Board 8 > Iceman's 30 for 30: Thirty Games, Characters, and Moments for my 30th Birthday

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Anyway, here's the bonus!

Top Twenty (Playable) Fire Emblem Characters

My opinion of characters in this series is always influenced by a combo of how much I like their personality and gameplay, which I've been told is apparently not the norm. They're not always weighted equally or anything, but they always both contribute.

20. LArachel
At one point, I was given to understand that LArachel wasnt particularly popular, but shes had some mighty impressive showings in B8 FE contests over the past couple years! Ive always thought she was charming in how hard Sacred Stones commits to the bit. Shes made up of a few character types that are commonly seen but rarely combined. She thinks shes the main character of the story, but refuses to be the kind of broody protagonist that a bleak game like SS would usually have (and, er, kind of does). Her whole trio is very refreshing in that way, honestly. Sure, she isnt the best unit, but Troubadours are always fun to make into dodgetanks if youre so inclined and more healing, even in an easy entry like this one, is rarely bad. Also, her support chain with Ephraim is legitimately hilarious and really makes the most of her head-in-the-clouds personality.

19. Shamir
The non-student characters in Three Houses are, as a general rule, somewhat underserved and less interesting than the kids. Shamir isnt a HUGE exception, but shes miles more memorable than the Aloises and the Catherines of the world. A unique design for the franchise, plenty of good supports, and that damn cold sleep in the dirt voiceline. And indeed many enemies will be taking that dirt nap, because Shamir is super strong as a unit, too, especially when recruited early. Bows are actually a good weapon type in 3H and Snipers get the excellent Hunters Volley to shore them up even more. You can make a lot of units into juggernauts with enough forethought in this game, sure, but bow users are so rarely good that theres something extra satisfying about it here. Shes one of the better romance options for Byleth in my opinion, too - it avoids that weird teacher/student relationship thing without being dull like a lot of the faculty support chains are, and I like how they dont play it from her side as a dedicated loner suddenly learning what feelings are but instead as someone who had loved before and was just hesitant to do it again.

18. Fiora
Theres not a whole lot to Fiora, but shes always been my favorite of the Blazing Sword pegasus sisters. Shes easier to train than Florina but turns out just as good, she has the best design, and while her characterization isnt deep, I think its done very well. Its a very likable portrayal of the oldest sister, where shes stubborn and overbearing at times but endlessly caring, and its all done with a lot more restraint than is shown with her sisters personalities. And, though its sort of a small thing, shes also got one of my favorite romantic supports in GBA FE alongside Kent. It shows off an understated kind of humor that the series tends to lack (especially nowadays) and also avoids a recurring issue of pairings feeling like they come out of nowhere - they note their similarities early on and make only a hilariously thin and feeble attempt to hide their obvious mutual attraction. Plus, Ive always preferred the more businesslike and serious Pegasus Riders to their more flighty and lighthearted counterparts. Speaking of which

17. Tanith
Tanith was absurdly underrated as a unit at one point, though I think nowadays the fandom has come around. Even setting aside Reinforce, which is one of the most stupidly good skills of this era of the franchise, shes basically a prepackaged Marcia in PoR. How many Pegasus Knights in the series can just show up and immediately be one of your best combat units? Tanith can. She and Oscar also get an underrated little support centered around her preconceptions of mercenaries. Its a nice example of the games foremost theme that doesnt come from a racial angle, and theres even an amusing Kent-and-Fiora undertone to it. The one with Marcia isnt too shabby, either. Tanith doesnt get a lot to do in either Tellius game, availability- or story-wise, but she makes the most of her limited time.

16. Sirius
New Mystery is a woefully underappreciated Fire Emblem game due to its Japan-only official release, but its a little light on characterization. Enter the former Camus, who carries a few games worth of lore with him. Hes popular for a reason, as is the archetype that bears his name, and its fun to look back on him as the beginning of the honor before reason thinking that would show up time and again in the franchise on both sides of any given conflict. A conversation with Belf even does a great job explaining why hes keeping his identity hidden. I LOVE his design as a playable unit, too, though. Hes a perfect example of how to do a prepromote - early recruitment, can fill a lot of different roles (especially with New Mysterys reclassing), and always useful without ever being overpowered. Good bases, good growths, great weapon ranks, and required for endgame so youre incentivized to use him, but the EXP penalty is such that you cant ever just lean on him thoughtlessly. Thats even a nice bit of gameplay-story harmony, given that hes an amazingly strong fighter whos been through a lot and maybe lost just half a step because of it without much more room to grow.

15. Igrene
The second and final bow user on this list, primarily because theyre usually ultra-utility sorts of units and not all that good. Igrene stands out as getting a lot of mileage from that utility, though. Binding Blades hit rates are low and its enemies are tough, especially the army of Dracoknights that bows get effective damage on. Shes overshadowed by Shin and joins later than Klein, but its not hard to find situations where she can contribute without having to go through the effort of training Wolt or Dorothy. Even so, shes much more memorable as a character. Solemn, thanks to a life filled with tragedy, but ultimately still kind and resolute as she refuses to let the things shes lost stop her from fighting for what she still has. The support with Astolfo is well known as being brilliant, but she has other great ones too - Sauls in particular is a fantasticbit of religion debate that makes him infinitely more likable, and the bittersweet motherly relationship she has with Fae really tugs on the heartstrings. Why did the GBA support system have to be so terrible?

14. Lethe
Look, you can accuse me of having a bit of a thing for catgirls and I will neither confirm nor deny, but either way, Lethe deserves a spot on the list. Honestly, the fact that shes not just obvious otaku waifu-bait like she wouldve been in AwakeFates deserves some recognition. As a unit, shes definitely not amazing at any point, but shes the best Laguz in PoR due to shifting on turn 1 every map and boasting bases and growths that will generally make her at least viable for most of the game. Her character gets described as the mirror of Jill a lot, and while thats fair, I think there are some interesting differences to note. Shes justifiably distrustful of the beorc but never actively looks to pick fights about it, and shes pretty much immediately willing to have reasonable discussions with reasonable people and admit when shes made a mistake. Tellius, and PoR in particular, tackles the racism aspects of its narrative from a lot of interesting angles, and Lethes is one of them. Also, Ike and Lethe are the best Tellius pairing, fight me.

13. Dieck
What would the FE6 early game be without Dieck? Even more miserable and Rutger-centric, I can tell you that. Hes a great example to show someone who thinks growths are the end-all, be-all of a FE units usefulness (i.e. me, not that long ago), as hes an absolute lifesaver during those initial chapters and stays consistently good for pretty much the rest of the game unless you get exceedingly unlucky. Hell, hes arguably Binding Blades best axe user despite only getting access to them on promotion. Character-wise, hes an Ogma, and a good one. Hell say anything to anybody, speaks harshly but has a big heart, and hes the ultimate comrade. Oh yeah, and he beat up a LION to save Klein that one time. Largo can keep his tigers.

12. Owain
I dont care much for the one-note goofiness of a lot of Awakenings cast, but theres just something about Owain I cant bring myself to hate. I guess it just seems so self-aware. IS knew they were making a giant dork, everyone in-universe knows hes a giant dork, voice actor Kaiji Tang throws himself wholeheartedly into the joke, and it all coalesces into a sense that they were so obviously trying to make a funny character who becomes annoying because of it that it loops around into being funny again. Theres an endearing earnestness about it. I also get a kick out of the fact that despite his sword obsession, fandom seems to generally agree that hes most effective as a mage of some kind. Down, Tome Hand.

