The Best Final Fantasy Party Members Players Can’t Control

Most Final Fantasy games let players control a diverse array of party members who bring their strengths and weaknesses to the table. This allows players to make fun party configurations in each game that lets them tackle most enemy encounters without breaking a sweat. However, some of the classic games in the series throw a curveball by including sections where players team up with a party member who can’t be controlled directly.

Meanwhile, most modern games in the Final Fantasy series feature characters that can’t be controlled at all to let players focus on controlling a single character in action-packed combat that tries to draw in as many new fans as possible. While this approach is understandable given how the franchise has tried to modernize itself time and time again, some people can’t help but be disappointed at this lack of control, potentially making combat feel a bit more one-dimensional and shallow at times.

5 Sephiroth

Players Get A Taste Of His Power During Cloud’s Flashback

Final Fantasy 7‘s flashback following Cloud and Co.’s escape from Midgar is a huge turning point in the series. It establishes Cloud as somewhat of an unreliable narrator, with Tifa questioning his recounting of the events in Nibelheim time and time again. However, the best moment in this flashback sequence comes when players control a fledgling Cloud who teams up with the legendary Sephiroth against an imposing monster.

Players can’t issue any commands to Sephiroth during this stage, but they don’t need to. This is because Sephiroth is so powerful that a single strike is all it takes to bring down such an imposing foe. It’s an immense display of this character’s power and the fact that players barely get to see Sephiroth before this moment adds to his legacy and the role he’ll eventually play as the game’s central antagonist.

4 Aranea Highwind

A Femme Fatale Who Stands In Noctis’ Way Before Eventually Aiding Him

Dragoons are consistently some of the best characters in Final Fantasy, and Aranea Highwind is a great example of the same. The boss fight against her is a cinematic spectacle for the ages where players must be prudent about dodging attacks and countering her leaps to avoid being speared. However, as time passes, it’s revealed that Aranea’s allegiance is only to herself. Niflheim hired her as a mercenary, but she had the power to disagree with their actions and help out the heroes who wanted to free the world from this empire’s tyranny.

This leads to sections where Aranea joins the party and helps them out during certain quests. She’s a blast to team up with in battle, but players never get to control her in battle. This is a shame, especially since every other party member in the game was eventually controllable courtesy of post-launch updates. Still, that doesn’t take anything away from Aranea’s epic presence, and fans were glad to see her help Prompto out during his journey of self-discovery.

3 Cidolfus “Cid” Telamon

The Leader Of The Resistance Whose Charismatic Presence Is Abruptly Cut Short

Cid is one of the most legendary Final Fantasy characters of all time, with several incarnations of this character appearing across the series in some form or the other. Final Fantasy 16‘s version of Cid is a rebel leader who leads a resistance to help Bearers and prevent the world from treating them like dirt all the time. This leads to moments where he aids and accompanies Clive during his adventures, making it all the more frustrating that players never get to control him in the game.

This is understandable, given the focus of Final Fantasy 16 as a character-action RPG, but it still stings that someone as charismatic as Cid is totally controlled by AI. Things become worse when this rebel leader is killed while trying to destroy one of the Mothercrystals since his dynamic with Clive and the others adds some levity to a story that could be oppressively dark at times.

2 Umaro

A Berserker Yeti Who Serves As An Optional Party Member

There’s no denying that Umaro is far from a perfect party member in Final Fantasy 6. The cast of this game is massive, and Umaro’s inclusion as a bonus party member means that most players won’t use him at a stage in the game when they’re on the verge of tackling the game’s final dungeon. However, there are situations where Umaro can be a handy character to bring in battle.

With the Berserker Ring and Blizzard Orb equipped on Umaro, he can use a total of four powerful attacks in battle that can be highly damaging. The regular attack is a decent move, while Body Blow and Throw Ally ignore defense and deal damage based on the stats of Umaro’s equipment or the person he’s chucked at an enemy. Finally, Snowstorm is an ice-elemental attack that hits all enemies for decent damage and can be useful in a pinch.

1 Lebreau

A Member Of NORA Who Heals The Party

Final Fantasy 13 may be the black sheep of the series in the eyes of many, but players who give this title a shot will find a lot of things to love about this over-hated game. From an ambitious story to a fun combat system that is more involved than most people assume, many highlights in Final Fantasy 13 make it an experimental entry in this long-running JRPG series.

NORA is a resistance group in this series that fights back against the atrocities of the Sanctum. Its founder, Snow Villiers, is accompanied by two other characters in an early section of the game. One of these characters is Lebreau, a valuable party member who uses her rifle to shoot down foes and uses the Potion command to heal the party from time to time, Without her help, players struggling early on with the combat system may find it a major challenge to get through this portion of the game.

Final Fantasy

Developer(s)

Square Enix

Creation Year

1987

Publisher(s)

Square Enix