Having a blast with FF XVI. It's definitely one of the most polished of recent games, everything just looks and plays fantastic. Even if the game is super shallow as soon as you do anything other than the main story. The fantastic voice of Ralph Ineson is the cherry on top.
Agree with you on the polish of FF16, but not so much on the side quests. I find that some of them - not all - add a little extra to the main quest line. But I'm also finding everything in the game to be pretty enjoyable.
Oh yeah, I was more refering to the structure of the side quests, which are usually simple fetch or fight quests. There's also no variations in outfits and crafting is barely there. But some side quests really do add to the main story. I just went through the side quests before the big Mothercrystal heist - damn, some of those are dark!