11. Ike
Ike gets one game as a compelling character and another game as an awesome unit, and unfortunately theres not much overlap. Its not like hes BAD in PoR, but being swordlocked and footlocked and only getting Ragnell at the very end of the game leaves him fairly underwhelming if he doesnt luck out with growths. In RD, forget about it, he fixes every one of his problems and becomes maybe the best infantry-locked Lord in the series. Character-wise, its so cool to have a Lord thats not some kind of royalty. Hes a simple mercenary through and through, and his outlook on the world reflects that. Blunt, rough of speech, and sometimes rude, but astoundingly unprejudiced, unflinchingly selfless, and never afraid to call people out on their crap no matter who they are. He has to grow into his role and capabilities, though, and I think PoR does a great job showing that. Its just too bad he loses most of his personality in RD to the point that they even make a (admittedly funny) joke about his stoic face, though he still gets off some good one-liners himself, too.

10. Hilda
It took me a while to warm up to Hilda, but the longer I spent with Three Houses, the more I appreciated having a source of levity around that didnt feel too one-note or heavy on shtick. I think what makes her work as a character is that, even early on in most of her supports, theres never much attempt on the games part to hide that she isnt really the lazy good-for-nothing she thinks herself to be. We can see very quickly that despite her inferiority complex, shes talented, perceptive, and exceedingly loyal, and I like how those traits slowly become more pronounced as the story progresses. Plus, I just plain find her entertaining most of the time, with multiple funny battle lines that youll probably hear often considering shes a very strong unit with a few different viable and fun builds. Hil-da! Hil-da!

9. Cormag
Cormags fun because he looks for all the world like hes going to be an aloof, angsty, revenge-obsessed edgelord sort of character, and though he definitely has some of that in him at times (understandably), hes really a pretty friendly and cool dude. Stories of vengeance in modern media (specifically Japanese media, in my experience) often seem to show people either being completely consumed by it or learning to let go of it. Cormag hits a nice compromise - hes justifiably angry but doesnt let it tear him apart, and the revenge is more of a sidebar to his more noble reasons for continuing to fight. His boss conversation with Valter (on Eirikas route) is kind of the original badass side character boss convo, which is fun, and as a unit Well, hes a wyvern unit in a game with low enemy quality. Not much to complain about there.

8. Astolfo
Thieves will never be completely without utility, and Astolfo stands out as easily the best one in a game where they cant promote and hes the only one that stands a chance of surviving a round of combat or two. That said, hes certainly still not a great unit. As a character, though? Man oh man. Hes expertly crafted by any measure, but given how early in the series his game is, its almost remarkable. We get a full picture of a mournful, regretful man who has nothing else left but to half-drunkenly carry out his duties as he awaits death. I mentioned the support with Igrene in her writeup, and it really is a contender for the best in the series, but the rest are also good at the very least. For my money, hes the first example in the franchise of a fully formed side character, and thats a significant accomplishment.

7. Stefan
Stefan, for my money, is one of the most underappreciated characters in the series. His recruitment is as memorable as it is annoying, especially in PoR, and everything else about him is just coolness incarnate. I am the desert, and I brook no intrusion. Make your peace with the goddess. Come on, how do you not love this guy? Equal parts a hammy loon and a badass, a gift-wrapped Swordmaster that you can take all the way to PoR endgame with no effort if you like, the source of some great early lore on the Branded Hell, this dude presumably taught Ike Aether! If he was more than just a decent, replacement-level sort of unit in RD, hed be an easy top 5 for me.

6. Dimitri
Fire Emblem is fairly light on fleshed-out redemption stories in general, at least by JRPG series standards, so to have the best one come via a Lord is pretty cool. Three Houses does a great job setting up his eventual descent into total insanity, giving you just enough hints that something about him is a little off before he eventually snaps, and an equally great job navigating the trauma and tragedy that follows the character so that this broken, bloodlusted man still presents as someone to root for. The camaraderie of the entire Blue Lions house leads to a lot of interesting relationships for him both pre- and post-timeskip that make his ultimate growth compelling. The fact that hes as much of a monster in gameplay as he is in the story is just icing on the cake.

5. Minerva
Were about to have a bit of a wyvern-heavy top 5, starting with the namesake of the best archetype in the series. Even setting aside its consistent gameplay prowess, which Minerva kickstarts by being good to great in every game shes in, the conflicting loyalties theme that becomes a staple of so many Dracoknights begins here as well. They always offer a compelling perspective on the events of the plot, and even with the simple stories of early FE, thats rarely done better than with Minerva, as shown by the Shadow Dragon conversation with Marth where she talks about history needing Macedon to be set straight by a Macedonia, and how shed rather kill her brother than have it done by a stranger. Shes strong-willed, stern, and frequently sad, but through all of it, she remains kind and thoughtful and not without humor. She feels like an early glimpse into the character-driven and often meditative narratives that FE games would become.

4. Jill
She may not be the definitive best unit in either Tellius game, but the only other unit that MIGHT be as good as her in both of them is Titania, and Id still give the edge to Jill for how much carrying (often literally) she does for the Dawn Brigade. And her strength as a character goes without saying. Shes a genuinely empathetic person who was taught hatred and obedience from birth, and who learns to think for herself and be better through her journey. She demonstrates the duology themes better than anyone else. Add to that the memorable status as a unit that can actually be un-recruited and join the enemy in both games, wrap it all in a cute redheaded package, and youve got a truly awesome character.

3. Sigurd
In Sigurd, Genealogy did an impressive job deconstructing the typical JRPG hero (and many typical FE Lords) well before that sort of thing was popular. An admirable man with admirable values, vaguely aware that not all problems can be solved with a sword but so overly committed to his knightly ideals that he fails to recognize their absence in those who set him on his errant path. Hes really the only Lord in the series completely unfit for the role the world needs him to play, and yet, despite all the tragedy that follows his mistakes, those grand (and some would say naive) ideals still win out eventually through his son. Sigurds story is a beautiful one, and it doesnt hurt that hes an absolute force of nature while hes around too.

2. Haar
I mentioned that one of the great pleasures of FE is finding your favorite characters. That just so happens to cross over with another of the seriess greatest pleasures - watching Haar mow down everything in his path in Radiant Dawn. Hes good in PoR but so over-the-top amazing in RD that I actually wonder sometimes whether there was some kind of odd programming mistake with him; wouldnt be a franchise first. Cap all that off with personality that oozes off of him and a shockingly vast collection of amazing boss conversations and its little wonder hes so popular. He might be #1 if he hadnt committed a gross dereliction of duty in never delivering that package like he was on his way to do before getting press-ganged into the Crimean Army in RD. There couldve been something important in there, man. Lazyass.

1. Boyd
Big Bad Boyd. Always deployed. Knights get destroyed, sent to the void, Mist overjoyed. Even if Tempest sometimes makes me annoyed.

As someone who has only played Three Houses, Felix is the best

Felix was a late cut! Top 25, to be sure.

It's very weird to be halfway done posting this project after all the time I've spent thinking about and preparing it.

Game #16 Hint: We run and leap (stylishly) into the next console generation for an RPG with two names. Neither describes it very well, which is ironically perfect, since it revels in explaining as little as possible.

My first thought was Mirror's Edge but I feel like this can't be right.

Doesn't really fit the second part of the hint.

The "revels in explaining as little as possible" made me immediately think of Demon/Dark Souls but it can't be because imagine leaping in Soulsborne. >.>

Good guesses, but not quite obscure enough!

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Game #16 - Resonance of Fate (aka End of Eternity)

Its a common refrain among hardcore JRPG fans to wish for games in the genre to try doing things a little more differently sometimes. Smaller casts with characters that dont even approach an anime aesthetic, a plot that doesnt revolve around saving the world, show-dont-tell writing that respects players intelligence and ability to figure things out, and innovative combat that requires some thought even in standard mob fights.

Well, Tri-Ace did all that a decade and a half ago, and nobody cared.

