Final Fantasy VIII was my absolute fave. It had a solid storyline with solid characters that were likeable and real to the player.... I've heard the complaint that the gameplay wasnt as good as the others, but i'd rather a great story and okay gamplay rather than the other way around.... Im weird.
Aside from FFVIII the only other games that got me involved enough to play them all the way through were Oddworld: Abe's Exodus, Final Fantasy X (which i didn't really like that much), the two Legend of Zelda games for N64, and Katamari Damaci. I'm not really that much of a video game person...
...but I will defend Final Fantasy VIII with all my heart.
(PS - Squall is a hell of a lot hotter than Cloud OR Tidus, or -any- of the pixelated boys from earlier FF games)