How you can possibly say that FFVIII had a better plot than FFXII is beyond me.

Actually, the only problems I have with this game are plot related. I enjoyed the gameplay, but the relationship between Squall and Rinoa was completely unbelievable. He dislikes her until she goes comatose, then he loves her. This is the origin of my belief that Squall is closet necrophiliac. Aside from that, the cast of characters is almost entirely undeveloped (which is important for a game that was supposed to be driven by characters rather than circumstances). Also, there's the reasons Psychotic mentioned (orphanage, time compression, etc.).

I had such high hopes for the game after the first disc (which was brilliant), but it just went downhill from there.

Edit: I'd like to note that I have nothing against the fact that FFVIII was a love story. I'm a sucker for romance, but only good romance.