In general I disagree with the thought that having a mute hero to whom you assign lines means that you, the player, shape his personality. This is because usually the responses you're asked to give has as much personality -to- them as 'Yes' or 'No.' In fact, in Chrono Trigger, it was often just that. The only time I can remember clearly is the first part, when you can either choose to be an asshole or choose to be kind (although even things you do that allegedly make you a jerk are really not all that bad, as it's not a stranger's responsibility to return another stranger their kitten, and it's not like that guy's lunch had his name on it...). Then again, it has been a few months since I played CT. Perhaps there were other instances I'm forgetting, but for the most part Crono was pretty damn bland. And I would say the same for most other mutes. Based on the choices you can make when they're asked a question, either they come off as one of two ways--a jerk (saying 'No' when someone asks you to help them, for example, or if someone asks if you want to hear their story), or a good, virtuous person (and more often than not you're forced into the latter category). So, no, I do not like mute heroes; I think the hero muteness was the biggest fault of games like CT. That doesn't mean Crono wasn't as cute as could be (he was), I just wished he could have had his own lines (a la characters like Tidus and Squall--they speak on their own, but you can choose their lines from time to time as well. I mean, I heavily disliked Squall, but the boy did have a personality).

I say that Ari has a degree of personality only because it's so glaringly obvious that he's a pushover (he's even called this in the game). It's like he almost has a reason to be mute, because no one would listen if he said anything anyway.