I often find I'm not as drawn to FFX fandom as I am to, say, FFVIII or others. And I wonder why! I think part of it is just the distinct lack of a character I can relate to, on some levels. In FFIX, the characters are very much defined by who/what they are -- and because that's a weird sentence, I'll explain: Garnet's a white mage and a princess, and a lot of her personality comes from that. Steiner's a knight, and his personality comes from that. The classes also seem to define their personality traits. Whereas in a game like FFVIII, say, Quistis is a Blue Mage, but her personality is just like any other random person you'd meet in a military academy. So... I don't know, for exploring characters it's a little more relatable.

I loved Beatrix. I loved having a noble enemy who was also female, and not just some hardass but stunningly beautiful AND ALSO SHE BEATS THE SHIT OUT OF YOU. I would have loved to have her in the party permanently, definitely.

Zidane I liked, although he also did the good-hearted spunky/happy thing a little too much... but that's what your main character is for! And once you find out about him it's hard to believe he is so carefree with everything.