Well, I'll have to disagree with you on it always being cliche. Luke Von Fabre from Abyss, his developement and the inclusion of Asch is ONE of many Tales examples of being very far from cliche in my opinion.
Also Yuri from Vesperia, what is cliche about him? I think his persona is unique and the way he handles the situations that occur throughout the game is very unique and you never know where you got him.
Just because they INTRODUCE something as cliche, I'd have to say that they are very good at taking it far from the first impression and develop it into something truly unique with depth.
I mean come on, like Dragon Age 2.. lol.. I watched the trailer for it, they narrate about the one and only CHAMPION! The one who can save us all!!
And Mass Effect 2 babble on about them needing a LEADER to save the universe basically, should I ignore playing these titles because the trailers have cliche elements? Hell no, I want to dive into it and see what's REALLY underneath it all. I never base something solely on some trailer, oh hell no.