Can't Drop the Hero: Difference between revisions

See Also: [[Required Party Member]], when it's Alice, Charlie, Dave, or Emily that's forced into your group; and [[We Cannot Go on Without You]] when the death of Bob stops the entire plot; even if Alice could [[Only Mostly Dead|resurrect them.]]

 

 

* Most of the ''[[Dept. Heaven]]'' games play this straight. ''[[Knights in The Nightmare]]'' is a bit unusual in that while you're always required to have the heroine in your party when she's with you, battles where she actually accompanies you only take up about a third of the game. ''[[Yggdra Unison]]'' notably averts this completely—you don't have to bring your main characters into battle at all, though it's recommended that you do.

 

* After beating the main plot of the ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon]]'' games, players are allowed to create ''any'' party they want, assigning any recruit to take the lead and let the hero and partner sit on the sidelines. This lets players ensure they have an advantage in most dungeons. However, certain post-game plot dungeons go back to playing it straight, making the hero and partner [[Required Party Member]]s.

 

* In ''[[SaGa Frontier]]'', you're allowed to send out any party on any fight, whether it has the protagonist in it or not.

* In ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'', the trope is played straight for the majority of the game, but some kind of crisis forces the main character out of the party temporarily. The crisis is resolved, but thereafter the main character can be freely switched out for the rest of the game. When ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'' came out, this was an insanely cool development.

*** Terra, Celes, and Locke probably have the most instances where they have to be in the party but [[FF 6]] is the only one in the series that is mostly completely devoid of this trope. This mostly have to do with the fact that there really is no main character. Though many would agree that Terra is the most plot important character, you don't even have to get her for 2nd half of the game. Heck Terra's probably the one character who spends the most time out of your party.

** ''[[Final Fantasy IX]]'' did some aversions, however most of them were when your perspectives were splitting, such as when the party is split up in Desert Palace. However, in the final dungeon, you are free to remove Zidane from your party freely if you wish. (You still walk around with him, though.)

* Both ''[[Knights of the Old Republic (video game)|Knights of the Old Republic]]'' games have scenes in which you control only one or two characters while the hero (you) is imprisoned: the escape from the Leviathan in the first game, and Freedon Nadd's tomb and multiple sections of Nar Shaddaa (including Goto's yacht) in the second. There is even a section in part two where you have to split the team in two, with one full-strength party led by you on the main mission, while the other (led by a party member of your choice) provides a distraction.

** ''[[Jade Empire]]'' used the same technique in {{spoiler|the siege of Dirge}}, ensuring that ''all'' party members had a role to play in the event. It should be pointed out that all three games otherwise followed this trope, although the party probably doesn't want to leave {{spoiler|Revan}}, the Exile, or {{spoiler|the last Spirit Monk}} behind.

*** The battle theme only has 2 factors: Felix and Isaac. If Felix is in the party, his theme will play. If Felix isn't but Isaac is, Isaac's theme will play. If neither Isaac nor Felix is in the party, Jenna's theme will play, even if Jenna isn't either.

** They probably allowed Felix to switched out because Isaac is also the main character, probably more so than Felix.

* ''[[Dragon Age Origins]]'' has two sequences near the end of the game where you can take control of a group of characters without the Warden, once to {{spoiler|break the captured Warden out of prison}} and once to hold Denerim's gate while the Warden hunts the Archdemon.

* Played straight in the ''[[Suikoden]]'' series until being partially subverted in the fifth game. You cannot remove the main character from the party, but since it is made up of six battle slots and two follower slots meant for non-combatants and [[NPC]]s, he and another mandatory party member can be placed in the follower slots and switched with battle members like any other battle-capable character.

* In ''[[Star Ocean]] First Departure'' you can swap any party member in and out of the main party and even choose which one you directly control while the others go to their AI script.

* Averted in ''[[Xenoblade Chronicles]]'', where anyone can be the party leader, and is also the only character you control directly in combat and on the field.

 

* In ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]'', you can play without Ramza in random encounters, but not story battles. More importantly, if you try to actually dismiss Ramza from your party, you get specifically told you can't. If you try it in the endgame, Ramza outright tells you "I'm you. This is my story."

** This also applies to ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics Advance]]'' and ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics A2]]'' with their respective main characters, who also can't be Dispatched on missions since that would mean leaving the party when they possibly might be needed for something plot-related.

[[Category:CRPG Tropes]]

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]