I was also disapointed by FF8
but liked FF7

what i dont like in FF8 :

story

all is said

card game system was still good

I'm with ya, man.  I really enjoyed the story. 

I'm not sure many critics call it the best RPG ever.  Those accolades are usually reserved for FF6, Chrono Trigger, FF7, FF10, etc, and that's just Japanese Console RPGs...I'd include Buldur's Gate, Oblivion, etc 

Ahhh,another sony hater trying to bash one of the better 32bit games...now praise FFIX and tell us how scaring that green sprite Kefka was and you will make my day.

The reviewers would disagree with you Dio. FF9 has a higher average then FF7 which in turn is higher then FF8. 

So, to reveiwers FF9 was in fact the best PS1 FF, FF8 was in fact the worst. 

I actually loved VIII, my favorite game of the series. The gameplay is just nearly inaccessable until the second playthrough, and the story is all character development, no main plot. XII was all plot, no character development, and the gameplay is inaccessable without a walkthrough. The games are very similar.

Many hated VIII, but you'll find there is a diehard segment of FF fans out there who think VIII is the greatest things since sliced bread. I agree with them. 

Reviews are the opposite of facts though.

I liked IX, however I reverse my order. I say VIII is my fav, VII second, IX third.

One of the major reasons I believe most people don't like VIII as much was because they went through the whole game without ever understanding the base gameplay.

If, throughout most of FFVIII you don't have 99 draws junctioned on each of your stats, or if you ever cast summons much, you probably weren't playing right, lol.

Here is the deal with the gameplay in FFVIII. By halfway through, every attack you do should be a limit break. The game is ALL about limit breaks. Maximizing Zell's limit break and rolling for Lionheart.....wow, the gameplay in VIII was magnificance. I have never played anything like it.

The thing is, your characters will SUCK on your first playthrough. The reason? Well, your not supposed to level your characters until right before Untimecias(sp?) castle.

Why? Well, because later on you get these things you can equip that increases your stats as you level up, and all the monsters you fight have strength based on your level at the moment. So, once you get the awesome ones, and level up at the end, you'll be ultimately strong. Imagine a strength stat with 99 ultima junctioned and strength up levels, and a hit stat and a speed stat at 255, with every attack being a limit break.

That's what it takes to beat the weapon in VIII. Deep doesn't begin to describe it.

I also found the Chocobo quest in IX to be almost as rewarding as VII's. 

IMO, all the things you just listed are what make FFVIII's gameplay less interesting, not more.

Uhm ... the cinematics where awesome ... but I was never much into FF games , so I only tryed this game to ... so I cant give you a fair opinion on this one :(

I loved those games this way:

FF7 the best one
FF9 excellent game almost as good as ff7
FF8 Phail.... did not like it