10 Loveable Side Characters Who Deserve Their Own Video Games

Every story needs a hero. The hero in any story is the main emotional attachment to the entire narrative; without one, it all falls apart. In gaming, it's particularly essential as the player is often required to make their own choices and decisions to tailor the hero to their own playstyle; whether it's choosing the hero's weaponry, his skills and talents or making conversation choices throughout the experience. This bond between the player and the main character is essential. Equally as essential though is the side character: characters that add depth and variety to the story through their differing personality and traits to the hero. It's always great when we get to see a side character develop alongside our playable hero; it can add a sometimes vital dose of reality to a virtual world. It's sometimes even better if that development happens while the side character is separated from our hero; at the next meeting, we're suddenly more interested in what that character has been up to while we've been apart. Sometimes a side character can break free of their shackles and become a major player themselves. Despite the burden of carrying a whole game on their shoulders for once, side characters tend to have more experimental and fun games based around them to fully differentiate the character from the series they were introduced in. Look at Luigi's Mansion as an obvious example €“ there's no way a Mario game would abandon the platforming formula, so Luigi's starring role allowed for a more interesting take on the Mushroom Kingdom with it's faux-horror principles and different mechanics. That being said, there's still plenty of side characters waiting for their chance in the limelight and the following ten fully deserve that chance. There's a variety of interesting games and stories to be created from this list; developers just need to take the risk and make them.

10. Zelda (Legend Of Zelda)

It's an interesting scenario this; Zelda is the title character of the Legend of Zelda series yet (aside from spin-off Spirit Tracks) she's never been a playable character. The Smash Bros series has shown her unique skill set to the world (including the ability to shift into Sheik) and we definitely think she could feature in her own adventure. It wouldn't even have to be a major escape from the classic Zelda formula; Zelda might not typically wield a sword but with a range of spells at her disposal, magic could become her main offensive power. Even if the game did require Zelda to dive into some melee combat, a quick magical switch to Sheik could change up the gameplay dramatically. Building the story around a classic role reversal (how about Link gets captured for once?) might seem a bit cliché but Nintendo is definitely the company to make it work. To us, this seems like an exciting idea to build a new Zelda title around. Few companies would be willing to experiment with one of their bigger franchises but Nintendo have never been afraid to mix the formula up a bit; a full Zelda adventure isn't horribly unlikely.