Final Fantasy VIII is really good, although it recieves major critism from fans because of the the changes made within it. Squall happens to be one of the coolest Final Fantasy characters as well if I do say so myself. Don't really need to bother with leveling up as the monsters in this game get stronger as you do, so you will never be able to way over power them. Fortunately if you setup your Junctions correctly normal enemies will be a piece of cake.