Alex's Top Ten...

Teams

The Normandy Crew

Badass

Mass Effect 3 is on the horizon, and what I think most people are excited about is not how the story will end in terms of the major plot point, but rather what will be the role and fate of each of the characters that have popped up since the Normandy first soared onto our screens. The first game’s success was down to creating a group of characters made up of aliens from sexy to menacing that you actually cared about, and you were directly responsible for their fates. In the second outing, the majority of this crew were dispersed across the galaxy on the presumption that you had died, and so you created a new team of equally fascinating characters to help you combat the impending doom to befall the galaxy. Again, we found favourites and made bonds, and again, our actions could decide whether a full team would join you at the end, or if a few coffins would be blasted off into space. It’s hard to create a game that gets you so invested in sub-characters like this, and although my personal favourites of Garrus, Wrex, Mordin and Miranda will be of particular interest to me when ME3 hits the shelves, every other Normandy crew member will appear on screen as an old friend and you can be confident that the relationships that you built by jetting across the galaxy will have its due rewards. And also, Seth Green as Joker? Yeaaaaah!

And yes, he was actually funny

The Fellowship of the Ring

In this I guess I’m referring to Frodo as the main character, and the eight other companions  that make up the Fellowship as his team. In a way, I guess you could argue that this team isn’t actually very good, because it splits up midway through the adventure and lets its main character take on the harrowing journey more or less on his own. But each character doesn’t then just give up and go home, they continue on to look out for each other and give Frodo the chance to destroy the Ring. You have Aragorn, who with the help of the slick elf Legolas and sturdy dwarf Gimli rally a kingdom against the armies of Saruman and defend the free people of Middle-earth. Merry and Pippin, who selflessly allow themselves to be captured by Uruk-hai in Frodo’s stead for what would be certain death if not for their cunning that allows them not only to escape their doom but organise Saruman’s defeat with the help of fricking trees and, in Merry’s case, contribute to the defeat of the Witch King. Boromir, who falls to the power of the Ring but redeems himself by sacrificing his life to defend two of the hobbits, felled by three arrows when most would die by one. Gandalf, who comes back from the fricking dead to bring hope the fragmented Fellowship, arriving precisely when he means to. Finally, Samwise Gamgee, the true hero of the Lord of the Rings, who accompanies Frodo and stays true to him throughout, taking on as much punishment as the journey to Mount Doom can throw at him and even remaining faithful to his friend from the Shire after being left to fend for himself. What better friends could you ask for?

Final Fantasy VII’s Team or AVALANCHE

Most of the Final Fantasy teams are pretty solid, and most of them could have been placed here, but the diversity of and interest behind each of the characters in this game are why they hold a place in my heart. To accompany the moody hero Cloud, you have some of the most memorable characters to grace the old Playstation way back when 3d graphics were still a new thing. Barret, the foul mouthed hulk of a man who fought against the odds to create a better world for his young daughter. Tifa, the cute but tough barmaid from Cloud’s youth who keeps the team grounded. Aeris (or Aerith), the sweetheart flower girl who you felt compelled to depend and who was central to probably one of the biggest shocks in game history. Red XIII, a wise beyond his years endangered wolf-dog-thing, and Cid, a cussing pilot who dreams of heading into space. Vincent, probably my favourite character, a cool and mysterious gunman who has a dark and tormented past which often manifests itself in powerful transformations, and Yuffie, who might be as annoying as hell but at least she’s has the whole ninja thing going. And then there’s Cait Sith who...um...

Luke’s companions

The original Star Wars trilogy is Lucas at his best; an epic saga of space battles, lightsabers, aliens, and a range of characters still present in pop culture today. Luke Skywalker may have been a new hope for the good guys, but he’d have been scraping sand from his boots if it wasn’t for the friends he made along the way. Old Ben Kenobi, the wise hermit neighbour who turns out to be a Jedi general, and who introduces Luke to the ways of the Force. R2-D2 and C-3PO, a pair of droids, both of whom prove vital to the fight against the Empire (R2 more than C-3PO really) so much so that they earned a place in the prequel films. Princess Leia, who turns the role of damsel in distress on its head when she gets a blaster in her hand and is ready to go to great lengths to serve the Rebels and save her friends. And of course, Han Solo and Chewbacca, the coolest duo in sci-fi history, a daring space smuggler and his walking carpet of Wookie muscle who begrudgingly are there to save everyone’s asses despite having a notorious gangster on their heels. Later, there would be the entire Rebel Alliance behind them. Fans will know the names of Wedge, Lando, Ackbar, Nien Nunb (maybe), and of course, the great Jedi Master Yoda. Who needs the Force when you have these badasses by your side?

The Serenity crew

I’ve already posted something about why each the characters in Firefly are kick-ass, so you can go search for that if you wish, but Whedon just has a way of making character groups work and have a chemistry that you really care about.

