Yeah I can see that. I think VIII was a very "between" game in a lot of ways.
Movement for example - it was the first to have analogue support but it wasn't as refined as it could have been. I always feel like the characters move a bit too much, like their models should be shrunk slightly. And while I like seeing my party on screen I think it's a bit awkward looking.
And the world map is just (comparatively to VII's) much bigger, but there's not much else in it. VII was the first to do it so it has that novelty, it's also more cartoon-type stylised where VIII tried to go for a bit more realism. There are a lot of little nooks and crannies on VIII's world map that I can't help but feel are a bit of a missed opportunity. There should have been more on the Centra and Esthar continents for sure (although Centra does have that big crater part that's obscurely references as having something to do with Hyne IIRC, I barely remember). But it needed more of that stuff.
IX has the perfect blend tbh. There's a shitload to find and do on the world map in FFIX, and a lot of it is optional. Chocobo hot and cold really helps, but even things like the gates between regions (most of which are optional), Quan's Dwelling, Daguerro etc. all really manage to feel like they have a story behind them.
FFVIII's world map and town/ settlement placement is just weird, but that's par for the course with the game and I guess part of its charm. I think a lot of it is the design of the game aswell. I'm thinking about Esthar here, the way they put that on the world map is neat but it contrasts so sharply with all the other settlements in the game that it just doesn't really make sense.