Seem, I always defended the game just based on "linear isnt bad", not really thinking about the reasons why its linear.
Ive also always been confused why FFX is well liked despite... also being very linear up until it opens up at the end? But XIII got memed for hallways???
Gonna disagree about XIII's characters, though not necessarily the overall plot. I love XIII's main cast and think it has fantastic character dev though. Its actually the game's main strength imho.
I mean yeah the characters are its strongest feature, but they're all still significantly weaker than FFX's characters. They're very similar games. That's why it stands out so much when it doesn't reach the same heights. If FFX never existed FFXIII would be widely beloved.