Party The term party refers to the collection of characters under the player ' s control in the " Final Fantasy " series . Parties thus decide who the player takes into battle , making it a pivotal detail of the game ' s battle system . Some games have set parties , with members joining and leaving as the plot demands it , such as " Final Fantasy IV " , while other games allow the player to swap party members in and out to form whatever team they desire , which began in " Final Fantasy VI " . The number of party members changes from game to game , but four is the most common configuration . Most games also have a " party leader " , usually the main protagonist , who must be present in the party at all times except under certain conditions . This party leader is usually the character that appears on the world map and locations , unless they are KO ' d , when another character takes their place . Usually , after reviving , the leader retakes their place . Appearances . " Final Fantasy " . The player chooses jobs for four party members at the start of the game , and the party and the jobs remains set for the entire game . The character that appears outside of battle is whoever is at the top of the formation . " Final Fantasy II " . Firion , Maria and Guy are all permanently controllable in the party , with various other party members joining and leaving at set intervals . The party limit is four . The Middle character target bug is a bug in the NES version , where the middle two characters of a party battle formation tend to be attacked far more often than the top or bottom slot characters , and if one character were to be put in the back row out of those two characters , the character in the front row would take as many hits as the other character combined . " Final Fantasy III " . As in " Final Fantasy " , the player controls four set characters , but allies join the party at set intervals . In the DS remake , allies serve as a " fifth party member " that can help out in battle ; however , they take their turn before either side attacks , and cannot be damaged . " Final Fantasy IV " . The party is made up of five characters , with two in one row and three in the other . As later games dropped back down to four or even three members , " Final Fantasy IV " boasted the largest party in the main series until the release of " Final Fantasy XI " 11 years later , and remains the largest party among single - player games . The game ' s protagonist Cecil Harvey is the only permanently playable character , and all other party members join and leave the party during the course of the game . In the " Advance " release , after destroying the Giant of Babil , all previously playable party members except for Fusoya and Tellah can be swapped in and out of the party at will , but Cecil must always be present . This feature was removed for the Nintendo DS but reinstated in " " release . By default , Cecil is the party leader , but the player can switch it by pressing the L and R buttons in the SNES and " Advance " releases , the L1 and R1 buttons in the PlayStation release , the Y button in the Nintendo DS release , or the L and R in the PlayStation Portable release . This can only be done outside of battle and has no effect inside of one as it only determines which character shows up on screen when exploring . " Final Fantasy IV - Interlude - " . The party is made up with the same amount as it was in the previous game , and functions the same way . As with its predecessor , there is a five - party limit . In addition , it has 22 permanent playable characters and 11 temporary characters , making the grand total of 33 playable characters . For most of the chapters , the party is automatically determined , with characters joining and leaving during plot points ; however , during the last part of the Final Tale , the player is free to create a party from any of the main playable characters ( though Cecil and Golbez must be in the party for the battle with the Dark Knight or the result is an instant game over ) . " Final Fantasy V " . The playable cast is again limited to four , and the cast is set , although partway through the game , Galuf is replaced by his granddaughter Krile who receives all his skills . In addition , Lenna , and to a lesser extent Faris , are absent from the party for a short amount of time . This makes Bartz the only member to be in the team constantly , although there is a moment where only Galuf is controllable . " Final Fantasy VI " . The party limit remains at four . " Final Fantasy VI " is the first game in the series that allow players to change party members at will , and the game has an unusually large cast of eleven playable characters ( the most of any " Final Fantasy " main series game ) , three hidden characters , and seventeen temporary characters . Once the player gains access to these places , party members can be swapped around freely at Narshe , and later the player ' s airship , although on a few occasions , some characters will leave and cannot be chosen . At other times , the party is set for certain in - game events — for example , Locke and Celes must be in the party during the attack on Vector , but the other two party members can be whomever the player chooses . In the World of Ruin , the party is scattered , and while the player is again free to make their own party they are limited to the party members they have found and / or rescued . Restrictions on who can be in the party only occur for subquests — for example , the subquest to hunt the monster Hidon can only be accessed once the player enters Thamasa with Strago and Relm in the party . Otherwise , Hidon will not appear . Notably , Celes , Edgar , and Setzer are the only characters the player is forced