This should clear things up.
Here's how it was for me. I'll try not to spoil it. I spent somewhere between 5 and 7 hours in the starting city, Midgar, which I loved. After the orgasm of the first major boss sequence (the end of the 'prologue'), I found myself in that all-too familiar land of "You're on your own now" miles of grassy plains to hike across. I knew from here on out it would be all grinding and plot-hopscotch, and I'll admit sadly that I spent a fair amount of hours consciously chasing the same high I got from playing in that dirty disgusting city. My first thought was, "Why did they even make an outside world, the city of Midgar is enough to make 5 games out of!" Even though I felt ripped off, like a kid who just missed the bus and had to walk to school in time to get the lunchtime special, I soon enough realized this was the only real 'doldrum' in the game. Before I knew it I was interested in the plot, my levels were climbing steadily, and I had even forgotten how the game stubbornly ripped me from World 1 before I had even spent an intimate moment with the Config menu. But in the end, it all paid off in a warm fuzzy full-circle kind of way.
In conclusion, how long did it take me? Frankly, it doesn't really matter. I think that when you posted, the real question you were driving at was, "Is the fun factor in this game proportionate to the time it will take me?" If you sincerely aren't wowed at this point in the game (I assume you're in the corporate building?), it probably just isn't for you. Hard for me to accept, some people just don't like the game no matter how they look at it. But in this case, I implore you to give it the old college try and put in a few more hours, and see if it doesn't pique you. The answer will become clear.
