VIII is a flawed but fun game imho. Wouldn't have ranked it higher than FFV but I feel BoB has already established with me that beyond our mutual issues with FFX our taste in FF games couldn't be farther apart (See the lack of FF IV/VI on this list and the inevitable reveal of FFVII being his Number One game) but I can agree that VIII has some good moments that I do feel counter some of it's less desirable elements. Don't necessarily agree with the love story thing, but I rarely like love stories in my video games.