Lots of people Love squall. Those that don’t usually just don’t like that he was a very depressive character. From a more artistic point one could argue that Squall’s character doesn’t develop as a person very much. The way he is at the start of the game is the way he ends – depressed. Some people like this because it shows stability in a character’s personality but some don’t like this because it makes him seem too unaffected by current events or too affected by past events.
The lack of character development seems to be a theme in Final Fantasy VIII and VIII happens to be Hero’s favorite game for this reason (characters don’t change).
EDIT:
Interesting to note that the villains changed a lot from beginning to end in FFVIII unlike other games where the villains are static and the playable characters are dynamic.
Ignore dissidia, because he wasn’t originally an asshole.
Do u consider Squall or Tidus whiny? Character Appreciation Topic MAJOR SPOILERS – Dissidia 012: Duodecim Final Fantasy Message Board for PSP – GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/605802-dissidia-012-duodecim-final-fantasy/59168589)
Besides, how was Squall emo? He never complained about anything and never came across as dark or broody. He always came across as a hero, facing his fears, just because he wasn’t excentric doesn’t mean he was whiny. He just didn’t wanna emotionally connect with anyone, something I could relate to as well.
Personally, I didn’t mind Squall, I thought the whole dark brooding loner thing was cool, but they could have made him slightly more open.