Granted, there's some context there. Resonance of Fate (later retitled to End of Eternity for some reason, as that names somehow even less creative and evocative) came out at nearly the exact same time as Final Fantasy XIII, and though it's sometimes easy to forget given how harshly opinions later turned against it, that was a hotly anticipated release. This weird gun RPG had no chance, and it's a damn shame. Even among folks who have played it, though, it's got a well-earned polarizing reputation, so Im not going to try and claim it wouldve been some smash hit with better timing.

Anyway, RoF takes you to a steampunkified Earth in the distant future, where pollution has done what pollution does and forced the small amount of leftovers of the human race onto a giant mechanism called Basel. The core of this mechanism, referred to as Zenith, has essentially managed to purify itself such that Basels residents arent affected by the toxic atmosphere while within its walls, but in turn, this system has gained complete control over peoples lives and can, in a literal deus ex machina, intervene in any and all goings-on to decide who survives and who dies. This is immediately established in the opening cutscene, where a boy named Zephyr has had a psychotic break resulting in a murderous rampage. Vashyron, a bounty hunter contracted to eliminate him, defeats him after a brief battle, sticks a pistol in his mouth, fires twice And nothing happens. Zenith has declared that Zephyr lives on, for reasons unknown.

Vash, having been similarly chosen in the past, takes the kid under his wing, who later pays the favor forward in a sense by saving a girl named Leanne from a long walk off a high bridge. Player control picks up two years after that, the triumvirate having become a mercenary band of some renown that will take on any odd job brought to them, whether its a kid looking for their missing dolly or one of Basels ruling Cardinals enlisting them to take out a troublesome gang. Living in their appropriately named Sweet Home corner of the city, they are something like a family, but they dont talk about much other than their work.

My opening paragraph hardly does justice for the lack of regard this game seems to have for standard JRPG conventions. Those three Hunters you start the game with, for example? Theyre all youll ever get. No more party members to make our merry band even more merry or to provide an easy target for exposition - the first indication of RoFs minimalist approach to storytelling. The plot is similarly offbeat. It borders on slice-of-life for half the runtime or more; our main characters only ever gain a vague idea of what the antagonists are doing, and they barely care. When they do inevitably get pulled into the grand plans later, the conflict really boils down to the trio just wanting to be left the hell alone. Nothing they do makes any material difference to society or the world, and the plot mostly happens around them as they take on their various missions to simply survive, and big beats only happen when circumstances periodically lead the antagonists (who are, by the way, a huge distance away from being objectively evil in any way) to come after them.

The battle system, as is often the case with Tri-Aces creations, is another highlight, both for being fun for the entirety of the games 50ish-hour runtime and for being completely unlike anything else youll see in JRPGs. Fights in Resonance of Fate place you into fully 3D battlefields operating under a mix of turn-based and real-time components - basically, take as much time to plan as you want, but as soon as you start moving or preparing an attack, all bets are off, and your foes will start blasting. Thats not a figurative term, either. As a result of Westerners being one of the primary target audiences, everything revolves around guns here. Besides that, the main gimmick is that machineguns deal sky-high damage, but thats automatically healed over time and cant deal killing blows. It has to be converted into Direct Damage by subsequent hits from a handgun or grenades, which will otherwise only tickle. Both types of weapons have to be charged before each attack as well; the closer you are to your target, the faster the charge, and the more charge completed, the more damage dealt, but you will very often be interrupted if you try to employ this method regularly.

Therefore, most of the time, the only reliable way to make real headway in a fight is to use Hero Actions, which allows one of your combatants to run across the environment from one set point to another. During these movements, theyre effectively invincible unless they run into an obstacle, they can leap high into the air to access different weak points or reach a better tactical position, and guns charge more quickly and can be fired multiple times. If your positioning is precise enough, you can even build up ultra-powerful Tri-Attacks, which let all three characters unleash on their opponents at once. The drawback is that these actions consume a limited resource (Bezels) that A) also effectively acts as a shared health bar and B) is only restored by killing an enemy or at least destroying one of their body parts. A skilled player, then, is one who is using a Hero Action on almost every available turn and ensuring theyre able to regain a Bezel, on average, with each one. Its an esoteric design with too many additional intricacies to go over here, but suffice it to say that the in-game tutorial is a necessity despite technically being optional. Its rare that RoFs main story will throw a truly difficult fight at you, and even the toughest optional encounters (aside from the post-game dungeon) wont often take more than a few tries, but they will all seem impossible if you dont start with a firm grasp of the mechanics.

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In addition to the significant amount of tactical satisfaction this system offers, its immensely visually pleasing. The Hero Actions are over-the-top flashy, particularly once characters gain the ability to dual-wield, to the point that even John Wick would be jealous of the kind of acrobatics and badassery these three bounty hunters pull off. No idea was too ridiculous, and I mean that as a massive compliment. This leads me into the next subject: presentation. Aside from those showy battle animations, this is a very gray game. Almost everything in Basel, with the exception of some decorations in Cardinals homes, gives off an aura of function over form, up to and including the protagonists. Normally, its laughably easy to pick the main characters of any fantasy media out of a lineup versus those with no narrative importance even if you know nothing about the material, but youd have a hell of a time doing that here. They dress like ordinary folks in faded T-shirts and pants and plain leather jackets, with natural hair colors and styling, and though you can acquire many other costumes, theyre all similarly understated.

I just wrote about my reverence for the Tales series, so make no mistake, the more typical anime style of JRPGs doesnt bother me one bit. In fact, I think I probably have a higher tolerance for ridiculousness than most, and I tend to welcome how colorful they are. But this sort of restrained realism has its place, too, in this sort of world, and the fact that the protags are so unremarkable in appearance ironically makes them memorable. This also extends to the enemy design in an interesting way. RoFs bestiary is pretty thin, but everything youre killing is totally congruent with the setting. Trigger-happy mobsters, armed guards, attack dogs, haywire mechanical sentries. The only monsters seem to have become so due to radical mutations brought on by the pollution that led to Basels creation in the first place.

Everything fits, and more importantly, everything flows. Even with the forty- or fifty-hour runtime, this game always feels breezy. Most cutscenes are short; the party actually talks much more in their fantastic mid-fight banter than they do when the plot is happening. The relative mundanity of the bulk of the narrative keeps the pacing steady, and the individual chapters are heavily episodic. Dungeons are similarly compact, and the battles within them are so much fun between the actual mechanics and the aforementioned repartee that they seem even quicker. And so on. The elevator pitch for Resonance of Fate belies how pleasantly engaging it is from minute to minute, and I cant compliment it enough for squeezing every ounce of entertainment possible from its subdued design. Its odd, but its cool, its inventive, its moving, its contemplative, and its writing can get hilariously surreal at times.

My grandma would put me on her knee, and this is what she used to say: people without a heart had no right to live. So now you die!
What about your grandpa?
... WHOOOOOO CAAAAAAARES?!

I wouldnt make the claim that its methods are without flaws. A couple of plot points tilt just a bit too far into soft magic non-explanation territory where more concreteness would have better suited the realistic and scientific tenor of the world. Given the incredible chemistry of the main cast, I also think it would have been acceptable to sacrifice a small portion of the minimalistic dialogue in favor of more scenes outside of battle for the three of them to just bounce off each other for a while. But those are small complaints. Resonance of Fates hit rate on its experiments is impressive considering how many of them there are.

I wouldnt want every game to be like this one, but I surely could do with a greater number than what weve got. It cant be overstated how refreshing it is to play through a title that feels so respectful of my intelligence. There is clear faith in the player every step of the way here to figure out both the story and gameplay, which is also reflective of enough confidence in its own value that people will find it appropriately rewarding to expend the energy necessary to get the most out of it. Its regrettable that attitude is such a millstone around the neck when it comes to mainstream appeal in the modern gaming landscape thats so used to having details spoon-fed to it. I dont blame developers for their relative lack of enthusiasm for similar efforts. Im thrilled when one does come along, though. Fifteen years hence, Resonance of Fate distinguishes itself as one of the most novel games in my collection, doing so in a genre perhaps more prone than any other to playing it safe with reliable formulas. Pick up the remaster in a Steam sale for $20 sometime to see for yourself. I can almost guarantee that even if you dont love it the way I do, youll find something there that youll be disappointed you havent seen elsewhere.

