In most video games, the main characters are the undeniable heroes of the story, with the plot mostly focusing on them and their battles against the evil forces, and them being the strongest among the good guys, as well as the most magnetic and charismatic personality.
But, there are sone exceptions to this rule. In some cases, the sidekick comes close or actually succeeds in stealing them limelight and securing their place as fan favorites, either by being stronger or being a more likable character all around thanks to their design and personality. In these case, the sidekick definitely outshines the hero.
8 Midna — The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Link is the main protagonist of the famous Nintendo franchise The Legend of Zelda, and one of the most famous heroes in video game history. His appearance and existence alone are iconic, and he has enjoyed dame existing in other IPs such as Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros, despite the franchise he originated from being named after another character.
One of the darkest entries into the Zelda franchise was Twilight Princess, which introduced players to the titular Twilight Princess Midna. Midna remains as a companion to Link throughout the game, acting as something of a sidekick. Midna injects much-needed humor to juxtapose the darkness of Twilight Princess, and even takes a few digs at the hero as she dishes out advice and tips. As the talkative one of the pair, she definitely steals Link's limelight more than once, and even the game gains its subtitle from her.
7 Garrus Vakarian — Mass Effect
One of the many companions that accompany Commander Shepard on their quest to save the galaxy, Garrus Vakarian has always stood out as one of the more popular characters in the Mass Effect series. His earnest cop who wants to get the job done nature had players either encouraging this side of him, or pushing him to be better, but Garrus grows of his own accord following Shepard's death at the start of Mass Effect 2.
Garrus dons the moniker Archangel and becomes Omega's most-wanted for his efforts in rooting out the corruption there, effectively stepping out of Shepard's shadow to cast one of his own. As such, Garrus goes from one of Shepard's sidekick to a hero in his own right, and definitely outshines them to the people who learned to fear his codename.
6 Donald Duck — Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts is definitely one of the most ambitious game series of all time, combining the massively popular and successful IPs of Walt Disney and Final Fantasy into one JRPG series, creating a beloved game franchise that captured the hearts of many gamers.
Even with amazing and established characters already populating the game the developers took and risk and developed a brand-new character Sora. And though Sora was a fantastic character in his own right, the Disney sidekicks like Donald Duck definitely outshined him thanks to their existing notoriety, and seeing a fan favorite whip out impressive spells to save allies and damage enemies definitely puts them into the spotlight.
5 Elizabeth Comstock — BioShock Infinite
BioShock Infinite was a great departure from the rest of the series that was set in the underwater utopia turned nightmare Rapture, instead taking players above the clouds as new protagonist Booker DeWitt in order to free Elizabeth, a young woman with great powers that is help captive there.
Though DeWitt is a capable man that can dispatch hostiles with guns and 'Vigors's, which grant users powers like magic at the tip of their hands, he is not as engaging as Elizabeth. Elizabeth not only has the powers to traverse time, but also shows a multi-faceted personality. She acts sternly towards Booker and his skewed ethics, but sympathetic towards Songbird in his final moments, even though he acted as her jailer. Between the two main characters, sidekick Elizabeth certainly stood out at the more interesting character.
4 Varric Tethras — Dragon Age 2
In typical BioWare fashion, Dragon Age 2 is populated by sidekick characters that can accompany Hawke and their exploits on Kirkwall, each with varying skillsets to ensure a balanced party composition, and disparate personalities so that each character and their interactions are wholly unique. One of the most popular companions is Varric Tethras whose popularity endured though to Inquisition, and it's clear to see why.
Varric is as charming and witty as they come, offering up some brilliant laugh-inducing one-liners, but that is not to say he is just the comedic relief. Varric also shows a strong sense of morals and a desire to do right by others as explored through his relationship with Hawke and fondness of other companions like Merrill. In certain aspects Varric is a main character in his own right, and definitely outshines Hawke on multiple occasions.
3 Ada Wong — Resident Evil 2
Though Ada is not a sidekick by conventional means, she certainly shows up enough throughout Leon's scenario to be seen as his handy helper, remaining mysterious and aloof as she does, despite Leon's best efforts to get answers on her motives and the reason she is in Raccoon City in the first place. Though she is a playable character in later installments such as Resident Evil 6, she remains relegated to side-character status in RE2 and 4.
Her stoic demeanor and femme fatale-like character archetype catapult her into fandom fame, ensuring she is a favorite among players despite not having as many appearances as a playable character as other legacy characters like Chris and Leon. Despite this, she often outshines Leon in RE2 thanks to how badass she is, saving Leon time and time again.
2 Kaine - NeiR Replicant
An incredible entry into the NieR franchise introduces us to a host of fantastic characters, including the big brother who sets out into the world to save his younger sister Yonah, the talkative tome Grimoire Weiss, reclusive young boy Emil, and Kaine, a beautiful but deadly woman, who all aid him on his endeavor find the cure between the pages of the Sealed Verses for the Black Scrawl, a disease which has struck down his younger sister.
Compared to Kaine, the main character seems a bit like a wet blanket, lacking all of her fierceness and determination. Though she is uncouth and often rude, this does not take away from the magnetism of her personality, which often has her and front and center of the stage rather than the main character.
1 Morgana - Persona 5
As with most of the Persona games, the protagonist remains somewhat of a blank page, allowing players to name them and shape their personality through dialogue options, as the player is supposed to project themselves onto the character to make them more relatable. The trade-off is that this makes the protagonist less established than the companions, who have a pre-written personality to accompany their colorful designs.
One of these companions is Morgana, the trusty feline side-kick that shows Joker the ropes when traversing into Palaces and Mementos, and all about manifesting a persona to battle shadows. As such, it really does seem like Morgana is actually the one running the show, bossing Joker around even when he's at his own home. This definitely puts Morgana into the limelight where the protagonist should be.