I love FFVIII because I played it at the right time in my life. I was dealing with a lot of teenage pain, self-hatred, family trauma. Note: I don't use "teenage" to trivialize these experiences, as people often do. Teenage pain is real pain and ought not to be approached dismissively.
FFVIII didn't treat my issues as melodramatic. FFVIII took my struggle seriously and didn't look down on me, tell me my pain wasn't real or dismiss my experiences as just more whining.
Also, it was a good game.