Arg...this (pointless) debate once more.
If you don't like FFVIII, don't play it. Its the game where the creators of Final Fantasy tried to fully emphasize gameplay and exploration more than any other Final Fantasy. If you're looking more for a linear, story based game where you don't have to think or do any leveling outside of the path given to you, FFVIII is not your game.
And on the flip side, don't listen to the legion of people who will say FFVIII sucks because of 'grinding' or 'bad characters' or a host of other reasons. Its all purely opinion. All the same leveling options you have in FFVI and VII are given to you in FFVIII, ie customizing outside sources to your characters to produce magic. Just more options are given to you in FFVIII to focus on using that magic, using the magic to buff up your attack or doing a mixture of both. And no, you don't have to 'grind' for magic by using the draw command. Within an hour into the game you can use Quetzalcoatl's 'Card' ability to turn enemies into cards and refine them into Magic.
As for my personal opinion, just the fact that the game actually allows you to have some exploration outside of the set storyline and with the more active battle engine, for me it is one of the better Final Fantasy games. I was sad to see its sequels revert back to the more linear/stationary game engine that actually promotes just using one button for the whole game.
Six upcoming games you should look into:
