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.