Shining Force I

Originally released for the Genesis in the early 90's, it has since been re-released on many different platforms (Dreamcast, GBA, and most recent the Nintendo Wii).

Max and his many friends need to stop Dark Dragon and the Runefaust Army from destroying the land...

Throughout the game Max comes across all sorts of recruits, from Mages to Bird Men to Assault Knights to Steam Knights.  Around 25-30 characters join the army but only 12 can be used at any one time.  

The game doesn't really pick up in difficulty until around the Kane battle.  Then you go through several tough boss fights (Kane, Mishaela, Chaos, Ramladu, etc).