This is a well-supported teardown of Final Fantasy 8, one of the least popular entries in a mostly beloved franchise. I particularly agree with your points about Squall, and the lackluster plot. All of your bullet points at the end are in line with my impressions back in the day, for that matter. However, I believe you could strengthen your critique by trimming it a bit. A lot of readers aren't going to read through 4,000+ words of discussion about the game, which is longer than the typical chapter in a novel. We have more space to get our ideas across online than we once did in print, but at the same time, our readers have increasingly short attention spans. That means we have to think harder than ever about what points to make and how to do so quickly enough to maintain interest.
"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." - John F. Kennedy on reality
"What if everything you see is more than what you see--the person next to you is a warrior and the space that appears empty is a secret door to another world? What if something appears that shouldn't? You either dismiss it, or you accept that there is much more to the world than you think. Perhaps it really is a doorway, and if you choose to go inside, you'll find many unexpected things." - Shigeru Miyamoto on secret doors to another world
"What if everything you see is more than what you see--the person next to you is a warrior and the space that appears empty is a secret door to another world? What if something appears that shouldn't? You either dismiss it, or you accept that there is much more to the world than you think. Perhaps it really is a doorway, and if you choose to go inside, you'll find many unexpected things." - Shigeru Miyamoto on secret doors to another world