Best and worst companions in video games

[Lazy Kitty]

Well, I'm not sure who's the best companion...
Navi or the Companion Cube...

Or possibly Serena from Dawnguard...

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

1. She actively hinders gameplay. If she runs ahead and gets herself killed while you are breaking boxes or whatever, it's game over.
2. The fact that she tries to have conversations with you demonstrates how not to do the whole "No cutscenes, character does not have a voice" thing. Whenever she talks at you, "Gordon, hamfisted exposition, Gordon!" it destroys immersion, and proves that cutscenes are a good thing.
3. So very annoying. Her voice actress is terrible, her writing is terrible, and she just makes the whole game worse with her presence.
Alyx Vance is the worst sidekick in Gaming history.

I wasnt even aware Alyx could die?! How did you manage that?! I played dicking around and STILL failed to kill her. She has a gun and an insta kill zombies move how in jegus's name did you kill her?! Thats amazing! Thats a level of intensely weird i cannot comprehend. Well done i guess?

Surely there are characters exactly the same as Alyx, minus the billion lots of health, the gun, and the insta kill enemies move. So that makes them for one? (IM LOOKING AT YOU METRO 2033 IN THAT STUPID AMOEBA SCENE!)

Anyway for me Fi. I have played 10 minutes into skyward sword after playing every zelda ever with pride and enjoying every moment. She is unbearable. Utterly. Fucking. Unbearable.


The shop part is where i lost it. There was a scene with a hide and seek game where the little porcupine explains hide and seek to you generally "My friends are missing in this forest, go and find them!" and im like "Alright i know what hide and seek is but its reasonable to have a 3 second explanation". THEN FI HAS TO COME IN FUCKING IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE FIRST EXPLANATION. "Master you are attempting to locate the missing creatures who are hiding in this wood you are meant to find them from their hiding places your sword can locate them and thus totally invalidate the idea of hide and seek this text crawls so damn slowly". You know who has the most reason to fucking hate fi? Everyone else but link. Imagine trying to talk to someone and this voice just repeats EVERYTHING you say to them a second after like what you said wasnt understandable in the slightest.

I felt patronized when playing. And i always wondered why the NPCS were deemed so unable to offer ANYTHING of value via dialogue to me that fi had to step in and "translate" every line of even remote value. Story element told by another character? NOPE FI NEEDS TO GO OVER THAT AGAIN BECAUSE THAT CHARACTER ISNT ALLOWED TO CONTRIBUTE SOLELY TO THE STORY. A little challenge explained? CANT LET YOU ONLY HAVE THE OWNERS EXPLANATION, DESPITE THAT BEING OBVIOUSLY THE PERSON WHO SHOULD EXPLAIN IT, LOOKS LIKE YOU NEED TWO! Its like they ONLY trusted fi to say anything of value ever. Which is ironic because i fucking hate her. Id rather have everything explained by a range of context dependent characters than one droning voice over and over again.

It was more insulting that Fi would presume to explain stuff to me when, story wise, we both heard the exact same level of information at the same time together while previously both knowing NOTHING about it. Fi is relaying information she heard 5 seconds ago for the first time with my RIGHT next to her. Its rage inducing. I cannot finish skyward sword and i refuse to.

 

[Easton Dark]

That bear does anything for you... Tanks towers, pushes towers, bitchslaps your lane opponent while you farm, provides massive burst, facechecks bushes, tower dives while you farm. Endless possibilities.

I got Annie low as Thresh and tried to pull in for the kill when she summoned Tibbers and I pulled him right to me, couldn't outrun, died to the flame aura :L Truly the best companion

Best Companion: Ashley from Resident Evil 4.

She keeps up with your running speed, huddles behind you and stays there no matter what when you draw a weapon, ducks if she happens to be infront of you, and she fucks off when the game decides you need some alone time. She adds to the tension of the action and never gets in the way of it.

From a gameplay standpoint there's absolutely no reason not to like her, unless you don't like A.I companions by definition, or you simply suck at the game.

OT:

The best

It's Edee, not Eddy, jeez game.

The worst is Navi, I wont even give her the glory of an image.

 

[TheMagicIndian]

Hmm, well since most of the big ones have been mentioned, I'd like to give a shoutout to Rush from Megaman. He's a mobile spring that also gives you an awesome power-suit with a jetpack? Hell yea.

The worst is Navi, I wont even give her the glory of an image.

