Should the comparison be to nationwide demographics? If we restrict to the demographics of Georgia, that 13% changes to 30%.

Anybody who initially rejected Link from Wind Waker wasn't a fan.

Wow. I had always thought that the Elastica song was an homage.

I see what you're saying, but I always considered Shadow as a "bonus" character of sorts. Whether he lives or dies has no impact on the main story of the game, and his dialogue and interactions with the other characters are minimal. He's less than a diversion; he's a bonus for players that are "in the know".

I also lost Shadow back when I played FFIII (It will never be FF6 to me.), and I have always regretted it. I've never revisited a Final Fantasy game after completing it, but I've always thought that someday, I would go back and finally save Shadow.

My daughter (7) likes all of them.