I like your female list but I feel like ff12 is the biggest tragedy, the director quitting and abandoning all the work behind that world and lore and only making like 20% of the story feels like a big fuck you to me. I remember the early promos hinting at Ashe having a bigger role as well as Basch.
I didn't much like 12 when I first played it. The gambit system took all the thinking out of encounters. I literally left during a battle and came back 5m later to find the party attacking something else that had been nearby when they'd done with the previous monster.
But it's grown on me over time. The world building is still a lot, but the world itself is gorgeous. The characters are okay, and overall it's not the worst FF I've played (looking at you, 13 series).
I didn't realise there was a load of drama behind the scenes, but now I do it makes more sense why the game feels unfocused.