FFXII is my number one FF game. I like a lot about it. Okay, the vanilla version I had difficulties to get to terms with. But the Zodiac Versions are great to me. Even without the QoL features I would still love this game the same. I only used speed up when I was farming materials or for zoning in and out. I went through rest of the game at normal pace. But farming is rather painless now because of the optional faster speed.
FFXII has the art direction of the Ivalice/Matsuno games, it has the world building of those games, its about an ensemble and not really a chosen one OP protag with a complicated history. The writing and delivery is mature, and not pretentious. Compare this part to XIII for example. I like the pace, there is not too many cutscenes and I feel the game moves at a good rate if you just play it. Downside of this is that all the world building, villains etc do take a backseat during the second half. Since they are very well written, its a shame the Judges are being backseated.
The game is my favourite too. I like setting tactics and see them work well. To me its pretty cool if I see my party casting Oil and Fire on ice enemies, or cure negative statuses appropriately. I still micromanaged a ton. I gave many manual commands. But for trash mob its great if you can just walk in and let the game play for you. Esp. if you are farming rare drops.
What I don't like about it is perhaps a remnant of its time. The game obviously tries to push you towards an official guide. There are random drops and chests in here, also in the Zodiac versions, you will never find. Let alone the crafting. You can craft very cool weapons, but I don't see how this is possible without guide. This was at a time when Square pushed their own guides and PlayOnline site. They wanted you to sub.