The 8 Greatest Video Game Sidekicks

As a gamer, especially as an RPG gamer, I've come across a few terrible NPCs (non-playable characters) to say the least. But, there have always been a good amount of excellent sidekicks in the video game realm. Here are some of the best. 

GLaDOS from Portal 

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Sidekick support: No support, really. Just provides comedic relief in the most hateful way possible.

She’s actually the antagonist of the series. Still, her comedic timing and clever quips make up for her many attempts to kill you, especially since she’s the only one you stay in contact with throughout the entire game. In a way, it's sort of endearing, right? Eh. Maybe not. Though, the amusement factor does help her case tremendously.

Mickey from Kingdom Hearts 

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Sidekick support: Second chance and a reliable healer.

Odd, because at least for the first Kingdom Hearts, the AI wasn’t all that advanced and you usually had your sidekicks (*ahem* Donald) rarely help in battle. They would heal you directly AFTER you healed yourself or die within the first two attacks. I'm not bitter. No, not bitter at all.

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But the game developers put special care into Mickey (and Riku!). In Kingdom Hearts II, he was the one who would swoop in when Sora died and you had a brief period of time where you controlled him. With all those flips and all that agility, it felt like controlling Yoda. He was even better in Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep when he fought alongside Aqua. He did a great deal of damage (yeahhh, there was a time when I just sat back and watched him hack away at that life bar) and saved me more times than I expected.

Navi from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 

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Sidekick support: Information.

Uh, did I say best? I meant worst for this one. No, no. She was fine. Anyone who has played Zelda knows that Link comes across a variety of companions. Navi, the fairy friend in Ocarina of Time is extremely informative, unless you’ve played the game for the 100th time, then she just becomes annoying. I’m tempted to add Midna instead of Navi, but part of me is pleased by the fact that I might trigger some people’s dumbfounded wondering over why I put Navi on my list.

Miles "Tails" Prower from Sonic the Hedgehog

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Sidekick support: Two player ability and air support.

I kind of want to include Knuckles here, just because the later Sonic games had him as your sidekick and he was awesome, but the nostalgic side of me, the younger side, the one who had Sonic and Tails, definitely wants to say Tails is the best sidekick. I remember always wanting to try out Tails, at least once because, heck, he could fly!!

Personas From the Persona series

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Sidekick support: A manifested personality that evolves from social choices and battle. Also, gives you the ability to fight unseen monsters.

Okay, okay. I have NOT yet played Persona 5 (I know! What a crime.), but I have played Persona 3 and greatly enjoyed it. Two particular characteristics carry over in all Persona games: that your manifested personality, your persona, is affected by social choices throughout the game, and that both shadows (enemies) and personas are broken into tarot card categories, each with their own strengths, depending on real world and shadow world interactions.

Summons from the Final Fantasy series

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Sidekick support: Depending on the series, they could be a form of worship and/or resurrection (FFXV) or perhaps even a connection to the dead and ultimate weapon for the big bad (FFX), but really they’re just beasts/gods/critters you use to battle monsters. Chocobos are included! They have been used as summons before.

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Summons and chocobos have appeared in the Final Fantasy series since Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy II respectively. Summons are ALWAYS a powerful attack, no matter the game, and later, usually have stunning cinematics to accompany them. Besides, the summons tend to repeat throughout the series, yet differ ever so slightly from game to game. Hm, are all final fantasies parallel universes?

Elizabeth from BioShock Infinite

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Sidekick support: Emotional investment, complements main character’s personality, and is actually useful.

Bioshock Infinite was brilliant in many ways, one of them being the AI companion that follows you throughout the series, Elizabeth. Finally, a sidekick that doesn't typically die within the first 3 minutes of battle.

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Though I won’t delve into the spoiler territory, I will say that having Elizabeth by your side adds not only to the story as a whole but also the gameplay. There are certain instances in the game where Elizabeth will find coins on the ground and chuck them towards you. Thankfully, Booker is a pretty good catch. Again, not venturing into spoiler territory, but she's a key piece of the plot and quite the interesting character.

Pocket/Digital “Monsters” from Pokémon and Digimon

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Sidekick support: Best friend! Has emotional/cuddle/battle support.

How could I NOT add Pokémon for best sidekicks? Who wouldn’t want a gaggle of monsters you could carry around in your “pocket” to battle friends or total strangers? I mean, you were able to choose a starter Pokémon, making it seem interesting to say the least. Who would ever trade their starter? There’s a sense of loyalty there.

