Final Fantasy VIII, while still my least favorite out of 7,8,9,10....is still an awesome game. I have to admit I was wrong about some things. I actually did grow to love the characters, even though I cared for none of them at first. The story is pretty engaging, however nothing on the FF7 side. Like I said the characters are good, but not quite as good as FF9's characters. It's still a memorable game. The junction system is a little complicated at first, but I eventually got the hang of it. The one thing is that the weapon system...how you buy or...remodel your weapons isn't very smart for an FF game. You have to find all of these different tools and artifacts, and then you can remodel your weapon. So yeah, if you don't do this then at the beginning of the third disc...you'll more than likely be hitting physically for 200...yeah at the beginning of the THIRD disc! But of course if you don't want to bother with weapons, you can find really good spells, draw them, and junction them to your strength, and you should be good. Anyway, I just entered the 4th disc, and I'm at (one of the hardest battles...in the game according to my brother) I remember watching him play it over and over. So I may have to take a trip to the Island closest to hell, and level up a bit more before I can beat...Adel. I already know that the end battle is the hardest one, but this is no doubt the second hardest. Rinoa is trapped inside Adel, and not only can you not use GFs, but you have to heal Rinoa almost constantly. So you gotta hit Adel hard with single spells, and physical attacks. You can't use Ultima though...because that hits both enemies! And Rinoa is obviously not my enemy. So it may take some level grinding, and some time, but I know I CAN beat this game! Level grinding is pretty fun anyway! ;)