Favorite final fantasy game and why?

[IfritReborn]

I don't think Rinoa was Julia's daughter, that would mean the Squall and Rinoa were partaking in incest..

Did you mean Ellone?

No. Remember Laguna loved 2 women. Julia first in Deiling, but due to circumstances they could never be together. She moved on with General Caraway and had Rinoa
Laguna met Raine in Winhill, fell in love, and had Squall

I wonder why so many people seem to love FFVIII. The character setup and combat system sucked too much for it to be good to me.

Should read this: Remembering the Orphan: FFVIII
The writer takes a critical in-depth look into VIII and you may look at the game differently after reading it
It's essentially a character study