to recruit before the final dungeon becomes accessible , and it is possible to complete the game without recruiting any other characters . Doing this is a popular self - imposed challenge known as a C . E . S . game ( for Celes Edgar Setzer ) . In case of the empty party glitch the player ends up with no members in their party , freezing the game . It usually occurs through use of a . When the player bets the Ichigeki at the Dragon ' s Neck Coliseum in the World of Ruin , they will fight Shadow . If the player chooses Gogo to go against him , if Shadow is the first one to attack , and if Gogo chooses the Mimic command , Gogo will mimic Shadow ' s last attack and attack him / herself . This happens because Shadow is classed by the game as a party member , despite appearing as an " enemy " for this battle . Recruiting all party members in the World of Ruin in the mobile / Steam version earns the " Hang on , Old Man ! " achievement . " Final Fantasy VII " . The party limit is reduced to three , although the Materia system arguably makes up for the loss of an extra comrade with an added degree of customization to the party members . Fairly early in the game after leaving Midgar , the PHS lets the player change their party at will at Save point s and on the world map . At certain times the player will not have the opportunity to use the PHS , effectively making the party set for that time , and on other occasions certain party members must be in the party . Sephiroth is also available as a temporary party member in a flashback , but is AI - controlled . Cloud must be in the party at all times , except for instances where the party is split up ( in which case Aeris and Barret lead , respectively ) , and a short period on Disc 2 when he leaves the party . Tifa and later Cid take his place as party leader during his absence . Like in previous games , only the party leader ( Cloud as default ) is seen on the field , and the other characters disappear " inside " him when they join his party . A parody of this scene was in the planning stages for the game , as revealed in " Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Omega " : The party leader who cannot be switched out is labelled " Character # 0 " in the game code , while the two others are " Character # 1 " and " Character # 2 " . Whenever the player leaves the main menu the game will check from top to bottom if a character has a set position . This is why entering the menu and using " Order " to re - arrange characters or switching the optional characters in the PHS menu will not affect which member is Character # 1 or # 2 . To change this , a member must leave the party entirely and a new party member must be introduced . Only if the player switches both of the optional characters and is led to the main menu can they affect which character becomes # 1 or # 2 by using " Order " ; the game does the check first after leaving the main menu , so with no new spots settled the player can choose which optional member becomes # 1 by placing them at the top ( or if the party leader is at the top , place the optional member beneath the party leader ) . The game calls for Character # 1 or Character # 2 to speak on the field and the player can adjust the party members to change which dialogue they are assigned to use . If Barret is in the party , he will speak , if not it will be Tifa , then Aeris and so on . The order in which team members ' lines are prioritized varies , but in general the early members receive higher spots than later recruits . This means that when a priority ladder becomes long enough , the character at the last spot never gets to speak . This can lead to situations where the player normally never witnesses some dialogue in the game , because the characters the lines belong to are always at the bottom of the priority ladder . There exists a glitch concerning the event where Yuffie Kisaragi is recruited , where the player can access PHS when not intended to be possible . " Final Fantasy VIII " . The party limit is again limited to three , although the player can change the party at any time on the world map . Again , at certain times the party is set and certain members cannot be changed . Edea and Seifer are temporarily playable , and Laguna , Kiros and Ward make up their own party in certain sequences , but cannot be changed among the normal party members . Squall must be in the party at all times , except for a few occasions where the player controls two parties , in which case the second party is assigned an alternative leader . Unlike previous games , the party in " Final Fantasy VIII " does not disappear into the lead member . Instead , the other party members follow the leader ' s path exactly as he or she moves . This was likely done as an attempt to create a more realistic experience for the player . The exception to this is whenever the party appears on the world map , at which point only the party leader is visible . " Final Fantasy IX " . The party limit is once again increased to four for Final Fantasy IX . For roughly the first half of the game , the party is set and cannot be changed except when given the option to do so as the plot requires . After acquiring the " Blue Narciss " , the party members can be changed as the player wishes . Zidane is the party leader and must be present at all times , except for within Memoria and the Crystal World , where Zidane can be switched out ( though he will still appear as the controllable character while not in battle ) . " Final Fantasy IX " takes an alternate approach to scenes involving party members . Rather than disappearing and reappearing from the leader , cut scenes are utilized to initiate party interactions with each other , enemies and the environment . When