I don't think trimming the characters down matters as much if the writing staff still doesn't want to tell a coherent ensemble story. If it's still just awkwardly having Tressa hang around Therion with no explanation, that's not really any better.

I think the game is a really mixed bag, but there are definitely things to enjoy. The secret job boss battles were really fun and very satisfying to overcome, but then the final boss was really what kinda cleared the fog off my eyes and made me see the game's flaws a lot more clearly. The staff kept on bragging in interviews "There's a boss battle that will take players 45 minutes" like the amount of time is a metric of how good it is. It isn't.

Again, I'm not saying people can't enjoy the game, but I feel like every game should be looked at somewhat critically, especially when it seems to be well-received and popular.