I find FF VIII very easy infact. As long as you've got a good understanding of the game, I don't think any FF is particularly difficult from VII onwards.

When i first tried the junctioning system i didn't have a clue what it was a bout, once learned it can become enjoyable, the story is pretty much straight forward to me, i can't see what the confusion is about that.

One thing i didn't like about the GF system was the compatibility rating, whenever I switched party members, the GF's would be weaker with some characters.

Yeah the battles were pretty harsh, I found the last battle with Ultimecia to be the toughest in all the FF series, as the ending bosses go, you literally needed 9999 HP, I love The Extreme, I used to battle Ultimecia just to listen to it.

i heard from a few people that the junction system was really complicated and hard, i myself found it really easy but i didnt like it. Treating the magic like an item wasn't much of a good idea either in my opinion and the whole junctioning my magic to my stats just made me want to save it so i had higher health or whatever which in the end left me almost never using magic. Also the fact that monsters leveled up with you wasnt much of a good idea but didnt really affect me much. I found the story to be easier to understand than VII (which in fact actually confused the heck outta me when i first played it a few years ago) and i really liked all the characters. Speaking of which i never actually finished this game since i had to format my computer before i had a chance to finish it :(