I'm really struggling, I'm up to the third hour and really tempted to drop it.
GameSpot and RPGamer's reviews (76/77 MC) reflect how I feel the closest, though I'd be a little more negative. I know GAF/ERA (rightfully) loves the devs for their communication, as they're active users, but I feel a little duped with how highly recommended it's been. That said, the game is cheap, so if you don't like it, it's no big loss.
https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/cosmic-star-heroine-review/1900-6416668/
https://archive.rpgamer.com/games/indie/csh/reviews/cshstrev1.html
Hey, I liked the RPGamer review - yeah, they didn't care for the story, but they gave us high marks in visuals, music, and combat system (my baby).
I think the big sticking point for a lot of people is the tone & pacing. Although I spent a lot of time analyzing Chrono Trigger to see how it handled character movement & combat positioning & Phantasy Star was a big influence for plot & setting, I gotta admit, when I think nostalgic JRPGs, I think the Lunar games and I tried to emulate their mix of serious & silly. The result is a game that's more of a cheesy celebration of over-the-top sci-fi/fantasy pulp than the serious game that some people wanted. I feel the Freedom Festival scenario is a good litmus test (and I'll be vague here to avoid spoiling it for people who haven't played the game yet) - it starts out as an homage to stuff like Chrono Trigger & Xenogears, then events start happening & it just gets more and more over-the-top ridiculous. And some people see all this and think "Awesome!" and others think "Stupid!" And both responses are valid because different people want different things from their games.
As far as pacing goes, one of my pet peeves is RPGs that are too slow & have too much filler. Like, one of my favorite games of all-time is Persona 4 Golden, and man, that game would be even better if they sped everything up a bit & cut some of the fat. I will admit that I maybe went a little too far in the opposite direction with CSH, but better a game that leaves you wanting more than a game that's too long.
Anyway, everyone's welcome to their own opinion, although saying that you feel duped implies that people were lying to you because they like us rather than that they just had different opinions. The game has a 90% rating on Steam and it's not like anybody there cares who we are.
Oh and here's a recent review of the Vita version: https://postgamecontent.com/post/173954727108/cosmic-star-heroine-playstation-vita-review - I think it expresses both the strengths & the weaknesses of the game rather well.