History Main / AllInARow

* If you look at older [[ChoroQ PennyRacers]] race demos or AI's movements, you'll notice that every car will follow each other in a line, except in the large straight lines where the line may split up into 2.

* In ''VideoGame/CustomRobo'' (the one for the GameCube), the story mode you usually just control one person. However, occasionally someone follows you somewhere, and has an extremely annoying habit of getting in the way as their movement is slaved to yours. At one point, roughly six to eight people are following you in what fans have affectionately dubbed the "World's Worst Conga Line." Arena has this also, but you can walk through your party, thankfully.

** In ''SonicHeroes'' the the other members of your team follow you around like this in the [[SuperSpeed Speed]] and [[SuperStrength Power]] [[StanceSystem formations]], through in the Power formation the characters will generally try to stand in a [[VFormationTeamShot V]] behind the Power characters and auto-attack weaker enemies for you.
** Likewise the Flickies in ''Sonic3DBlast'' follow Sonic to the letter. Having the chain of Flickies get hit would cause them to separate, as would having Sonic get hit, though you don't lose rings if a Flicky takes a hit. This was based on the game ''VideoGame/{{Flicky}}'', which had the same principle, albeit in 2D, and you played as a mother bluebird named Flicky[[hottip:*:yes, before becoming a species in ''SonicTheHedgehog'', it was merely the name of an individual]], not Sonic.
* ''VideoGame/{{Kirby}}''

** The same happens in ''Kirby's Dream Land 3,'' with Gooey.

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* The ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' games have your party follow your every move in the field and in dungeons, they'll try to stay on the panels directly adjacent to you unless ordered otherwise.
** Also in ''VideoGame/PokemonRanger'' and ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRanger Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia]]'', where your current party will trail you around until released. On some missions, you will be accompanied by human [=NPCs=] as well.
** And [=NPCs=] in ''Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness'', when traveling with you, travel like this.
** The sidekick in the original ''VideoGame/PokemonColosseum'', travel partners in the [=D/P/Pt=] games, Pokémon in Amity Square and Pikachu in Pokémon Yellow (that is, Special Pikachu Edition), but it's not so bad since there's only one at a time (even if the pathfinder for [[VideoGame/PokemonColosseum Rui]] ''was'' fairly dense). The first party Pokémon in ''[=HeartGold/SoulSilver=]'' follows the player as well. Note that anyone this doesn't apply to is part of a PartyInMyPocket instead.
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* ''PennyArcadeAdventures''.

* The ''KingdomHearts'' games has the other two party members following Sora around, and they don't follow you around perfectly... they often lag behind, having to catch up when you stop. And they will sometimes fight Heartless when you don't. They also tend to fall into holes, or try to climb obstacles when you're not.

** In 358/2 Days, the Organization members will teleport to catch up if they fall behind. Sometimes they like to teleport to you while you're in mid jump. You cannot run through them. Guess how helpful this is.

** ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]'' obeyed this trope by necessity as a part of the game's puzzles and platforming: you controlled the player in front with the directional pad, and the other brother followed closely behind. However, you had to command both brothers to do any other action, such as jumping. The sequel, ''[[MarioAndLuigiPartnersInTime Partners in Time]]'', did this with four characters in a piggy-back style control method.
* As well as ''DungeonSiege''.
* The ''PhantasyStar'' series' entries (prior to the Dreamcast-and-later online {{MMORPG}}s) all feature this trope. In ''IV'', you could even have a giant penguin follow you around in town, just for the hell of it.
** The PhantasyStarOnline games follow this trope as well. If you have more than one NPC companion, they'll follow you in a line when not in combat.
* The ''{{Lunar}}'' games generally follow this rule, although the 32-bit remakes changed it to where the support characters were "swallowed up" into Alex or Hiro's bodies in hostile areas.

* ''RetroGameChallenge'', a DS game that has mini-games that resembles a series of NES-like games, has a ''VideoGame/DragonQuest''/''Franchise/FinalFantasy''-like RPG called ''Guadia Quest''. All party members are visible, however, and follow the lead character around, unlike the original aforementioned games.

