Which character do you feel got done dirty by the developers/writers?
I agree that FF8 had it's problems. We have all had this conversation many times. I personally love the game and think it is incredibly unique, has one of Uematsu's best soundtracks, and is overall very satisfying as a chapter in the Final Fantasy franchise. But one of the biggest issues I have with it is how the game ultimately (no pun intended) treated one of its 'supposed' main characters.
Seifer got done dirty in FF8. Not necessarily because of what happened to his character, but moreso the lack thereof of his character's arc or influence in the story. In all of the posters, ads, media, etc. Seifer is in pretty much all of them. He's on the cover FFS! He plays a huge role in the opening scenes and the first part of the game, but as an antagonist he is largely absent from the exposition of the story.
He makes a few appearances at Edea's side, and then, of course, at the showdown in Galbadia Garden, but even during those times there isn't much interaction with him as a character. You never really get to know him much or dig deeper into his motives, and when he has his big character arc (correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't it be after defeating him at Galbadia Garden?), he just kind of slinks off into a life fishing and hanging out with his buds.
I dunno, whenever I come back to FF8 I can't help but feel like his character held so much promise in developing Squall, Rinoa's, maybe Zell's character, as well as the overall storyline. Instead he kind of just remained this 'bully' archetype that let his romantic aspirations get him into the wrong crowd, and after that he's just like, "well, that didn't work out. Time to go fishin'!" Mayne it's been too long since I've played through it, but that's how I remember it. Please correct me if I'm wrong.