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The Character: Vashyron
My fallen enemies and forgotten lovers outnumber the stars in the sky!

Now past the halfway mark of this project, with the amount of words yall have seen me write in these sections, its probably evident that I lay high importance on development when it comes to my favorite characters. I favor growth and change, and I love when a character finds as many ways to surprise me when Ive made it 90% of the way through their story as they do when Ive first met them. I want to learn more about them, get inside their heads, understand exactly why they are who they are and what happened to make them that way.

Vashyron provides some of that, but Ill be transparent. Hed be one of my favorite video game characters purely by virtue of being one of the coolest SOBs around. He doesnt need the growth or the surprises or the interesting backstory or any of the depth. He just needs to be a badass, because he pulls it off better than almost anyone else through an impeccable combination of swagger and silliness. Everything about Vash is unapologetic and forthright. He demonstrates no pretense that his work is any kind of noble, but hes proud to the point of cockiness of his uncommon skill at it nonetheless. Hes good enough at what he does to have become the Cardinals go-to guy for all manner of dilemmas despite almost all of them hating his guts for one reason or another (not to mention the feeling largely being mutual), and he was already in that position before his two capable partners came along. He is never underestimated and never an afterthought, and if he had any inclination whatsoever to be an active troublemaker like some of the gangs in Basels underworld, everyone would have a huge problem on their hands. Leanne, in one scene, makes an offhand remark that no one would believe she and Zephyr could ever beat their honorary big bro even at a two-on-one advantage, and considering Vash had emerged victorious only minutes earlier from single combat with a literal attack helicopter, that claim is far from a humble or ridiculous one.

Beneath all the bravado lies no small amount of damage, though, which is not to say that this is one of those characters putting up a front to hide their pain. All that Vashyron appears to be, he is. But this is a man whos deeply angry at the universe, which is probably what led to his blas outlook on his jobs in the first place. Once a common soldier, he and his comrades were the victims of a horrific slaughter years prior to the came, and only Zeniths meddling saved him from dying along with the rest. Survivors guilt is bad enough in our world. Imagine what it must feel like in this one, where the god who literally controls who lives and dies has chosen you, seemingly arbitrarily, as the sole remnant of a massacred collective. Rather than this making him a fanatical agent of destiny (as it does for some others), he becomes its staunch adversary, an anti-zealot with belief in practically nothing except the idea of freedom of choice.

The sillier sides come out when he opens his mouth. He's golden tongued when he wants to be and an unashamed skirt chaser, but he's comfortable enough in his casual closeness with Zephyr and Leanne to be more dorky in their presence. He loves trolling them and knows exactly how to get under their skin, but he's not at all clever or subtle about it. He just makes jokes that are, frankly, stupid, because that's all it takes for them. And thats a different but equally important kind of badass. Returning to my earlier point, hes a character that will never surprise you, because he doesnt have to. The things hes endured and the way he navigates his life because of it all make perfect sense - youll understand him completely within the first few hours of meeting him, see every joke coming, know how hell respond when someone pushes him too far. A ton of credit here has to go to Nolan North, who turns in a dynamite performance that gives even that little bit of extra charisma to every word he speaks.

His finest hours come later in the story, though, as he rises to the occasion of the mounting stakes. He shows off the breadth of his cleverness, not to mention his brashness, at the beginning of Chapter 11 when now-former Cardinal Lagerfield comes to Sweet Home looking for Zephyr, as he seems to immediately recognize that his ultimate plan is to kill the boy. Vashyron greets him congenially nonetheless, but with just a few words, he manipulates Lagerfield into acknowledging his abandonment of his official position, at which point the exchange instantly turns acrimonious. Vash then wastes no time in using the high ground he gained to tell Lagerfield to beat it, but hes also well aware Zephyr has heard the whole thing, and hes not exactly making an effort to stop the ensuing fight from happening. His chief concern, as ever, is allowing people their choices, so his only objection is to Lagerfields pompous attempt to force the trios hands. Once he engineers a situation where nothing is compulsory, he gracefully bows out, regardless of his personal feelings on the matter. Ill also highlight the confrontation in the final dungeon with Cardinal Antourion, with whom he has even more animosity due to Antourion being the man who ordered the ill-fated expedition that changed his life forever. The Cardinal needles him about his gun-for-hire employment and overall rejection of higher purposes, and its finally enough to get him to lose his temper, draw his gun, and bellow a proclamation that what comes next is on the house this time.

Really, with how sparse the dialogue is in this game overall, this guy might have one of the best ratios of awesome lines to total lines of any RPG party member.

In the totality of Resonance of Fates narrative, you could make the argument that Vashyton is the tritagonist, though the game generally does an admirable job of treating them as a singular unit that has them each making equal contributions in their own ways. That being said, Vash is the clear star of the show when it comes to sheer enjoyment factor; theres a strong sense that he was Tri-Aces favorite character as well as mine. He gets the best banter, the slickest look, all the in-universe reverence and accolades, and everything else I've already mentioned. Even the animators clearly had a great time with him, as his Hero Actions are easily the fanciest of the three party members. Thats no small feat, but the competition effectively begins and ends with the fact that his preferred method of chucking grenades and Molotov Cocktails is to drop them at a full sprint and soccer-kick them out of midair at his target. In the sea of cool JRPG characters who pursue that title through aloofness and wearing lots of belts, he does it through being the guy everybody wants watching the playoffs at their sports bar. Some of RoFs biggest strengths would be completely absent without him, and just like RoF itself, there arent too many out there like him.

The Moment: Christmas in Chandelier
Some of my favorite worldbuilding details in these sorts of post-apocalyptic settings, particularly if its explicitly a future version of the Earth we know and/or when theres an undercurrent that the remaining populace doesnt even remember what the world was like before, are the bits of culture that *have* been preserved. The happy bits, anyway - much of the conceit of post-apocalypse is that it tends not to wipe out some of the less desirable aspects. As a result, I believe theres a lot of meaning in these stories to be found in paying attention to what the characters find important enough to keep with them, and why and how they might have come to that decision. You couldnt actually watch any sports with Vash, for example, because they dont exist anymore in RoF. So what other cheerful bits of culture do?

We know of one for sure, and it happens to be the most cheerful holiday of them all. Late in the game, the team is enlisted to gather some Christmas decorations and then, later, to do their best Saint Nick impression and deliver gifts to the local kids. Gameplay-wise, this works exactly like combat except that the kids will blitz Leanne, as you dash around to different areas and throw presents at the children in the same way that youd shoot enemies, complete with Vashyron and Zephyr stuffing themselves into reindeer costumes and Leanne, naturally, donning a vixenish Mrs. Claus dress. The battle lines sparkle just as much, too, as the two younger members awkwardly dance around their flirtatious rhythm and Vash treats the job with the same sort of wisecracking disaffection as he does all others, calling the kids brigands and playing the teasing cupid with his partners. You can think of this as the classic beach episode - that last diversionary bit of mirth before the plot hits its final crescendo and our protagonists head off to confront their uncertain fate. There arent any beaches in this universe, but its the same feeling, complete with silly outfits for the guys and a cute fanservice one for the gal to prance around in a bit. Comet.