* The party in ''MagicalStarsign''. All [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters six of them.]]

* ''KQ'' (the obscure {{Lufia}}-inspired game, not ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'') has the rubber band variant of this trope, complete with companions that are capable of passing through stone walls if they fall far enough behind.
* Used on the 2D maps of ''{{Albion}}''.

* ''{{Pokemon}}'' are a PartyInMyPocket, of course (it's right there in the name), except in the ''Yellow'' version, which takes its cues from the anime and has your starter Pikachu following along behind you. You can turn around to check its mood at any time. ''Heart Gold'' and ''Soul Silver'' do the same with whichever Pokémon is in the lead slot.

* In the ''DarkSun'' games you could toggle freely between this mode and PartyInMyPocket.
* ''ShiningForce II'' does this whenever a character joins or a key NPC is traveling with the party. Almost always it is at least Bowie and Peter, then it's Oddler, then replace Oddler with Astral. on the world map, a transportation vehicle also follows, and they take a formation. (of course this is more like VideoGame/DragonQuest).\\

* Referenced in a ''{{Sketchbook}}'' strip: Sora's friends visit her when she's sick and her brother shows them to her room. They silently follow single file as he walks through the house, leading to him to comment that he feels like an RPG hero.

* In ''MickeyMousecapade'', the player controls Mickey Mouse, and Minnie Mouse follows along behind him, repeating his actions exactly a moment after he makes them (so that Minnie doesn't jump until she reachest the point where Mickey jumped, and therefore doesn't fall to her death). This has the interesting side affect of letting you make Minnie stop in midair by standing still when you land after a jump. It's also vital to beating some of the tougher end bosses - Minnie doesn't take damage from enemy attacks, so you can sometimes run just to the edge of the area the end boss's attacks can reach, then immediately double back and duck into cover, leaving Minnie out in the open where she can shoot at the end boss while Mickey stands where he can't be hit.

* Creator/BioWare is rather fond of this trope. ''Franchise/MassEffect'' and ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' have two party members flanking the player character at all times, ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' and ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'' have a single party member following the player in a less organized fashion, and ''Franchise/DragonAge'' and ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' avert this by allowing the player to jump between controlled players and even command multiple party members at once. One way or another though they end up adhering to your shoulders like bipedal pauldrons during conversations.

* All three ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER}}'' games, which isn't surprising since other elements of their gameplay are similar to that of ''VideoGame/DragonQuest''[[note]]with one noticeable exception being that the ''Mother'' series dropped RandomEncounters before ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' did with [[VideoGame/DragonQuestIX the same game as the one that brought back the trope on this page]][[/note]]. ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'' mixes the two variants. OnlyMostlyDead characters become a weird mix of angels and ghosts (except in ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'', where they just slouch and drag their feet). It's kinda strange really, you can give them a revival item to bring them back, but if you revive them through the hospital the doctor's act as if they've been rushed to the hospital a while ago. [[SchrodingersGun No matter which one you go to.]] This also applies in the fangames ''[[VideoGame/CognitiveDissonance Mother: Cognitive Dissonance]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/{{Mother4}} Mother 4]]''. Cognitive Dissonance follows the ''[[VideoGame/{{Mother1}} Mother]]'' and ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' trend of floating ghost angels for defeated party members while MOTHER 4 has fallen party members dragged behind the group.

* ''CthulhuSavesTheWorld'' has your party members follow behind Cthulhu in all their pixelated glory.

* RagnarokOnline used this for pets, though you can only have one at a time. It shares your space if you just changed maps or teleported (visibly overlapping, not [[PartyInMyPocket waiting in your pocket]]), but otherwise stops a square behind you. And if you manage to trap it behind an obstacle or outrun it, it fades away and reappears at your side.

* ''AceAttorneyInvestigations'' does this for Edgeworth's partners. They'll mimic all of his movements, though with a slight delay.