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I also want to add digimon to this list as well. I mean, to have a monster that's tailored to your specific personality and needs, that you could connect with whenever you’re on the internet. After all, we’re always connected to the internet anyway, so you could basically see them 24/7.

Having an NPC that is informative, provides battle support, and contributes to the story and heart of the game is always welcome. They simply make the experience much more enjoyable and feed my fangirl heart, at the very least.

What's your favorite video game sidekick?

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One Sky, One Destiny: A Kingdom Hearts Concert Experience

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If you know me at all, you understand that I have a burning passion for a video game called Kingdom Hearts. While it has an engaging (and if I'm being at all honest, convoluted) storyline and extremely fun gameplay, it's also filled level to level and cutscene to cutscene with an abundance of phenomenal music. Sure, sure. You probably think, this is a video game, so all music in the game acts as rhythmic background noise, but that's simply untrue, as confirmed when I went to the Final Fantasy: A New World concert.

Kingdom Hearts is no different. Yoko Shimomura, the composer for the KH soundtrack, puts her entire being into her work, which she’s admitted countless times. What she’s done for the music of this much beloved series has continued to enchant and impress.

So, when Joey, a long-time friend of mine, and I heard that there would be a Kingdom Hearts concert called World Tour in the States (New York City, to be exact), we jumped at the opportunity. Now, in case you are unaware, this concert wasn’t originally supposed to happen. In fact, Joey and I were intending to purchase tickets for the Saturday Kingdom Hearts concert, but we still needed to talk logistics and understand exactly what we would need to save up. Thus, we waited. And waited. And waited some more. By the time we were prepared to purchase our tickets, we found that they were all sold out (cue waves of desolation). As the months passed and I continued to get notifications about the upcoming World Tour KH concert, I kept saying to myself that there would be another, I just had to be patient.

It didn't take long. I was on Reddit one day and saw that World Tour had added another showing the day before its original time and date! At that moment, I called Joey and begged him to consider going with me. He immediately demanded we snatch those tickets up.

Obviously, everything worked out, and though we had to make it through the scores of New Yorkers, the dreaded Friday night traffic, and the frustratingly extensive bag check in front of the United Palace Theatre, we finally sat down to enjoy one of the most surreal moments of my life, a Kingdom Hearts concert complete with a piano, full orchestra, and a choir.

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One of the first songs they played was "Dearly Beloved," which was an obvious choice, since it's actually the first song you hear when you play the game. Not to mention that it's absolutely gorgeous. In fact, it has a way of evoking two contradictory, yet complementary emotions. The song starts with a powerful rise of notes, backed by the gentle tangs of the piano. What’s most interesting about this song is that holds the essence of nostalgia. While one chord plunges into melancholy and gives the listener a feeling of overwhelming loss, the other ascends to a much lighter, hopeful tone. "Dearly Beloved" has and will forever be one of my favorite tracks simply because it captures the feeling of childhood, that undeniable yearning for the younger years, something that you can never gain back, yet is something that makes you feel undeniably unafraid for the future and still puts a smile on your face.

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They also included songs like "Treasured Memories," "Daybreak Town," and "Twilight Town," which are all beautiful compositions, but they also played some of the most heavily evocative songs, like "Vector to the Heavens," a song that focuses on Xion and her sacrifice. Not going to lie, I started to tear up a bit. I especially had major feels when "Hikari" and "Passion" came up! AHH! They truly were heavenly. Of course, all of the songs drew some kind of emotion from me.

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There were also songs that were downright heart-pumping, "Destati" being one of them. It's a song that calls for greatness from the player by starting with a sudden, violent rise from the choir and an intense trill! It's a song that expresses both the intrigue of adventure and the fearful expectations of destiny. Something that makes you go, “I have no choice but to fight.” Interestingly enough, it makes you feel small yet strong at the same time.

Another exciting song was "Fate of the Unknown." I may have squealed a bit too much at its inclusion. The fast-paced tempo coupled with the subtle rise of all the instruments was beyond amazing! My eardrums bled with euphoria. All the brass added to the score was an excellent touch, especially when there were moments of absolute epic Birth by Sleep cutscenes playing on the screen behind the orchestra.

