In Defense Of Chester
Well, in general, Chester doesn't need much defending. I mean, he's not a bad ally to have in battle, his looks can't be complained about since he's an uber-muscular bishie, and he's just plain awesome. Sure, he doesn't get to officially join until, like the last third of the game, but that's Namco's fault. Several characters in Phantasia are quite likeable for their own unique charms, even if a good amount of focus is on Arche.
Chester is a pretty complex character, should one ask why he does the things he does and why he feels the way he feels. I find that very astonishing in a character who made their debut on the SNES, and with the remakes Chester is given further characterization. This is rather rare, considering that despite some remakes such as Final Fantasy IV (GBA) and Chrono Trigger, characterization was never improved upon in either remakes or additions.
Furthermore, Chester's archetype is reused in various forms. For instance, there are several "best friend" characters used in the Tales series who play an important role in the story. Guy from Tales of the Abyss shares a very interesting relationship with the main protagonist, Luke, ranging from hate to trust. Genis from Symphonia also plays an important supporting role to Lloyd. Senel from Legendia's relationship with both Shirley and Stella, though fluctuating between friendship and romance, plays a pivotol role in Senel's development.
Well, okay, so Chester really doesn't need any defending because he's just plain awesome. Anyone who doesn't at least tolerate him has something wrong in their tastes of character. Then again, people probably don't know how Chester is because they've probably never even heard of Tales of Phantasia. Those whipper-snappers are probably too enthralled by Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy to be bothered with games that were actually good when games were more than prettiness.