I didn't care for the timer in LR at all. I'll give it another try when it gets cheap, but the game is very big & seems to be begging to be explored while at the same time punishing you for doing so.
My FFX experience was interesting. The first time I played it, I did not like it. They had changed some things from the previous games in the series (I first started playing them with 7), such as ditching the overworld map, and I found the story confusing. Towards the end I was just pushing through to see the credits which left me underpowered for the final boss and therefore that fight was more frustrating than it should have been. Just did not like the game.
At the time, I was working with a good friend of mine who had also played it but DID enjoy it. Off and on the game would come up, and I would tell him what I didn't like while he would counter with why it wasn't really a bad thing. He also explained the story more to me and generally just kept talking up the game. So when they announced FFX-2, I decided I would give FFX one more shot before the sequel released. So this time I started the game knowing more what I was in for and played it more slowly. And I found myself getting absolutely absorbed by it. I couldn't believe I had complained about things in the game I was now loving, and by the time I reached the end a second time I had decided it was my favorite game in the series. Still is.