I'm currently half way through chapter nine... it has occured to me that they dropped the ball with this game and i feel like they have gone a bit lazy... especially with the characters. It seems like alot... if not all the (main) characters in ffxiii are very similar to the earlier games main characters, as in personallity and traits... even looks!

Lightning = Cloud (ff7) - this has already been confirmed as the director (i think) stated that he wanted a female version of cloud to lead

Snow = Zell and Wakka (ff8 and ff10) - they look kinda similar (a cross between them both i would say), same comedy, childish tendancies, is doer... not a thinker, lets his heart over rule his head.

Vanille = Rikku (ff10) - a bubby, outgoing, positive person... but with dark secrets.

Sazh = Barrett (ff7) - very family orintated, opiniated, trustworthy, cynical, and makes comments about unlucky situations one too many times.

Hope = Tidus (ff10) - i think they have the same learning curve... its focus it more on hope then they did with Tidus. also add a splash of revenage in there as well. they also look quite similar.

Fang = Fran (ff12) - to be honest i struggled to find a similar comparison to fang. but for some reason fran comes to mind.

other things that i found were very similar was the system that they used to build up the characters (the name has slipped my mind... somthing crystal?) is very similar to grid that they used in ff10... but prettier looking. also the whole linear thing made me think that they couldnt be bothered to do extensive maps and side quests and interactions with random people, it just isnt to par with previous games in that respect. finally... the story... it just seemed that they couldnt be bothered to put and create ways for us to find out the back story of why cocoon was in this state of emergancy... instead we had to read about it in the datalog.

Lightning is Squall 2.0. Not Cloud.

Thank your lucky stars VIII didn't have voice acting.

Also Sazh really isn't very much like Barrett considering he doesn't sound like Mr. T and isn't particularly stereotyped in anyway.

i do feel there is some stereotype in there... a black man with a huge afro, goatee and guns!!!

i was unsure about lightning... i knew that she was a female version of a male lead in the earlier games...

in terms of voice acting in VIII... i cant bare to think what selphie's and riona's voice would be like... on the other hand i think quistis would sound like a seductive teacher from a crappy porn... which i wouldnt know anything about.

I don't really feel that an afro and goatee are particularly stereotypical, but YMMV. I'm much more concerned about his behavior and while he is written to be comical, he never feels SPOOF, to me. His seriousness balances it pretty well.

i was unsure about lightning... i knew that she was a female version of a male lead in the earlier games...

Apparently the lead character designer was told to make a female Cloud for FFXIII. Hence, Lightning.

The thing is, I never felt like Lightning was even remotely like Cloud. She's got a sword (not even a big sword)... and that's about where the similarities end.

Cloud doesn't really have much personality at all, but what little he does have shows that he's cocky and self assured in his 'machoness'. Lightning doesn't go about boasting about how tough she is, nor does she do merc jobs for the money etc.

He has no purpose in life, just drifting about trying not to get emotionally involved in anything. Lightning has (and by her own admission *needs*) a very clear goal in her mind at all times.

A character may start out as a vague idea (Ridley Scott pitched the vague concept he had for 'Alien' as 'Jaws in Space' because he knew the industry liked the success that Jaws and Star Wars had brought).

But when you start work on them, they soon develop their own personality. FF13 has a good cast of characters, all of whom remain relevant to the story throughout the game - and that alone is practically a first for any RPG.

I have to say, I think you're really reaching with most of these. I can see the Vanille/Rikku similarities, definitely, but all the others feel like a big stretch to me. Snow isn't really Zell or Wakka like at all. The defining aspect of his character is his hero complex, something neither of those two possesses. I don't see what Tidus and Hope share aside from some whining and daddy issues. Tidus was conceived as a happy-go-lucky, cheerful character, and I honestly think he was never intended to come off as whiny as he was. I've wondered sometimes if things got lost in translation with him. I also didn't think Hope was particularly whiny, but I'm clearly in the minority on that.

That said, video games (and fiction in general) absolutely use the same character archetypes over and over. As a writer, I don't think it's just laziness. They can also be a really useful tool. Because people are familiar with these archetypes, just showing a few things is enough to give them a good idea of what your character is like and then developing them at your leisure. I thought Lost did this to pretty good effect. They're also great for subverting expectations, but I don't think this is done often enough.

I think Sazh is one of the most realistic characters that's appeared in an FF, and it bums me out to see people reduce him to being a Barret rip-off. Shi't.

I have to say, I think you're really reaching with most of these. I can see the Vanille/Rikku similarities, definitely, but all the others feel like a big stretch to me. Snow isn't really Zell or Wakka like at all. The defining aspect of his character is his hero complex, something neither of those two possesses. I don't see what Tidus and Hope share aside from some whining and daddy issues. Tidus was conceived as a happy-go-lucky, cheerful character, and I honestly think he was never intended to come off as whiny as he was. I've wondered sometimes if things got lost in translation with him. I also didn't think Hope was particularly whiny, but I'm clearly in the minority on that.

That said, video games (and fiction in general) absolutely use the same character archetypes over and over. As a writer, I don't think it's just laziness. They can also be a really useful tool. Because people are familiar with these archetypes, just showing a few things is enough to give them a good idea of what your character is like and then developing them at your leisure. I thought Lost did this to pretty good effect. They're also great for subverting expectations, but I don't think this is done often enough.

I think Sazh is one of the most realistic characters that's appeared in an FF, and it bums me out to see people reduce him to being a Barret rip-off. Shi't.

I agree with all of this including your opinion of Hope. A lot of my friends told me they couldn't stand Hope and refused to use him in their parties... while me, on the other hand, enjoyed Hope and used him since he has a good range of abilities. The similarities between Lightning and Cloud are definitely there if we get past the sword. Cloud and Lightning both want to protect their friends and family and tend to do it in their own way. Maybe if Cloud had a little sister engaged to Barret, we'd see a similar reaction as Lightning :D

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought Snow's defining aspect is his hero complex, which doesn't apply to neither Zell nor Wakka.

The sad part is that the cast of XIII, while not the worst in the series, aren't that enjoyable either...