What? I found all of the main characters (with the exception of Squall) in FF8 to be stereotypical bland teenyboppers.They're unconventional, character-focused stories in a series that is largely about event stories--in most FF games, "shit gets out of whack and plucky heroes go save the day" is the A plot, whereas both FF8 and FF13 treat it as a B plot. I played through FF8 again late last year and I think that they did a remarkable job until the "oh fuck we need to ship" fourth disc.
Specifically, here are my problems with the FF8 crew.
[*] They don't feel like they're natural characters from the setting. They have no real roots in the culture, have no real backstory even when we consider the ARGLEBARGLE ORPHANAGE plot tweest, and have few ties to any character that you couldn't play in battle. FFX had a lot of fucking problems, but one thing it did right -- even moreso than the other games in the series -- is have the characters immerse you in the setting.
[*] The characters are, frankly, not very bright. The Edea Assassination plot has to be one of the most retarded sequences I've ever seen in a game but it's far from the only example of their passive blandness. The characters get led by the nose too fucking much, are unable to anticipate any plot twists or non-obvious aspects of the setting, and don't show any real aptitude or insight towards their roles as mercenaries.
[*] Except for Squall, there is no character development among any of the cast. Everyone else is exactly the same person they started out the game as. Oh, sure, they revealed some things about the characters we weren't aware of originally like Irvine's shyness or the GF Plot Tweest or Laguna = Squall's dad, but they don't actually show any real change. Even for the low standards of jRPG storytelling, that's fucking pathetic.
Now, except for FFX and FFT pretty much all of the Final Fantasies have this problem. However, they also have redeeming factors. FF7 is hilarious so it gets a pass on flubbing point 3. FFV has great gameplay so we give it a pass on 1 and 3. FF6 gets a pass on point 1. And so on. But FF8 falls flat on its face character-wise, story-wise, and gameplay-wise. It's not Chrono Cross awful in any sense and does have a few good moments, but it doesn't deserve to be called good or even decent. I put it on the level of the GBA Golden Sun games.
I don't understand FF8 being popular as a character-driven piece at all. Or rather, I do, but I don't understand the audience being so fucking ignorant as to actually fall for it. That game was set up specifically to appeal to people not only unfamiliar with jRPG storytelling but people unfamiliar with stories in general. FF8 is pretty much Pretty White Kids With Problems: The Video Game. Meant specifically to appeal to people who think that Patch Adams is hilarious and heartwarming and that Armageddon is a fun and engaging movie.