Now that I'm further into the game; decent gameplay, the story is amazing. Why oh why, though, did it take 25 hours of gameplay for the game to actually open up? Why did I have to fight through a dozen mundane glowy looking maps where it didn't feel like I was progressing at all, for 25 hours, before the maps started getting interesting? Why am I only NOW able to choose who's in my party? Why has there not been a single open field until now!?

I mean when applied to the story, it all makes sense. But that's not really how an RPG works. All of the stuff that is available from the beginning in most RPGs, you have to wait 25 hours to get in this one. It's really bizarre.