* ''{{Pokémon}}'' are a PartyInMyPocket, of course (it's right there in the name), except in the ''Yellow'' version, which takes its cues from the anime and has your starter Pikachu following along behind you. You can turn around to check its mood at any time. ''Heart Gold'' and ''Soul Silver'' do the same with whichever Pokémon is in the lead slot.

* All three ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER}}'' games, which isn't surprising since other elements of their gameplay are similar to that of ''VideoGame/DragonQuest''[[note]]with one noticeable exception being that the ''Mother'' series dropped RandomEncounters before ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' did with [[VideoGame/DragonQuestIX the same game as the one that brought back the trope on this page]][[/note]]. ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'' mixes the two variants. OnlyMostlyDead characters become a weird mix of angels and ghosts (except in ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'', where they just slouch and drag their feet). It's kinda strange really, you can give them a revival item to bring them back, but if you revive them through the hospital the doctor's act as if they've been rushed to the hospital a while ago. [[SchrodingersGun No matter which one you go to.]] This also applies in the fangames ''[[VideoGame/CognitiveDissonance Mother: Cognitive Dissonance]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/{{Mother4}} Mother 4]]''. Cognitive Dissonance follows the ''[[VideoGame/{{Mother1}} Mother]]'' and ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' trend of floating ghost angels for defeated party members.

->''"I'll follow behind you. [[LampshadeHanging What? What's so wrong with that? I happen to like following behind people!]]"''

Contrast PartyInMyPocket. Not to be confused with FollowTheLeader, which is about similar works emerging after a successful groundbreaker one.

Contrast PartyInMyPocket.

* ''RetroGameChallenge'', a DS game that has mini-games that resembles [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a series of NES-like games,]] has a ''VideoGame/DragonQuest''/''Franchise/FinalFantasy''-like RPG called ''Guadia Quest''. All party members are visible, however, and follow the lead character around, unlike the aforementioned games.

* The ''{{X-Men Legends}}'' and ''MarvelUltimateAlliance'' games have you controlling one of four characters, and switching between them. The AI controls the others in single-player mode, and makes their movement a bit more natural-looking than the "duckling" behavior the trope describes, though they will (for the most part) stay close to you. They are ''[[ArtificialStupidity usually]] smart enough to avoid walking off cliffs or into fires and so on.

* Played perfectly straight in ''{{Okage}}: Shadow King''. Two of your party members stay behind you, and the ones not present walk in temporarily during cutscenes when needed.

This is when the player controls a [[PlayerParty party of walking characters]] in a {{video game}} by controlling only one of them, usually the main hero. The rest of the party follows obediently in a line like ducklings after their mother. This is also known as caterpillaring.

** Also from ''SuperSmashBros'' are the VideoGame/{{Ice Climber}}s, who fight as a duo. One of the climbers is AI-controlled and mimics the player's movements very closely. This is essential, as their special attacks are pretty weak when separated, especially their recovery move, which is next to useless unless they are together. Very good players are able to deliberately desync them to perform extremely effective strategies that would normally only be possible in team battles, for example letting one of them throw the enemy and the other to knock him back, only for the first one to grab him again, which can repeated for a long time.

** Also from ''SuperSmashBros'' are the VideoGame/{{Ice Climber}}s, who fight as a duo. One of the climbers is AI-controlled and mimics the player's movements very closely. This is essential, as their special attacks are pretty weak when separated, especially their recovery move, which is next to useless unless they are together.
*** Very good players are able to deliberately desync them to perform extremely effective strategies that would normally only be possible in team battles, for example letting one of them throw the enemy and the other to knock him back, only for the first one to grab him again, which can repeated for a long time.

