See, I really hated Steiner when I originally played IX. However I can understand where he's coming from now. A true patriot - loyal to the end. He was a complete tool and an idiot; but that was all part of his character. He was the most loyal guy ever; basically he was a stupid dog....and I really don't like dogs because of their loyalty even if their master is cruel.
VIII had fine gameplay - except for uber grind draw system which probably occupied at least 40 hours of my time...but I think people are forgetting CARD GAME!
Sure FFVII had so many mini games but they were always at the heat of the moment and if you screwed it up it usually meant missing out on a nifty item. To me that's not fair, being thrown a new dynamic all of a sudden without any practice or safety net. Crisis Core tried to recreate that 'mini games gallore' and it didn't separate the chore that was the general gameplay....
I don't expect RPGs to deliver incredible gameplay experience...it's just usually travel from A to B, hear what someone has to say, kick some ass and see where it goes from there. Interesting gameplay is welcome to come pay us a visit; but on the fly mini games can be so incredibly unfair (and VII's didn't go past anything more than hit random button at an assignment right time).
