I honestly stopped playing after FFX/X-2. I like slow turn-based over Battle Gauge, but at least it's still a form of turn-based. Pure action rpg's like the Tales of games really don't fit with Final Fantasy(and now, they are not a natural progression of turn-based. Action gauge is, because it's a form of turn-based that wants you to react to things, not just wait. One of my favorite games, Quest 64, is a turn-based game with good action elements that make the gameplay unique. It's similar to Paper Mario in a sense, but you can fully move around instead of pressing a button to dodge/counter a move. Simple, yet effective). It's just a complete genre change, in the same way that Super Paper Mario was. That's not what people wanted. At least SPM still kept some of the most important parts of the PM series. The second you see a FF MMORPG, you already know issues exist; Regular FF games are designed with single player in mind, and a few games allow a second controller during battles only(which didn't work well, mind you). They also have an epic story, which is really hard to do with MMORPG's, because you have to have tons of tinier stories instead. Likewise, FF is not an action rpg in the same way as things like KH(which plays entirely differently to everything but the spin-offs or "Final Fantasy games in name only" like 11, 12, and 13) or Tales of. It's a severe difference that turned off people. 13 sucked for another reason as well; Where the hell are real towns? It's severely linear to the point of ridiculousness. At least the story isn't bad. But lmao at autogameplay being a "progression" of the series. It's a serious downgrade. People already get tired of constant cutscenes and less chances to actually play the game. Now the game plays for you? Doesn't matter if it's optimal or not. The fact it's an option you can easily do and more or less not get punished for it heavily is a sign of terrible game design. They're even more dumb than Quick Time Events.
Among all the Sonic platformers, it was always a series progression, even with gimmicks attached. You still have the same platforming basically done. Yes, they have issues, often poor stage design or the controls not being responsive enough(the Unleashed era's controls and engine were a huge change from the Sonic Adventure 1 engine(which was used in all 3D games but the Storybook games up to 06). The thing is, they never completely changed the core that much, which is the point. Final Fantasy lost its identity since 11 and is just using the brand name, not anything remotely resembling the series except at best, anime-style(often with too many belts) character design.
Frankly, 11, 12, 13, and so on should've been spin-offs. MMORPG's are not what FF is about. They're not even close to an evolution of the series. They're basically a game that solely has the name, but not any of the proper gameplay. FF is supposed to be a turn-based series. That's what it does. That's what made it stand out, being a unique turn-based series where every game had an amazing new way to play, which is what made it sell well. Of course not every particular gimmick is immediately popular, and I can understand the dislike of 8 itself(I love it, but I see the issues too), and so on. But it's still the same core gameplay, with new gimmicks. 11 dropped the ball and the series hasn't recovered since.
Paper Mario is a good example of the same issue. While Super Paper Mario was clearly more of a spin-off of the gameplay, the next two games went extreme on the gimmicks, while losing three of the most important aspects that made Paper Mario notable; A halfway decent or awesome story(the first game was a bit lackluster compared to TTYD and SPM, respectively. Still good overall). Real partners with personality. And level up experience. This is why veterans are calling out SS and CS' design. They want what they grew up with. And it's not just that alone, but SS is bareboned in story, has crap characterization, still lacks experience points. It's an rpg, yes(since there's a ton of factors that can make an rpg), but a pretty poor one in the long run. Color Splash is having the same issues unless they somehow magically realize that SS had design issues and complaints for a very good reason.