Aye, the game is inspired by Suikoden/Radiata stories that features large number of recruitable characters(over 100), many of those characters are optional and missable. So yea finding and collecting these companions are my selling point/one of the main focus of the game. Trying to give player cozy adventuring feel is my main focus too.
Hmmm feel weird eh, if more players feel the same way I might make forklift girl's quest required before leaving the map.