I can never understand all the Navi hate. I actually liked having her around. Matter of fact, I set my Skype chat notification sound to be her "Hey, listen!" It's really amusing and no matter how much people say they hate her, every time someone walks by and I get a notification, they always smile. Every time.

And since we're on the subject of Zelda, does Midna count as a companion? It's been a long time since I've played it and I can't remember if she actively helps you in the game or not. I do remember adoring her, though.

As for the worst; in my opinion, all the companions in Fallout/Skyrim. I tried liking them, tried using them. They always got in the damn way and fucked up my stealthing.

 

[Shocksplicer]

How has nobody mentioned Kreia from KOTOR 2 yet? Not just a fantastic companion, she's also easily the single best character in the entire Star Wars universe.
Also, much love to Missile from Ghost Trick. Adorable little guy...

Worst companions? Sheva from Resident Evil 5 ranks highly, with her constant wasting of herbs and reliance on the basic fucking pistol. And of course, EVERY companion in the Left 4 (Ugh) Dead games when they're controlled by the A"I".

 

[Zantos]

I can think of a few that I've yelled at for sheer fuckwittery in the face of danger/shotguns, but they're more escort missions than actual companions. Someone mentioned Dogmeat earlier, but I'd like to extend that to pretty much any companion in 3 or New Vegas. Lining up Deathclaws in the sights of my anti-materiel rifle, if I'm quick I can take out most of them before they even get to the foot of the hill, just need to *Daa da da daaaaaa, daa daaaaa!* ...fuck you ED-E. In the wasteland, irritating. In Lonesome road, lethal. Honourable mention to Mass Effect for having it's share of morons, however aside from one incident involving Garrus and a man-portable weapon of mass destruction, they didn't really get in the way.

As for best, I dunno really. The other members of Delta Squad got pretty good at supporting each other by the time they got to Gears of War 3. Or... actually... Sparks from Spyro the Dragon. Everyone's favourite health bar/gem collector/mini adventurer/gem pointer/dragonfly.

 

[Dirge Eterna]

Well, I'm not sure who's the best companion...
Navi or the Companion Cube...

Or possibly Serena from Dawnguard...

Yes I loved and hated Serena! Always throwing some magic around was good. Creating a damn zombie at every turn who made noise and ran around while I was trying to sneak around to take a shot used to piss me off to no end!

 

[Alfador_VII]

Right now my favourite has to be Elizabeth, for ages it was Alyx Vance, but she's just not quite as awesome.

I have to agree that Missile from Ghost Trick is the Top Pomeranian indeed though.

HEY! As for worst companion, LISTEN!, trying to think of one at the moment HEY LISTEN!, but nothing comes to mind

HEY! HEY, LISTEN!

 

[bug_of_war]

Best Companion: Ashley from Resident Evil 4.

She keeps up with your running speed, huddles behind you and stays there no matter what when you draw a weapon, ducks if she happens to be infront of you, and she fucks off when the game decides you need some alone time. She adds to the tension of the action and never gets in the way of it.

From a gameplay standpoint there's absolutely no reason not to like her, unless you don't like A.I companions by definition, or you simply suck at the game.

Well shit, you just stole my answer.

Worst companion - The AI in Left 4 Dead 1 and 2. Seriously they suck so much. Getting pounced or constricted and they're 20m away, they wont shoot the fuckers, oh no they will slowly run your way and shove the bastard stopping you, giving you just enough time to loose a bit of health. They take the pills and use the health kits when they don't need to.

 

[VoidWanderer]

The Best Companion? Garrus. A great ally and one hell of a shot.

The Worst Companion?

 

[Combustion Kevin]

Ulman, from Metro 2033 deserves a mention.
saves your life, stabs multiple nazis, wrestles nosalises and is among the few things in that world that bring some levity to a very grim world.

 

[MysticSlayer]

I actually have two favorites.

The first is Farah from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and The Two Thrones. The relationship between her and The Prince is probably the best romantic story I've seen in a game. Her character was also taken further in The Two Thrones to serve as the good side of The Prince's conscious, sort of as a counter to The Dark Prince. Also, even though she is often put in positions that leave The Prince rescuing her, she is anything but weak and is one of the strongest female characters I've ever seen. Her and The Prince often work together to solve problems, making the love story between them more believable, and she also saved him on at least one occasion that I can remember.

