I hear ya, but IMO the exploration is only a mindless chore if you're following a guide. None of that stuff that you're talking about with bombing random rocks or burning random bushes out in the wilderness is necessary to finish the game. It's there as a little bonus for weirdos like my mom with a strong completionist streak. You don't have to do much random bombing in dungeons to figure out what walls will break; you suss it out from the dungeon map and the clues you get from talking to people (people also give you clues about how to find the stuff in the overworld). The exploration really is quite well designed and can be super fun and engaging, but only if you engage with it.

Going out at three hearts and beelining to a bunch of upgrades to give yourself a head start completely destroys the power curve and discovery paths the designers set up for you. Getting an upgrade should feel amazing, like a huge personal accomplishment; not like a chore you do because some internet minmaxer told you to. I know I'm not going to convince you; it just bums me out to see someone give the game a bad rating based on what I see to be an incomplete experience.

Oh I’m not suggesting you do haha. I’m saying it’s a game built around exploration and discovery. If you skipped that part, you skipped a good chunk of the game. It’s also from a time when games were made to be played slowly and savored, not rushed through.