You're much better than I remember you being...

So I'm playing the Zodiac Age right now and kind of being surprised at how spunky and fun Penelo was. I was made a little more sad when I learned that she actually had a bit of a larger role in an early draft of the script but a lot of it got cut for some reason or another. Still, while I've always liked the character, I'm kind of surprised how personable she is in the beginning of XII. I remember Eiko in IX also being a character who I always imagine would irritate the crap out of me but I always end up remembering that I actually liked her as well.

Are there any characters you either thought you wouldn't like, or maybe you didn't like them too much on the initial playthrough that you eventually started to like more later?

Aye Edward from FFIV. I hated him till I found out he is OP in the versions where you can use everyone at the end

I think I've already mentioned how much I hated Squall when I first played FFVIII, but in retrospect he was much better written than I initially gave him credit for. I didn't care much for Zack, but can see why he's so popular. After hearing all the negativity surrounding Hope from FFXIII I was prepared to hate the trout out of him, yet he ended up being my second favourite character after Sazh.

At first, I found Edward from FFIV very annoying, but I ended up really liking his story arc, and I love how ingenious he is in the After Years. I didn't really like Aerith in FFVII at first, I simply found her annoying, but now I really like her. Same with Vanille hehe. I also didn't think I would love Hope as much as I do now.

Shadow wasn't a character I especially appreciated my first time through FF6, as he comes off as pretty edgelord-y and is rather story line limited, but he has grown to be one of my favorite characters in the series; I didn't expect to like Galuf, but he ended up being my favorite in that title; I didn't like Lulu my first time through FFX, but she's one of the few characters I actually like in the game now.

Ditto on the Aerith train. I couldn't stand her as a tween, but as an adult, I could see us being best friends. She's a really fun character.

I never had the same issues with Penelo that the internet seemed to blow out of proportion, but I've already mentioned how I've turned around on Vaan by the time I got to the end of the game (and in subsequent playthroughs, I grew to like him more). Balthier was a character I was indifferent to in Middle School, but in High School, I thought he was the coolest; he was Han Solo as performed by Spike Spiegel. As an adult though, I make fun of Balthier for the same problems those characters have; he just runs away from his life's problems and thinks of himself as more roguish and charming than he actually is. Still love him, just for his flaws more than his cool-factor.

This last one is based not on beating the game myself, but watching an LP. For all the hate Tidus gets, I actually think a lot of his "whinier" moments are justified? Like, Auron's cool and all, but he essentially ruins Tidus's life; it kinda makes sense Tidus would scream at him when they meet up at Luca. As a fanbase, we also mock him for his daddy issues, but like, neither Jecht nor his mom were model parents; it makes sense Tidus would hold a grudge against him when his mom spent more time grieving Jecht's apparent passing than raising him. It's obvious to us that (SPOILER)the pilgrimage is supposed to end with Yuna dying, but to him it's a secret that his comrades had been deliberately keeping from him. Granted, the character is still insufferable at the beginning of the game, but a lot of people ignore his growth, which I'd argue he does have. ..