#5: Mallow (Super Mario RPG)
Mallow breaks my heart. He isn’t even a bad character! Sure, he cries way too often, but I still like the little guy. The problem is that he’s just not great at anything — he isn’t as powerful as Geno, he can’t heal as good as Princess Toadstool, he isn’t unique like Bowser, and he isn’t our main man Mario. There are only 5 playable characters in Super Mario RPG, and Mallow is the odd man out.
Sometimes you just can’t fit all the characters you want onto a team. And Mallow just gets squeezed out once you’ve got a full party. The moment Bowser or Toadstool join, Mallow is immediately put in the backburner. He’s your earliest companion, so you’ll be using the fluffy little cloud guy a lot, but he never survives contact with the mid-game. Sorry, Mallow.
#6: Ignus (Planescape: Torment)
There are no boring characters in Planescape Torment, the weirdest old-school RPG based on the Dungeons and Dragons license. This mind-bending game asks hard questions about the nature of mankind’s soul, and Ignus is another piece in that philosophical puzzle. He’s a formerly evil wizard that’s completely consumed by an unquenchable flame. Ignus is a human fireball, and that’s radical.
But he’s one fire I almost immediately put out. Ignus is a Chaotic Neutral character, and his further backstory isn’t all that interesting compared to other characters you’ll meet — if I had all the time in the world, I’d love to bring Ignus around the ever-changing planescape, but I’m limited here! Ignus can also teach new fire spells to the hero, but only after burning him and causing permanent max HP penalties. That straight up sucks, and Ignus can go sit in a corner if he’s going to play us like that.
Discover more overlooked characters on the next page.