The characters are well developed, the story line is great, and the animation/graphics are awesome.  Some of the FMVs (full motion videos) are simply amazing; I could just sit there and watch them over and over.  "Final Fantasy 8" is an excellent addition to the Final Fantasy tradition.  I don't remember how many hours I played this game, but every single minute was worth it; I wasn't bored once.  One thing I really liked about this game was that the final battle could actually be kind of challenging; especially the first time you try when you have no idea what is going to happen.  This game was a lot of fun, and I would recommend it to any fan of the series.