FFVIII has a mighty charm which makes it easy to overlook it's faults. However, I do not understand why this one in particular is so heralded. Perhaps it was the era in which it came out., FFVII was huge leap in the series, one in which I thank God was put on the Playstation platform and not Nintendo (with all due respect, but the 64 would have not given the game justice). So when VIII came out, FF seemed to be redefined, taking a futuristic spin.
This is perhaps why IX was slightly shadowed, because it went back to traditional aspects.
But to the subject- I've always had a few beefs with FVIII. Here is the trinity of disappointments I had:
-The first one is the drawing system. On the surface, it seems brilliant, but in practicality, it is repetitious and boring.
-The second is the leveling system. There is no joy in leveling up in VIII. The creatures level up with you, and even though IX has this, the leveling in VIII doesn't give you much leverage period.
-The third is the lack of armor. One of the best joys in any RPG is getting new stuff, and VIII simply just doesn't do enough. The weapon upgrades are few and far between, and there is nothing spectacular about them.
As I said, however, the game has an incredible charm. The story, music, and graphics (for it's time) are beautiful.
Anyhow, I thought I'd post this to see what others think, especially the big fans of this one specifically