FF8 is and forever will be my favourite. I don't see why people don't like it. Here are my points:
[u]Experimental?:[/u] Yes, Square made it to test out new systems, but that shouldn't put the game down. Why let the experimental value put it down? If you simply played the game enough then you'd learn to at least like it. Everywhere I go, people are putting FF8 down. I usually seem to be the only one defending it. Why? Because people get bored with the fact that the characters are introduced fast and the story is drawn out. Just play the game, and if you have and still don't like it, then okay.
[u]Junction System:[/u] A very-well put together system on Square's behalf. The fact that they reversed the usual method of magic. The made it easy to obtain magic, and hard to implement it. Kudos to Square for noticing a weakness in most FF players. You usually find the system hard at first, but you get better with experience. With FF8, on the other hand, it's just a case of how you implement your magic. If it's Junctioning that turns you off, then get someone's advice on Junctioning or at least listen to Quistis' tutorials.
[u]Replay Value:[/u] I find that there's a lot of Replay Value in ANY RPG. You underestimate FF8's replay value. Sometimes you replay a game, just because you don't understand the ending because you forgot a vital part of the storyline, because let's face it, storyline is most important part of any RPG. With FF8, it's easy to follow the story, because it's drawn out. That means you have time to let a certain vital part of the story sink into your brain and so you can understand it. I understand EVERY part of FF8 and that was just from one play. I find the replay value comes from the Junction System. The Junction System allows you to manipulate magic in countless ways.
[u]Conclusion:[/u] FFVIII is more superior than most RPGs out there. I find it even more superior to FF7 and FF9. The only one I find comes close to FF8 is FF10.
By the way, my current count for completing FF8 stands at 241 times.