Favorite Secondary Main Characters

Aigis, from Persona 3

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She was very easy for me to empathize with because of my aspergers. Saw alot of similar traits in her and me, and I used her as a "role model" to help me when I was still having issues with understanding myself and others. There were many times I just wanted to reach out and hug her and tell her she's not alone. It's hard to think of any other character that resonated with me on the level that Aigis did.

BadWolf said:

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Came here to say this. FF Han Solo > FF Wannabee Luke.

Ni haaaao

Can't think of a better example than Zero from the Megaman X series. You can almost argue that X4 and X5 are more about him than X himself.

My boy Jade stole the show in Abyss.

Elma from XCX

luigi, always and forever. he MAKES superstar saga - the one segment where he's paralysed by fear and cowardice is excellent

also, majima all day

Chandler said:

Aigis, from Persona 3

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Yup, same for me.

Aigis is wonderfully refreshing considering the actual protagonist is (in his initial depiction anyhow) basically a blank slate for the player to fill in. She has a pretty incredibly character growth that can be noticed all throughout the game, which makes her very likable and easy to emphasize with.

Does Raiden in MGS2 count? Technically, I'd consider him the main character of that game. But certainly everyone considers Snake to be the main character of that franchise and they WANTED him to be the main character in MGS2. But I loved playing through that game as Raiden and seeing Snake from an outside perspective. I suppose Raiden in MGS4 fits the spirit of this thread more though. He certainly outshines everyone else in that game whenever he shows up.

It's Ellie. It was a great surprise when we took her over. She seemed like a person, a movie character. Much more then what a video game character typically is.

Street Fighter - Ken. Dude outclasses Ryu, can Ryu make fire come out of his fist? Nah man.
MegaMan X - Zero. Rescues X multiples times, has the coolest themes, and has a light saber.
Sonic - Shadow. Don't care if it makes me edgy. Haha

Gregg in the Woods.

Mae's lucky to be a strong enough main character to not get completely outshone by Gregg, but Gregg is clearly the best.

Auron is a badass in every way possible . His diologue is awesome and his character arc is pretty great as well.



I love the Persona series, but it's fair to say the women while awesome characters are written to "need a male figure" in some way. Makoto don't need no man to shine, with a great effort in everything she does.



Goro Majima has such a great ark in Yakuza 0. You get to see him go through almost every emotion and is really fun as a fighter as well

Absolute GOAT.

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Melia from Xenoblade Chronicles. With all the things she has to endure, you can't help but root for her.

Going with this guy (since Auron was already mentioned lol):



Victor "Sully" Sullivan

Pretty much love his relationship with Nate and is just a fantastic character overall in the Uncharted series. Gave me plenty of laughs while playing.

Becks' said:

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So I'm playing through for the first time and I just did chapters 3&4 and I have no urge to go back to Kiryu. While Kiryu is kind of endearing in a dumb shonen protagonist kind of way (loyal, strong, dependable), it's just not enough to really compel me. He's a punk kid who grew up and that's about it.

Majima on the other hand, is fascinating. A 24 year old that behaves like an old man is funny, but it's reasonable because he's been through some shit. The cabaret angle is a stark contrast to Kiryu, and provides a way more interesting mechanic. While Kiryu is still a kid (and acts like it), he doesn't seem like a bad kid. Just someone who got into a life he didn't want to nor should have in order to impress his dad and now he's just a naive punk. Majima's motivations are far more nuanced and cryptic, the moral dilemma he experiences is really interesting. I really hope I don't have to lose any and all empathy for the guy.

Plus his fighting styles are way more fun. Especially with the whole weapon crafting systems. Kiryu's are fun, but basic. Majima's all about them quick takedowns and it's fun.

BKatastrophe said:

So I'm playing through for the first time and I just did chapters 3&4 and I have no urge to go back to Kiryu. While Kiryu is kind of endearing in a dumb shonen protagonist kind of way (loyal, strong, dependable), it's just not enough to really compel me. He's a punk kid who grew up and that's about it.

Majima on the other hand, is fascinating. A 24 year old that behaves like an old man is funny, but it's reasonable because he's been through some shit. The cabaret angle is a stark contrast to Kiryu, and provides a way more interesting mechanic. While Kiryu is still a kid (and acts like it), he doesn't seem like a bad kid. Just someone who got into a life he didn't want to nor should have in order to impress his dad and now he's just a naive punk. Majima's motivations are far more nuanced and cryptic, the moral dilemma he experiences is really interesting. I really hope I don't have to lose any and all empathy for the guy.

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I am playing for the first time too, I'm on Chapter 8 (every 2 chapters you switch characters btw) and it gets even better with Majima, IMO.

Monica Raybrandt: Dark Chronicle.


You play the whole first chapter as Max and the story's told from his point of view, but Monica's no less important to the narrative or gameplay. They really feel like a team as she's not subservient to him in any way and if anything is the more experienced and better combatant of the two.

Becks' said:

I am playing for the first time too, I'm on Chapter 8 (every 2 chapters you switch characters btw) and it gets even better with Majima, IMO.

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To be fair to Kiryu though, the Chapter 1 boss and the lead up to him is the best sequence in the game so far. Again, only just started Chapter 5 though.

Auron is pure love. That character is a JRPG treasure.

