What truly sets Western narratives apart from Eastern ones is that the former is plot-driven, while the latter is character-driven.To support storytelling focused on characters, we need an engaging cast that connects with the player.
That is why so manyJRPGspresent phenomenal party members who are incredibly relatable, even if they are teenagers with the power to destroy gods while studying for the chemistry exam on Thursday.
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The best-selling console in the world featured some of the best JRPGs the industry has ever seen.
However, JRPGs are not made only of permanent party members. We also have several temporary characters who briefly join the party and leave, butthat short stay is enough to leave a long-lasting impression.
In this list, I will talk about 10 temporary JRPG party members we wish were permanent but weren’t for some plot reason or because of a mortal wound. That said, viewer discretion is advised because there will be spoilers for some of the JRPGs mentioned here.
Honorable mention to Aerith.
Final Fantasy II
Personally, I would add Ricard to this list because I’m a sucker for Dragoons. But inFinal Fantasy II, he only looks like one because he cannot use Jump, the Job’s staple ability.
That is why Minwu takes the cake.The White Mage is the first guest party member to join our party inFinal Fantasy IIand also one of the best.Not only are his stats way higher than our protagonists', but he also has several high-level White Magic spells available.
For story reasons, Minwu leaves the party - otherwise, he wouldn’t be on this list - but I wouldn’t complain about having him for longer, especially while my party members are self-flagellating to boost their own HP and vitality.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
I had a hard time finding a great temporary party member in the entireXenoblade Chroniclesseries because our fixed cast is stellar. There’s nothing to add or remove, and doing so would mess with those masterpiece games.
However, I did find someone who could counter my own argument, and that someone is Mwamba. First, I’m not saying I’dloveto have Mwamba as a permanent party member. I mean, we forget about him two hours into this 60-hour game. Butdid you know he has a unique class we never learn in the game?Oh yeah.
If you check Mwamba’s status screen, you’ll see he is a Sharpshooter, a non-learnable class. He even has some unique abilities, no matter how odd they are. I’m a completionist. I love exploring every system and feature a JRPG offers me, so if it meant having one extra class, I wouldn’t mind if Mwamba became a fixed hero of ourXenoblade 3party.
Tales of Zestiria
There are many problems inTales of Zestiria, but Alisha wasn’t one of them—that may be because I’m a bit biased since I like spear-wielding characters.The game fooled me like a con man on Tinder because I really believed that Alisha was a permanent member.
Gameplay-wise, I understand why she isn’t. Sorey and Rose having the power of Armatization with a Seraphim is already kind of convoluted in battle. I can’t imagine how the game would handle adding one more character to the fray.
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Sony’s first foray into gaming also brought us a stellar lineup of JRPGs.
On the other hand, it would be great to have another human perspective in the story. Sorey is too goody-two-shoes, and Rose is that sort of chaotic neutral character. Alisha would be the middle ground between the two and would surely bring a nice dynamic to them, especially during theTales ofskit features.
Metaphor: ReFantazio
If there is one game that tricks you well about who is a temporary or fixed party member, it isMetaphor: ReFantazio. This fantasy JRPG even uses Grius as the tutorial model for a game mechanic, only to remove him entirely from our party later on.
I cherishMetaphor: ReFantaziowith all my heart, but if I’m being honest, I didn’t really connect with several of the main characters, evenafter doing their Bonds. Heismay was the one I liked the most, and a big part of that is because,as a father, I related a lot to him.
That might be my primary motivation for wishing Grius were a permanent party member. I can already picture him sitting with Heismay on the deck of the Gauntlet Runner, gulping alcohol under the cover of night, talking about parenthood.
I think that as I get older, I crave older and more mature characters in JRPGs. Well, that didn’t come off as weird at all.
6Jowy Atreides
Suikoden II
I won’t spoilSuikoden IIfor you who haven’t played this masterpiece yet, but just the fact that you know Jowy is a temporary character should already raise some suspicions. Also, if you haven’t played it yet, stop reading this and go playSuikoden IIright now!
Before I digress further, I understand why Jowy can’t be a permanent member of our humblecast of 108 party members, but it doesn’t change the fact that I wish he were.It’s because of him that Riou becomes who he is, for better or worse.
Jowy’s arc is also meticulously well done. It’s no wonderSuikoden IIis consideredone of the best JRPGsin the industry, and I attribute a lot of that to how Jowy was developed in parallel with Riou’s growth.