* All main installments of the ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' series after the first one (which only had one player character to show on the screen period), excluding ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'', which for some reason uses PartyInMyPocket (this isn't due to the 3D graphics because ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'' renders party members and the environment in 3D on less powerful hardware, but brought back AllInARow like II through VII). In a little twist, there is often a button that lets you talk to your party members, who will comment on the surroundings or tip you off about where to go next.
** And if any of your character's died, you ended up dragging their coffins behind you, still All In A Row.
* All three ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER}}'' games, which isn't surprising since other elements of their gameplay are similar to that of ''VideoGame/DragonQuest''[[note]]with one noticeable exception being that the ''Mother'' series dropped RandomEncounters before ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' did with [[VideoGame/DragonQuestIX the same game as the one that brought back the trope on this page]][[/note]]. ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'' mixes the two variants. OnlyMostlyDead characters become a weird mix of angels and ghosts (except in ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'', where they just slouch and drag their feet). It's kinda strange really, you can give them a revival item to bring them back, but if you revive them through the hospital the doctor's act as if they've been rushed to the hospital a while ago. [[SchrodingersGun No matter which one you go to.]]
** This trope is a bit of a problem in Earthbound, as the bike the player can get at the second town has only 1 seat and you get your second party member not long after that, and since Earthbound does not use PartyInMyPocket, the bike quickly becomes useless.
** This also applies in the fangames ''[[VideoGame/CognitiveDissonance Mother: Cognitive Dissonance]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/{{Mother4}} Mother 4]]''. Cognitive Dissonance follows the ''[[VideoGame/{{Mother1}} Mother]]'' and ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' trend of floating ghost angels for defeated party members.

* In ''VideoGame/LiveALive'', where the other party members would follow behind in various formations depending on how many there were.
** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in Prehistoric Chapter when the hero, caveman Pogo, falls down a pit and his faithful gorilla, Gori, sees nothing better to do than just jump with him.

** In ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIII'', the party members tried to find their own paths, often taking a few seconds to catch up if the leader was running. They could get caught up on obstacles, whereupon they faded away and suddenly appeared beside them. Especially bad at getting stuck was Garr, who, being much larger, could not pass through small spaces. Like ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', there was no problem with OnlyMostlyDead, as dead characters were bumped to 1 HitPoint (with reduced Maximum Hit Points) after battle concluded.
** ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'' reverted to the 1-3 tiles behind method.
* The ''KingdomHearts'' games has the other two party members following Sora around, and they don't follow you around perfectly... they often lag behind, having to catch up when you stop. And they will sometimes fight Heartless when you don't. They also tend to fall into holes, or try to climb obstacles when you're not

* ''ThroneOfDarkness'': While you can set formations for your party, all positions are absolute (instead of relative) to your facing, and need constant resetting if the party doesn't fit into a particular turn. The feature ends up being mostly ignored.

* DonkeyKongCountry games are known to have two playable characters in the player's command at the same time, with one active and the other following just behind until you switch their positions.

** Likewise the Flickies in ''Sonic3DBlast'' follow Sonic to the letter. Having the chain of Flickies get hit would cause them to separate, as would having Sonic get hit, though you don't lose rings if a Flicky takes a hit. This was based on the game ''VideoGame/{{Flicky}}'', which had the same principle, albeit in 2D, and you played as a Flicky, not Sonic.

** ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar'' also has enemies you barf back up act somewhat like this when a second player isn't controlling them.

* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'' uses the rubberbanding variant, and while your party members are tangible, you can push them out of the way rather easily [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential (And off cliffs, if you feel like it, since they'll get better quickly enough).]]

* ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'' and ''VideoGame/SeikenDensetsu3'' use the rubber band version in its single player mode.

* The ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' games.

** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in Prehistoric Chapter when the hero, caveman Pogo, falls down a pit and his faithful gorilla, Gori, sees nothing better to do than just jump wih him.

* All the ''VideoGame/BreathOfFire'' games until ''[[VideoGame/BreathOfFireDragonQuarter Dragon Quarter]]'' displayed your current battle party all the time. In most games, they simply trailed the leader's movements by 1-3 tiles, and you could cycle through your party, as only the special abilities of the one on point could be activated on the OverworldNotToScale. This could lead to the odd animation of party members passing through each other if you suddenly reversed course.