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Then, they did something I hadn't anticipated. They played the newest Kingdom Hearts III trailer and a little later, "Wave of Darkness." Holy mother of hearts, that song has become one of my favorites. "Wave of Darkness" is a battle song that is used during Aqua’s boss fight in Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep. It’s something that encapsulates the epic nature of KH as well as Aqua’s constant struggle in the realm of darkness. The tumbling, downward spiral of the piano in the background paired with the jazzy labyrinthine way in which the orchestra plays alongside the sound of a violin. Oh, it was gorgeous.

But it wasn't all tears and heart-stopping battle themes, there was also tons of laughter. One of the most hilarious moments happened when during the battle music compilation, in between two of the themes, there was a split second where the orchestra played "Atlantica" but then quickly transitioned to something else. If you're NOT a KH fan, know that "Atlantica" is usually the least favorite world to visit. To say the least, it caused the entire auditorium to ripple into a state of applause and laughter.

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Then, there was a moment in which the auditorium's lighting was having technical difficulties and there was an announcement that politely apologized for the inconvenience and said that the audience would have have to wait momentarily for the fix. Almost immediately after, someone shouted, “It’s okay. We’re used to waiting!”, to which the entire group erupted into hysterical laughter. We're still unsure when the Kingdom Hearts III release date will be.

However, the BEST part of the concert came near the end. The conductor took up a keyblade baton and had Yoko Shimomura come out and play the piano for the concert's encore. Her dexterous fingers played brilliantly (no surprise) and brought most of us to tears. But, it got better still. She quickly left, without so much as a bow, and came back with Tetsuya Nomura, the game's director!! I couldn't believe it. I was breathing the same air as the man who helped bring Kingdom Hearts into existence.

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Later, as Joey and I struck up conversation with a few people from the concert, one of them commented that she wasn't expecting to feel as many feels as she did. Agreed! Every single song had a different meaning for me. A different way of feeling. Kingdom Hearts is, at its core, about friendship and about emotion. It's no wonder that a concert filled with its music brings such amazing responses. It was made even more magical by the fact that everyone in that auditorium felt that same pang of nostalgia, that same childhood excitement, and that same hope for something more. Our hearts are connected, indeed.

Kingdom Hearts is not only a video game, it's a reminder to make mistakes, to listen to your heart, to build strong relationships, and to remember the past, but not so much that it hinders your future.

Have you been to or thought about going to any fandom concerts?

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A Fangirl's Explanation of Love Types

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When it comes to complex concepts, language fails us. It especially fails us when we look at the concept of love. English just doesn't do it justice. After all, the Ancient Greeks had many different words for such an important emotion. The main four are Eros, Philia, Storge, and Agape, and I'll be using all types of fandom to describe the distinctions.

1) Eros

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Eros is often defined as physical desire. I couldn't think of a better representation of this than Shimoneta: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn't Exist, an anime that's premise is all about the Japanese government censoring inappropriate material and repressing sexual desire. A group of erotica-terrorists rise up in order to stop them. As one might expect, there are quite a few examples of Eros.

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However, Eros isn't always about physical attraction. It is also a desire to appreciate beauty and is the initial draw one might feel for another. If you’ve watched Yuri!!! on Ice, you can't help but be captivated by the various ice skating routines, especially Yuri's performance entitled (you got it) Eros. His movements and the background music captures Eros perfectly.

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Eros is also that trembling, fluttering, almost manic feeling a person first gets when he/she falls in love. It’s the love that makes someone lose their appetite and see that other person in an idealistic way. In D.N.Angel, the main character, Daisuke, changes into his alter-ego, Dark, if he so much as gets too close to his crush and feels even a stirring of Eros. 

2) Philia 

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Philia is all about the bromance/womance. It’s the feeling you have for a “brother in arms." Philia is at the heart and soul of Final Fantasy XV. I mean, the game is about four bros on one grand adventure. By the end of the game, the player sees how much the guys appreciate each other and that they're stronger together because they've been through so much.

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Philia is also a love that you can choose. In Voltron: Legendary Defender, the Paladins are far, far away from home, so they don’t have their relatives close by. Over the course of the show, they become a team and a family.

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Lastly, Philia is all about making a connection through shared experiences. The perfect example of Philia is shown in Kingdom Hearts, which is about Sora's connection with everyone he meets. Philia, and Kingdom Hearts' main message, means that no matter the distance, you hold your friends in your heart. It means that friendship is a power that cannot be rivaled.

