game.

Too many of these FFXI complaints focus on the story. The story is purely subjective, so your dislike of it doesn't mean the game is bad.

I didn't say the story was poor, I said it was told poorly. Two different very different things. There was a lot of potential in the story but when the main characters at the start are effectively bit parts it becomes difficult to care about the events that are happening later in the game. They should have just had Balthier or Basch as the main character from the start, telling the story from their POV from the very start of the game. Or alternatively, pulled a FFVI and presented the game as a full ensemble and shown multiple POVs in great depth.

Instead, I was left thinking "this is a pretty deep and involved storyline" but combined with "I'm completely detached from this story because the POV is removed from the core of this storyline".