"Isn't it about time you got your giant robot license?" Yeah, everything he said about how long it takes you to get the goddamn Skell is all that was going through my own head as I played through the game, hoping against hope that each mission would finally be the one that got me my fabled mecha. And then there was a goddamn MMORPG run-all-over-the-fucking-world quest to get it. To relate it to other Xeno games (that actually have mechs), you get them either right at the start or even AT the start, as was the case in Xenosaga episode 2.
I basically also have all the same complaints that he did. When people ask me about the game, and I proceed to tell them, I then have to clarify that I actually DO like the game. I like it a lot. It's flawed, for sure, but I also do have some fun with it. I just wish finding your way around wasn't so goddamn hard, or that I hadn't spent a shit ton of time running to NavPoint, only to find my Mechanical skill was far too low.
It definitely IS a good game, but it does it's best to make you hate it.