Well, Riou and McDohl's lives, before the start of the game, were pretty good. It's just that their road, IMHO, was so much more difficult than Hugo's. So actually, I wonder if Hugo and Chris will end up going through angst in the future, with the whole Tragic True Rune theme. So far Hugo has few tragic elements, just heroic ones.

I guess in SIII I find with the contrast between Luc and The Flame Champion a huge emphasis on the importance of personal relations, etc., but with Chris and Hugo, it doesn't seem as if they were sacrificing much. Jimba removed his rune himself, before the game started but after he left Chris behind in Zexen. So I think he only started aging after, which is why he doesn't look that old.