So, you wonder why I like Rydia so much? Of course you do, otherwise you wouldn't be reading this page. Okay, here you have my thoughs about FF2/4j. Go ahead and read if you really don't have anything else to do...

First of all, who actually is my favorite character?
When I first started to play FF4, I didn't know. I think I liked Cecil all along. I also liked Kain. But then he left. And the next time I saw him, he was working for Golbez! Kain, you traitor...
Back to Cecil. With no Kain (and no idea what happened to him as you find that out later when you enter Mt. Ordeals), I had to like Cecil, the only one I got. Hey, I had fun in Mysidia. The first time I entered the town I said to myself "Mysidia?!? Oh great, these people probably love me after what I did". And I was right. ^^; Well, by the time Cecil became a paladin, I really believed he was my favorite (he's so cute, don't you think?).
Just wait and see. Later Rydia returns. The older Rydia, with those neat new call spells.
But then I got Edge the Ninja. Wow. Cute, too. And he had two great abilities - Sneak & Dart. Gotta love him. Oh great... Hey, who am I gonna choose? I also got Kain back. And then there's Rosa.
I must admit, when I had finished the game the first time I still thought Cecil was my favorite. But in the end, it turned out to be someone else.

My first impression of Rydia?
Kaipo, the village in the middle of a desert... (which I had problems to find the first time. Can you imagine that? *looks a bit embarrassed* ^^;; )
Well, first Cecil got to fight those guards. That wasn't so easy - maybe I had too low level. Hey, I didn't die! Anyway, then Rydia joins him. Wait a minute, Cecil killed her mother and she goes with him? Oh my, this girl's something.
Rydia the Caller. She wasn't such a good fighter, but she was the first wizard I got. I always liked wizards, so I liked her. Well, at that time my favorite was still Cecil... but I found Rydia most interesting.
A caller? As FF4 was my second RPG (I did finish FF1 before I started playing FF4) and I had never even heard of call spells, that was something that caugh my attention. And I found those useful. Well, the first call (Chocobo) isn't that powerful. So what? Hey, I always thought that looked cool...

And the older Rydia?
As I said, those new call spells were really something. And you could learn more. Like Leviathan - I always loved that one. Learn? Well, this is a role-playing game, right? You can choose the spells you want. Most of them anyway.
Older Rydia is powerful. No more white magic, but who needs it when you have Rosa and Cecil the Paladin. And when it comes to black magic... who wants to use weapon attacks when you can wipe out all the enemies with a single spell? Who cares if Rydia's normal attack is weak, she is a wizard!! And ethers aren't that expensive... (Okay, they are. Hey I've never had any problems with money in FF4. What, don't have any? Go kill a few monsters...)

What about the other characters?
Alright, let's see. Cecil was my favorite for a long time... Well. Kain? I always liked him, although he was a traitor. He didn't want that. Golbez was the bad one, he used poor Kain!
Tellah? He's okay. Edward? A bard. He's not that useful, but... Uh, forget it. Rosa? I like white wizards. Yang? Cool. Palom and Porom? All I can say... Kids!
Who's next? Cid. Let's say that I like him but not that much. Then Edge. I told you already, he rules. And last but not least, FuSoYa. He knows all black and white magic and you know already how I feel about wizards... need I say more? There you have it.

What's the meaning of all this?
Right. I was supposed to tell you why I like Rydia of Mist. I have played FF4 a lot, but I've only finished it twice. Never had the time for more I guess. I still love playing it, much more than FF6 or FF7.
I slowly started to like her, I guess. Sure, the other cast impressed me, but she was special. She is young, but wise and powerful. And she knows what she's doing. She's also beautiful. And she has such a lovely name. Rydia. It sounds so perfect.