JRPGs are long ingrained in the gaming landscape and throughout the years, we have experienced some of the best written characters imaginable.
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With so many JRPG series out there, it’s hard to choose your favorite party member, but we’re going to take a shot it. Here are some of the best JRPG party members of all time.
10Vincent Valentine
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy 7
Final Fantasy 7may be the most important game in video game history, and part of that is due to the amazing party members that you’ll get to know throughout the game.
One of those characters is Vincent Valentine, perhaps the original mysterious, JRPG badass.
He has one of the most epic introductions in the genre, waking from a literal coffin in a creepy basement and from there, he shows how awesome he is right off the bat.
Armed with a robot hand and a gun, he cuts a striking figure on the battlefield, butit’s his story that is the most interesting part about him.
He is possibly the father of none other than Sephiroth, which is up for debate, but it’s a definite possibility due to his relationship with Lucrecia, who is confirmed to be the biological mother.
This makes his presence in the party quite an important one, as he has that same level of power running through his veins, and on top of that, he can transform into a variety of beasts, making him an unknown level of threat to the party himself.
The best part about Vincent is that he is an optional character. Back in the day, games were filled with secrets like this, and there was no internet guide to help you out.
You either found him on your own or had a friend in the know, and achieving these little secrets was just something that can never be replicated.
Xenogearsis a monumentalachievement in the JRPG pantheonand the cast of characters you meet throughout the game is a big reason why.
One of the best party members you come across early in the game is Bart. Bart is the prince of Fatima and yet acts like anything but.
For all intents and purposes, he’s the Robin Hood of this game and, on top of that, acts like a pirate for the forces of good.
It’s a bizarre combo that works perfectly due to Bart’s likability as a character. He’s young and reckless but is brave against any odds, and boy, do the odds start to stack against the party in Xenogears as the game goes on.
Bart is the levity of the story for much of it, often lightening the mood, but staying serious when the situation calls for it, and it’s much needed considering how dark everything starts to get after a while.
Combat-wise, he’s pretty unique, too, using dual whips to do his damage. It’s a rare weapon for JRPG characters, and here, both his on-foot and in-gear combat have this satisfying crackle each time you attack, and it makes having him in the party a joy throughout.
The Legend of Dragoon
Legend of Dragoon
The Legend of Dragoonisone of the more underappreciated JRPGs out there, and the party is one of the better ones assembled in the genre.
One of the first characters you meet early on is Rose, a mysterious warrior who saves our hero, Dart, from certain death.
She eventually joins the party as a complete badass and powerful team member.
She’s also very mysterious and acts as a sort of mentor to Dart throughout the game, clearly knowing more than she lets on.
Her ultimate revelation is jaw-dropping, even though it’s foreshadowed quite a bit, and, from that point, she becomes the defacto captain of the team throughout most of the game and plays an incredibly important role.
She also has some of the most interesting visual attacks in the game, which, at the time, were actually quite controversial, but I’ll let you look those up if you’re curious. It’s certainly different.
Final Fantasy 16
Final Fantasy 16was praying, dying for an iconic protagonist tocarry the new wave of the franchise,and luckily for Square Enix, they got one.
But alongside Clive is also one of the best party members any game in the series has seen in Cid.
Cid comes along early in the game, rescuing Clive from his life of slavery and giving him a new purpose in the process.
His revelation as a dominant complicates his character quite a bit and leads to his tragic revelation involving Benedicta.
The tragedy keeps coming when it comes to Cid, as you won’t have him in the party for a long time, but while he’s there, he’s easily the most effective cohort Clive gets to work with throughout the game.
It’s unfortunate that we never get direct control over him as he’s become the breakout star of the series revival and has fans clamoring for more Cid, so maybe we’ll get a spin-off at some point.
Xenoblade Chronicles
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition
Shulk was given the tough role of the next iconic protagonist for anew generation of JRPGlovers to fawn over inXenoblade Chronicles, and succeeded greatly on that front.
But he doesn’t succeed in his journey without his best buddy by his side, Reyn. Reyn is a bit of a meathead, but he’s a lovable meathead.
There with you from the start, Reyn is the ultimate hype man, keeping the party upbeat through the trials and tribulations that befall them.
He’s clearly in over his head, but he doesn’t care. He’s steadfast and also provides some humor throughout the game, with his go-getter attitude often being the source of eye rolls from other party members.
His relationship with Shulk is the heart of the game though, and it’s done very well here. You buy these two as best friends, and it’s due to some great writing and outstanding voice acting work.
Playing as Reyn is a blast, too; as the tank of the party, he can deal with and take damage like a few others in the game and is almost a must-have when it comes to the tougher battles of the game.
It’s disappointing we don’t get to see more of him throughout the series, but any veteran of Xenoblade Chronicles would be more than happy to engage in more Reyn time.
