I now this somewhat strays away from the main point of the thread, but I hated how in some unprofessional reviews, the reviewer was comparing the game to Final Fantasy VII instead of rating it on its own merits.

Oh, and a lot of JRPGs have similar storylines, even if they are not connected in any way. I can make a large sum of comparisons between Valkyria Chronicles and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, for example.

Hope reminds me of Tidus in some ways. Same goes for Vanille and Riku.