8 Game Sidekicks Definitely Outshine The Hero

Midna — The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

The main character of the popular Nintendo series The Legend of Zelda is Link. He is also one of the most well-known video game heroes ever. His look and existence alone make him famous, and he’s had a great time living on in other IPs like Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros, even though the series he came from was named after a different character.

A very dark Zelda game, Twiilight Princess introduced players to the main character, Midna, who was the title character. Over the course of the game, Link stays with Midna and treats her like a pet. Midna adds much-needed humor to Twilight Princess, which is mostly dark, and she even makes fun of the hero while giving him advice. She steals Link’s attention more than once because she is the more talkative of the two. In fact, the game’s tagline comes from her. 

Garrus Vakarian — Mass Effect

Garrus Vakarian has always been one of the most well-known characters in the Mass Effect series. He is one of Commander Shepard’s many friends who help him save the world. Players either liked the honest cop who just wants to get the job done side of him or pushed him to be better. But after Shepard dies at the beginning of Mass Effect 2, Garrus grows on his own.

Garrus changes his name to Archangel and becomes Omega’s most-wanted criminal for his work getting rid of corruption there. He steps out of Shepard’s shade to cast his own. In this way, Garrus goes from being Shepard’s helper to a hero in his own right, and the people who learned to fear his codename will agree that he is better than them.

Donald Duck — Kingdom Hearts

Kingdom Hearts is one of the most ambitious game series ever. It combines the hugely successful and popular Walt Disney and Final Fantasy IPs into a single JRPG series, making a beloved game franchise that won the hearts of many players.

Even though the game already had a lot of great, well-known characters, the creators took a chance and added a brand-new character named Sora. Even though Sora was a great character in his own right, the Disney sidekicks like Donald Duck definitely stood out more because they were already famous. Seeing a fan favorite cast powerful spells to protect friends and hurt enemies definitely brings them to the forefront.

Elizabeth Comstock — BioShock Infinite

BioShock Infinite was very different from the other games in the series, which took place in the underwater paradise turned nightmare that is Rapture. Instead, players took on the role of new protagonist Booker DeWitt and went above the clouds to free Elizabeth, a young woman with great powers who was being held captive there.

DeWitt is a strong man who can kill enemies with guns and “vigors,” which give users magical skills at their fingertips. However, Elizabeth is more interesting than DeWitt. Elizabeth can not only go through time, but she also has many sides to her nature. She is strict with Booker and his bad morals, but she feels sorry for Songbird in his last moments, even though he locked her up. Out of the two major characters, Elizabeth, the sidekick, was by far the more interesting one.

Varric Tethras — Dragon Age 2

As usual for BioWare games, Dragon Age 2 has a lot of sidekick characters that can go on adventures with Hawke on Kirkwall. Each character has different skills to make sure the party is well-balanced, and they all have different personalities so that each character and their relationships are completely unique. As of the Inquisition, Varric Tethras was still one of the most popular partners, and it’s easy to see why.

Varric is very charming and funny, and he says some great lines that make you laugh. But that doesn’t mean he’s just there to make you laugh. Varric also has a strong sense of right and wrong and wants to do the right thing by other people, as shown by his friendship with Hawke and his love for other people, like Merrill. Varric is an important figure in his own right, and there are times when he shines brighter than Hawke.

Ada Wong — Resident Evil 2

Ada isn’t really Leon’s partner, but she definitely shows up enough during his situation to be seen as his helpful assistant. She stays mysterious and distant, even when Leon tries to find out why she is in Raccoon City and what her intentions are. Even though she can be played in later games like Drift Boss, she is only a supporting character in Resident Evil 2 and 4.

Due to her serious personality and femme fatale-like personality, she quickly becomes popular with fans, making her a favorite among players even though she hasn’t been played as much as Chris and Leon. Even so, she often shines brighter than Leon in RE2 because she is so badass and saves Leon so many times.

Kaine – NeiR Replicant

This amazing new book in the NieR series introduces us to many interesting characters, such as the big brother who goes out into the world to save his younger sister Yonah, the chatty tome Grimoire Weiss, the shy young boy Emil, and the beautiful but dangerous woman Kaine. They all help him on his quest to find the cure for the Black Scrawl disease that killed his sister in the Sealed Verses.

When looking at Kaine, the main character seems a little weak and lacks all of her fierceness and drive. She is often rude and lacks manners, but that doesn’t take away from how attractive she is. She is often the center of attention instead of the main character.

Morgana – Persona 5

As with most Persona games, the main character is pretty much blank. Players choose what to call them and how they act through dialogue choices. The idea is that the player should project themselves onto the character to make them more real. On the other hand, this makes the main character less well-known than the friends, whose bright designs come with pre-written personalities.

Morgana is one of these friends. She is Joker’s loyal cat companion who shows him the ropes when he goes into Palaces and Mementos and learns how to create a character to fight shadows. This makes it look like Morgana is really in charge, since she’s telling Joker what to do even when he’s at home. This definitely makes Morgana the main character, which is where she should be.