Regardless of the backdrop, I've always had an appreciation in bleak stories for the moments in which characters manage to carve out brief periods of happiness for themselves amidst all of the daily struggles to survive. I dont know of any other recurrent story beats that manage to be so consistent in portraying the inimitable human spirit that I do my best to believe in. Something about it always feels so defiant and triumphant in equal measure, that even when our heroes are powerless to do anything else, they can still fight back against their dreadful circumstances with a regular smile. Hope is always the last thing to go when things turn to hell, and nothing keeps hope alive like joy.

Its important to note as well that all of these festivities are organized by one of the Cardinals, Theresa, and its mentioned in the mission description that she does it every year. This is the only higher-up that Vashyron doesnt treat with some kind of disdain or another, which is at least partly motivated by her willingness to use her position to provide for Basels lower class. That esteem is reciprocated, too; she openly and casually refers to the trio as her friends when expressing her thanks at the end of the mission. Again, none of the others quite cross the line into evil territory, but even the friendlier ones are disconnected from reality in a sense - if not literally, then at least from the perspective that theyre more than content to live lavishly with their frivolous pursuits and privilege rather than engaging with their station in any worthwhile way. Theresas genuine kindness and philanthropy, like everything else in Resonance of Fate, uses a little to tell us a lot. Vashyron and Zephyr are classic anti-heroes, and though Leanne has far more kindness in her, she does the same things her partners do to survive. Theresa consequently occupies the role of the biggest force for good in the game despite being a very minor character and her peers presenting the biggest threats. Her philanthropy alone paradoxically deepens the complexity and mystery of this oligarchy, as its the only real instance we get of any of them getting directly involved in the daily lives of average, random citizens, and it only makes the nature of the Cardinal title and position itself more murky.

Even without all the extra content, though, at a surface level, I find this lighthearted segment amazingly poignant for the plain reason that I love Christmas and have for as long as I can remember. My family makes a big deal out of most holidays, with big gatherings and celebrations and such, but Christmas has always been the main event in some form or fashion. Nowadays, its a little more of an intimate affair with just my wife and I, parents, and an aunt and uncle, but Ive grown to appreciate that even more. Ill be the first to admit that my initial affinity as a kid came from the presents received, but now I just enjoy the closeness. Everyone makes great food and desserts, we all love giving gifts even more than getting them, we laze around watching basketball, we make use of the fireplace if it happens to get cold enough in Texas to justify it Its the most carefree and happy day of the year for me. Instead of losing its magic, its only gotten better with age.

I look forward to experiencing the best of both worlds with kids of my own one day. Until then, I get to feel a small piece of it from watching Leanne get a couple of neatly wrapped presents from the boys, one for Christmas and one for her birthday, when the partys over. We dont find out whats in them, but its the thought that counts.

I played RoF back on the PS3 and enjoyed it quite a bit, yeah.

it's also funny imagining how some of the guns must look based on the customize screens (for others: think Resident Evil inventory management what with add-ons being different shapes and sizes on a grid and you can have like a machine gun with like 6 scopes stacked on top of each other with like 3 ammo magazines sticking out the bottom all next to each other

it's hilarious

For some reason I thought it could be Resonance of Fate, but then I thought "nah, it's not that good"

Lo and behold

Thorn posted...

I played RoF back on the PS3 and enjoyed it quite a bit, yeah.

it's also funny imagining how some of the guns must look based on the customize screens (for others: think Resident Evil inventory management what with add-ons being different shapes and sizes on a grid and you can have like a machine gun with like 6 scopes stacked on top of each other with like 3 ammo magazines sticking out the bottom all next to each other

it's hilarious

Man, the gun customization made me feel like such a dope. Every time I thought I had it figured out, I'd run into some other issue that I didn't even realize had to be a consideration.

That said, I still definitely managed to make some monstrosities, and it was indeed very funny to picture. I've seen playthroughs of the postgame and such where people just have giant spirals of sights going all around the grid.

colliding posted...

For some reason I thought it could be Resonance of Fate, but then I thought "nah, it's not that good"

Lo and behold

"Good" is not necessarily a requirement for this list! Granted, there aren't many games included that I think are deeply flawed, and RoF certainly isn't one of them, but don't let that limit your pool of guesses.

Game #17 Hint: The long-awaited third installment in a series that rose from the ashes as if it was the most annoying character on its roster.

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Quite so.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/4/4a83dd20.jpg

Game #17 - Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Oh yeah, its Mahvel, baby!

Stop me if youve heard this tale before. I love fighting games, always have, but Ive never been good at them. They were near enough to button-mashing simulators when I was young (especially in the Tekken 3 Eddy Gordo era), because I had no concept of how to decipher the inputs for special moves shown in Command Lists and was unaware of any resources that might familiarize me with high-level concepts like combos. So my understanding of fighting games was limited to the understanding that if I hit enough buttons and moved my control stick around enough, cool stuff would happen and I would win sometimes. The MVC games were especially well suited for such a rudimentary philosophy, because the animations for supers and the like were so colorful and spectacular and carried such a sensation of power that they made you feel like you could rain down destruction with every press of a button. Assists took, literally, one button to activate, and they filled the screen with chaos, and you could pull out a full Team Hyper Combo simply by pressing both triggers.

It may sound like Im speaking dismissively of it now, but I do so affectionately. As much as fighters are a natural draw for competitive players thanks to the depth and skill ceilings they offer, the easy-to-learn side of them is important as well. The wide appeal of any title in the genre is based on its capacity for casual players to pick up a controller, screw around, and do something sweet. Whats sweeter than huge explosions and giant lasers? Nothing, I say, which is why Marvel vs Capcom 2 dominated my playtime above all others like it for many years. Were not here to talk about that second game, though - its only important in that I adored it to the point that the third entry in the series was quite possibly my most eagerly anticipated release of all time. Its only challenger is SSBB, but my anticipation of Brawl had as much to do with the daily Dojo as it did the game itself.

A full decade after MVC2, with nary a whisper of anything else on the horizon, I held no expectation that there would ever be another. I recall being nothing short of stunned by the initial reveal, and it dominated my video game thoughts afterwards. I hunted for rumors on multiple forums, argued with people over their mock rosters, watched every second of gameplay I could find, spoke to a half dozen baffled employees of chain electronics stores near me when the demo was distributed in an attempt to track down just one place that had it. It wouldnt have been difficult for the game to fall short of such lofty expectations, but instead, Marvel 3 exceeded them. It wasnt just a blast to play. It was transformative.

Partially due to the emergence of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there was a concerted effort made to take my previously mentioned philosophy a step or two further and reach out to new fans, not just the rabid existing contingent that had finally convinced Capcom to greenlight the project in the first place. Attack inputs were converted to three Light/Medium/Heavy buttons, with a fourth Special button serving as a universal launcher for starting and finishing air combos, creating what was referred to as the Magic Circle: LMHS->jump->LMHS. Most characters could perform this with crouching attacks as well, and easily follow it up with a super, and so with just a few easy button presses, you had a flashy and effective combo on which to rely. The timing was also incredibly forgiving; even a total novice like me could pull it off with no problems after no more than a handful of Training Mode reps.

Fighting game experts will tell you that fancy combos arent something to get hung up on when learning a new game, and I understand that position and the thought processes behind it. But it was a *colossal* mental block for me back then as someone who had no knowledge of what it actually took to improve as a player. Effective neutral play, anti-airing - it was all significantly less visible at high-level competition, whereas it was easy to spot that the best in the world all had pinpoint execution to make the most out of any hit they landed. Despite my sky-high excitement levels, I was under no impression that I would ever develop any skill at this game, but the sort of low-stress playground that MVC3 created gave me the exact boost in confidence I needed. Once I had a way past that initial barrier of entry, I could start taking the important baby steps, and the entire genre has opened up to me in the years since. Ive never fully committed to trying to hit my absolute ceiling in any one game (though I might with SF6 in the next year or so), but its so freeing to be able to look at a fighter that seems enjoyable and buy it without a second thought rather than hemming and hawing and ultimately passing because I dont expect to be any good at it. Ive gotten to an online rank that Im happy with in every fighting game Ive played starting with Marvel 3, and while that doesnt mean much in the grand scheme of things, it sure feels like a hell of an achievement for a perpetually unsatisfied perfectionist like me.

