Yeah in hindsight the first game really is a grind, I mean, even with the original ff7, the long-ass starting slog was a big gripe with everyone.

But I mean without any spoilers, the map is as beautiful as it is huge, red circle being the size of the entire first game:

I wouldn't want to give too much away but I'd wholeheartedly recommend grinding through to get to part 2... but if you hate part 1 enough, well, you hate it. Their failure I suppose!