RPGs are typically known for their grand stories and complex characters.  Alongside turn-based fighting where allies and foes alike take turns slapping each other silly.  Ahem, considering these kinds of games usually give us a wide array of characters that we can choose to travel alongside us, we thought it would be a good idea to honor those teammates of ours that have fought through hundreds of battles by our side and, ultimately, helped us to defeat beings of godlike power at the end of the journey.  If anyone’s stood by us through thick and thin, it’s them.  Major spoilers ahead for Final Fantasy 9 and Kingdom Hearts 2/Chain of Memories, and minor spoilers for Deltarune.

• Swaine from Ni no Kuni – I’ve written about this snarky thief multiple times in the past, but seeing as he’s one of my favorite characters, why not include him once more?  Ni no Kuni is a colorful and kid-friendly RPG that was, frankly, trying my patience with how slow-paced it was.  Eventually, we meet our third member of the team, a thief named Swaine, who is possessed by a Nightmare that’s causing him a huge lack of restraint.  Although his bad attitude really didn’t make me too fond of him at first (to think, a common criminal is actually a jerk!), it wasn’t long before we learn that Swaine is not really a bad person, just a guy who did bad things because of life circumstances and some poor life choices when he was younger.  Is he lazy and foolish?  Yes.  But evil?  No.  He’s also one of the funnier characters in the game and often the only voice of reason when compared to an eccentric fairy named Mr. Drippy and two teens.  It turns out Swaine is a pretty useful member of the team, too, with a special pickpocketing pistol that can open distant treasure chests!  Which kind of makes up for the fact that his gun is surprisingly weak in battle (honestly, is it really a pistol or a BB gun…?).  Fortunately, this very same gun can also be used to steal items from enemies and inflict status ailments, so at least he’s now putting his thieving skills to good use!
• Vivi from Final Fantasy 9 – I recently replayed Final Fantasy 9 for the first time in many years, and I totally forgot how great the characters were.  But the honor of the very best character has to go to Vivi, a shy Black Mage with a rather sad fate.  While Vivi’s not the only character to discover an unsettling truth about themselves, Vivi’s was one of the most tragic.  Spoilers for the game coming up…  Not only does Vivi realize that he’s one of thousands of Black Mages created as part of Queen Brahne’s army, he also has to come to terms with the fact that none of his kind have long to live.  It’s really not terribly different from learning you have a terminal illness, and it made his storyline the most interesting, and the most relatable, in the whole game.  Although Vivi may not have as much time as the rest of us, I’d still say he lived his life to the fullest, making friends along the way and defeating Kuja using his amazing magical abilities.  And at least his memory lives on in the seven copies he makes of himself once the adventure is done…
• Ralsei from Deltarune – Like Vivi, Ralsei is another endearing team member, though unlike Vivi, Ralsei’s healing attacks would make him more of a White Mage.  (Having a party that included both Vivi and Ralsei would be my ideal dream team.)  Ralsei is the dark prince that Kris and Susie meet in the Dark World, and he’s the one who initially tells them about their quest to close the Dark Fountains.  Unlike the aggressive Susie, Ralsei is much more of a pacifist who thinks that all problems can be solved without the need to resort to violence.  Unfortunately, unlike the game that preceded this one, Undertale, solving conflicts is not so simple, causing Ralsei to be a bit too naive and trusting during our first adventure with him.  By the time chapter 2 arrived, however, he was already showing signs of growth in understanding that, sometimes, problems can’t be fixed outside of combat.  Hopefully as Ralsei’s character changes, he will not lose the innocence that makes him one of my favorite teammates.

• Various Teammates from Miitopia – Miitopia is rather unique in that you get to choose, or even make, the faces of every character in the game, friend and foe alike.  The customizability of this game made my team members that much more special to me, as they were characters I chose myself.  The characters I created myself included favorites such as Crispin and Dr. Loboto from Psychonauts, Swaine (from this very same list), and even my Animal Crossing character, Charlotte.  Watching Crispin and Dr. Loboto singing karaoke or exchanging gifts with my favorite characters, even if their presents aren’t always the most thoughtful, are memories I won’t soon forget!
• Axel from Kingdom Hearts 2 – Axel is the eighth member of a group of Nobodies (empty husks with no hearts and, hence, no emotions) called Organization XIII.  While their goal of regaining their hearts sounds harmless, their methods are anything but.  Being a hothead with a penchant for fire magic, Axel is actually one of the least trustworthy members of an already villainous group, as even his own comrades are not safe from him.  That’s why it was so surprising that his bond with the youngest member, Roxas, caused him to have a change of heart (figuratively speaking, anyway).  Because of his friendship with Roxas, who just happens to be the Nobody of our protagonist Sora, Axel actually teams up with you for just a short time at the end of Kingdom Hearts 2 when you are surrounded by Nobodies in a place between dimensions.  While he’s not a teammate for very long, Axel will be remembered for his redemption and the fact that he literally sacrifices his life for you, all for the friend that he can no longer see, but whom he knows is still somewhere within Sora’s heart.