I played FFVIII for the first time a couple years ago, and I got stuck on her. I couldn't level up because every battle gave me one EXP and Squall wouldn't let me leave the area... So I quit.

Recently I re-picked it up because I had enjoyed it while it lasted. Now I am getting close to that battle again (I just saved Rinoa in space) and I was wondering what level I should be when I face her? Squall is at 47, Irvine is in his low 40's, and Selphie is 24 while Rinoa is 27. So my party will be Squall, Irvine, and Selphie.

Also, any other tips? I would hate to get stuck again. :(

Firstly, welcome to the Shrine! :D

As for your question, boss fights in FFVIII actually set themselves automatically to your own level, so level grinding to get past a boss isn't really useful. Instead, it's best to spend time drawing spells, upgrading your weapons, and improving stats via Junctioning.

Usually I'd say it would be helpful to level your GFs as well, however GF's can't really be used in the Adel fight, except for Cactuar, because Rinoa would end up taking damage as well, seeing as you have to keep her alive to win the fight, having the best weapons and spells available to you is the best way of winning that fight.

In particular, in addition to your own team, it will be wise to buff Rinoa up with Protect and Shell, along with Regen and Haste, as it will cut down the amount of HP Adel regularly siphons from her. Also you should have someone curing Rinoa regularly with Cure spells or Potions as well, while having Squall and your third party member beating on Adel. As long as you keep Rinoa healthy, as well as your team, you should eventually be able to do Adel in.

Still, having your GFs at a high level will be helpful for dealing with the final dungeon and it's multitude of difficult bosses, but that's another barrel of moogles. ;)

Thanks for the welcome and all the advice! I guess I will just have to get cactaur. Any advice on how to get him? :)

South east of the continent Esthar is on, there should be a small, desert island. This island is called Cactuar Island. If you land the Ragnarok here you'll find, appropriately enough, cactuars in large numbers.

In particular you should see a small green cactuar appearing and disappearing at random spots around the island. If you run into this figure, you'll be sent into a battle against the Jumbo Cactuar, an ancient cactuar that has grown huge (and sporting a ridiculous mustache!). Defeating it will net you the Cactuar GF.

However, it's no easy battle. In particular, it uses a nasty random, unblockable attack called 10 000 Needles which does 10, 000 HP damage, therefore instantly killing a character. It only uses this as a counter attack though against one person, so if you have one person NOT attacking, you'll at least be able to revive fallen comrades.

It also uses other strong physical attacks too, but they're nowhere near as dangerous as 10 000 Needles. It's also weak against water, so summoning Leviathan and using strong water spells against it can also be useful. Just make sure you take along plenty of cure and life spells, plus phoenix downs and mega potions, as it's a nasty enemy to battle.

Thank you so much!

Yea the same thing happened to me. The battle is beyond difficult without Cactuar. I ended up giving up on that file then made a new one.