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Cloud is undoubtedly the star of the show inFinal Fantasy VII, but that sometimes distracts from one of the best JRPG characters ever in Barret.
As the leader of AVALANCHE,he was one of the first Final Fantasy characters who felt like a real person.
He had a daughter, he got mad, he didn’t take anything from anybody, he was tough, but loveable and an imperfect leader.
He is also the character we can thank for introducing mature language into the JRPG mainstream for the first time.
Really. we never really saw cursing in games like this until Barret took the stage. But of course, that doesn’t make a character great.
What made him great was his heart. This was not a super-soldier, this wasn’t a member of an ancient race of magically inclined beings either.
He was just a guy who was fighting against corruption and corporate evil in the only way he knew how.
He made for such a compelling leader because of this, and his random outbursts of anger were much needed levity amongst the very serious story taking place.
On top of that, he had a gun-arm. Easily one of the coolest weapons in JRPG history, and seeing bullets fly from a main character in a Final Fantasy game was a watershed moment.
Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht
Xenosagais an underrated gem in the JRPG world, and the game’s mascot is Kos-Mos. As a cybernetic being, you wouldn’t think she would be all that interesting, but you’d be very wrong.
Kos-Mos is a weapon of unfathomable power, but she also has a personality. Granted, that personality starts ice-cold and only starts to melt after a few games, but having her in the party with you is still amazing.
How do you humanize a WMD? Well, Xenosaga manages to do just that, as her relationship with Shion is fascinating, and the reveals about her character get increasingly mind-blowing to the point that it barely feels safe having her in the party anymore.
Still, she persisted as the most memorable character from this franchise. She’s easily the strongest party member and has outrageous attacks that wipe the screen clear whenever you play with her.
Her popularity has stretched beyond franchises, even showing up in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 at one point, and her popularity isn’t going to die down anytime soon.
Lost Odyssey
Lost Odysseyis one of the better JRPGs out there, but it suffered because of when it was released. It had a great cast of characters, but the standout was most definitely Jansen.
Jansen starts as a feverishly annoying character who seems to be nothing more than a chatty, sarcastic womanizer who makes you want to mute your TV.
So why is he on this list? Well, it’s because of what he becomes. As you progress throughout the story, Jansen is revealed to be more than he seems, and you begin to realize the facade he was putting on was not exactly genuine.
Jansen grows to be one of the biggest heroes of the party and stands alongside the immortals of the game as a formidable party member in his own right.
He’s also an incredibly powerful mage in combat, giving the party their only real magic punch in the early hours and proving invaluable as his skill set increases throughout the game.
He starts out as a clown, becomes a true hero, and, in the process, cements his place in our hearts. Well done, Jansen. You could’ve been the worst, but you became one of the best.
Nier: Replicant
NieR Replicant: ver.1.22474487139…
Nier: Replicanthas some fantastic characters, but Kaine is the best of all. Her story is amazing, and discovering her lore and what she means to the bigger plot itself is a great part of the adventure.
It’s her personality that stands out above all. This isn’t your typical JRPG damsel in distress. Kaine is a warrior, and she’s not a particularly modest one.
She trash-talks enemies, curses like a sailor, and, overall, is one of the most aggressive characters any JRPG has ever had.
She’s confident, fierce, and has enough baggage to crash an airplane.
The reason? A Shade possesses her, the main enemy of the game, and this causes her to be pretty standoffish most of the time and completely lose control often.
When she can control the possession, a softer side comes out, revealing someone thoughtful and sympathetic.
When that possession takes over though, she’s filled with rage and literally transforms. Her presence in your party feels dangerous like she could turn the tide at any time, one way or another.
She’s a unique JRPG party member who deserves her own game, as her background is incredibly interesting and deserves to be fleshed out and playable in its own right.
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Chrono Trigger
Chrono Triggeris a game thatstands alone in the JRPG pantheonfor many reasons, and part of the reason is the fantastic characters you get to jump through time with.
This was the nineties, and the mysterious badass archetype was all the rage, and so, of course, Magus was the character everyone wanted to play when he first appeared.
He’s an optional character, so you need to make sure you don’t challenge him the second time you encounter him, and he will then join the party.
Magus is somewhat of an anti-hero inChrono Cross, starting off as a clear villain, but then, it becomes clear that he’s not exactly evil, but rather, over-the-top ambitious.
Magus basically wants to take revenge on Lavos and protect his sister, Schala. He does this by attempting to summon Lavos himself, which, if you’ve played the game, is a bad idea, right?
But Magus doesn’t care, he’s enigmatic, thinks he’s the strongest and cares very little about the consequences of his actions. He laughs in the face of death, and the story revolves heavily around his actions, for better or worse.
This guy could justify a spin-off alone, and nobody would complain. With all the remake-focused energy that Square Enix has lately, maybe that idea isn’t too far from coming to life. We can only hope.
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