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I wanted to talk about this for awhile; get my thoughts out on these forums, and maybe we can get some good discussion going. This is regarding the three main characters of Birth by Sleep: Terra, Aqua, and Ven. I don't like them. Not in the sense that they're "annoying characters" or in context of the game they're bad; it's literally because I don't think Square did a good job on establishing their personalities, characteristics, and most importantly, the character relationships between the three of them. When we compare them to the original trio Sora, Riku, and Kairi, they just seem...bland and boring. Terra is a teenage boy with a lust for Darkness inside his heart. Okay, so what's next? We basically know nothing about him aside from that. He goes to a world, becomes a villain (usually due to stupid decisions), learns his mistake, then becomes a villain again in the next world. It's unbelievably frustrating. Ventus is the youngest of the trio, and boring as hell. He acts somewhat similarly to Sora, but just less...interesting. Sora had specific traits and qualities that made him somewhat unique amongst others, even if his personality is the typical cliche "naive happy-go-lucky child". Ventus is basically a slightly diminished version of Sora's personality...with nothing else. The only thing of significance that's related to him is Vanitas, and even then, that doesn't stop him from being forgettable. Aqua is perhaps the most level headed out of the three, but honestly she doesn't have many interesting traits either. Ironically though (despite her awful voice acting in the English version), she is probably the most interesting out of the three (that's not saying much though) as she's the only one with a logical mind, and has a motivation behind her actions as she's trying to lookout for Terra and Ven, being the only Keyblade Master of the three. That being said, I can deal with these problems. However, what I do have grudge against is the relationship between the three. Their dialogue is awkward, and their friendship just doesn't seem very legitimate. The game attempts to prove their friendship at the beginning by showing them interacting for a few minutes and having a few sparring matches. The problem is that it really doesn't show me anything or give me any clue that they may be friends. They try to make up for this lack of character development by adding it on later on in the form of flashbacks, but that doesn't show me anything either. It just seems that the game is trying to desperately tell you that they're friends, even if they don't seem to act like so. You can't do that. You can't just tell me, "these people are friends" and expect me to believe that. People said the ending of BBS was depressing and sad. For me, I didn't feel anything. I didn't connect with these people throughout the game. The game told me they were friends, alright, but that's not enough for me. You have to SHOW me that they are friends with each other, that they care about each other, and show me HOW their character interaction/development strengthens their friendship. Just telling me "these three people are friends" is not enough, because if I don't see it in the way they act, I won't give a *** about their characters. Terra is left only with his lingering sentiment in the form of an armor. Aqua is stuck in the realm of darkness. Ven lost his heart and is likely to not wake up for a very long time. So what? I don't care. I don't care about these characters at all. The game attempts to build this weak friendship, and expects me to care about their tragic fates and sacrifices, but in the end, all I see are three characters meeting a tragic end. And that isn't enough for me. Perhaps a perfect example of what character development between friends should be like is actually 358/2 Days. Say what you want about the repetitive story and gameplay; the bond formed between Roxas, Axel, and Xion was unbelievably well done. You can tell they were friends. You can tell they cared about each other a great amount, even thought they supposedly can't feel. The game does so well in conveying that sense of friendship to you that you genuinely cared about them. Why do many people say Xion's death is the saddest scene in the series? It's because you formed a strong connection with the idea that those three are friends, so you genuinely felt sad when Xion dies in front of Roxas's eyes. This matters in a game where friendship is such a heavy theme. It was almost vital that BBS nails this bond between their three main characters, because that's what makes the story intriguing and captivating. Unfortunately, the way they presented the characters were poorly done, and they just didn't spend enough time on the three character's relations with each other until they progressed the plot. That is where BBS's story falls; it attempts to build a friendship, rushes it and fails, then attempts to get you to care about the characters that you know little to nothing about.