the scene ends the screen will fade out and return with only the party leader present and ready to be controlled by the player . " Final Fantasy X " . Unlike earlier games , players are able to switch between all seven characters mid - battle , though only three can be used at a time . If a party member is KO ' d they cannot be replaced , and must be revived first . If all three current characters are killed or petrified ( either turned to stone or shattered ) , the player gets a Game Over . Tidus is the main playable character shown on the maps , with the exception of the Via Purifico scene , where Yuna briefly takes this position . " Final Fantasy X - 2 " . Yuna , Rikku , and Paine form the playable party throughout the entire game . However , there are two instances where this party is briefly split up . Yuna is the main playable character shown on the maps , with the exception of the beginning scene in Luca , where Rikku briefly takes this position . " Final Fantasy X " and " X - 2 " use scenes involving party interactions similar to " Final Fantasy IX " , where cutscenes will involve all present characters and then disappear once the scene is over . Occasionally during gameplay party members will show up , usually acting as a guide for the player to follow and also to provide additional ( mostly optional ) dialogue . In the " International " and " HD Remaster " versions the player can get AI - controlled party members , and choose them from a menu reminiscent to older " Final Fantasy " games . " Final Fantasy XI " . A party refers to any number of characters between two and six members , one of whom is the leader , and giving " Final Fantasy XI " the largest parties in the main series since " Final Fantasy IV " . This organization is typically temporary , but players occasionally form bonds of friendship and create " static parties " . There is no official in - game term for this , it is a player - coined definition for people who commonly party together . Parties form in the game to do various quests , missions , or to experience when multiple members would fare better collectively or have more fun than they would trying to do any one of those things by themselves . Parties appear on the screen in the lower right hand corner of the screen . The player ' s name who is viewing the list will always appear on top and the party members appear in the order they joined . The list includes names and the HP and MP of all members . The leader of the party always has a yellow dot before his name . An Alliance is a group of two or three parties that band together to do even larger , more difficult quests . It is possible to form an alliance to try to get Experience Points , but in general this does not happen because of how experience is calculated . There are encounters that are too difficult for just one party . Often these include high level Notorious Monster s , certain Burning Circle fights , and quests that a high number of people want to complete together . As far as how they are displayed , the additional two parties are displayed starting in the upper right hand corner of the screen . If there are two , the second party will be placed under the first . The alliance leader is given an additional white dot next to his yellow dot for being a party leader . Since the game is centered on parties , there are certain ( positive ) spells that can only affect other party members . These spells or abilities include ; Bard Songs , Regen spells , Refresh spells , Sneak , Invisible , or Deodorize . The one exception to this rule is Ballista , a form of Conflict , where those spells can affect anyone on the same team . Spells that do not work for players outside of their own party do not work on players who are in other parties within alliances . " Final Fantasy XII " . Out of a main party of six characters only three can be used at a time , except for when a guest is in the party . Like in " Final Fantasy X " , party can be switched in and out , though this time KO ' d party members can be replaced with non KO ' d ones . Party members cannot be switched out if they are being targeted by an attack or ability of any kind ( their name will appear red in the menu ) . Characters not currently being used can be revived or healed by the party members who are in battle . If the active party is KO ' d , or otherwise unable to fight , the player will be asked to bring at least one character from reserve into the active party . The player only gets a Game Over once all six characters have been defeated . Vaan is the only party member that appears in town s , and he will appear even if he is KO ' d . Outside , any character can be made party leader . The party leader is chosen by the player , though other than the camera following them they are no different from the other characters on the field , apart from the fact that if Fran is party leader NPC viera will speak different dialogue to the player . " Final Fantasy XII " includes several allies and guest characters that are controlled by the computer . The allies appear in certain areas or even in some Hunts , fighting alongside the party for only a brief moment and have no relation to the party or the plot . Guests are like allies , but with some differences ; guests actually enter the party and appear as a fourth member of the active party , but can ' t be switched with other party members . Guests are also important to the plot and are often connected to the party . Guests , as they are party members , can be revived , however once allies die , they remain so . Neither allies , nor guests , can have equipment or gambits changed , nor can they level up . In the " Zodiac Job System " version , the player can set the guest characters ' gambits and