Squall is my favourite, he wasn't when I first played Final Fantasy 8; and I think I probably relate more to Irvine or Zell (except straight) than anyone else in FF8; my previous favourite was Sabin from FF6 (or Final Fantasy III if you prefer).
My favourite from new style FF games is Wakka for entertainment purposes.
Despite the fact that Lightning was obviously a female version of Squall; she didn't really grow on me like other characters in the game did.
For female characters; I was always a fan of characters like Rikku, Selphie, and Rinoa. Characters who are fun loving and positive in nature, and just overall fun (Pretty much all the female characters that the insecure hardcore gamer crowd hates). I enjoyed the story of Squall and Rinoa, how they showed courage for each other when the possibility of their own death faced them. Rosa from FF4 was also one I liked; who demonstrated that quality.
I describe myself as a little dose of toxic masculinity.
