Top Ten Video Game Sidekicks of All Time

1. Tails - Sonic the Hedgehog 2 – 150 Votes

Sidekick to Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails first appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Sega System. Though the origins of how Tails hooked up with Sonic are different depending on which Sonic game you play, the general story is that Tails took up as Sonic’s sidekick after he saw him run. Tails has two tails (hest the nickname), and can use these tails like a helicopter to fly for a while in the air.

Trivia: Tails’ real name is Miles Prower, which is a play on Miles per hour.

2. Luigi - Super Mario Bros. – 132 Votes

Sidekick and brother to Mario, Luigi first appeared in the Mario Bros. arcade game and then in the Super Mario Bros. game for the Nintendo Famicon. Original Luigi was identical in looks to Mario, except for his green overalls, but over the years Luigi become more defined as he was shown thinner and taller than his brother.

3. Yoshi - Super Mario World – 97 Votes

Sidekick and mode of transportation to Mario, Yoshi first a

ppeared in Super Mario World for the Super Famicom system. Once released from his egg, Yoshi decided to help Mario search for the missing dinosaur eggs and thus taking Luigi spot as Mario’s sidekick in the game. Yoshi was known for his ability to capture enemies with his long tongue and then shallow them. Yoshi could gain different abilities depending on the colour of the shell he swallowed: Blue ones could make Yoshi fly; Red ones could make Yoshi breathe fire after he swallowed an enemy, etc.

4. Epona - Legend of Zelda 64 Series – 73 Votes

Sidekick and mode of transportation to Link, Epona the horse first appeared in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo 64 system. Epona

was born and raised at the Lon Lon Ranch. After the ranch was taken over from Talon and Malon by the cruel Ingo, Link saved Epona from being given to Ganondorf by winning her in a race. Epona could be summoned in the fields of Hyrule at anytime if Link played her song on his ocarina.

Trivia: Epona is named after a Celtic goddess of horses.

5. Agro - Shadow of the Colossus – 61 Votes

Sidekick and mode of transportation to Wander, Agro the horse appeared in Shadow of the Colossus for the Playstation 2. Vital to defeating some of the faster moving Colossi in the game, Agro becomes a huge help in the quest to defeat all the Colossi and save Wander’s girl. There are, however, many places which Agro cannot reach. Colossi often inhabit areas beyond deep water or obstacles that must be scaled. Agro cannot travel beyond these, and when separated from Wander by such obstacles cannot participate in the following battle.

6. Max - Sam and Max – 52 Votes

Sidekick to Sam, Max first appeared in Sam and Max hit the road for the PC and Mac. Working in a detective agency (or as Freelance Police), Max the bunny joins with Sam the dog as they travel the tourist traps of America to track down an escaped sasquatch. Max was indispensable as a sidekick as Sam would find many uses for the 3 foot hyperkinetic rabbity thing throughout the point and click game.

7. Ball - Katamari Damacy – 51 Votes

Sidekick and tool to Prince, the Ball first appeared in Katamari Damacy for the Playstation 2 system. Given to the Prince by the King of the Cosmos, the ball was a way for the Prince to roll up as many items in the world to create new planets, stars and constellations to replace the cosmos that the King had accidentally destroyed.

8. Glottis – Grim Fandango – 42 Votes

Sidekick and driver to Manny, Glottis appeared in Grim Fandango for the PC and Mac. Glottis is an enormous orange demon, who serves as Manny's driver and mechanic at the Department of Death. When Glottis is fired from the Department of Death, he becomes Manny's friend and companion in the search for Meche. Because Manny isn't able to drive cars, Glottis built a huge car, probably the only car that Glottis fits in.

9. Daxter – Jak and Daxter – 32 Votes

Sidekick to Jak, Daxter first appeared in Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy for the Playstation 2. Daxter was originally an Elf like creature like Jak, but after disobeying the Green Sage, Samos, and visited the Misty Island, Daxter falls into a pit of Dark Echo and is transformed into an Ottsel, half otter, and half weasel. This starts the adventure to seek out the help of Gol Acheron, the sage of Dark Eco who maybe able to turn Daxter back to normal.

10. Navi - Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – 25 Votes

Sidekick to Link, Navi the Fairy appeared in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64 system. Instructed to help Link by the Great Deku Tree, Navi joins Link in his quest to save Hyrule as his guide and mentor. Constantly getting Link’s attention by yelling “Hey”, Navi would show Link how to perform certain tasks and moves.

As you can tell by the above list, it seems that modes of transportation are a key item in being a great sidekick as well as generally usefulness, but no matter what the purpose, a sidekick is always what makes a Hero greater than what they could be on their own.

My thanks to all who nominated their favorite sidekicks and to all those who voted for them; this list is yours.