We all know the hero is the face of a video game franchise, but few realize that the sidekick companion is often the heart. You may be doing all the running and jumping, but there's no way you could keep it up without solid support. That's what these sidekicks offer: friendship, power-ups, unique abilities, cutesy sprite animations, healing items, exposition and a whole lot of heart. Without them, these games would lose their friendly flavors. Honestly, who would you rather hang out with, the dour military guy with no sense of humor or the smiley nerd who builds him machines? We list the best video game companions.
Best Video Game Companions
Where would you be without a little helping hand every now and then? A the bottom of a bottomless pit, that's where. Let's pour one out for the best video game companions who helped us save the princesses and never once asked for a reward.
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By Evan Saathoff November 23, 2011 |
Credit: Nintendo
| 11 | Doc Lewis |
It didn't matter how many times you were knocked down for the count. It didn't matter how many tries it took to figure out how to beat King Hippo. It didn't matter that you dedicated your entire life to fight Mike Tyson only to lose it all in the first few seconds of the first round. Doc Lewis had your back.
We should all be so lucky to have such a fervent supporter in our corner. Without Doc's wise words, we would have just crumbled in intimidation at Bald Bull's bull charges, if we could have even made it that far. Here's to the greatest positive energy force the world has ever known. We love ya, Doc.
Credit: Square
| 10 | Lucca Ashtear |
We've already discussed the nerdy sidekick, and we also took a look at the hot sidekick. What happens when you mix the two together and have one massively great video game companion?
Chrono Trigger's Lucca may not be the most fun character to play (though, she's not horrible), but she commands one of the greatest roles in the game due to her genius mixed with her youthful inexperience. Nearly every great event in the game relates directly to Lucca, from inventing the time machine in the first place to fixing Robo. Plus, you need a sidekick with lots of character when your main guy is mute. Lucca fills this role nicely.
Credit: Valve
| 9 | Companion Cube |
The Weighted Companion Cube is just that: a lifeless cube you're tasked with keeping safe in the first Portal game. A funny thing happens, however, as you take the hunk of junk from room to room: you begin to fall in love.
Isn't that sweet? Sadly, the darkly, comical game fosters this relationship only to later force you to euthanize the Weighted Companion Cube in an incinerator. It's not like the cube tragically dies because you weren't there to save it. No, you bring that little guy to the gates of Hell and push it in yourself. Basically, the game turns you into a monster.
Credit: Capcom
| 8 | Rush |
There's no relationship on Earth quite as pure as that between a boy and his dog. When the dog is a robot that can turn into pretty much any kind of tool imaginable, you've got a match made in friendship Heaven.
As anyone who has suffered through the Mega Man games can attest, you need all the help you can get. These games will suck the will to live right out of you. Rush helps even an unfair playing field, and for that alone he's one of the all-time best video game companions.
Credit: Square
| 7 | Chocobo |
The role Chocobos play shifts from one Final Fantasy game to the next. Sometimes they're just in the background. Sometimes they're transportation. Sometimes they're a monster you can summon. Then, sometimes, breeding and racing them is a mini-game you end up playing more than the actual story. However their appearance and usefulness changes, these big, yellow birds are always there to let you know you're playing a game of worth, or Final Fantasy IX.
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