Between that dimension and one Ill discuss in a second, this game unlocked so much, and Im grateful for it. I havent touched it in years and probably never will again, because there are always new fighting games to play with more active communities and Im more than happy to go with the flow of those natural life cycles. The sentimental importance of MVC3 combined with its legitimate fun factor, though, ensures it will always be my favorite. Its everything I couldve asked for, starting with the elation at the fact that it exists at all. Getting a followup to a beloved series that finally gave me the tools to dive into a genre whose offerings had long eluded me felt like a real full-circle occasion in my life A magic circle, if you will. Its taken me for quite a ride.

The Moment: Bionic AAAAAAAAAAAAARM
A unique moment on this list, as its neither a universal part of the games experience nor any kind of personal achievement, but it will forever be the first thing I think of when I think of MVC3.

Shortly after its initial announcement, there were a few early gameplay videos released showing off the first revealed characters in full matches against each other, and let me tell you, I wore out the replay buttons on that footage. Even now, theyre fun relics to go back and watch, both because of a couple features that were later changed or removed (for instance, a numerical damage counter for combos) and because it reminds me of how incredibly hyped I was for that entire period of time waiting for the game to come out. Those little crumbs soon failed to sustain me, however - I needed more, and my obsessive search for any additional info quickly led me to a little website called Eventhubs, which in turn was my first introduction to the Fighting Game Community.

Prior to this discovery, I dont think I had any idea that anything like the FGC existed. I didnt know there was a competitive scene for video games at all, certainly not one where people were potentially claiming thousands of dollars with their victories. Suddenly a whole new lens through which to enjoy games was opened up for me, and I became a frequent Twitch viewer for the tournaments that were going on at the time. Street Fighter IV was my favorite game to watch in that first year, but once Marvel 3 hit the shelves, it claimed a stranglehold on that top spot.

Even then, though, I dont know that I was really all in on the FGC until THIS happened.

https://youtu.be/_GDH0Ylp7bc?si=2hXjiEjPbBif3kwS

Peter Combofiend Rosas, years before he would become a Capcom employee and make the staggeringly tone-deaf comment regarding characters just being functions, was one of the most exciting competitive players around. Known for intentionally playing low-tiers (or at least avoiding the tippy top of the meta), he was always a welcome sight on stream to break up the parade of Magnetos, Sentinels, Phoenixes, and Weskers that were already starting to dominate the roster a month into the games lifespan. He also had a reputation for wild turnarounds in hopeless situations that earned him the nickname-to-the-nickname of Comebackfiend, which was only bolstered by MVCs chaotic nature and the X-Factor mechanic. Both of these hallmarks were on display in this set as he Bionic Commandod into fighting game infamy.

I remember watching it live. I wasnt familiar with Combofiend yet, and his Spencer pick puzzled me. His inclusion in the roster in the first place was confusing enough to me and many others, standing out as being noticeably more obscure than the majority of Capcom heavy-hitters that had been selected, as well as many that werent. He certainly wasnt a trendy competitive pick, either. But that was about to change. UltraDavids remark after Game 2 that he was one of the best anchors in the game wouldve sounded absurd to me just five minutes before, but now it felt like a given after seeing in action the sort of damage he could output even to Sentinel with a full X-Factor and a few short combos. You couldnt have scripted this set any better to make it the iconic moment that it is. Each game is more ridiculous than the last as Combofiends seeming plot armor reaches shonen protagonist levels. Its a sloppy match compared to what high-level play of the game would eventually become, and Marn repeatedly gives him the exact opportunities he needs to turn the tables as the crowd and commentators increasingly lose their everloving minds with every landed super until the entire room is screaming BIONIC AAAAAARM at the top of their lungs. You still hear it shouted at modern MVC3 tournaments when Spencer sees play. I was yelling right along with them from my bedroom desk, having long since left the seat of my chair and with the full knowledge that I would never be able to adequately explain to my mother why I was making such a racket.

To me, Bionic Marn is second only to Evo Moment 37 in terms of awesome fighting game moments, and I couldnt even hazard a guess at how many dozens of times Ive watched it. It was incredible enough on its own merits, but it was made extra special by my relative newness to the community and the fact that it happened in a game I was already developing a powerful attachment to. Marvel 3 tournaments became appointment viewing, and like everyone else who watched Final Round XIV, I made a brief attempt to fit Spencer onto my own team. I immediately found that I was no Peter Rosas, so that idea didnt last long, but that was the kind of influence it had. Ive never had a favorite player in the FGC the way I have favorite teams in traditional sports. Some I like more than others, sure, but none that have ever gotten me emotionally invested in their success or failure. Barring some compelling storyline, my rooting interest in tournaments is usually only contingent on wanting to see my mains in as many sets as possible, or failing that, at least getting as much variety as possible for as long as possible. Combofiend is the closest Ive come to something youd call fandom. I went out of my way to watch his matches no matter what game he was playing, because I was always confident I was going to see something new and crazy. He never had any major tournament victories, though he finished the job at FR14 in a great set with Justin Wong and later added a pair of 4th-place finishes at EVO, but he remains synonymous with the game regardless thanks to this one match. I think I was even subconsciously inspired for future character choices; tiers dont matter significantly at my level of skill, but I always tend to gravitate to the ones that are overlooked or deemed weaker in some way.

Im still watching tournaments, though not as committedly. Thats partly due to time constraints - I simply cant sit in front of my computer for 12 hours on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays the way I could when I was a single teenager - but it also has to do with the games that are out there. Im a big fan of SF6 in spite of its flaws, but nothing else appeals to me in the same way that the trio of MVC3, SF4, and KOF13 did in the early 2010s. Marvel Tokon looks incredibly promising, 2XKO still has potential, and I could see myself enjoying City of the Wolves as the meta develops a bit more, so maybe a new renaissance is coming for me. One way or another, though, I dont expect anything to ever match this perfect storm. I was fortunate to experience it the way I did.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/7/7de3e06b.jpg

The Character: Dante
"Demons, superhumans. Meh. Same crap, different day.

Thanks to MVC, the son of Sparda is a strong contender for my favorite video game character whose game/series Ive never actually played. Ive always had an interest in the DMC series, which increased due to his inclusion here, but I just havent ever gotten around to pulling it off of my proverbial backlog shelf. That said, even before Marvel 3, I wouldve had to have been living under a pretty big rock on the internet to not be aware of Dante. Hed had some respectable performances in GFAQs contests, with a design that marked him as an obvious badass. Capcom knew hed be a big draw, too, giving him top billing as one of the nine characters featured in the reveal trailer, and they didnt leave anything on the table when designing his kit. I didnt know who my main team would be when the release date finally hit - there were far too many exciting characters with cool-looking gameplay included - but I did know one thing. Dante was getting a slot, no doubt.

I went through a few lineup iterations across my time with the game, especially after the Ultimate version came out. Iron Man/Dante/Zero was the trio I used the most, but I experimented with other characters like Hawkeye, Ghost Rider, Nova, and Amaterasu. No matter who was subbing in, though, Dante never let go of that middle spot. Although he was never considered one of the absolute best characters in either version of Marvel 3, due to lacking the raw destructive power that allowed other roster members like Zero and, later, Vergil to shred through life bars in seconds, he could still deal heavy damage in the right hands, and together with his general versatility and a couple of very strong Assist options, hes been consistently regarded as high tier from release all the way to the present day. Hell, he was very nearly an EVO champion in the games first year as part of PR Balrogs silver medal team that took Viscant to a bracket reset. More importantly, though, hes outrageously smooth.

