Quote Originally Posted by Captain Maxx Power View Post
Don't level. Seriously don't. Unless you have Bahamut and +Str/Vit/Mag/Spr on level up from various GF's levelling will see you quickly fall behind monsters in terms of strength. There are a handful of bosses whose levels are always static, but for the majority of monsters their level grows with your own, while their stats grow exponentially. Don't bother with HP bonus on level up, you can easily get to 9999 HP with basic levelling and a junctioned high-end magic such as Full-Life or Curaga.
You need to equip HP Ups for about 20 levels or you won't be able to reach max HP. Curaga definitely isn't strong enough, and with about 20 levels with HP Up Full-Life will barely boost it enough to reach 9999.

In FF8 junctions are far more important than levels. The game will actually be easier if you gain the fewest levels possible and instead acquire strong magic for junctions.