No.
[STRIKE]Then spend the rest of your miserable existence wondering why.[/STRIKE]
Surrender or die in obscurity!
Grinding, stories that try too hard (sometimes this can be successful in a ridiculous manner), grinding… side quests that require doing things that have absolutely nothing to do with the game also suck. Chocobo breeding was alright in FF7, cause you could race 'em which was fun, but FFX is the worst out of the ones I’ve played. Who thought dodging lightning bolts 100+ times would be enjoyable? Why not just fight some giant lightning monster? That would have been better.
Really I think grinding is my least favourite part of RPGs, and is probably why I don’t play them too much now a days. I just don’t have the free time to level up my characters for hours. Some grinding is OK cause it gives you a better feel for the game and the monsters just plain look cool most of the time, but when you have to gain 10+ levels to do some particular thing in the game, it just gets a bit detracted. It was a lot easier when I was in high school.
HEY! Yuna wasn’t dumb. She was naive. It made her cuter. AND she got over it. That’s character development.
Totally agree with your second point tho.
Oh, and THE thing I hate most in an RPG: when you can’t progress past a point because the game CHANGES GENRES on you. Case in point: FF X-2. It had two instances. First, the part where it turns into a Shooter (with a time limit to boot!) I suck so much at shooters, I had to get my little nephew (who rules at them ; ) ) to beat it for me. Also in the game, the part that forces you to win the weird math-based coin game to continue. I had to look for some rare coins to beat it. Again, NOT my idea of fun. I don’t mind minigames for variety but they should always be OPTIONAL. X and X2 have my absolutely least-liked minigames in FF so far. >: (
Actually, one thing I seriously hate in RPGs? Omega Bosses. Optional Bosses you can fight outside of the main plot are all well and good, but if I need to have a very specific setup to beat them (Yeah, I’m looking at you, Omega), then I really don;t see the point. I like bosses like were in Kingdom hearts, where you need guts, grit and skill to make it through them, and a smattering of luck.