I got very, very frustrated with FF8, but that has more to do with my style of gameplay than anything. I wanted to collect all the special items and max out all my stats, which meant I had to deal with that card game. Ugh. Took me four years of avoiding the game after disk 3 until I went back and just beat it. By that point, I had no recollection of the storyline, so the whole cinematic thing at the end was a waste.
FF7 was pleasingly dystopian when I was in high school... 10 had pretty graphics, 9 was fun until my memory card glitched, 10-2 must have been marketed for 14-year-old girls, and other than that I haven't played anything in the series except FF1.
Larry - I had the same problem with Baldur's Gate. Maybe at the same point. Haven't gotten around to playing it again. Have you tried Morrowind?