I played FFXII on wait mode with no gambits and it sucked. I hated it.
Then I started using gambits and fell in love with the game.
Paradigm shifting sucks because it's just swithcing modes. Typically, in FFXIII, you're on the offensive and using rav -> rav -> com or something in combination with autobattle. So when your hp is depleted you switch to med, heal up, and then switch again. It feels like you're not in control because sometimes my guys don't heal me in time, or sometimes they'll do something I don't want them to do. The result is a very vapid battle system that doesn't take advantage of the full use of its systems until the very end of the game.
In FFXII, you customize every single layer of your character's input and actions. They won't do ANYTHING you don't tell them to do. You have complete control over your party, and if something goes bad, you can adjust depending on the situation and play style. You will very often get damaged heavily and be on a complete defensive. This is especially true since a lot of enemies appear that are far higher level than you and you can venture into places where enemies are 10, 20, or 30 times higher than you in level, but with the right strategy, you can totally take them on.
Notice how in the video I posted, the character's are running out of mp, resources are light, and they're using any and every thing to stay alive while slowing chipping away enemy after enemy, separating enemies from their pack, and using full use of the game's systems.