To return to a talking point from the main writeup, Ill mention my opinion again that the single most important factor in building interest from casual players for fighting games is the ability to hit buttons and do cool stuff, and Dante is my strongest bit of anecdotal evidence. Capcom pulled a lot from the vast bag of demon hunter tricks to create his moveset, and it all looks outstanding in this sort of setting. Hes got more specials than any other fighter because most have variations if you repeat the inputs, many of his attacks have multiple natural followups, and the ones that dont generally include some other kind of spectacle instead. The Million Dollars super is always easy to get to no matter how and where youve opened up your opponent, Air Trick is a newbie killer Not only is all the flash and flair true to the character in all the ways you hope to see for crossover games like this, it makes him so satisfying to play. You can zip all around the screen with little effort, colors flying everywhere, racking up big numbers on the combo counter, and just feel like the biggest badass in the world. Dante was made to be in a VS. game.

To my great regret, I never quite got Bold Canceling to be as consistent as I wanted it to be, so it wasnt often that I got to pull off any of the fancier combos outside of Practice Mode, but I nonetheless took plenty of value away from the experience of trying to make it work alongside other Dante techniques. They were instrumental in building my confidence in knowing that I was at least theoretically capable of learning more complex fighting game inputs and combos instead of needing all future titles I played to have some kind of equivalent to the Magic Circle. But even without the high-level stuff, he was by far my MVC MVP. I would love to know how many victories I managed off the back of his singlehanded X-Factor comebacks, because Im certain it was a fairly high percentage. I never felt like I was out of a match as long as he was still alive.

So if the Devil May Cry games are even half as fun as Marvel 3 Dante is, Im likely to end up with another Roy-in-Smash situation on my hands when I finally get around to them. As if this game didnt already influence me enough, huh?

I wasn't a regular player or anything, but I did play a little bit of MvC2 and MvC3. Largely because I was already a part of the local competitive Smash Bros community, and there were some people that played both.

Seemed like a pretty fun game although I never developed anything approaching mastery of it. I think Dante and Zero were my favorite characters to use, iirc, but I probably never even touched like half of the roster.

Sometimes wish I didn't fall out of the Smash scene over time--going to tournaments every week or two was pretty fun.

pyresword posted...

I wasn't a regular player or anything, but I did play a little bit of MvC2 and MvC3. Largely because I was already a part of the local competitive Smash Bros community, and there were some people that played both.

Seemed like a pretty fun game although I never developed anything approaching mastery of it. I think Dante and Zero were my favorite characters to use, iirc, but I probably never even touched like half of the roster.

Sometimes wish I didn't fall out of the Smash scene over time--going to tournaments every week or two was pretty fun.

I really, really want to get to a point in my life that I overcome my anxiety and start going to local tournaments sometime. I think I'd have a great time, but it's a very tough obstacle for me to get over. If you have any advice for that sort of thing as someone who went so often, I'd love to hear it.

In the meantime, here's a ranking!

Top 15 Fighting Game Characters

To be clear, these are "fighting game characters," not just "characters who have appeared in a fighting game." Must originate in an actual fighting game series to be eligible!

15. Tsubaki (BlazBlue)
Im not gonna sit here and pretend like Im an authority on the journey in absurdity that is Blazblues plot, but the bullet points of Tsubakis characterization are recognizable as some pretty well-executed fantasy fare, where the insecurities of someone who seems perfect and untroubled on the surface are seized upon by a crafty villain to incite disaster. Its a good story with an eventual heartwarming end, reinforced by a striking design that stands out among her fanservice-heavy castmates, right down to the simple sword and shield she fights with. Its an excellent valkyrie look that works well for the solid beginner-friendly character she is. And to tie it all together, Condemnation Wings is a top-tier theme in a series with no shortage of awesome music.

14. Adon (Street Fighter)
Capcom maybe did a little TOO good of a job in making Adon annoying and hateable, from the annoying screechy voice to the wild haircut to the obnoxious attitude to the mobile and fast-paced playstyle. Its no wonder that a lot of folks hated playing against him in SF4, but its also a shame, because he was fun as hell to play *as* in that game and I wish hed come back again. He was never my main, but I loved having him as a secondary or just someone to mess around with. Beyond all that, though, Adon stands out for a couple of extra reasons: first, Keiji Inafune created him, and second, he had a big starring role in USFIVs last EVO hurrah in 2015, which was one of the best tournaments Ive ever seen for any fighting game and culminated in an absolutely incredible Grand Finals between Momochi and Gamerbee. If you haven't seen it, go rectify that. If you have, watch it again.

13. Elisabeth (King of Fighters)
Of the characters to make this ranking, Elisabeth comes in near the bottom by the metric of time I've spent actually playing them, because SNK games just have too many other characters that suit me better. The love child of Miles Edgeworth and Franziska von Karma still merits inclusion, though, through the strength of everything else, especially after the KOF XV iteration. Ive always had a big affinity for light powers and the prismatic effect added in that game was a great idea, and she gets the coolest Climax of anyones to go with it. The design has been good from the start, but became especially so with the removal of the unnecessary cleavage window and riding crop. Shes the best part of the Ash-centric portion of the story, too; its a pretty well done platonic relationship that gives her some depth and intrigue as a character and ends satisfactorily. Hard to go higher with her when shes never been one of my mains, but Bettys a definite highlight of modern KOF.

12. Sagat (Street Fighter)
Yep, both of the Street Fighter Muay Thai boys make the ranking. Aside from a brief period in Super SF4 when I tried and mostly failed to learn Juri, I spent most of that release's early days with everyone's least favorite tiger lover. "Least favorite" because, of course, Vanilla Sagat is famously broken. I'm very far from a tier maniac and, if anything, tend to prefer playing "worse" characters in most games, but Sagat has always been one of the cooler SF characters to me among those that show up often. Great moves, great look, great story beats. The only reason I dont have him up even higher is that I think his gameplay tilts just a little too far to the lame side sometimes - not exactly a problem in itself, but I do think its a little incongruous with his whole design to be such a dedicated zoner in many appearances. Ive been glad to see that 6 moves away from that sort of style a bit due to its overall design, and Im looking forward to trying him out there eventually.

11. Uranus (Bloody Roar)
My exposure to the Bloody Roar series is limited exclusively to Primal Fury, but Uranus leaves a mighty impression there. I spoke at length about the excitement of unlocking new characters in the Melee writeup, and thats a feeling that extends far beyond Smash, especially when it crosses over with another fighting game staple: the overpowered superboss. Adding her to the playable roster is not an easy feat, and with good reason, as shes broken enough that she was banned from tournament play. Great design with the broken shackles adorning her body, some awesome lightning powers, and a beast transformation worthy of her story status as the most powerful being in the world, shes one of the most satisfying and memorable tangible rewards for getting good at a fighting game that I can remember, and I played so much Primal Fury with my best friend back in the day that shell forever have a spot on a ranking like this.

10. Vanessa (King of Fighters)
A female boxer fighting game character that wants to be up in the opponents face at all times? Thats unique, a good start. Shes well past her teenage years and tall, with messy and short red hair? Also fairly unique, and definitely pretty. The costume design is sleek and elegant without being dull, but also alluring without being overly revealing? Damn, were doing good. Fun personality with some great quotes and interactions, despite never being too relevant to the story? Shes got those, too! Vanessa hits pretty much all of my buttons and feels like an incredibly underappreciated character in fighting game history - shes basically a more fun version of C. Viper in many ways, if you ask me, and everyone seems to like Viper. Shed be even higher on this list if she wasnt another SNK character that I just havent personally played a ton.

