I'm glad I didn't go anywhere near the spin off game and the anime if this is the reaction to both of those. The series has been really consistent for me so far, quite a big fan (of both the developer and the series), so I'm really looking forward to V3.
I'll be going Vita with it though, just for old time's sake.
Yeah, I sidestepped the fuck out of the side stories too. My opinion of the franchise remains high as a result.