I've heard Leonhart draw parallels between Snake's relationship with Meryl in MGS1 and Squall's relationship with Rinoa in FFVIII, and I understand how if the gist of the situation is "protagonist with lone wolf personality becomes more caring via romance".
It's to the point where FFVIII is now the FF I'm most interested in playing now (and 2nd in my "next playthrough consideration list" after MGS2), as I'd like to draw comparisons. However, from what I've heard, Squall's personality has greater presence in FFVIII than Snake's does in MGS1, and for many that isn't a good thing. Oh well.
"Snake, you have the genes of a soldier, not a savior."
"I don't care what genes I have."