The game contains a total of 45 playable characters. While some join automatically as the plot progresses, others only become playable depending on the actions of the player. For example, early in the game, the player is tasked with breaking Serge into a heavily guarded manor house. The player must explore the town outside of the manor in order to find assistance with breaking in. The player may choose to ask Guile, Pierre, or Nikki for help on different approaches to breaking into the manor. The player may only choose one, and only that respective character will join the party. At other times, characters will not join if other characters are present. Early in the game, Leena will only join if the player opts to have Serge traveling alone at the time; if Kid is already with him, she no longer feels the need to help, and will not join. As such, it is impossible for all characters to join over the course of a single game. However, the game employs a New Game + system, where, upon starting a second game, characters who had been recruited on the prior play through will become available towards the latter part of the game. As such, the player can retain characters from the first game, while taking alternate paths to recruit characters missed the first time.