The most underrated supporting characters in gaming, according to me and my Substack mates

It was crushing seeing two of my favourite video game characters reduced to receptionists.

Diddy and Dixie Kong absolutely carry their own fandom. They had their own games back in the ’90s. But in the latest game, Donkey Kong Bananza, Nintendo made a decision to focus mainly on the big ape himself this time around, relegating the pair to a token appearance partway through the game.

It’s not the first, nor will it be the last time that a duller protagonist has taken the lead and the more interesting or diverse side characters remain sidelined.

Compared to other mediums, games are a bit unusual in this regard. Because you have so much more time to convey a narrative, you can build complex side characters. More often than not, those side stories are more interesting or more deserving of attention than the protagonist.

This post was actually inspired by Oya’s review of Final Fantasy XVI, where she plainly points out how one of the side characters, Jill, does not get her due in that game. I couldn’t agree more (more on that below). But it got me thinking: who do others think is gaming’s most hard-done-by side character? The ones that really deserve their own games. So I put the call out, and here’s what some of Substack’s most prolific gaming writers came back with.

It wasn’t as clear-cut as I thought. Aside from some very thought-provoking picks, some argue that the main characters of various games are actually side characters in their own story.

Lakitu, The Mario Kart Series

By Pixel Fix, Pixel Fix

He’s started every race you’ve ever raced in Mario Kart, but chances are you stopped noticing Lakitu long ago. Veteran racers focus instead on the starting countdown, not the happy little turtle dangling a traffic light from a fishing rod like it’s a prize trout.

But does that wipe the smile from his plump yellow face? No! For Lakitu’s head is truly in the clouds. All he wants is a good, clean race. Is that too much to ask? In the cutthroat world of Mario Kart, absolutely it is.

Spun out by a rival’s well-aimed turtle shell? Lakitu’s there flashing a ‘Wrong Way’ sign to alert you. Raced off the track? He’ll swoop down and fish you out like the prize trout you are.

But after all his help, across every game of Mario Kart you’ve ever played, have you ever thought, ‘That Lakitu, he’s a rum fellow!’? No. No you haven’t.

Poor old Lakitu. The most under appreciated character in all of gaming.

Trucy Wright, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy

By Oya, Oya’s Game Hub

Trucy is the adopted daughter of the renowned attorney Phoenix Wright and one of my favorite characters of all time. She debuts in the first game of the Apollo Justice Trilogy, in which she is a key character with a lot of depth. Her relationship with Phoenix was one of the highlights of the game for me. She is a genius in every meaning of the word.

Which is why I’m mad that the later two games completely sideline her and use her just as a one-note comic relief. She has one joke, and it’s not even a funny one. Her wit, her cleverness is nowhere to be seen as she becomes the happy-go-lucky mascot of the office. Animation-wise, she loses her ‘serious’ and ‘worried’ sprites, which should tell you quite a lot. There is only one case that focuses on her, and it’s pretty decent (yet also very flawed) and even then her relationship with Phoenix is non-existent. I just think that the daughter of THE Phoenix Wright deserves more respect to her name and actual relationships with other characters.

Dragon Age 2, Aveline Vallen

By Laura Bibby, Baby Gamer
*Spoilers ahead*

We meet Aveline Vallen early on in Dragon Age 2 as she’s fleeing Ostagar with her husband. As darkspawn surrounds them, the player character “Hawke” comes to the rescue and what transpires next is harrowing to say the least. But Aveline keeps going, banding together with her new companions and settling in Kirkwall as Captain of the Guard.

This fiery, red-haired warrior protects her new home with the valiance of a knight and her no nonsense attitude which, let’s be honest, a lot of dudebro gamers find intolerable, is what made me love her. The thing is, you always know where you stand with Aveline.

Sure, her bitchy squabbles with Isabela raise a few eyebrows, yet the friendship you build with her is one of the best across the series. Her brutal honesty can be misconstrued for meanness, but I think that she’s always coming from a place of kindness and she will always have your back.

James Grayson, Resistance: Retribution

By The Video Game Storyteller, The Video Game Storyteller

James Grayson may be the protagonist of his game, but the fact that the game in question is a PSP spinoff to an Insomniac franchise no one talks about anymore qualifies him as an underrated character in my eyes.

Which is a crying shame! Because James Grayson from Resistance: Retribution has a lot going for him as a leading man. His genuinely tragic backstory makes for a maverick-style hero who isn’t afraid to bend the rules to get the job done. He’s crass, he’s blunt, and you better believe he’s got a plan to destroy any Chimera conversion centres in his way.

