It doesn't make me respect the game less. I try to keep an open mind about games I play. I know FFVIII wasn't perfect, that it had plot holes and character problems. I have always known that. Does that make the game any less enjoyable? Not in my opinion. You can enjoy a story with plot holes, and you can enjoy characters with flaws. Rabidly defending games with problems is pointless and foolish. If you enjoy it, what else matters? Defending flaws mindlessly only helps you to overlook more flaws in the future, and before you know it, you're defending games that don't deserve defense.