I've heard that complaint before, however, there was an easy workaround: you don't like combat? Major in signs instead. Fwiw, the final battle was pretty tough with the sword, but when I went signs, I cast maxxed Ignis like twice and then I was like "where'd everyone go?".
Plus, you don't play the series for the combat, you play it for the story.
Books, I haven't gone through all of them yet. They're like the Netflix series, seemingly unrelated stories until you realize it's the same story, just told in out-of-order fashion. Great overall, imho, but the out-of-order will surely phase some.
