Of those worthy enough to remain in my collection, FFVIII is among my least favorite.
FFVIII is kind of a love hate game for me. While it's a darn-pretty PS1 game with some great cinematics and a story that works well... the whole experience becomes somewhat deflated due to the bizarre setting and irritating combat mechanics.
What do I like? The story. I like the characters a lot, and the music is good. It's got a lot of the classic FF stuff in there too. Lots of great drama... if these characters were transplanted into any other game, FFVIII would have been spectacular.
What don't I like? Junctions! Geez... I hate to admit it, but the Junction systems in this game ruined the experience for me. I strongly dislike it when game mechanics seem largely implausable in a fantasy setting. So let me get this straight... some students from a futuristic highschool set out in a mostly-fantasy kinda-scifi adventure and battle monsters by sucking the magic out of them and sticking it to themselves and their guardians? I'm sorry, but it doesn't make any sense to me. Not to mention it is quite boring to have three characters harvest 99 Fire and 99 Cure each from one monster, only to Junction them and never get to use them for fear of losing power.
The Verdict:
My review comes down a little hard... but I really had high expectations for this game when I played it. It's still pretty good, if you can tolerate the combat system. I apologize, but I could not. If you are an RPG fan, don't miss your opportunity to give it a try.
+Great characters
+Looks good
+Cool story
-Combat is a little flat
-Junction system is complicated, boring, and makes no sense