You didn't say FF12's battle system should be the staple for the series and I didn't say you did. I was merely emphasizing that I don't wnat XIII's to be the staple either since that's always what someone accuses me of when I say I like it.
Again, I had no problem with 'grinding' in FFXII, mostly due to two key factors. 1) the battle system, and 2) the sidequests. So given a choice between exploring expansive locales and taking on quests to level up, or fighting the same damn turtle for CP points, I'll take the former.
That's just the problem though. The sidequests in XII that were MOST suited to cover up grinding - the Hunts - DON'T give you EXP which is infuriating. Instead of giving me something fun to work toward to cover the fact that I'm grinding, I just end up having to grind to take down a mark who gives me no EXP for the task. What kind of sense does that make? Were the characters not present for the fight? How did they not learn how to become better fighters by a particularly tough battle?
Furthermore, you never have to fight the same damn turtle for CP points in 13. Ever. Only if you choose to max all your characters. XII more or less REQUIRES that you grind to progress. And you're still running around in circles, it just might be a slightly larger circle.
So essentially, what you're saying is that because the game ties one hand behind your back with the Paradigm system and one playable character, it's therefore a challenging experience?
No, what I'm saying is exactly what I said.
That's because a lot of the so-called difficulty in FFXIII comes down to cheap handicaps, such as having to use Libra to work out enemy weaknesses, making it game over if your party leader is KO'ed, and of course, having zero control over your other party members. So yeah... it can be challenging, I guess, but it's a faux kind of challenge.
As opposed to requiring you to have reached a certain level-range? You don't have to use Libra, you will figure it out by trying moves on enemies too, Libra's just the most efficient way to do it. And don't you have to do the same thing in XII? I don't get your point there.
And I can't think of one instance where I got a Game Over in XIII when I felt I didn't deserve one. I was usually well on my way to dying anyway. As opposed to an example like Persona 3 in which every freaking enemy uses insta-kill moves and then game over. I'm not crazy about the mechanic, but they countered it with the retry option and XIII-2 fixed it anyway.
FFXII's ADB system was exactly what the series needed at the time. The previous battle systems had grown stale and FFXII now allowed players to fight seamlessly, control their characters in real time, and also allow you to choose where and when to pitch battles.
FFX-2 already had you pretty much controlling your characters in real-time. Hell, I might say even moreso considering it rewards you for connecting strikes at the same time.
You are right about choosing where to fight your battles, that was cool, and scenarios where you would cast stop on encroaching enemies so you could handle the ones you started with were great. But I'd hardly go so far as to say it un-staled FF combat. It's not THAT different. Your movement has zero effect on the success or failure of strikes, for one thing. It was an MMO with an FF combat scheme.
And we can please stop emphasizing the word 'strategy' for this game? It's actually quite the opposite and quite risible. How on earth is FFXIII more 'strategic' than FFXII, when in FFXII you can organize every single party member however you want and form complex gambits, whilst still having to make custom commands in the heat of battle? I just don't get how that is somehow less strategic than pressing L1 and switching roles? Oh, and maybe picking a few custom buffs/debuffs here and there? Come on, people.
You are aware that there is more than one type of strategy, yes? Micromanagement does not mean 'strategy' to the exclusion of all else. Secondly, where did I say it was "more" strategic than FFXII? I explicitly said it's different strategy.
XII's strategy largely lies in planning in advance. As you describe, setting up exactly how you want a character to behave in advance, and tweaking things when something unexpected comes along. XIII's strategy, in addition to being higher-level, almost RTS in nature, is much more reactive. You plan your moves only a few moments before you make them based on what's happening. You said you're a completionist, so you fought Vercingotorex, yes? How could you have played that fight and tell me it's a simplistic system?
(EDIT: Looking over my last post, I'm assuming that maybe you took my comment about XIII emphasizing strategy over level as "XIII is more strategic than XII." That's not what I meant. I just mean that the strategy in XIII is more important than your level. Whereas in XII, if you have not grinded (ground?) enough for where you are in the game, almost no amount of strategy is going to help. Likewise, if you POWERLEVEL in FFXII, you will have no need for strategy. That's not really the case in XIII as it's rare that you completely and wholly outclass an enemy.)
Also we're officially off-topic now, shall I split this?
NO REGRETS. 