The second is Ashley from Resident Evil 4. Essentially, she's everything Farah isn't, but regardless of her character flaws, I still came to care for her. Why? Because, unlike a popular companion in a recently released game (hint, hint), you actually have to put your life on the line for her constantly, which I found eventually caused me to start doing it because I wanted to, not because I was being forced to. Granted, I still threw her in a bin whenever I got the chance, but I think there's a lot to be said for how gameplay can cause you to create an attachment to a character, similar to The Prince and Farah working together to emphasize their romance. Also, let's face it, Ashley did a really good job of staying away from the enemies and positioning herself so it was easiest to deal with the enemies without having to worry about her excessively. I think I only lost twice during the whole game due to her getting captured or killed, and both of them occurred within the first few hours of finding her.

As far as my least favorite, it's very simple. Put in a game by Bethesda, especially Skyrim, and just find a companion.

 

[lRookiel]

Best:

Minsc and Boo for being the best butt kicking justice team!

Xzar and Montaron for being the most comedic duo Ever. "STOP TOUCHING ME!"

Worst: Erm....

Unsure on the best, bust the worst has to be fucking Ian from the first Fallout. Can barely hit the enemy, but has no problem tearing you to pieces if you happen to stand near to an enemy in his line of sight. Alas, I still mourned when a Mutant minigun shredded him into human wheat. Was a sad moment.

Yeah he somehow managed to break ALL his weapons, and then I gave him a shotgun.... I got rid of him ASAP after that incident.

 

[Alcamonic]

I'll go with any horse in Skyrim. They don't fuck about, not even a little. Except for caves. They don't like caves.

Worst companion is by far any "teammate" who never shut up! I am looking at the whole cast of Binary Domain!
"Dan! DO YOU NEED HELP!!!?? OH YOU'RE FINE, SERIOUSLY BE CAREFUL OKAY!!"

This happens every time you fall down and inject yourself with your first aid. Worse part is, they don't whine if you actually need help.

 

[Requia]

Best Companion: Ashley from Resident Evil 4.

She keeps up with your running speed, huddles behind you and stays there no matter what when you draw a weapon, ducks if she happens to be infront of you, and she fucks off when the game decides you need some alone time. She adds to the tension of the action and never gets in the way of it.

From a gameplay standpoint there's absolutely no reason not to like her, unless you don't like A.I companions by definition, or you simply suck at the game.

In terms of the companion I had the most emotional connection with, I'm gonna go with Agro too. Totally loyal, sticking with you through thick and thin, and the only companion you have in this lifeless wasteland. And "that" moment right before the final Colossi only strengthens this. And all of this achieved through gameplay alone.

Worst Companion?

As much as I liked Farah from Prince of Persia: Sands of Time as a character, she sucked a giant penis when it came to the gameplay. She's no help at all and has the dexterity of wet tissue paper.

I wouldn't call Ashley a companion though, she's a giant escort mission, but really really well done one.

best: ED-E. Personal battle music and mobile storage cache, which is everything I need.

worst: pretty much any companion from skyrim, just because of the instant blandness of any NPC you try to pull into your story.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I wouldn't call Ashley a companion though, she's a giant escort mission, but really really well done one.

Yeah, but then where do you draw the line? I mean, she accompanies you and adds a great deal to the tension. Most companions in current games are like these etherial beings who can't get hurt or do any damage, and who warp right besides you if you stray too far away from them. It's like developers want companions in their games, but don't feel confident enough to make them part of the gameplay for fear of having them get in the way of it.

worst: pretty much any companion from skyrim, just because of the instant blandness of any NPC you try to pull into your story.

Also their inability to climb over one-foot high rocky terrain causing them to take enormous detours.

 

[Erttheking]

Fawkes from Fallout 3, obs. He was a one man army.

I'll second that. I would label him as the worse companion ever for letting a Super Mutant Behemoth out of his cage, if he had not immediately proceeded to single handily kill it. That is freaking BADASS!

All the Fallout NV companions too, unlike most of the 3 companions, they had personalities.

 

[suitepee7]

for best i'd say clank, clementine or elizabeth, all are pretty helpful and don't really require much saving. plus i find all of them pretty awesome characters.

worst gotta be sheva for me. her speech sounds terrible, she tries healing you with unnecessarily powerful items, refuses to use appropriate weapons and if you decide to actually play as her, the fucking camera is the wrong bloody side!!! her bow is awesome, probably my favourite weapon in the game, but i just can't play as her because it aims over her left shoulder...