3) Storge 

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Storge is the love of community or family. It’s usually seen as a type of love between a parent and a child. A good example of Storge love is in Saga, an adult graphic novel. Saga’s story centers on the bond of family and the undying love one feels for his/her child. Two parents must risk it all to find a better place for their daughter to live and thrive.

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Storge isn’t always about a parent and child. It can also include the love between siblings, just like in Caraval by Stephanie Garber. This novel is about a girl named Scarlett who will doing anything in her power to save her sister. The reader sees just how far Scarlett will go to save her family.

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Storge can also be a dutiful kind of affection. An example of this can be seen in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. Time and again, we are reminded that demigods must complete the tasks of their parents. But this sense of duty to the gods is questioned throughout the series. As the reader continues, he/she realizes that the gods' “lack of affection” isn’t always what it seems.

4) Agape

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Agape is the purest form of love because it is unconditional. If a person experiences Agape, they will go to great lengths in order to protect the one they love. I can’t help but think about Joyce Byers in Stranger Things. Once she realizes that her son is missing, she never once gives up the search to find him.

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Agape is also a mature love, in that a person loves no matter the circumstances and sees beyond another person's flaws and appearance. This is definitely true of Belle in Beauty and the Beast. She grows to love the Beast for who he is, not for what he looks like.

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Finally, Agape is when one is willing to sacrifice his/her own values and desires, even his/her own life, all for the other person or for other people. Final Fantasy X has a few instances of this. (Highlight for spoilers.) Yuna is a summoner tasked with defeating Sin, but in order to do so she must make the ultimate sacrifice for the greater good and give her life to perform the Final Summoning so that she can defeat Sin and restore a temporary peace to Spira. Yuna considers others before herself and will do anything to stop Sin's spiral of death and destruction.

From Eros to Agape, Fandoms are complex and include all versions of love. They deal with a range of emotion and complicated concepts, making it easier for us to understand ourselves and our world. 

What other fandoms illustrated the different kinds of love?

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Ice Wielders: Why Winter Weather is Wonderful

I can't help but dread the temperature drop every single winter. I'd much prefer 70s all year round, but we can't always get what we want, can we?

However, cold weather isn't all bad. In fact, some of the best fictional characters possess the power to wield ice. I hereby present to you a few of my favorite ice wielders. Though, I've limited the characters to those whose powers mainly focus on ice and/or water manipulation.

Elsa (Frozen)

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From an early age, Elsa has had power over snow and ice. But as she grows older, it becomes much more difficult to control. In fact, she ends up mistakenly freezing her entire kingdom!

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But even though her powers are that of ice and frigid cold, she has a rather warm heart.

Best Thing About Cold Weather: Warm hugs, of course!

Shiva (Final Fantasy series)

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Throughout the Final Fantasy series, Shiva has filled the role of summon and goddess. In all games of the series, she’s used her tremendous powers (ahem, diamond dust) to help our heroes out of countless messes.

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Best Thing About Cold Weather: The stainless beauty of ice and snow. Everything glitters.

Sailor Mercury (Sailor Moon)

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Sailor Mercury isn’t just the brains of the sailor scouts. Rather, she also packs a punch in the powers department, especially with her Shine Aqua Illusion (and Shine Snow Illusion), which sends forth a wall of water that miraculously turns to ice or snow.

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Best Thing About Cold Weather: Staying inside with close friends and curling up with a good book.

Iceman (X-Men)

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Iceman is a mutant with the power to freeze water to ice particles. He's even able to turn his entire body to ice!

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Best Thing About Cold Weather: Snowball fights and more opportunities for kissing. ;)

Waterbenders (Avatar: the Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra)

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Waterbenders like Aang, Katara, and Korra are able to control water in various forms. They also have one of the most graceful and fluid fighting styles, which reflects their control of water in all its stages: liquid, solid, and even gas.

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Best Thing About Cold Weather: Definitely penguin sledding!

Ice King (Adventure Time)

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Though the Ice King has a rather sad story, he still finds time to enjoy himself (maybe sometimes in the wrong ways). Through a series of unfortunate circumstances, the Ice King received the power of the crown, which gave him control over ice and snow.

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Best Thing About Cold Weather: It’s easier to kidnap princesses because they’re too busy drinking hot cocoa!

Jack Frost (Rise of the Guardians)

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Jack has domain over winter, including the ability to fly, speak to the wind, and create ice and snow. As a guardian, his true power is something much deeper and much more important.