Mona Sax in Max Payne 2 is quite cool, and playable at times as well. For favorite supporting characters in general, a lot come to mind, Lance Vance in Vice City is memorable, Isabela in the Dragon Age games, Garrus in Mass Effect, too many to choose from in FF7, Tifa, Barret, and Vincent for example, everybody is cool.

Ciri in The Witcher 3. She and Geralt are the central characters in the novels, but it wasn't until the third game in the series that we actually got to play as her, let alone even see her. She's spunky, just, and caring, and her relationship with Geralt is one of the best representations of a father/daughter pair in games. Her little adventures as told through flashbacks are quite fun, but it's not until the final showdown with the Wild Hunt that we witness her fully unleash.

LossAversion said:

Does Raiden in MGS2 count? Technically, I'd consider him the main character of that game. But certainly everyone considers Snake to be the main character of that franchise and they WANTED him to be the main character in MGS2. But I loved playing through that game as Raiden and seeing Snake from an outside perspective. I suppose Raiden in MGS4 fits the spirit of this thread more though. He certainly outshines everyone else in that game whenever he shows up.

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No, Raiden is the main character. Snake is secondary.

Zero from Mega Man X

It was so popular and that good than even have his own series, and one of the few Mega Man series with a proper closure.

Felix. Better background that Isaac who gets all the shine because he was in the first game. He seems morally grey for a while until you understand he does that because he learned what would happen if the lighthouse actually didn't get lit.

Also sol blade shits all over gaia blade

Seven Force said:

Can't think of a better example than Zero from the Megaman X series. You can almost argue that X4 and X5 are more about him than X himself.

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Yep. My answer is Zero too. Such a cool character with an awesome design and I preferred his gameplay to X

BadWolf said:

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Balthier doesn't count- he's not a secondary lead character, he is the leading man! :D

My nomination goes to Zero from MMX who pretty much sums up 'supporting character whose star gradually outshines the hero' to me. He even ends up with four games where he is the main character, so maybe that should disqualify him too!

Sully in Uncharted. I can't think of anything that tops that. Does having Evgeni Malkin as my second line center in NHL18 count?

Playing as Ellie in TLOU is possibly the best section of that game.

Laguna and his friends are better than Squall and his friends in FF8.

Clank from Ratchet and Clank:

Well, maybe he isn't a secondary character because his name is in the game series too, but you do mainly play as Ratchet and get a few Clank specific segments in most of these games. Anyways in the first game he served as a calculated and cool counterpart to the hot headed Ratchet and their original disagreements made for some entertaining bantar. Ratchet has become more goodie two shoes since, but still serves as the brawn of the duo while Clank is the brains and gets some sick upgrades too (Helicopter, Jetpack, etc).

Roll from the Megaman series.

Jansen in Lost Odyssey. The party consists of four immortals and a handful of humans, but I almost always had this guy as the sole human in my party. While most of the game revolves around the thousand years that the five immortal characters (including the villain) have been in the world, Jansen is a wise cracking, cynical, otherwise regular guy. He's a window into normality and groundedness that the rest of the story doesn't have, and is infinitely more colorful than the rest of the human cast. Since he's with Kaim from the beginning, he also has a lot of time to grow and bond with the others. He's also one of the few legitimately funny characters I've seen in a JRPG.



Look at this doofus. I can't help but love him

I will forever have a soft-spot for Roman Bellic of GTABIGAMERICANLETSGOBOWLINGTITTIESIV fame. Never turned down an offer to hang with him. He is grotesquely and infectiously the heart and soul of that game.

Bless.

Snormy said:

My nomination goes to Lucina in Fire Emblem Awakening.
Her tale is one of tragedy but her role is vital to the success of Chrom and Robin. While she ultimately achieves success in altering fate it comes at a heavy price to her as she suffers repeated failures and uncertainty throughout. While people compare her to Marth I find her story and character stronger even without all the support

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Lucina is Seliph not Marth
The difference is that Lucina could go back in time to save her dad

Yossarian said:

I will forever have a soft-spot for Roman Bellic of GTABIGAMERICANLETSGOBOWLINGTITTIESIV fame. Never turned down an offer to hang with him. He is grotesquely and infectiously the heart and soul of that game.

Bless.

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You know who's a really similar character?

Zeke from inFamous 1 and 2.



It almost is the same character in a different setting. Zeke is more intelligent, but yeah

Myself, of course. (at least for RE2/RE4)

Mordin. He's the best thing Bioware has ever made.

From the Saints Row series, Johnny Gat and Kinzie. They couldn't be more opposite from the other, but Johnny is pretty much the star of every Saints Row game despite the fact that you create the main character. I thought it was bullshit that he was . And the Gat Out of Hell game really wasn't fleshed out very much. As for Kinzie, I just like the fact that she's a computer geek that doesn't take shit from anyone on the team. She does just as much, maybe even more, than anyone in the Saints. That puts her on par with the MC and Gat.

DaciaJC said:

Ciri in The Witcher 3. She and Geralt are the central characters in the novels, but it wasn't until the third game in the series that we actually got to play as her, let alone even see her. She's spunky, just, and caring, and her relationship with Geralt is one of the best representations of a father/daughter pair in games. Her little adventures as told through flashbacks are quite fun, but it's not until the final showdown with the Wild Hunt that we witness her fully unleash.

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I was about to post this lol

Ciri, for me, it's not only that. She is the best female character in any video game since I started playing video games, more than 23 years ago. Her bravery, design, personality, charisma... are just fascinating.

Definitely this

Becks' said:

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