That's really very Final Fantasy though, isn't it? All the games have a "thou shalt wear this" and "thou shalt wield this" way about them. Some items are just better than others. Every character ends up being cookie-cutter. I don't necessarily have an issue with that, because that's kinda the way the genre works anyway. The treadmill nature of the quests is a bit unfortunate, but that's also kinda the way most of the non-MMO FFs were. When I play a Final Fantasy game, I want two things:This game will do well. Very well. There are a few concerns, the loot wasn't very interesting to me (everyone wearing the same thing) and the quests were very treadmill. Having said that, it has feel to it that draws you in. I hope that remains throughout the game. That's my experience through the first 11 levels.
1. Good combat,
2. Good story.
It seems like both of these things will flesh out well in this game. So, I guess time will tell, but I'm probably going to play it.