Is My Novel's Character Under Copyright Infringement?

[Boomkin40]

I'm currently writing a book that I hope to publish in a few years. I've been developing the characters that are in the novel for a very long time (at least nine years), but when I first began making them, I did it for fun and took a character off of a popular video game series called Final Fantasy.

The character I originally took is named Zidane Tribal, the main protagonist of Final Fantasy 9. When I began playing around with this character, I found myself changing things about him and quickly he became an entirely different character.
Except for a few... notable similarities.

Here's a brief list of the similarities the original character and mine share:
- They share the same first name, though the last name is remarkably different (Zidane Tribal vs Zidane Lesyee)
- Their hair color is the same (both blonde)
- Their basic eye color is the same (Tribal's is a deep blue, while Lesyee's has an in-human racial trait that shifts the amount of blue in his eyes)
- They both posses a tail that is a trait of their race (Tribal comes from a human-like race of rats while my character is a mixture of two separate, and original, races. The tail comes from a beast-like form that occurs at birth.)

Everything else (personality, clothing, motives, background, other traits/quirks, etc) is completely different. My character even sets himself further apart from Tribal due to his mix of races, giving him a few very shocking physical mutations (for example: his ears), though this is not revealed until later on in the book.

I really want to publish my novel with the exact character I have created, but I'm afraid I won't be able to due to how similar they are. Granted, I truly believe that the farther readers get into my book, the more original they will see Lesyee to be, but I'm afraid that the first impression will have me sued by a very powerful company. I have been reading up a lot on copyright, and I am under the impression that it tends to be a different matter when graphic (or visual) characters are compared to literary ones.

So, to wrap this up, I have two questions:
Is there a chance that I could keep this character the same way he is now?
Will my chances of not being sued increase if I introduce his full name at the beginning of the book?

Thank you so much for your time.

[AFFA]

I wish to inform you that if your character in the novel draws heavily from the popular character and looks alike so that a reasonable person is not able to differentiate the two separate characters then you may violate the Copyright of the other party and may be penalized for it. You may seek permission in the beginning in writing from the other party and take its concurrence for use of your character without Copyright infringement. Alternatively, you may change the name and looks of your character in the novel to make it look different and thereby prevent violation of Copyright of the other party.

AFF

[Lexus]

I would like to say that even while a book is copyright protected, others can quote limited portions of the book within the "fair use" doctrine. A columnist or a literary critic, for instance, could reproduce several sentences from the book when evaluating the work. No permission needs to be sought from the copyright holder for such limited reproduction. How extensive a portion can be reproduced within the fair use doctrine depends on various factors. Often, only an experienced legal professional can provide a realistic opinion on what constitutes fair use. Disputes do arise due to differences in opinion between users and copyright holders of books, and they are sometimes resolved in the courts.

[Franklin]

Maybe you should alter the traits of your character so it is not easily recognizable at first. I'm thinking the hair and eye colors. There's a difference between inspiration and plagiarism, and you're bordering on plagiarism.