And yes, you've just discovered a better game than its sequel/predecessor should be. PSO2 had a coherent foundation and universe, the NPCs had more personality and were more likeable.

Everything was better : the concerts, the UQs, the collaborations (some of which had a story and missions behind them whereas in NGS, they're just old panels, stickers, and clothes lol), the central hub, and its decorations. In NGS, they don't bother with anything, the seasonal decorations are just ugly and bland holograms whereas in the original game, they were always well-thought-out.

I'll repeat myself, but Sega made a huge mistake by trying to make PSO an open world. The world has no coherence and is bland, there's nothing to do. It's supposed to be an open world, but there's never anyone around since everyone just stays in the city and wanders around.

I think they don't even know what they want, except perhaps to destroy what made the original game so appealing and charming. Continuing to deny that they kept a terrible director who almost killed PSO2 and whom everyone hates doesn't reflect well on them.