There’s a reason why I always aim for the true ending ofSuikoden II, and much of that is to avoid making a certain choice at the end of the game. After all the tragedies in the story, I only wanted to use Riou and Jowy’s Unite Attack one more time, lovingly nicknamed Buddy Attack.
5Shinjiro Aragaki
The entire theme ofPersona 3is about death, sono one should be surprised at the chance that a party member permanently dies, right? Well, I was with Shinjiro.All the death flags were there, but for some reason, I thought Akihiko would be the one to kick the bucket.
Shinjiro’s death is quite like a necessary trigger for Ken and Akihiko to live to the fullest, and it works. Which is a bummer, because as a party member, there are several builds that can make Shinjiro one-hit KO bosses. Oh, maybe that’s why Atlus offed him.
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But there you have it. One of the most physical powerhouses in the game is dead, just like that, thus making him a temporary party member inPersona 3andPersona 3 Reload. “He doesn’t die inPersona 3 Portablefemale main character route,” says someone in the comments after ignoring every word I’ve written.
It seems like even JRPGs have some common sense regarding characters who are way too young in the story, like Sue inGrandia. Justin’s best friend follows him until halfway through the game before her body starts to take its toll.
She ends up bedridden, and evenwhen she physically recovers, Sue decides she will stop adventuring.Her diagnosis is simple: an 8-year-old girl shouldn’t go through so many tribulations and stress as an adventure. At first, Sue tries to hide her true feelings, but she breaks down, turning the whole farewell into a heart-wrenching scene.
Sue’s absence deeply impacts the party dynamic since she was the one who brought a childish naivete to the adventure. Besides, gameplay-wise, we also lose the best support character. But it was necessary. Sue’s farewell makesGrandia’sepilogue even more emotional and perfectly wraps up Justin’s adventure.
Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy 9
I’m not one of those who dislike Steiner. I understand his archetype and why he is so stiff and a stickler for rules. But if someone offered me the choice to swap Steiner for Beatrix inFinal Fantasy IX, the tin man would become scrap metal on the spot.
It’s a no-brainer when considering battle prowess.Beatrix is double the woman Steiner will ever be.She’s sort of a Paladin, wielding Sword Arts similar to Steiner’s and also several white magic spells. Beatrix can support and kill in the same measure.
While Steiner’s goofiness has some charm, it can never beat a badass female character done right. Also, the game never really settles if we do manage to defeat Beatrix since, in her boss fights, she puts our party members in a near-death state before the battle ends.
Breath of Fire III
At the beginning ofBreath of FireIII, Rei saves Ryu, an orphan in the forest. Apparently, he has a knack for that because the Woren had just done the same with Teepo, another lost kid. This kicks off an impromptu family of thieving brothers.
They end up splitting for plot motives, and only a grown-up Rei returns to the party. But initially, we do control a young Teepo. While Rei is more of a physical-oriented attacker and Ryu is a bit of both, Teepo is the bonafide magician and causes real havoc with spells, especially his staple Simoon.
There are several implications that didn’t allow Teepo to continue as a permanent party member, and some of those may have been reused in Fou-Lu fromBreath of Fire IV. Still,I’d love to see two party members with dragon transformation power, each with their specialty.
For a long time, some fans were trying to create aBreath of Fire IIImod that tells Teepo’s side of the story as he grows up and becomes the Dragon Lord. But alas, apparently, they dropped this initiative.
Chrono Cross
Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition
Who knew a sarcastic and enigmatic jester that speaks franglais would be so endearingand, at the same time, so pivotal to a dimension-hopping, time-traveling plot, hey? But that’s JRPGs and their unlimited potential to innovate.
I know there’s a loophole where you can get Harle as a permanent member, but I’m not counting that. In one normal playthrough, not considering New Game+, Harle is a temporary party member while we’re in the Temporal Vortex, much to my unhappiness.
There are so many party members inChrono Crossthat missing one isn’t that impactful, mainly in battle. We always end up using the same characters, don’t we? Lenne for support and Glenn to dish out physical abuse to monsters.
But there’s one reason I’d love to have Harle as a permanent character, and it would be to save her from her tragic fate. She’s mysterious, lovely, deeply melancholic, and misunderstood for most of the part. When we do grasp what’s happening with her, it’s too late because she’s gone.
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