Basic Trope: The main character must be in your team at all times.
- Straight: Bob can't be switched out for another party member.
- Exaggerated: Bob is always on screen, even in cutscenes taking place in completely different locations from where he currently is.
- Downplayed: In a Mon game, your first Mon can't be released from your team, but it doesn't have to fight.
- Justified:
- Bob's aura is the only thing allowing the team to attack monsters, and if he was switched out they would do no damage.
- Bob is the Only Sane Man in a Dysfunction Junction. He's the only one the other party members will listen to in a fight.
- Only Bob knows how to drive their militarized VW Transporter.
- You only control Bob, no matter what party/team he's in, or in what position. note
- Inverted:
- Bob's gimmick is that he can escape from battle for a few turns to set up, while no-one else can.
- Before battle, you can choose whether or not to have Bob on the team, but everyone else is required.
- One villain appears in every battle.
- Subverted: For part of the game, Bob can't be switched out, but he later learns that he can't always be in battle.
- Double Subverted: In the Very Definitely Final Dungeon, Bob has to be in the party to weaken the monsters with his aura.
- Parodied: Bob is useless, and only remains at level one, but he has to be in the party at all times.
- Zig-Zagged: Bob has to be in the party in story important battles, but not Random Encounters.
- Enforced: "Seeing as Bob is meant to be the player, let's make him always playable."
- The game prevents you from switching party members at will, or at all.
- Averted: Bob can be switched out at any time.
- Lampshaded: "Bob seems to be in every fight, isn't that weird?"
- Invoked: Bob tells his team that he has to be in every fight, because he wants to be famous.
- Exploited: Enemies always have attacks strong against Bob, because they will always face him.
- Defied: Alice tells Bob to let everyone else have a chance, because they are much lower level than Bob.
- Discussed: "I'm glad Bob isn't the kind of type of hero that always fights and hogs the EXP!"
- Conversed: "My main criticism with this game is that you always have to play as Bob. Why?"
- Deconstructed: Bob always fighting gets him killed.
- Reconstructed: Alice makes sure that the rest of the team take it in turns to fight.
Switch out a side character only HERE.
