The Shining Force Character List:

These are the players that the king gives you.

Lowe
Lowe is a good friend of yours and when he hears that your going out to battle the evil hoards of Runefaust... well he can hardly resist tagging along. Luke starts out as a healer and promotes to a vicar. He is pretty useful at the begining of the game ,if only as a healer, but soon falls behind if you aren't careful. Use him until you get until you get your next healer then swap.

Ken
Ken is a knight (promotes to paladin). He is a good player who gains Hit Points rapidly but his Defensive Points lag behind for the majority of the game. If your only going to keep a couple of knights in you probably want to exclude him.

Luke
Luke is a kindly dwarf with a bright red nose. He starts out as a warrior and ends up as a gladiator. He is one of the two fighters in the game both of which have a high attack and defensive power.

Tao
Tao is a pink haired elf with pointy ears. She starts out as a Mage and promotes to a wizardess. Tao is really a fire mage. If you get her high enough in levels she'll eventualy get FIRE level 4 as well as a few other spells. Though extremely useful in the beginning of the game (and necesary when fighting zombies) she is easily replaced by Anri.

Hans
Hans is an archer that later becomes a bowmaster. He is useful in the begining of the game but if you realy like archers I'd say only use him until you get Diane. His attack power will eventually get up there but his low defense will probably make you want to go with someone else.

These are the players that join through out the game.

Gong
Gong is a Half-Giant Monk that turns into a Master Monk. Have your main character exit the first battle. You'll see a little hut to the right. When you visit it there will be four people there: A husband and wife, a gerbil in a helmet (talk to him it's important later), and Gong walking by the log and axe. Talk to him and he'll join. He's a good bare-handed fighter but not being able to equip weapons means no handy power increases. He makes up for it ,however, in the fact that he can heal.

Mae
Mae joins... well I don't want to ruin it so... after her father dies. Mae and Ken work well together. Mae's Hit Points take their time going up but her defense really takes off. She's probably the best Knight/Paladin in the game other than Pelle, but that's just my opinion.

Gort
When you return to Guardiana after the second battle go to the pub (mid-right side) and talk to him. He'll say that he wants to fight again and join up. Gort is just the same as Luke except Luke has higher maximum stats. Which one goes up faster really only depends on luck. They're both good so if you want to keep them both in go for it.

Khris
Khris is the dorky looking dog-like female that rescues you from jail in Alterone castle. She starts off as a Healer and later promotes to a Vicar. Khris gets the best defense and offense among the healers especially in the beginning of the game. Her healing spells come in handy and with her offensive attacks letting her finish off weak or weakened enemies she becomes a good choice for group healer.

Anri
Anri can be found in the mage school in Manarina. Once you get there talk to her about her fathers death. She'll naturally throw a fit and deny it. Nova will send you after her and she will apologize and join your team. Anri is basically an Ice mage. Though she'll get other spells Ice will go up to level 4 so that is the one you'll be using most. Usually you'll want to take Anri over either Tao or Alef beacuse Ice doesn't take up as many MP as Bolt but it still does more damage than Blaze.

-INTERJECTION- In this castle there are two party members to get that you might miss. Make sure to check the school out for an ugly statue. Search it to find a Domingo agg. Also talk to a blond knight name arthur BEFORE you go into batle in the school.

Arthur
Arthur is a blond centaur knight that promotes to a paladin. You'll find him upstairs in Manarina castle. If you talked to him before you went to battle then after the battle below the school, when you talk to him again, he joins your team. Arthur is a fairly good knight and he has the added bonus of being able to learn Blaze, Freeze, and Bolt level one. If you keep him in take him up to level 20 before promoting him because at that level he gets a significant stats boost.

Balbaroy Balbaroy is, at first, the stone bird statue that you see when you first enter bustoke quarry. Later on he'll join your party and then you have to decide on which characters you want to keep in and which you want to sit out. Balbaroy starts out as a Birdman and promotes to a Sky Warrior. He is a very good member especially because of his flying abilities and long range. He's a lot better than Amon and can eventually use the sword of darkness.