I've heard about that as well.
But she is still her own character with her own personality no matter what.
Agreed.
A friend of mind said Namine was a lame recolor.
Guess who I showed him?
At the very beginning, when CoM was only conjured, yeah. But they changed their mind soon enough.
I still laugh whenever I remember Nomura was afraid for Aqua's popularity because she wasn't linked to anyone on an existential level :V oh, Nomura, if only you'd have worried about Namine...
I wasn't too fond of Aqua anyway; I'd care less if they connected her with Kairi.