Why are you obligated to go on a years long trip to a location you don't want to go to when you know there are other places you can go? Like, there were ways to just go randomly to a single element village that you hadn't finished, but you can't do that for the dual element ones. Seems weird.
For what it's worth, I know I've been making a lot of critiquing comments, but I am enjoying the game (in case continuing to play and comment on it hasn't made that clear).
EDIT: All the moreso since you can actually stop the trip to the Village.
EDIT 2: It's also a little weird that you can know a road from a city by being told there is a direct one, but not be able to travel along that road unless you've already been to that city. Why do I have to go back to the village to go from (Earth + Fire) to (Fire+Wood), for example?