Maa, I don't know. I can definitely understand the mentality behind it. I found myself kind of torn on Final Fantasy X-2 for the same reason, and I'm still not entirely sure what to make of Final Fantasy XII.

But I'm able to realise that I had a lot of fun with both, and that their not being especially 'Final Fantasy-ish' doesn't make them any worse. I'm able to separate off the feeling of 'Oh, this is weird' from 'Oh, this is awful'. I might prefer that they didn't carry the name 'Final Fantasy', because a brand name does, like you said, spark off certain expectations. But I'm not about to let change stop me from enjoying anything.
Anyway, I have no problem with someone like you, who actually gave the game a chance (A more than fair chance, if you played it twice

). I just hate it when people play about the first half hour of something and immediately put it aside simply because it's different. Astaroth and Final Fantasy XII come to mind.
