So far I'm at the point where I'm about ready to leave Anachronox (the starting area), and it seems like 95% of the game is running back and forth across the area on fetch quests, and there is a LOT of area to run across....

Does this continue throughout the game - fetch quest after fetch quest interspersed by the occasional combat, and maybe a dungeon or two?

Also, what will I miss out on if I don't do the "photograph X thingiemajiggies" quests like the red worker thingies and Anachronox symbols? Just money, or upgrades necessary for enjoyment of the game? Because even pulling up a walkthrough for all those things is very dull, much less actually hunting them down myself. I've never been much of a 100% completionist anyway.

I would recommend doing the quests for the detective guy near the tour place on Anachronox as you get upgrades from him. Other quests are mainly money rewards and of course experience, it tells you what the reward is when talking to the quest giver so you can make a decision from there.

You can get through the game without doing these side quests though, its not like a few of the other RPG's where you REALLY need every bit of experience available to make progress a bit easier with a slightly higher level.

My only gripe with the sidequests is that it doesnt list them in your journal so you either have to remember them or physically write them down. Why they decided not to list them in your ingame journal I dont know.

Now that I'm pretty much at the end, I can say that the structure of the game does pretty much follow 'new location, meet characters/solve puzzles, go to dungeony area and fight some bad guys'.
I personally found the characters and story enjoyable enough when they were the focus to bear the IMO awful and tedious combat sections, in which very little story or spoken dialogue occurs.

Anachronox was the most annoying area to run back and forth on - the other areas are smaller and have far less elevators. (If you didn't already know BTW there is a taxi outside the entrance to Rowdy's area which will take you to other places in Anachronox instantly for a tiny cost).

The symbols sidequest I think only gives you money, the TACOs will get you some nice equipment and I haven't even done that red worker one. Playing on hard, I can say that it doesn't matter combat-wise, and there have been a whole load of upgrades I haven't found which hasn't affected my enjoyment at all.
Sorry for the wall 'o' text :)

I got just one upgrade from him so far - are there more to come before leaving Anachronox (for first time?) No, I did not know that!

The Red Bipidri photo quest gives you Paco's best weapon.

I believe it is one item per quest if my mind serves me right, I just got a batle command that blinds after first quest from him. Do everything for him in each area you meet him, the telltale sign is the usual just repeating the same few things when talking to him then you know you have done everything for him in that area.

Yeah those quests are a chain, so you have to do each one and if you miss one you will then miss out on the rest too. They're worth doing because the reward for finishing the last one is quite good. You will get a reward for each of the earlier quests too. Look for the detective guy whenever you go somewhere new. If you're worried you might miss him, you can check a guide to see when exactly you need to look for him. My memory is that there are a few times in the game when you return to places you've already been, and when this happens it's worth exploring everywhere again because sometimes things have changed, like the detective being there the second time when he wasn't the first time.

Those are a bit finnicky. You need to have a clear view of the entire Bipidri and it can sometimes take some wrangling to get it to trigger. It is possible, but definitely optional if you don't want to deal with the hassle.

They are a pain in the arse to get, you just have to persevere.

I took the photos, and the game won't recognize them. I'm not going to spend hours photographing the same guy over and over again until the game decides its a good photo - especially as I don't know when and how that decision is made. I have 4 of the anachronox symbols "officially collected", but 3 of them did not show up in the Collector's screen until I spoke to the museum guy. Looks like the red bipiris are even worse.

The red Bipidri don't show up til you've shown them to the guy, never had a problem with the symbols.

I did show them to the guy - still only the first one showed up.

There is a small short-cut you can use if you want to find out if a picture "works":
*save your game
*go to your folder with the save-games
*go to the appropriate save-game and look around until you find your photograph data.

There should be an image and a .dat file for each photo in your camera: the .dat file contains a list of all "items" that your camera snapped. If it's empty, you know it didn't register. If it hits home, there should be at least a single entry for the bipidri.
You can open the .dat file with any good text editor,.

I used it to get the tenements one, since that one glitches a bit, this basically shortens your trip to the nearest save-point instead of going all the way back to the collector guy.

P.S. I'm not 100% sure but I think you can get all bipidri even late-game. There aren't any bipidri that "disappear" or become unavailable.