The way you interact with the game's world isn't actually all that different from how the PS1 games played outside of the battle screens. It's just when you strip away any player agency and freedom the feeling of a grand adventure fades away very quickly and you're just left staring at the clunky gameplay and barren game world for what they are

While the earlier FF games were also linear you had to find your way to the next plot progression point yourself and there were towns and an entire world map full of optional stuff to get lost in on the way, which made continuing the story feel more like an active decision on your part