I found nothing wrong with FFVIII. I liked junctioning, and although drawing wasn't fun, I didn't mind it either.

And I liked all the characters, too. As for Squall "suddenly falling for Rinoa for NO REASON!!!! OMG!!!" These characters are teenagers, right? 16 or 17 or so?

When I was 16, there was this girl I had feelings for. For months we talked online and stuff but she didn't like me back. Actually, she disliked me. In person, she would ignore me and everything.

One day, she came over my house for about an hour. We hung out for that short amount of time. Nothing amazing happened; we talked and watched tv and stuff.

The next day she asked when she could see me again. We've been dating since then. Why the hell did she go from disliking me to wanting to go out with me, and then maintaining a strong relationship with me since then? I dunno. We're teenagers. We're crazy, man.

I personally find Squall's change in attitude towards Rinoa not exactly "realistic", but I find it entirely possible.

But that's just my opinion. And I'm a teenager. And remember: We're crazy.