Significant spoilers follow for Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 7, Baldur’s Gate 2, and Dragon Age: Inquisition.
In one of the last scenes of the biopic Tolkien, we see a young version of the eponymous professor musing on the story he plans to write:
‘I suppose it’s about quests, to a certain extent,’ he says. ‘The journeys we take to prove ourselves. About courage. Fellowship. It’s about fellowship. Friendship.’
It’s this sense of fellowship that I find most compelling when it comes to party members in my favourite RPGs. Groups in general are intriguing; the mixture of extremely different personalities working together, the bonds that form, the ones that break, the friendships and romances and betrayals. In some cases, a single party member is enough to win me over to the game as a whole.