Instances like this make me lose faith in the internet: it keeps whining about Nintendo not making any new IP, and when they do, it whines about Nintendo not making another Metroid / Starfox / FZero / Mother game.

Inclined to disagree about Luke. The first few hours he's certainly insufferable but there are two points that stood out to me as game changers for him as a character.

30) Tear (Tales of the Abyss) 29) Elize (Tales of Xillia 2) 28) Richard (Tales of Graces) 27) Gaius (Tales of Xillia 2) 26) Colette (Tales of Symphonia) 25) Kongwai (Tales of Innocence R) 24) Cheria (Tales of Graces) 23) Estelle (Tales of Vesperia) 22) Leia (Tales of Xillia 2) 21) Reid (Tales of Eternia) 20) Reala…

Personally, while I'm not that surprised that protagonists are as popular as they are, I think that I would've put Jade as number one. I'm also somewhat surprised by how dominant the later games are, though that makes a degree of sense I suppose.

Well, I can't comment on the Xillia 2 pair, not having played it, but I never really liked Collette/Lloyd, mainly because I hate Collette.