Oh geeze, you guys are going to make me go in-depth as to why I like Magus and why he's so great? I honestly thought it was obvious...Because it's so easy to fanfic him! Now go read my fanfic Magness!
j/k...Boy it's been a while since I've pimped myself out like the nasty whore that I am...er...
Magus is a great character because of his morals, or lack of them, yes. But the real reason I like him is because of his diehard, all-or-nothing attitude towards...everything! He shows that he's patient, cool, calm & collected. He has a set goal and nothing stops him from going all out in trying to achieve his goals, much unlike the lonesome, self-loathing, Frog. I don't think transforming Glenn was that big of a deal...I mean, heck, it's obvious that he could have done a lot worse. By then he was just playing with him. I mean, heck, they
were out to kill him...It was a war and he didn't want anyone ruining his plans. Personally, I never get tired of a good revenge-based character. It's an easily personable emotion, you can emphasize w/someone out for revenge; someone who breaks down all the taboo barriers and does what they want because they've been wronged for w/e reason. It's also kind of sad because revenge isn't an emotion that gets very good results, as expressed in many stories over time. Revenge more often then not begets revenge and so forth. Magus' strength can also be his weakness. He's a very driven character, but he's also a lone wolf. He doesn't want many people around to skew his goals, but what's so great is that he
will tolerate people around him as a means to an end. Not even people who would possibly consider themselves to be his friend would be above his willingness to use for whatever reason. I also think that his ties to his sister are strong, perhaps stronger than are specifically stated. Obviously I'm dwelling into personal opinion territory now, but I think that Magus' main goal may be vengeance, but you can also percieve it as a kind of retribution. He doesn't take his sister away from the danger, not because he doesn't care, but because he knows; he knows that there would be almost no where he could take her for one and for another I don't think he could live with himself that way. He needs to redeem himself not just for himself, but for her. In a way, by defeating Lavos, perhaps it would help to clean the blood from his hands and that way he could then live with his sister without regret and shame. So I don't think Magus has to be a strictly revenge-based character and that too is a reason why he's so well liked.
Oh yeah, and isn't it just bitchin' that his surprised sprite is him bein all pissed off? Heh heh! Magus doesn't like surprises! That's awesome and it fits his character (that first surprise of many hucked him through time after all)!
As for Squall...I liked him alright...But, much like w/Cecil from FFIV, after the 180, he just wasn't as good of a character...He was more just a piece in the whole love puzzle that was most of FFVIII, a good game none-the-less...>_>