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???
XIII got memed for hallways because that's literally all it was. Most linear games usually to try to make you forget the rails you're on with fancy smoke and mirrors. dazzling setpieces or just fun gameplay but FFXIII barely made any attempt. It didn't help that exploring those overdesigned gaudy hallways was clunky as hell and felt like it was 2 generations behind despite the at the time cutting edge visuals.
Not only were the game's corridors small and cramped, they felt completely lifeless and static. There was barely any interactivity anywhere, just weird floating treasure spheres tucked away into random dead ends and occasional spots where you could press a contextual button to jump over an obstacle. The only living things aside from the player characters were robotic NPCs (which were an incredibly rare sight) and the game's horribly designed ugly monsters zooming around in circles on their patrol routes.
It all just felt so fake and devoid of life. This wasn't helped by the game's overall design aesthetic where everything was a gaudy, overdesigned mishmash of organic and synthetic parts. The story was completely fucking impenetrable too and the characters sucked
It's like the game was designed by soulless robots who were completely up their own asses
spoiler
FF13-2 and Lightning Returns were both colossal improvements despite still being awful
I'm drawing a line here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah the characters were some of the best n series IMO. Annoying? Yes. Poorly written? nah
The game was just deeply alienating to me, the world was so weird and everything so contrived I couldn't get into it at all
If you really break it down Final Fantasy has always been linear, in fact linearity has always been one of the big distinctions between jRPGs and cRPGS, but with the backlash to FF13 we learned just how valuable getting a couple of screens to run around and talk to NPCs is. FF13 feels very one note because moving through a dungeon fighting monsters is just one of the many notes that makes a good RPG, and it stays on that one note for a very, very long time.
The way you interact with the game's world isn't actually all that different from how the PS1 games played outside of the battle screens. It's just when you strip away any player agency and freedom the feeling of a grand adventure fades away very quickly and you're just left staring at the clunky gameplay and barren game world for what they are
While the earlier FF games were also linear you had to find your way to the next plot progression point yourself and there were towns and an entire world map full of optional stuff to get lost in on the way, which made continuing the story feel more like an active decision on your part