It is indeed true that they've taken a step away from what we are used to. This game looks like if it was directed more to male audiences given the female designs. The very first time I saw Yuna in that outfit I thought "WTF?" but now taking in mind the Al Behd influence it does not bother me even in the slightest. And what's sad is that people is judging the game already mostly becasue of Yuna's new outfit and crap, but don't even think about the improvements the game may have (regarding gameplay and such)
That's why I insist in not judging the game after you have played it yourself, even if it does not look so appealing right now. Have in mind is Squaresoft what we are talking about, I'm sure they know better than you and me how to do their things