control them , but still can ' t change their equipment . The party is by default , forces the player to select five " leader " characters , but in addition , the player can summon plenty of Espers to join the leaders ' parties . In certain missions however , the party may not always consist of five total party leaders . Every " leader " character has his or her own party , which consists of the leader and his / her summons . A party leader can have a maximum of eight Espers assigned to them . The player can assign various buffs via equipment and abilities that usually only affect the leader ' s party and not other characters . In some battles , however , Espers cannot be summoned . " Revenant Wings " has nine playable characters and one temporarily playable character . All controllable units have blue health bar . Like in " Final Fantasy XII " , in some areas of a mission , there are Guest or " Ally " characters . Guest characters may move about the area chasing enemies , or simply following the party leader nearest to them . Guests units ' health bar are colored yellow instead . " Final Fantasy XIII " . For the first half of the game , the story switches between the six main characters in parties of up to three , interconnecting at various points . The party leader is chosen by the game , and is the only character controlled in battle . Only the roles of the other party members can be changed via the Paradigm system ( Optima in the Japanese release ) , while the actual abilities they perform are automatically chosen by the game . If the party leader dies , it ' s Game Over , regardless of whether or not the other party members are still alive . Once all six characters are obtained , the player is free to choose their own party of three and set their own party leader , but only outside of battle . The leader is represented by a small yellow flag . " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . Serah Farron and Noel Kreiss fight alongside Paradigm Pack monsters during their travels . Serah and Noel are permitted to travel with three monsters at the same time with one of them fighting with each of the monsters having its own Paradigm role . There are moments during the game where Serah and Noel are separated , where they have to fight alone supported by a monster ally . Lightning is also controlled in the game ' s opening and is playable in a downloadable content scenario , " " . Additionally , Sazh Katzroy is controlled in his own downloaded episode , " Heads or Tails ? " . Lightning is the sole playable character for much of the game , but she can be aided by guests who join her party . Party members are AI - controlled . " Final Fantasy XIV " . A party in refers to any number of characters between two and eight members , one of whom is the leader . Parties with two to seven members are known as " light parties " , while parties with all eight members are called " full parties " . With parties reaching a maximum of eight , " Final Fantasy XIV " supplants " Final Fantasy XI " as the main series game with the largest parties . While in a party , all members gain extra HP and MP , and a full party also grants accuracy bonuses to its members . Similarly to " Final Fantasy XI " , this organization is typically temporary , but players occasionally form bonds of friendship and create " static parties " . There is no official in - game term for this , it is a player - coined definition for people who commonly party together . Most content outside of regular Level grinding is balanced with parties in mind , such as duties and FATEs ; accessing duties using the Duty Finder forces players into parties of specific sizes . Dungeons and guildhest s typically use four player parties and trials use eight player parties , though there are exceptions to both rules . Raids use parties of eight , while some also enable alliances of three parties similar to " Final Fantasy XI " , for up to 24 players . Parties appear on the screen in the lower right hand corner of the screen . The player ' s name who is viewing the list will always appear on top and the party members appear in the order they joined . The list includes names and the HP and MP of all members . The leader of the party always has a yellow dot before his name . It is possible to target other party members by clicking on his name , and players with enough TP to use a Weapon Skill have their names colored blue . " Final Fantasy XV " . Noctis Lucis Caelum is the sole playable character , and is joined by a party of Prompto , Ignis and Gladiolus . There are a few instances during the main quest where party members will leave the group temporarily , and several sections where guest characters will briefly join . " Final Fantasy Tactics " . Unlike main series games , players are able to create parties of whatever size that they wish , though only five characters can be used in battle at one time . Since characters can die permanently and new ones can be recruited , the party can be made up of very different characters from those that have places in the main storyline . Enemy generics and monsters can also be recruited into the party . The player chooses the five characters from their party roster , and places them in the formation they start the battle in . These five can be any characters the player wants , except for main storyline battles , where Ramza Beoulve always must take part . Ally characters , whom the player does not control , also appear in storyline battles with set locations in the starting formation that the player does not control . " Final Fantasy Mystic Quest " . The party is made up of two characters , the second slot is reserved for the temporary playable characters . The game ' s protagonist Benjamin is the only permanently