I notice that on both sides of this thread the people most vehement in their opinions are those who have mainly kept either tropical or NA natives, rather than a selection of both. I'd like to weigh in as someone who has kept a decent variety of both.
I currently have more cichlids than I can list, (starting with little rams and keyholes, up to Pearsei and Oscars), catfish (Giraffe, achara, mystus, bullhead, cory...), almost every kind of loach available, plecos, a bunch of spiny eel species, sharks (rainbow, hifin), common community fish, bichirs and ropefish, Mormyrids, knives, a dat, various anabantoids, goldfish, darters, sticklebacks, sunfish, dace, mudminnows, shiners, and I used to have salt water, rift lake cichlids, and micro fish as well. I say this list to show that I have had and do have a variety of fish.
First, Tropicals: They are definitely, as a whole group, more colorful than NA natives. There is a bigger variety available. Due to this I keep more tropicals than natives. They are more available for purchase. And many do have amazing personalities (my personal favorites are Oscars and a few other cichlids, spiny eels, my dat, and mormyrids.) Many also have very interesting behavior, if for no other reason than that is so variable due to the variety of species and is different than the more limited selection of species in NA natives.
And now, Natives: They don't need heaters. There are some specific species that are very colorful even when not breeding - Pumpkinseed and Longear sunfish come to mind. They are every bit as beautiful as all but the very most colorful tropical cichlids out there. A lot of darters are also very beautiful all the time, even if they aren't quite as dazzling as they are in breeding season. They are at least on par with your typical community fish, imo.
The place I think natives really win though are in terms of personality, specifically in the smaller natives compared to most tropical fish of similar size. Darters, certain dace, and mudminnows have more personality than all the tropical community fish of similar size I have ever kept. They have more personality than many cichlids twice their size, tbh. They become extremely tame and extremely interactive. They also are very smart and for food they learn to do things like jump out of the water, swim in your hand, or look at the food you point your finger at. And these fish are only a few inches!
I also think in terms of personality sunfish can easily hold their own against cichlids. Most typical sunfish like bluegill, pumpkinseed, longears, etc., are pretty on par in terms of personality with cichlids of a comparable size, sometimes the cichlid may be more personable, sometimes the sunfish. However I think Rock bass and Green sunfish can compete with the likes of Oscars and Pearsei. I had a large Green Sunnie who would leap 6 inches out of the water to grab food from my hand, soaking everything. And my current Rockbass is very, very similar to my Oscars (who I love) in personality, except he is less piggy. Very personable and very smart. He will wait til the feeding frenzy has died down and then come to my hand to get his food (since he is a more deliberate feeder he takes longer toe eat).
Natives hold a special place in my heart because as a kid they were what first got me into keeping fish. I think every serious aquarist should give them a try at least. But they just don't have the variety in terms of species that tropicals do. I also personally love that I can catch my own fish for native tanks - the sense of accomplishment (and free-ness) of looking at a tank of fish I caught myself is gratifying.
So really you can't go wrong with either!
