History Main / MissingMainCharacter

** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'': Downplayed. After a certain late-game WhamEpisode in [[spoiler:Mechonis Core]], Shulk is incapacitated, removing him from the playable roster. However, he stays with the party as a non-fighting "{{guest|StarPartyMember}}". He recovers after a huge LoreDump, and pulls BigDamnHeroes on the rest of the party.

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'' (combined with AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent) has a bit of an odd form of this. Because the game employs a chapter-based progression system where you're forced to play through the backstories of your party members up until they meet and join the hero, for the majority of the game the protagonist isn't even playable, with his supporting cast taking the role of main playable character for each of their respective chapters.
* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' has a unique example. While the main character, Rex, is still usable, Chapter 7 removes access to his main [[EquippableAlly Blade]] Pyra/Mythra, who is also the {{Deuteragonist}} of the story. [[spoiler: As Chapter 6 ends with her being captured by Torna]].
* The ''Rance'' series often employs this in games that incorporate Fiends in them. Basically, Fiends can only be harmed by a few weapons in the entire world, and [[TheProtagonist Rance's]] sword [[LivingWeapon Chaos]] happens to be one of them. [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield Rance also happens to be the only person around who can wield Chaos]], meaning that if he's incapacitated in some way the heroes have no way of fighting back until he is recovered. Some examples across the series include:
** A late game dungeon in ''Rance VI'' features [[LovableSexManiac Rance]] [[HoneyTrap falling for the seduction of]] the Fiend La Seizel's minion [[AnIcePerson Yuki]] and [[GroinAttack getting his penis frozen solid]]. While Rance remains with the party afterwards, any sudden movements may damage his precious [[ICallHimMrHappy Hyper Weapon]], [[SkewedPriorities which is more important to Rance than saving the day]], so he's removed from the selectable roster until the player finds a means of unthawing it. [[PragmaticVillainy La Seizel seizes this opportunity to attack the party numerous times]], forcing it to endure through several [[HopelessBossFight Hopeless Boss Fights]] along the way.
** ''[[UpdatedReRelease Rance 03]]'' includes a late game section not present in the original version where the Fiend Ithere's minion Topaz uses her powers to render [[IdiotHero Rance]] BrainwashedAndCrazy and turn him against the party. This leads to a short section where the party sans Rance has to trek through an entire floor of the dungeon and fight against [[DualBoss both Topaz and the mind-controlled Rance]] at the end of it to free him.
** ''Rance X'' features an extended section when the Fiend [[GorgeousGorgon Medusa]] [[BrownNote turns Rance into a statue]] and takes him away to her lair. The party not only has to storm Medusa's headquarters without him, but it actually has to ''fight'' her without a means of damaging her to buy the healers of the group time to find and release his body among her countless other frozen victims, after which the boss fight continues as normal. [[DevelopersForesight Notably, this segment rewards]] the OutsideTheBoxTactic of recruiting [[HeroOfAnotherStory Kentarou]], [[ThereIsAnother the guy in possession of the]] ''[[ThereIsAnother other]]'' [[ThereIsAnother weapon capable of harming fiends]], prior to attempting it by allowing the party the ability to damage Medusa without having to stall until Rance is freed. In fact, it's totally possible to kill Medusa ''before'' Rance is freed by doing this, which results in a completely unique scene afterwards where Kentarou finishes her off and leaves Rance furious after he is finally rescued for [[KillSteal having his kill stolen]].
* ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork''
** At one point in ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork5TeamColonelAndTeamProtoMan'', [=MegaMan=] gets kidnapped and Lan has to use the eponymous team leader as a replacement Navi until the next mission, where [=MegaMan=] DS is the boss. Cue IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight.
** ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork6CybeastGregarAndCybeastFalzar''
*** The first time uses a variant in which instead of going missing, [=MegaMan=] is instead incapacitated and in critical condition [[spoiler:due to the Cybeast he assimilated trying to gain control of his body.]] Lan has to temporarily use a Link Navi (once again, the Navi in question depends on the version of the game) to FindTheCure
*** The second time, Lan and [=MegaMan=]'s reunion with their friends is cut short when those friends get kidnapped, and when [=MegaMan=] mounts a rescue, the perpetrators kidnap him as well and set him (as [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Beast Out]] [=MegaMan=]) loose in the real world using a Copybot. After an attempt at another IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight (that failed), [=MegaMan=] retreats, and Lan has to send another Link Navi after him.