Team Buffy

Buffy’s earlier seasons reek of nineties humour, in a good way, but also in a sort of ‘gosh, were we like that?’ kind of way. Buffy, a vampire slayer, but also a teenage girl, had to take on the scores of evil manifestations that plagued her little town, and she couldn’t do it without accumulating a fair share of companions to kick vampire butt to dust with her. Some came and went, but the favourites have to be Willow; the shy, smart girl who later turned out to be pretty badass, Xander; the nerdy, wisecracking fool with unquestionable loyalty, Giles; the wise father figure with Buffy’s best intentions at heart, and Spike; the awesome of all awesome bad-guys-turned-good. Yes, okay, some of the other characters that popped up to help out were slightly less awesome (in my opinion, I mean, Dawn? Whiniest kid in the world) but while Buffy was the centre piece of the series, it was her friends that really made the show.

The 108 Stars of Destiny

I can't even remember who the main character is...

I only really mention these game because there were 108 characters to help you. 108. You might think that’s ridiculous, and it sort of is, but by god would you find all 108 of them! I only got to play Suikoden IV and V – pretty decent RPG’s, and the wealth of characters and ways to interact with characters did make it interesting. The 108 Stars of Destiny, as they were called, weren't simply an extra person who could do some damage, because to be honest by the time you got all of them you already had your favourite bunch. No, they joined you in your personalised castle or ship and made you feel like you had an actual army behind you, and you knew all of them. They weren’t blank faces, they had back-stories and relationships with one another, and even if you wouldn’t take them out to battle with you, you’d be sure to talk to them in your spare time and see what they had to say. Anyone who played this game was likely to have scoured the internet forums for the special circumstances needed to talk to a certain member, as with this many people on your team, you sure as hell wanted to get the most out of them.

 Ron, Hermione, and the House of Gryffindor

Harry Potter might have been the boy who lived or whatever, but he wouldn’t have made it out of the little room under the stairs if it weren’t for the wizards and witches behind him. Now, I’m not really a fan of the films, but the books were great and, as to be expected, the characters are substantially more present because it’s easier to read an adventure than translate it to be watched through every sentence on the big screen. You of course had the duo of Ron and Hermione who were at Harry’s side through every encounter with werewolves, giant snakes, and murderous villain. But, you also had the majority of his Gryffindor form group, and a few others in the years above and below him. I, for one, know that if I was in a form group with a celebrity who seemed determined to poke his nose everywhere, piss off murderers and generally do anything other than schoolwork, I’d have smuggled a Muggle weapon in halfway through second year and...well maybe not killed him, but at least slowed him down with a shattered kneecap. But no, the house of Gryffindor seemed more than happy to befriend the troublesome teen, and, in the end, even lay their lives on the line for him. I would have quite happily been in Ravenclaw and when stuff started to go sour, stayed at home somewhere, and hid my wind far into the recesses of the attic.

Ash’s original Pokemon

Pokémon was a good game, but it was the anime show that really kicked off the craze for many people. Now there’s all these ventures into different regions with ludicrous amounts of different Pokémon to catch, but when Ash Ketchum first turned up on our screens, we followed him in collecting together the best ever team of Poké-pals a trainer could ask for. Each little monster was either rescued or at some point formed a heart-warming bond with the plucky little hero from Pallet Town, and whenever he’d face off against another trainer or Team Rocket you’d be hoping for your favourites to be released, and even if they weren’t you would be satisfied with the substitute. There was of course Pikachu, the mascot of the series. Bulbasaur and Squirtle, reliable members to thwart foes who would be expected to outclass them. Caterpie, who eventually evolved into Butterfree and who was part of one of the most emotional episodes ever. Pidgeotto, the flying type who didn’t get much attention but was used often enough in Ash’s early days, eventually leaving Ash to protect its own kind. There were many others who briefly joined Ash on his journey before he seemed to trade out his whole team for the new Pokémon of different regions, but my personal favourite will always be Charmander; rescued from a neglectful trainer, evolving eventually into a disrespectful Charizard who only came to appreciate Ash much later in the series. I’ll always think this was his most powerful Pokémon, even if I could never really understand why it decided to stop obeying its loving master. Maybe months inside a tiny ball takes it out of you.

The X-Men

I’m going to admit, most of my knowledge of the X-Men comes from the films and that really cool cartoon show with the catchy theme-tune...if I remember I will link it here. And yes, I’m sure you can probably pick more awesome comic-based teams like The Avengers or The Justice League, but I like the X-Men gosh-darnit! Also, I am aware that the X-Men roster is huge over the span of decades of comics, so I’ll undoubtedly miss out a few fan-favourites but, this isn’t about you, this is the ones that I liked okay? Okay?! Anyway. Obviously, Wolverine was badass. Nightcrawler – awesome. Cyclops, a little annoying at times but still great. Storm –gotta love her power. Beast – fascinating. But my favourite has to be Gambit – I didn’t really understand his outfit and all that, but he was as cool as it gets and horribly represented in the Wolverine film. I kind of hope they’ll redo him in the X-Men: First Class series that is sure to develop after the success of the first film, but I doubt that will match up with what has already occurred. Oh well.