Robin Atkin Downes delivers a nuanced voice performance, shifting from suave to distant to hostile and everything in between. The writers also do a wonderful job pacing out James Grayson’s character arc throughout the game, showing this character go on quite the journey towards rediscovering their purpose.

Katsumi Goto, Mass Effect 2

By Cat, Cat’s Controller Corner

The Master Thief Kasumi Goto is the most underrated Mass Effect 2 Companion. She asks Shepard to infiltrate a swanky party to help steal back her dead partner’s “graybox” (a digital collection of memories and a final message) from his murderer. This is the entirety of her presence in the plot of ME2. And it’s a DLC.

Like most companions, Kasumi makes you want to have one-on-one conversations with her. She has this depth that you can clearly see during the DLC. She has her own world of performing heists all without anyone even knowing she’s there, and making criminals pay if they violate her morals. Yet, she doesn’t even get fancy camera angles with dialogue options. Her only main game dialogue comes from the few sentences of information per object in her room that she divulges if you inspect them and a couple more each time you try to talk to her, all without Shepard saying a damn word. She is amazing and is criminally underused, deserving of just as much detail as the other companions.

Onix, Pokemon Red and Blue

By J.Kyle Turner, A Fictionalized Account

Onix is the star of Pokémon Red and Blue. At least, it should be.

It’s twenty-six feet long, made of solid rock, and burrows underground at 50mph. There aren’t a lot of problems you can’t solve with that kind of horsepower. Oh, a locked door? A tree blocking the path? A sleepy cat that won’t wake up?

Two words, buddy:

1. Onix
2. Go

Onix should be an absolute force of nature. Instead, it has less HP than a Geodude and the same devastating type weaknesses. You can fill out its atrocious move set with TMs, but Rock Slide and Earthquake look better on a Rhydon, and there are better choices for Dig. It’s too slow to trap with Bind, too frail to tank Hyper Beam, and too weak to break walls (even with Explosion).

Onix gets a much needed evolution in Gen 2, but they should have never disrespected my boy like that in the first place.

Iorweth, The Witcher Series

By Katya Ryabova, Playing This Week

I was dumbfounded to learn that 72% of people who played The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings chose the Vernon Roche path over the rogue elf commando Iorveth path. This early-game choice shapes not just your role-playing experience, but the setting, the quests, and even access to certain storylines for the rest of the game, to the degree of significance only a rare game can pull off. TW2, while great in many ways, doesn’t offer players much before presenting them with this game-altering decision, or even betraying just how important it would end up. It’s part of the fun, but boy, does Iorveth suffer as a result!

It’s not that his character is misunderstood; Iorveth just doesn’t get to shine if you don’t follow him down the Pontar to Vergen. Sure enough, he appears as an antagonist at first, but if given a chance, he can be your hero, baby, especially if you role-play Geralt as an honourable warrior. Iorveth’s fierce loyalty to the Scoia’tael cause, combined with the willingness to admit defeat and adapt, is admirable. He’s also just plain fun, and his Vergen quests are better than Vernon’s (there, I said it!).

Even so, it’s not even TW2 that does Iorveth dirty―it’s The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt that really drops the ball. Vernon is involved in several story-crucial plots in TW3, but Iorveth? Iorveth isn’t in the game at all, aside from a passing mention from NPCs in Novigrad. Was he supposed to be in the game? Yes. Was he cut? Also yes. And that’s the true crime against the (non)humanity.

The Emerald Herald, Dark Souls 2

By Gonçalo Santos, Button Masher

Universally praised despite being quite difficult to get into, it is hard to imagine anything under appreciated from the Soulsborne franchise, but Dark Souls 2 does exist. A bastard child developed by the studio while Hidetaka Miyazaki worked on Bloodborne, it is widely remembered as the weakest of all Souls games. That is not how I see it, though, for two main reasons: it was the first From Software game I played, and it features the most unforgettable Maiden in the franchise, Emerald Herald.

Even if you can’t jive with Dark Souls 2, you will never forget the words of this mysterious woman, apparently spoiling the game’s ending when you first encounter her. Expertly voiced by Ruth Negga, the Emerald Herald points you towards your destiny with a tone that’s equal parts soothing and sinister, leaving you wondering if she is merely using you for an ulterior motive. To this day, I’m still left wondering.

“Bearer of the curse, seek misery. For misery will lead you to greater, stronger souls. You will never meet the King with a soul so frail and pallid.”

