Although I generally enjoy all the Final Fantasies, I have always set aside the top position to Final Fantasy VIII. There are several reasons that I tend to favor this game over the others:
Story: Final Fantasy VIII was definitely a little more romantically themed then a lot of the others. I am quite the sucker for romantics, so I really connected with that element of the game. I found the relationship between Squall and Rinoa to be the most "real" in comparison to other games. I think it was the idea that Squall wasn't attracted to Rinoa right off the bat, but slowly started to obtain stronger feelings towards her throughout the game. The actual plot of the game was very great as well. The unnamed world was realistic enough to relate to and the fantasy parts added in were just right. I really liked the idea of how they had to travel in time to defeat Ultimecia, I just always thought that was cool way to end the game. I could chat about all the things I loved about the story, but in the end, it was perfect in my eyes.
Characters: I generally liked almost all of the characters. If I had to choose one character that I disliked, it was Irvine. His whole attitude about being this ladies' man wasn't really to my liking. Regardless, I really enjoyed many of the characters because of the balance they gave to the game. Every member of the party game something different to the game, which created a strong bond between all of the characters along with the player. Obviously, my favorite character is Squall. I liked his kind of humble courage and that he didn't have a loud or showoffish attitude.
Battle system: Although many people complain that the junction system was complicated and confusing, it allowed the player to have a great number of flexibility for each character. It did require a lot of time, but what is wrong with putting in the extra time? I found it to be more interactive then just paying attention to what level characters were. On the idea of levels, I really loved that the monsters/bosses adjusted to what level your characters were. This way, your party couldn't become overpowered and provided a greater challenge.
Summoning: This was one of the greatest assets to the game. I found that Square Soft really put a lot of effort in developing the summoning system, which allowed every party member the ability to train and summon guardian forces. Even the addition of compatibility with character/guardian force made it very in depth.
Music: The music was another great treasure produced by Nobuo Uematsu. Although it doesn't compare to the overall musical score of Final Fantasy IX, it was still filled with many tracks that always are buzzing in my head. The music always is a major part of every Final Fantasy game, and it definitely provided a positive element to Final Fantasy VIII.
In conclusion, Final Fantasy VIII is the best game in my opinion. I could go on with more details of my liking, but I do not want to bore you anymore ^_^.
