I find game characters are either too straight-forward, or too generic (especially int he case where you can customize yourself).
Or in the case of archtypes, then usually you control some clown shoe hero preaching about justice and a goodwill.

My view is pretty indifferent, I suppose.

As I said before, I'm not a fan of silent proagonists...but they seem to embody some of the best hero qualities (and these characters are usually kept silent in order to put us in the hero's position).

Furthermore, when you say "like you"...like me how?  Characters in most games kinda have to exaggerate themselves to be distinguishable.  It would be hard to find common ground with them. Usually when I relate to a chara, its for a moment in maybe a similar experience.

Makes sense I suppose.  No point advertising in a mag thats going to bash your game... I just wonder if NOT advertising will have its repercussions. =P

A kind of lame response, but a personal favourite is Link of the Zelda series.  He's the embodiment of hero.  Aside from the typical parts about him: sword, sheild, save the princess; his courage, skills, and selflessness make him a standout.

As much as I *kinda* don't like the idea of silent protagonists; they probably give off that hero essence better than any talking one.  Mainly because they seem more innocent, only do the right thing.  And I guess it helps that they don't say anything so you don't really have anything to judge them by besides options the player chooses.

Other mentions go to Ryodo (from Grandia2, for his ass behavior before he pussies out on your and becomes nice), Lloyd (ToS; for being nice, funny, and all around do-gooder),  Zidane (FFIX, for having some depth to him), Lenneth (VP; proving lead heroines can kick ass), and the cast of FF6.

WORST: As Shigu said, Tight-Ass from FFX gets the top cheese.  He's childish, a fruitcake, whiny, but still manages to master a sword in 2 seconds and win Yuna.  Why Yuna?  You could do way better.  
There really wasn't one point where I started to like him or even sided along with any of his hero-ideals or traits (if any).  Its bad enough he's wearing bright yellow overalls. Fucken loser.
What I wonder most of all is how does Squeenix go from a majestic beauty like Terra, to a sports-star names Tidus?

RUNNERUP: Jude (Wild Arms 4); fits in with my young-protagonist category.  Annoying voice, silly outfit, and kinda of annoying....all the time.

--

WORST VILLAIN: ExDeath (FFV) for a stupid name, Seymour (FFX) for a stupid hairdo, and Necron (FFIX) for being there for no reason.

Moreover, the villains of Kingdom Hearts annoyed me.  Maybe its just me getting older, but the entire storyline kinda went over my head, so I have no clue what they're fighting and gabbing on about half the time.

Yeah, its a valid and (IMO) good question...I just hope ode-y won't kill me for the slight theft. =)

I'm pretty pissy when it comes to the 14-and-under-year-old protagonists, and villains without motives.  Unfortunately, I was just called off my PC and will have to reply sometime other than now...

but, POST AWAY! x)

I don't know if I'll get smacked for this topic, but I still hope it'll be worth some discussion.

LINK REMOVED has been a source for great alternatives and reworks to some of our favourites.  Mind you, since they arn't pro, they are quite literlly "hack jobs".  But nevertheless, I find it really cool and interesting.

Lord knows FFVI needed to be harder, and the pink hair on Link in LoZ:LttP needed to go.  Other hacks have enemy creations, new Mario stages, and the ever-popular translations of games that never made it here.

I love the fact that unnamed pro-bono hackers are willing to go the extra mile unlike all the games offered on the Wii virtual console and the like. =P

What do you think?

I'm amazed of Squeenix's inability to recreate the simple awesome of Secret of Mana.  The game didn't even offer a ground-breaking story, the job was almost half done for them.

I beat Twilight Princess!  This was a year overdue.  I stopped because of school, and didn't get around to it.  ANd since I saw the ending on YouTUbe anyways I never bothered.

Gotta say, this game is just amazing in every sense of the word, looking back and replaying it. They really milked the GCube for all it was worth.  Lotta fun, stylish, kinda easy (mind you, IMO, the games handicap can easily be altered by the amount of hearts you have, lets face it).


Anyways, I want more Zelda!  ..thats not WindWaker-esque. =/

I believe its kind of "mothership" based on game "size"I suppose.  DS titles simply can't be amazing hardcore games, with long, deep stories spanning 60+ hours of wicked gameplay.  In cases like this, size matters.  No matter how cool a DS title is, its simply (as said above) an escort to a bigger, powerful-er, more capable system... I suppose.

I call it more of a teaser than anything.

I reallly hated that about Nomura's designs.  I kinda liked how FF12 has more realistic designs instead of blue zig-zags and the like.

True enough I suppose.
Trailer was a bit short, but (as an optimist) promising! =)

Personally, I think the PS3 was the system the game has needed for a while.

Wow negativity.

I am completely in love with the series, so I suppose I may have a bias.

There haven't been enough bad Tales games for me to think "too many" are coming out. =)

Final Fantasy spin-offs on the other hand...

EDIT: forgot to mention, seeing this made me wet.  Fujishima, good to see you are.  Fuji > Ino