What RPG had the best companions?

[Aarwolf]

Planescape: Torment.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Van Helsing trilogy.
Has exactly one companion who is fully customizable with a lot of dialogue and utility to do things you can't do.

 

[Palomides]

Baldur's Gate 2: Korgan, Viconia, Sarevok, Jaheira, even that failed loser Anomen. Let's not forget Edwina, too!

 

[Ivan]

Yakuza7

 

[Lady Error]

Wiz 7's personality based custom companions were also pretty cool and it's too bad the concept didn't take off.

You mean Wiz 8?

 

[octavius]

Edgy answer: Pool of Radiance. Hero never complained, he kept his dick in his pants and his opinions to himself.

Straight answer: The Baldur's Gate games. I find most of the companions at least somewhat amusing and memorable. The romancing was still just an option to be explored by the Bruces among us, and voice acting was limited to greetings and combat sounds, as it bloody well should be.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

BG1 is a great example of why focusing on a few is better than spreading yourself thin.
Very few people can even name all of the companions from BG1 without looking it up.

 

[Vic]

Mh, Fire Emblem games. You grow them, you grow attached to them, you watch them die.

 

[Kaivokz]

 

[Val the Moofia Boss]

The Inigo mod for Skyrim. It adds a companion named Inigo, who reacts to EVERYTHING. Insane amount of voice acting, even miscellaneous details. For example, if you talk to Inigo while sneaking, he will whisper. If you go into a bar, he might try ordering a drink. He has unique things to say for every place you visit, and even commentates on sidequests. Etc. Very immersive. Inigo is the closest I've felt to adventuring with another character, rather than just having a braindead NPC meatbag following me around. RPG party members should have at least the same level of effort put into them as Inigo. Imagine if you had a whole party of characters with the complexity of Inigo and they could interact with each other.

 

[octavius]

But does he say "In I go!" in combat and then go out of his way to be between you and your enemies? I hated that in Morrowind.

 

[luj1]

Companions are generally decline

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Dungeon Master and all the other games where the only "companions" are the pregenerated but selectable party members over which the player has full control; or Pool of Radiance and all the other games where the only "companions" are the player-generated party members under the player's full control.


Alternatively, Dragon's Dogma, since as an action RPG it wasn't feasible to have more than one character under the player's control, yet it managed to integrate three AI-controlled party members into an excellent combat system, and those three party members are either generated by (the main pawn) or selected by (the support pawns) the player, without any personality or background of their own.

 

[Xelocix]

Mass Effect 2

 

[Blutwurstritter]

Baldur's Gate II hits the sweet spot for me. I also liked most characters in Spellforce 3, in particular the trolls in Fallen God. Mass Effect 1-3 also did a decent job overall with Garrus, Wrex, Mordin, Javik.

 

[NecroLord]

Baldur's Gate 2: Korgan, Viconia, Sarevok, Jaheira, even that failed loser Anomen. Let's not forget Edwina, too!

I concur.
Keldorn is also a great companion and Paladin gigachad.
In Throne of Bhaal you can also recruit Sarevok. Has the same voice actor as Jolee Bindo(Michael Richardson). Awesome.

 

[Justinian]

Wiz 7's personality based custom companions were also pretty cool and it's too bad the concept didn't take off.

You mean Wiz 8?

Yes, the 3d one. It's the only one I actually played for any length so i get them mixed up,.

 

[bobocrunch]

expeditions rome i dont think had any companions that stood out as boring except maybe deianara the scythian slave who they admittedly added later in development, even the seemingly one dimensional or boring Rogueish Crass Woman or Hotheaded Gladiator Guy turn out to have actual Character and motivations besides being archetypes for the player to bounce off

my biggest problem with the game was the deeper character interactions being closed off to their own arcs, which is probably part of their strength

 

[Silverfish]

Shadow Hearts Covenant - Not only did this have some great characters in terms of personality (even the dog was a badass), but some were also tied into "real" life such as Anastasia and Geppetto.

My nigga.




Anyway, for whatever reason, I've always dug Edwen from Bound by Flame.

No idea why.

 

[Popiel]

Technically, KotOR 2 has Visas Marr, who's probably the runner-up for Best Avellone Trolling the Player. That seems to be a thing with Chris.

In what way?
Visas truly loves the (Male)Exile, it makes sense, seeing as they experienced firsthand the destruction of entire planets(Malachor V and Katarr, respectively).
You tend to sympathise with others who went through the same hardships as you.

Oh, it's been a long time now. I just remember the way Kreia challenges the Exile on sniffing around Visas and "wanting to see what's under those robes" or something like that. Makes perfect sense in-character, even hints at a more intimately bitter side to the old hag, but even as a teenager I could read between those lines for Avellone's "got you, fucker!"

Truth be told, Visas has one of the - if not the - most intimate scenes any companion had with a PC ever in history of companions in cRPGs.

As for the subject:
P:T - an obvious one, but I think it should be noted that making a cast of memorable weirdos is comparatively easy; P:T I believe hits this sweet spot where said weirdos are also well written and likeable (unlike, say, Numanuma which operates on the same premise)
KotOR2 - another Cpt. Obvious; though I would like to admit that as years go by I think of Kreia as way too tryhardy more and more
Anachronox - it wasn't mentioned by now how...? I don't want to spoil too much but Anachronox boasts some of the most creative companion designs ever
MotB - don't know what to say here, a classic
Mass Effect - I'll be honest, I think that ME companions are either BW's peak or close to it; some of the cast members are surprisingly nuanced, Garrus especially, and it's not at all in your face; and when it's in your face then ME can do it excellently - Mordin in ME2 is a prime example
Shadowrun: Hong Kong - honestly, I think that S:HK is one of the best examples of very standard companions done right
(an honorable mention) Disco Elysium - Kim Kitsuragi is finest, both of his precinct and in general

 

[Shaki]

Any RPG that lets your create your own party. Pre-written companions are inherently bad, because they are a gateway to the biggest sin of cRPGs: companion romances.

 

[ValeVelKal]

The best companion is Kim Kisturagi from Disco Elysium.
other great companions :
- Planescape Torment
- Shadowrun: Dragonfall
- Ultima, but only because it is fun to see the same old faces again and again

 

[The Limper]

Elmo for the win!

 

[FriendlyMerchant]

BG2; Jan Jansen. Every other companion in every other game is trash. Well... except for that gnome in NWN2... The Gnome wizard in the best module of course. He almost reminds me of Golodon except he's way more intelligent being a Gnome and not an elf.

 

[Ladonna]

Edgy answer: Pool of Radiance. Hero never complained, he kept his dick in his pants and his opinions to himself.

But where did he hide his share? That is the question.

And if he is around at the end, he shows his true colours.