Hmm, tricky one. I like/dislike different aspects of all of them.

Ayla: Excellent in both random and boss battles due to her having the strongest armor, physical attacks, and triple techs. Her basic healing and stealing abilities make her just about the most used character aside from Crono and he's the one you *have* to use for half the game. As a character her enthusiasm and nuggets of common sense are nice but they seriously overdid the *cave-gir* aspect with the broken speech patterns.

Robo:excellent utillity with a combo of strength, attack magic and *group* healing magic. (the one-person-at-a-time healing spells are so annoying. As a character he's not terribly interesting but not terribly annoying either. Just the standard "artificial character develops feelings" kind of thing. Fortunately, this aspect isn't forced down our throats every time he interacts like so many movies do. It's only emphasized during his personal quest.

Marle: lousy physical attacks and no *ultimate* single tech attack magic like Lucca and Crono. Her healing magic and status effect magic are the only justification for her existence and even then she can't heal the whole group at a time with a single tech like robo can. Her lack of getting an *ultimate* weapon like everyone else just makes it even worse. Barely enough advantages to offset her weaknesses. Should have snagged her pendant at the beginning and left her at the fair. As a character she flips between inspiring and annoying but thankfully comes off as more than just a whiny piece of tail for the hero.

Crono: standard hero abilities of powerful physical and magical attacks. Most of the others kind of compromise on one or the other making up for it with random *utility* type spells. His life spell is just sooooonice to have as it gives you a backup in case you get stuck somewhere witha dead healer. Ayla's healing ability is similar in that it gives a nice backup as well. I'd have to say that he functions almost identically to Ayla in and out of battle. As a character his silence doesn't really make him boring as it allows the player to insert themselves into the role.

Frog: I tend to think on him as being in thew same category as Robo with both decent physical and magical attacks, plus decent healing magic. My only complaint about his abilities is his ultimate attack requiring low HP. An attack like that is nice as an addition but not as a mainstream ability since it's you often have to forgo healing for that round to employ it effectively. Not bad as a character. He has some good moments when his guilt complex isn't dominating him.

Magus: Good physical abilities and powerful offensive magic in a similar manner to a hero-type character wich is a nice irony for a dark character. His broad range of magic types means he almost always has something effective to attack with. The absence of any *backup* healing or utility magic is somewhat noticable. That and his inability to do triple techs without having a suitable accessory equipped are his only real practical disadvantages. As a *dark hero* has become a cliche' its refreshing to see one who isn't always broadcasting angst at full volume. He seems to like being a spooky SOB and yet he can interact with the others without having to show his "soft side".

Lucca: Powerful attack magic and a *utility* spell or two, plus a fairly decent physical attack for a primary magic user. If she had a single healing spell I'd never bother putting Marle in the group again.
Good characterization of brains, practical skills, and common sense as opposed to the common stereotype of the helpless intellectual. Possibly the most well developed personality of the group. She's Crono's right hand that he can count on in a crunch.