Vivi was such an awesome character. IX was full of them actually. It's kind of a shame about the whole last-boss-that-comes-out-of-fucking-nowhere thing, but VIII had a similar problem (to a lesser degree anyway - at least you got to hear about Ultimecia before going off to fight your way through her castle). I guess I wouldn't mind it as much if it weren't for the fact that VI and VII both did such a good job of making you want to kill Kefka and Sephiroth throughout the entire game.