playable character , and various allies join and leave him at certain points in the story . " The Final Fantasy Legend " . There are many different races of characters for the player to choose from when they are creating their party . The different races in the game are Human , Mutant , and Monster . Furthermore , they may also choose either a Male or Female member from the Human or Mutant race . Once a character has been introduced into the party , he or she cannot be removed unless he or she is dead . A party leader cannot be removed under any circumstances . The party leader is the character that is located in the first slot of the party . A character labeled as Dead may be restored at a House of Life if s / he still has a least one Heart . Characters with no Heart must be retired . The game ' s manual gives the player some recommendations . Recommended groups : Unrecommended groups : " Final Fantasy Legend II " . The player chooses four out of eight possible characters types , and the fifth slot is reserve for guest characters . The game ' s manual that comes with the game gives the player some recommendations . Recommended groups : Unrecommended groups : " Final Fantasy Legend III " . Arthur , Curtis , Gloria , and Sharon are all permanently controllable characters in the party , with various other allies joining and leaving the party at set intervals during the game . The party limit is five characters , and the fifth slot is reserve for the guest character who are controllable during battle . The player ' s party is fixed and the party members come and go as dictated by the plot . The maximum party is four characters . The player may assign the party leader who appears as the character to be controlled on the map , but the icon in the world map view is always Brandt . The game also features temporary party members . " Bravely Default " . The player ' s party is fixed and consists of four members . Players can choose the party leader , who appears on the world amp and is cities or town . All four characters are directly controlled during battle . " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " . Parties are made up of five members , and may either be predetermined according to the storyline the player is playing , or the player may be able to form their own party . The same rules go for Assist s . When confronting Battle Pieces , the first party member in line fights , and if they are defeated the next party member battles the opponent in their place . Party Battle Pieces and Mirror Pieces consist of enemy parties and must be fought by one of two rulesets . The " Round - robin " rules have the lead party members fight , then the second members , and so forth down the roster . The player must defeat enough enemies to claim a majority win ( for example , three victories against a party of five ) in order to defeat the enemy party . In " Tournament " rules , the lead party members fight , and when one is defeated the next character in line takes their place to fight their opponent . This continues until either party runs out of members . " Final Fantasy Type - 0 " . A party consists of three characters , with the rest waiting as reserve members . For missions , the battle party is selected during preparation . It cannot be changed unless the player accesses a relic terminal during the mission , or if a party member is killed and not revived , allowing a reserve member to enter the party . On the world map , the battle party consists of the current field character and the two characters at the top of the reserve list . During battle , the player only controls the field character and can switch freely between any of the three party members . Party members not under the control of the player receive half damage and use half the amount of MP or Ability Gauge when executing actions . All fourteen members of Class Zero are available for a majority of the main story , but there are a few points where certain party members are not available . Regardless of these absences , all characters can still be selected when replaying missions from the Mission List . In the " Final Fantasy Type - 0 HD " version the player can also choose to accept support personnel during missions , when AI - controlled " shadow " characters enter the party at random . This feature replaces the multiplayer feature from the original PlayStation Portable version . When the support personnel enter the party , the other party members are relegated to the reserves . " Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade " . The player has the option to search for other players in the game and invite them to a party they have formed . If they accept their invitation , they will all receive potions in the player ' s login bonuses and the number of potions they can use per day will increase . The maximum number of people in a party is ten . Becoming a party member will assure that the player and other members are always assigned to the same brigade . They must send out a request and wait for acceptance into another player ' s party and they must approve those that ask to join theirs . To ask to join a Party , the player must tap on " Search for members " in the main menu or tap on the " Event " button at the bottom of the screen . " Final Fantasy All the Bravest " . The max slots for party members is 40 , this means that forty party members will participate in battle . The player initially has up to 32 slots for party members , the remaining 8 must be unlock through the SNS menu option . This option will post an advertisement for the game on the player ' s social networking website such as Facebook or Twitter . The player will be rewarded every 24 hours with an unlocked party slot , but only up to 8 slots .