I'm still getting through Tales of the Abyss, but it's been a bit of a slog sometimes. The pacing is really glacial at times, the map is almost useless, sea travel is dull and slow, and the overall structure is really compartmentalized and linear; when the game decides you have to go to one specific place, that becomes literally the only place you can really go, and the game never seems to stop deciding you have to go to a specific place.
Come to think of it, I think this might actually be substantially more linear than even Magna Carta: Tears of Blood, which was the main gripe people had about that game.
Anyway, not terrible or anything, and there are some really funny moments, but I'm kinda anxious to wrap it up.