Ooo good question. I liked how FFXIII did it, as it made sense and developed the characters in pairs, allowing for richer development. Of course, Snow doesn't feature in chapters 4 - 6, and Fang is only introduced in chapter 7, but there's still half the story, so it didn't seem so bad and their characters were introduced through conversation earlier.

On the other hand, I did like how FFX and FFVII did it. It allows you to spend more time with your characters and there is more opportunity for them to contribute.

I know this isn't Final Fantasy (but I can't think of a good example within the series), but Mass Effect 2 did it poorly. You get half of your team in the second half of the game, but by that point there's not so many quests left for them to quip and comment on. You get your final teammate as an 'eleventh hour hero', and you barely get to spend time with them before the end of the game. It was one of ME2's few flaws, personally.

I suppose ultimately, I don't mind what way I get my characters, assuming:

- I get all of them by the half-way point of the game
- There's enough time for development and they can make a definite impact in my team
- Less importantly: their introduction into gameplay is seamless and they aren't useless/duplicating another playstyle.