that's just terribly wrong

I disagree. I haven't played it in a long time. I moved to different games and because I need space for exciting games I bought recently for my vita, I may even have to delete it and then probably never play it. So yes, they have failed. In this time and age where we are surrounded by so much entertainment and so many options, this slow approach doesn't work that well any more. Maybe some time ago when I had one game and that was it, I would have palyed it and loved it. Now, I just don't see it happening; same with many others (I am aware that some people have more patience, which is a good thing).

Seems like I must judge plenty of games based on their character editor than. I judge a game when I played trough the original story mode. I can't even judge gameplay in only ons hour since that even evolves along most games. By the way OP great start by giving your thread a title and you and ready give and already exception to that rule.

Nah. I usually need at least 4 hours to make judgement if we are talking about a longer game.

It's the difference between a visual novel and other kind of "easier" stories used in other genres. A visual novel is closer to a book, it can take some time to introduce the characters, the setting, get you used to the "normal" situation, and then mess everything up. This kind of stories is slower to start, sure, but has a lot more depth IMO. Some people like it, others don't, but visual novels are niche games after all and are not made to please everyone. Steins;Gate is one of the most acclaimed visual novels there is even with this slow start, there is a reason for that. 

Different kind of games and stories for different kind of players, that's all! 

Maybe you're right. Maybe the genre just isn't my cup of tea.

It depend on the games genre, your experience and the deep of review you going to take.

True for almost any JRPG

...and more than one hour is needed for most games anyway.

Yeah... no. One hour allows you to judge the first hour of the game. It may be representative of the whole game or it may not. It's not always the case.

Not enough: I liked immensely Throne of Darkness, but initially I disliked it, not feeling at my ease with the controls and missing an essential feature of them due to a bad manual, the way to fire arrows and launch spells without aiming at foes, to lower their sometimes huge numbers, or at least weaken some of them a little bit before they actually entered the screen when my party was still low level and weak.
And the same applies to many games where you are initially very weak, or that have complex customizable controls and you must find the layout that's right for you, or that have both obstacles at the first approach, like Mechwarrior games.