To be honest with you, I can completely understand why people wouldn't like AQ, or AE games in general. I guess I have quite a bit of nostalgia for those guys though, given how they kinda kick-started a turning point in my life. But I will definitely admit that the menu-based gameplay is no fun for people not used to turn-based RPGs and the art can be either really good or really bad, depending on the monster in question. Several monsters just look silly no matter what artstyle they use.
yeah, the only reason I can stand playing them for this blog is the nostalgia. plus the turn-based fighting is kind of mesmerizing.
the monster design in general is pretty terrible, except for the dragons, which i guess is the only thing the artists for this game know how to draw.