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Best Thing About Cold Weather: Snowball fights, sledding, holidays, snow days…that face.

Who is your favorite? 

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The Final Fantasy XV Phenomenon

It's been a long road...

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Just as Noctis has had to wait many years to reunite with Luna, we too have had to wait many years for the release of the long awaited Final Fantasy XV. Though a lot has changed (like its title, since it was previously marketed as Final Fantasy Versus XIII), I can’t say I’m disappointed. Since Tuesday, I’ve been playing the game non-stop.

Here are just a few reasons why I can’t put it down.

A Beautiful Bromance 

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I can’t help but smile every time one of these guys strikes up a casual conversation or saves each other from battle. From the start of the game, you realize that these crazy kids would die for one another (quite literally). They definitely have an unshakable bond.

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The group is well-rounded and everyone is important to Noctis in various ways: Gladio is definitely a father figure; Ignis is the mommy of the group; and Promto can't help but be the little brother. Their friendship is extremely important, and they never fail to support one another. I mean, when the game's theme song is Stand By Me, friendship HAS to an important aspect.

Look and Listen 

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*starts sobbing uncontrollably* It’s so darn beautiful, both graphically and musically. Square Enix has always excelled in aesthetically pleasing the player, but man is this game drop dead gorgeous. You can tell they put their heart and soul into every detail. When it rains, the characters' hair flattens, when they're running around all day, they get dirty and gross (and even comment on it). The transitions from cut scenes to gameplay is so seamless you'll constantly wonder if it's time to play or time to watch. 

The music is magical too. I mean, it’s Yoko Shimomura (same composer for the Kingdom Hearts soundtrack), so it's no wonder every song moves the player. Each track captures the moment you’re in and fully immerses you in the world.

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Even the first piece of music we hear during the menu screen is telling, hinting at sadness and a glimmer of hope. In game, the battle music has so much badassery to it, it should be criminal. Beyond that, themes for places and people are just as breathtaking. It's also an added bonus that the player is able to listen to the game's soundtrack (plus other Final Fantasy music) while cruising in the car. 

Attack! Attack! Attack!

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Wow. Just...wow. There's so much I want to say about the battle system. Warping alone is fantastically fun and addicting (watch your MP!), but there are countless things to say about the gameplay. I won't have room to touch on all of it, but I will mention a few things.

There is a tremendous amount of customization. You can even customize what you're wearing, which alters your HP, strength, and more. Then there is magic, of course, but the magic actually affects your surroundings! If you throw a thunder spell out and you're standing too close, expect to get electrocuted (then see burn marks on your clothes afterwards).   

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The weapons are astounding too!! Some of the most powerful ones have a catch to them and end up depleting your health but deal heavy damage to opponents. 

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You can even call your friends to aid you in a fight, and either one or all will jump in and complete a cinematic fight scene with Noctis. There's so much to the battle system and I won't get too much into it, but if you play the game, you'll find out for yourself.

Boys and Their Toys

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There are so many hobbies you can have fun with! 

Noctis loves fishing, so as the player, you're able to participate in (basically) a mini game to catch fish for either eating or rewards. 

Promoto is the photographer of the group and captures bro moments that you can post on social media. 

*drools*

Gladio sets up camp, which the party can then use to rest in order to level up and eat. 

And Ignis enjoys cooking, which gives your characters certain attributes or boosts depending on the ingredients and recipes.  

The Story 

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Final Fantasy XV follows Prince Noctis on his quest to find his fiancée Lady Lunafreya so that together they can save the kingdom from the Empire. On his journey, Noct is accompanied by his best friends and guardians Gladiolus, Promto, and Ignis. 

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The story that this Final Fantasy has to tell is extensive. In fact, besides the main game, there are a multitude of stories on various media that accompany it, from an anime to a feature length movie to even a side scrolling retro game.

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The world is lush and inviting. The developers really took time on every detail of this world. Although, I have a bad feeling (just from Kingsglaive's story alone) that the ending is going to be a real tearjerker...

Bonus: The Chocobos. Just look at 'em!!! So cute.  

The Fast and the Furious XV: Chocobo Drift

Though I still have quite a ways before I beat the game, I’m looking forward to seeing more from Noct & company and the world of Eos. Congrats, Final Fantasy, you’ve overcome the odds once again. Here's to fifteen more installments. 

Have you played Final Fantasy XV?

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