Best Non-Permanent Party Members In RPGs

Summary

• Unique temporary party members shake up gameplay strategies in RPGs and provide fresh experiences.
• Characters like Ethel and Aranea bring immense power and charisma to battles, keeping things interesting.
• Having impactful figures like Aria or Joshua as temporary allies adds depth and narrative richness to RPG adventures.

It can be easy to get a little complacent in any given RPG, playing with the same party or followers for such an extended period of time. Eventually, you might just fall into a predictable rhythm with battles, because just sending in Wrex to shotgun some dudes never stops being a viable option.

But what if the game throws you a curveball and brings in somebody else for a short while to shake things up? Suddenly, your strategies change. Whether they’re super powerful or just fun to have around, there have been plenty of fantastic temporary party members over the years to keep things fresh.

12

Ethel

Xenoblade Chronicles 3

One of the key mechanics in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is Heroes, a bunch of charming characters you meet during your journeys whom you can call upon to join your party as an interchangeable seventh member whenever you please. The first you meet is Ethel, and she sets the stage beautifully.

She’s already established as an immensely powerful and strategic military leader, a point further driven home when you have to fight her yourself. So when she joins you early on, you can immediately feel how she helps in battles. Unlike other Heroes, she can only join for a short while (then some stuff happens…), but that just drives home how great she is to have around.

11

Aria T’Loak

Mass Effect 3

Aria makes an impact on players right away in Mass Effect 2, showing off her power as effectively the ruler of the seedy asteroid station known as Omega. Even aside from Omega’s ‘one rule’, her charisma is apparent from the start.

So when she showed up again in Mass Effect 3, many players hoped she would join the team this time around. Thanks to the Omega DLC, she eventually did, albeit just during the downloadable campaign itself. But her intense personality and powerful biotics were well worth it either way.

10

Aranea Highwind

Final Fantasy 15

One of the most tragic byproducts of Final Fantasy 15 having its last few updates abruptly canceled is the loss of planned DLC. One of which was centered on one of the game’s best and most criminally underused characters, the merc and military commander Aranea Highwind.

But as it is, Aranea does join your party of Prince Noctis and his buddies during a dungeon after battling them, and she’s a delight to have around. Not only a great fighter, she’s also all about people going their own way, even voicing her distrust of her own employers. Always question authority, kids.

9

Dame Aylin

Baldur’s Gate 3

One particularly impactful moment in Baldur’s Gate 3 has you encountering Dame Aylin, the immortal daughter of the goddess Selune who’s confined by a necromancer to exploit her abilities. Play your cards right and you can free her, resulting in a powerful new ally.

After being freed and taking some sweet revenge, Aylin is more than happy to aid in your cause, and more so if you also saved her true love, the cleric Isobel. While not a party member, she can eventually become controllable during the game’s finale, giving you a taste of her righteous and radiant power.

8

Shinjiro Aragaki

Persona 3 Reload

Sometimes, a party member is temporary for unfortunate reasons, and spoiler alert, this happens to be one of those times. The class-skipping Shinjiro actually helped start the SEES organization you’re part of in Persona 3 and its various versions, but he left after his Persona went wild and killed an innocent.

But he hasn’t lost his touch, despite doing everything he could to suppress his abilities. He joins up again during the game and is a real force of nature with his massive weapon and Persona, but sacrifices himself to save Ken, the son of the innocent woman who died.

7

Glory

Fallout 4

From the first moment you meet the Railroad in Fallout 4, your eyes are most likely drawn slightly to the left, to the dangerous-looking lady with the minigun. That’s Glory, and when she eventually joins you for a mission, you find out that this assessment was completely correct.

Glory is a synth, just like most members of the Railroad and perhaps a few other Fallout 4 characters. But her laid back attitude makes her a fun temporary party member to have during your joint quest, as does her minigun. To this day, fans still lament that she isn’t a full follower.

6

Goro Akechi

Persona 5 Royal

Even if you haven’t clocked that Akechi has something sinister going on by the time he joins your party temporarily in Persona 5, you’re probably at least a little suspicious. He’s got that look, that ‘rich kid who carries a briefcase to his high school classes for some reason’ vibe.

The point is, even before his big reveal, when he joins you for a little bit, it feels like teaming up with a bad guy for mutual goals. So Akechi’s powerful abilities, while teasing something more, feel all the more like something you’re not meant to have.

5

Beatrix

Final Fantasy 9

Beatrix is quite possibly one of the most fearsome enemies in all of Final Fantasy 9. Every time you face her, she wipes out your whole party with no problem. Luckily, that’s supposed to happen.

But late in the game, she eventually sees the error of her ways and joins forces with the heroes for the sake of her homeland. Controlling her and Steiner through the streets of Alexandria against monsters is a true rush. Now if only she would answer for all the genocide.

4

Joshua Graham

Fallout: New Vegas

The intimidating central figure of the Honest Hearts DLC for Fallout: New Vegas, Joshua Graham remains one of the most impactful characters in Fallout history. This is a guy whose various fiery quotes have transcended the Fallout games themselves.

Considering his past as a founding member of the barbaric Caesar’s Legion, some might understandably not want him on their side. But Joshua’s rage that’s been burning for years makes him an unstoppable companion if you’ll have him during the end of Honest Hearts.

3

Larsa Ferrinas Solidor

Final Fantasy 12

Ah, Larsa, the young Emperor-to-be who would be a lot better at hiding his identity if he didn’t talk like an Emperor-to-be. He’s an example of how the future could be bright in Final Fantasy 12, given his selfless and empathetic nature, a quality that spreads to his liberal use of hi-potions.

When Larsa joins your party temporarily several times as himself or his ‘Lamont’ alias, he not only has some helpful battle abilities, but he also carries an infinite supply of hi-potions that he’ll toss at anyone who needs them. This quality was nerfed in the Zodiac Age remaster, unfortunately, but he’s still a great excuse to get some grinding in.

2

Sara Valestein

The Legend Of Heroes: Trails Of Cold Steel

The trope of the affable teacher turning out to be a super powerful warrior isn’t exactly new, but it never gets old. That’s where things are with Sara and her blade/gun combo in The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel.

She carries herself as sort of less-than-serious, but as a former Bracer, she’s got the skills, and she knows when to use them. You get to have her on your team during a mission (teased in the game’s prologue no less), and she even becomes a full party member in the sequel.

1

Sephiroth

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

He’s arguably one of the most famous baddies in video game history, and it’s not just because of the hair. He’s got the sword and the means to use it. Sephiroth has been an intimidating presence since 1997 in the original Final Fantasy 7, and that hasn’t changed one bit.

In both the original and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, you get to see what it was like fighting alongside Sephiroth in a flashback sequence told by Cloud. As powerful as you might feel with that big Buster Sword, you feel like nothing compared to his abilities. It’s a good thing that all definitely happened the way Cloud told it. Yep. No notes.