There's nothing to actually explore. All you're doing is item hunting. Considering the reward is identical, walking in a straight line and picking up items as you go is far more "enjoyable" in this situation. Having an open space is pointless and a waste of time if there's nothing to do in it.
I almost feel like throwing Chocobos everywhere after clearing the story part of an are was SE's admittance to this, as if they knew full well how awfully boring walking around was, and were attempting to throw us a boon.
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