It just isn't as good as 10-2. That was peak game, that one.
Answering for another user, but in less joking (though I don't hate 10-2 nearly as much as most people seem to), 10 began some significant changes from the Final Fantasy "formula". Notably, it removes the World Map and as a concequence, has much more linear-feeling gameplay (even if in reality it's about the same). You'll note those are the primary complaints about FF13, which I believe is the LEAST liked Final Fantasy (though again, I don't hate it nearly as much as most), so those elements being here as well, as the precursor and water-testing game for them, makes sense.
Additionally, while I enjoy Path Of Exile, and so FF10's level-up system seems simple and straightforward by comparison, the complexity of the sphere grid compared to literally any other FF game could also be a turn-off for some.
FF10 also has I think the most byzantine and arbitrarily annoying sidequests in any FF. Dodge a half-billion lightning bolts in a row. Run a race so fast the timer doesn't even hit "1 second".
Personally, I loved blitzball as the game's main minigame. Probably my favorite "main minigame", but given its sheer in-gameplay value, to those not as enamored with it, the feeling of it being near-necessary might be grating.
The main threat being an obese fish is probably also a contributing factor. Sin had presence and menace, but FF games are RPGs at their core, and RPGs aim to tell a story. The story of the villain there is "he beeg. he fish. he evil.". I know there's a lot more to it than that, but the villain being a semi-unthinking monstruous entity reduces the empathy (or at least antipathy) we feel towards the primary antagonist. Again, a common complaint of FF13: The villain isn't "human" enough.
Finally, and the longest shot and hottest take: Tidus isn't a sexual tyrannosaurus. Most FFs, the main is not only highly desired romantically and sexually by at LEAST two characters if not more, the main actually returns those emotions in a somewhat negative way, giving them flaws. Cloud with his dating sims and underwear theft. Squall not so much returning affection, but has three clear harem members of different romantic stereo/archetypes while being a frigid sigma male. Zidane literally grabs Garnet's ass and comments on the cushion quality. Tidus is much more "pure" in his romance of Yuna. He's supposedly a playboy sports star, but he acts like an awkward pre-teen in half the scenes, and that divergence from the formula might also decrease people's enjoyment of the character, as they are less flawed, and people like flawed characters.
It just isn't as good as 10-2. That was peak game, that one.
Answering for another user, but in less joking (though I don't hate 10-2 nearly as much as most people seem to), 10 began some significant changes from the Final Fantasy "formula". Notably, it removes the World Map and as a concequence, has much more linear-feeling gameplay (even if in reality it's about the same). You'll note those are the primary complaints about FF13, which I believe is the LEAST liked Final Fantasy (though again, I don't hate it nearly as much as most), so those elements being here as well, as the precursor and water-testing game for them, makes sense.
Additionally, while I enjoy Path Of Exile, and so FF10's level-up system seems simple and straightforward by comparison, the complexity of the sphere grid compared to literally any other FF game could also be a turn-off for some.
FF10 also has I think the most byzantine and arbitrarily annoying sidequests in any FF. Dodge a half-billion lightning bolts in a row. Run a race so fast the timer doesn't even hit "1 second".
Personally, I loved blitzball as the game's main minigame. Probably my favorite "main minigame", but given its sheer in-gameplay value, to those not as enamored with it, the feeling of it being near-necessary might be grating.
The main threat being an obese fish is probably also a contributing factor. Sin had presence and menace, but FF games are RPGs at their core, and RPGs aim to tell a story. The story of the villain there is "he beeg. he fish. he evil.". I know there's a lot more to it than that, but the villain being a semi-unthinking monstruous entity reduces the empathy (or at least antipathy) we feel towards the primary antagonist. Again, a common complaint of FF13: The villain isn't "human" enough.
Finally, and the longest shot and hottest take: Tidus isn't a sexual tyrannosaurus. Most FFs, the main is not only highly desired romantically and sexually by at LEAST two characters if not more, the main actually returns those emotions in a somewhat negative way, giving them flaws. Cloud with his dating sims and underwear theft. Squall not so much returning affection, but has three clear harem members of different romantic stereo/archetypes while being a frigid sigma male. Zidane literally grabs Garnet's ass and comments on the cushion quality. Tidus is much more "pure" in his romance of Yuna. He's supposedly a playboy sports star, but he acts like an awkward pre-teen in half the scenes, and that divergence from the formula might also decrease people's enjoyment of the character, as they are less flawed, and people like flawed characters.