Andrei Ulmeyda, Killer7

By M.Campassi, The Boss Level

Andrei Ulmeyda is often seen as a quirky detour in Killer7, a bizarre intermission marked by Gorillaz-style cutscenes, Cam Clarke’s unforgettable Texan accent, and the boss of the game’s most distinct level. But beneath the surface lies one of the most pivotal and most misunderstood characters in the story.

Ulmeyda, a charismatic tech mogul turned political messiah, builds a utopian city that promises salvation. What he truly represents, however, is Killer7’s sharp critique of political spectacle, blind idealism, and the illusion of control. His transformation into a grotesque Heaven Smile reflects how utopias are easily corrupted when rooted in authoritarian systems, a system the own Smith Syndicate are able to operate within. He stands as both mirror and foil to Garcian Smith: one man embracing a false identity, the other breaking free from it.

Far from a quirky boss from Suda 51’s twisted mind, Ulmeyda is a cautionary tale about the seductive power of ideology, and a chilling reminder that those who believe they’re in control are often the ones most manipulated.

Link, The Legend of Zelda

By Maurice Klimek, The Solo Gamedev

Link, the silent protagonist of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, is often overlooked as a person. While players guide him through epic quests and breathtaking landscapes, we rarely get a glimpse at his ambitions, dreams, or personal struggles.

Link’s silence is not just a design choice; as revealed in Princess Zelda’s diary, he chooses to bear his burdens quietly, feeling the weight of expectation as Hyrule’s chosen hero. This stoicism, while admirable, leaves him under-appreciated as a person with his own agency. We perceive him only by the call of duty he feels towards his work-a-holic princess-boss.

Even his victories are bittersweet, often leading to more responsibility rather than rest or recognition. Heroes deserve a voice—and a break—after saving the world time and again. Not just a sequel with more silence and responsibility!

Scientist, Half-Life series

By Sean Thomas Milligan, Ctrl+Alt+Decay

It doesn’t get more underrated than Half-Life’s humble scientist. Often nameless and identical to one another, these clonelike NPCs seem expendable. Yet they know more about what’s going on in the Black Mesa Research Facility and what needs to be done than the protagonist himself.

Without the scientists, Gordon Freeman would be trapped, forever doomed to wander the corridors of Black Mesa. The scientists offer utility, operating retinal scanners placed at locked doors and providing crucial institutional knowledge of the facility and its layout that Gordon — and by extension the player — lacks. Perhaps more important than their practical usefulness, however, is what they represent: a moment, however fleeting, of respite from the loneliness and the sterile, hostile halls of Black Mesa.

They may repeat the same few voice lines ad nauseum, but they give Gordon temporary companionship. So here’s to the nameless, generic, unsung heroes in lab coats: the scientists!

Conway, Kentucky Route Zero

By Evan C. Moore, Play Moore

Conway from Kentucky Route Zero (2013-2020) is underrated because he represents a worldview often left unacknowledged or disregarded in the zeitgeist. Here, Conway (the player-character) chooses his dog’s name and gender – not just what it is now, but what it always has been. Conway’s first action in the game is to determine what was, and he is largely defined by the past. Conway is a delivery driver for an antique shop, and they’re closing up. He’s on his last delivery.

The sun sets in the background of the first scene, just as Conway has to reckon with a life without this job. Play along to see his (tragic and emotional) journey. The “old man” (as the other characters call him) has an interesting relationship with labor. He is proud and respectful of all work. For Conway, work has a meaning for the worker’s internal character. And this is not a capitalistic view. Profit and productivity don’t matter. Rather, keep your word and die with dignity. This is still work, but for Conway it’s also a life.

Jill Warrick, Final Fantasy XVI

By Harrison Polites

Final Fantasy XVI should really be renamed Clive Rosfield: The Game. Every minute of the 40-hour title is dedicated to his story, suffocating everyone else’s plots in his wake. There’s no better example of this than the tale of his childhood confidant Jill Warwick.

Jill, of course, has a much better story. Raised alongside Clive and his brother Joshua as part of the region’s nobility, she’s later captured and taken prisoner by the Iron Kingdom and forced to wage war for them as Shiva’s dominant. She’s the only one in the world who can wield the powers of this game’s ice god. Clive eventually frees her from their service and helps her attain vengeance. By ‘help’, I mean he more or less kills all of them for her while she sort of watches? Time and time again, the game shows her as a very confident and capable character, only to have Clive step in and smother her. The final insult to injury: despite being an emotionally distracted, lacklustre leader, he convinces Jill to allow him to absorb Shiva’s power so he can take on the big bad by himself. If there’s a sequel to be had here, I sure hope Jill’s at the helm of it.

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