Zidane: An smirking, swashbuckling thief is a breath of fresh air in a series whose protagonists are often tediously maudlin, but he's not a complete bubble-headed imbecile like Tidus, either. The way he torments Steiner in particular is one of the highlights of the early part of the game.


Vivi: A uniquely innocent member of a race engineered to be mindless killing machines with a built-in expiration date, Vivi is a child consumed by the precarious dangers of his very nature. Yes, he's cute, but he's also thoroughly sympathetic.


Steiner: Steiner earns his stay just by being an epically blockheaded comic foil to Zidane. That he also goes on to pull off an adorably bumbling romance with a beautiful lady general -- and justify his doting tendencies as a heroic guardian of his liege -- are just bonuses.


Garnet: Disguising herself in a classic White Mage's robe and asking her kidnapper to please kidnap her is a pretty great introduction by any means. She's not the typical unflappable Tomboy princess, either; she knows she needs to stop her mother, but she's rather apprehensive regarding the burdens of her station. Piecing together her secret past and lineage over the course of the game is as fascinating as it is unexpected, too.


Freya: Dragon Knights are awesome. (Check it.) Dragon Knights who are also alabaster Irish rat women cloaked in red are more awesome.


Quina: "I do what I want! You have problem?" The Active Time Events showing him/her bumbling across the world until finally rejoining the party comprise one of the game's greatest comic threads, too.


Salamander: People seem to find ol' Amarant kind of boring, but he's my favorite interpretation of the "stoic, amoral badass" archetype next to Shadow -- probably because it's so frequently played for laughs. His sordid backstory with Zidane and nonexistent romance with Lani are amusing enough, and his terse rivalry with Freya is especially so. But I think I mainly love him just for Amano's version. Look at that guy!


Eiko: A six-year-old in love with a sixteen-year-old. A+.

(She has a pet Moogle, too.)