* In ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound|1994}}'', Ness and Paula are locked in a prison and Paula telepathically calls Jeff to save them. You then play as Jeff through Winters until he gets to the Sky Runner and rescue them. Additionally, after eating the Magic Cake you play as Poo as he masters his training before joining up with the rest of the Chosen Four.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'', Ness and Paula are locked in a prison and Paula telepathically calls Jeff to save them. You then play as Jeff through Winters until he gets to the Sky Runner and rescue them. Additionally, after eating the Magic Cake you play as Poo as he masters his training before joining up with the rest of the Chosen Four.

* There's a section in ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos: Eternal Wings'' and the ''Lost Ocean'' where the player has to take control of Xelha while Kalas, the main character for the other 95% of the game, does various spoiler-y things.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', there's a portion of the game during which Terra Branford leaves the party due to [[spoiler:transforming into her Esper form for the first time and then flying off in a frenzy]], thus making Locke, Celes and the party go after her. In the second half of the game (dubbed [[DarkWorld 'The World of Ruin']]) [[spoiler: the party is scattered and you start with only Celes in the party. Terra does not need to be re-recruited during these events. However, she is the only character who always appears in the ending regardless (aside from Celes, Edgar, and Setzer, who are required no matter what).]]
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', there's a short period of time where Cloud is removed from the party and presumed dead, and later found in a braindead state. During these times, Tifa and Cid take turns being the party leader.
* There's a point in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' during which Noel Kreiss, one of the game's two protagonists, gets separated from Serah, the other protagonist, due to [[spoiler:Alyssa Zaidele sabotaging the time gate the group used in Academia, splitting the party up and then taking them straight to Caius.]] During this section of the game, Serah has to find and rescue Noel from [[spoiler:the dream world Caius trapped him in]].
* After the completion of the 4.3 main scenario in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', the player is briefly given control of [[{{Deuteragonist}} Alphinaud]] for an instanced duty, when he is separated from the Warrior of Light and attacked by the Emperor's soldiers [[spoiler: on his way to Garlemald with [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Maxima]]]]. This marks the first occasion of the player controlling an NPC, though it would not be the last, as most of the Scions, Hien, and a handful of others have scenarios where they are playable. Amusingly, there are segments where the game feels the need to inform you that you are playing as you, and not as another character.

* While ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' normally has CantDropTheHero in effect, there are a few portions of the game in which [[PlayerCharacter the Warden]] is removed from your party. The first involves entering the Fade to kill a demon -since only Mages can enter the Fade voluntarily, if your Warden is a Rogue or Warrior you have to send someone else. The second is a mission in which your other characters have to break the Warden out of prison (though you can also choose to escape as the Warden). The third is a DuelBoss CombatByChampion against [[spoiler: Loghain]], which can be fought as any party member other than Dog. And finally, a small segment of the final battle has whatever party members you didn't take with you HoldTheLine against the Darkspawn to buy your main party time to kill the Archdemon.

*** The first time uses a variant in which instead of going missing, [=MegaMan=] is instead incapacitated and in critical condition [[spoiler:due to the Cybeast he assimilated trying to gain control of his body.]] Lan has to temporarily use a Link Navi (once again, the Navi in question depends on the version of the game) to FindTheCure.

* After the completion of the 4.3 main scenario in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', the player is briefly given control of [[{{Deuteragonist}} Alphinaud]] for an instanced duty, when he is separated from the Warrior of Light and attacked by the Emperor's soldiers [[spoiler: on his way to Garlemald with [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Maxima]]]]. This marks the first occasion of the player controlling an NPC.

* Thanks to ''VideoGame/SweetHome'''s {{Permadeath}} mechanic, it is entirely possible for the player to get [[TheLeader Kazuo]] killed and have to soldier on without him. You'll be missing his [[KillItWithFire lighter]], for sure.