9. Faust (Guilty Gear)
The lone character on the ranking that Ive never tried to play seriously at all, Faust is so obviously awesome as a fighting game character concept that it's impossible not to include him anyway. Everything he does in battle is outrageous and wonderfully inspired; you can just tell how much fun the animators have making Faust's moves come to life. Underneath all that, though, is an incredibly dark and sinister backstory, and when you wrap it all together, you've got a character that embodies everything I love about fighting games. Ridiculous, but still threatening. He'll make you laugh and recoil in horror in equal measure. It's the kind of roster member that only Guilty Gear could pull off without having it come off like too much of a joke. Again, my experience with him is almost exclusively as an observer, but that alone is so much damn fun that he always sticks out in my mind.

8. Lee (Tekken)
My first Tekken game was the 4th entry, so I actually knew this character as Violet before I knew him as Lee, and he was the first fighter I really gravitated to before I settled on one that I'll get to shortly. Lee's archetype isn't one I normally love, but it works well for me in Tekken due to how much it stands out. He's aggressively showy to the point of dorkiness in a sea of angry people who take themselves very seriously, especially others that are Mishima-adjacent, and I appreciate how he responds to his misfortunes by deciding the best revenge is living well when everyone else is so committed to the best revenge being revenge. His fighting style is, well, stylish and flashy, and he's gotten great development as the franchise has progressed that's made him one of the more consistently enjoyable story characters. Levity and pizzazz is a good combo here, lots to like.

7. Hilde (Soulcalibur)
Namco is very obviously proud of putting an attractive lady into the Soul series without ever giving her a costume thats the least bit revealing (even in damaged states), but, well I think they do deserve some credit. The prevalent oversexualization of female characters in fighting games doesnt necessarily *bother* me, per se, but as you can probably tell by the ladies represented on this ranking, I do love seeing that trend bucked, and Hildes design has been consistently fantastic since her debut. Might be my very favorite female design in the genre. Shes always been fun to play, too, even considering Ive never been particularly adept at piloting her, since her charge mechanics stand out in Soulcalibur. Yeah, she broke SC4 a little, but thats far enough in the past now to be funny. Personality-wise, shes a little boring, even if I like her role in the franchise lore, but her strong points are enough to outweigh that.

6. Yang (Street Fighter)
I'd say I have a knack for picking SF mains that make people mad, but that pretty much describes all of them at one point or another, doesn't it? At least I've never been a Yun player! I can't speak much to his SF3 version, but I got more satisfaction out of playing or watching good Yang rounds in SF4 than any other character on that excellent roster. You had to do a lot of work to be successful with him, but once he got rolling, he was hard to stop. Heaven help you if you end up in the corner against a decent Yang with all the options available to him. Plus, getting a good read on an opponent's projectile and rolling under it with Ultra 2 was always amazing. He's tricky, he's toolsy, his design is cool, and there aren't many fighting game moves that feel more sweet and smooth than the Mantis Slashes. I like Jamie fine as the new-era take on the Dragon Twins and even mained him in SF6 Season 1, but he can't touch the genuine article.

5. Hwoarang (Tekken)
I didnt pay *x dollars* to block! has become one of the funnier fighting game memes out there as a mostly derisive joke, so how can you not love a character who actually does encourage that philosophy? If you want to just screw around in a fighting game and mash your face into buttons, you can play Hwoarang and probably still have some degree of success. But hes also always got a high skill ceiling that becomes very rewarding at better levels of competition if youre committed to learning him properly. Hes got a nice role in the story as an otherwise average dude whos canonically crazy strong, which is a trope I always like, and I find Taekwondo to be one of the more aesthetically pleasing martial art styles. Ive dabbled with other Tekken mains in the past and dont play the series a ton anymore, but Hwoarang has been my go-to for most of my time spent with it.

4. Rock Howard (Fatal Fury / King of Fighters)
Bar none, my favorite overall design in fighting games. Incredibly simple, but with that awesome cropped jacket that includes his adoptive dads iconic star and adds the wings (which show back up in his Hard Edge attack and in the greatest win pose of all time) for his own spin Man, do I love me a good jacket. Its great for giving his animations some extra flair, too, not that they need it. The incorporation of Geese and Terry into Rocks moveset is masterful, especially considering the latent dark side of the character thats continually hinted at in lore. The Terry-inspired moves are more violent than the original versions, while the ones he inherited from Geese are wilder and unrefined compared to dear ol dads. Fighting games really, really struggle with second-generation characters in almost every attempt, but Rock is a shining example of one that went perfectly. Its an absolute tragedy that he didnt make it into KOF XIII, which has one of the most beautiful visual styles of any game of any genre ever. We were robbed.

3. Millia Rage (Guilty Gear)
Like BlazBlue, Guilty Gears lore is chaotic nonsense even by fighting game standards, but it hides a few nuggets of solid character writing, and Millia Rage is chief among them. The compassionate person raised as an assassin trope is nothing new, but its executed well through her relationships with those characters still affiliated, and I love how its been resolved in that she finds the value in the camaraderie and family it gave her and reforms it into something good. LOVE the concept of her hair being her weapon, too - it feels like a Devil Fruit in the best way. The bulk of my limited GG experience has seen me playing Millia, and if I ever take one of its releases seriously, Ill definitely be starting with her, because the ultra-aggressive rush down playstyle certainly appeals to me if you haven't already realized. Bonus points for being a cat lover and Love the Subhuman Self being an A-plus-plus theme.

2. Kilik (Soulcalibur)
Theres a big separation between numbers three and two on this ranking. The Soul series (2 and 4 in particular) is a bit unique in that I played a decent bit against a variety of buddies other than just my best friend, and though we all often liked to branch out with character choices, Kilik has forever remained my stalwart comfort pick Except when he became Edge Master in 5 in more ways than one. As far back as I can remember, Ive thought bo staves were the coolest weapons in the world, and Im pretty sure you can trace that back to the days I spent playing as Kilik in the original Soulcalibur. He manages a perfect balance of making it look elegant and acrobatic without sacrificing a satisfying amount of impact and violence, which even fits his character pretty well. Introducing meter to SC was a terrible mistake in my opinion, but at least his Soul Charge had an extra bit of lore integrating with gameplay as well. He can be a bit of a milquetoast protagonist type in other ways sometimes, but Ive just had so much damn fun playing this guy over so many years and games.

1. Terry Bogard (Fatal Fury / King of Fighters)
R U OK?! There was a time that I wouldve told you this top spot was highly contested, but frankly, I wouldve been wrong. Its always belonged to Terry. What sealed it was the amount of hype I got from his Street Fighter 6 announcement (especially compared to some other players reactions), which made me think back to how excited I was for his Smash announcement (especially compared to some other DLC characters in THAT game), which really put into perspective how cool he is. And if you ask me, cool factor is even more important for fighting game characters than it is with most fiction. Love the look(s), love the story and personality and development, love the Engrish, especially love the moveset - Buster Wolf is simply the most awesome technique ever created. My first exposure to Terry was in CvS2 (which is also true of Rock), and Ive mained him to at least some degree in every title hes in that Ive played ever since. His aforementioned SF6 inclusion stands out in particular as the character who really unlocked that game for me, because as much as I enjoyed it beforehand, I hadnt managed to find my character until his release. Im glad hes kind of become THE fighting game guest character, because Ill maintain my loyalty in anything that he graces with his presence. HEY, CMON!

love rock and terry being up here

hey cmon cmon git serayus!

Terry is great

Not a Mortal Kombat fan huh

NBIceman posted...

I really, really want to get to a point in my life that I overcome my anxiety and start going to local tournaments sometime. I think I'd have a great time, but it's a very tough obstacle for me to get over. If you have any advice for that sort of thing as someone who went so often, I'd love to hear it.

There's not too much advice to give other than just pick one and go to it. I wouldn't worry about it too much. The worst that really happens is you go and play some video games and then come home. The first couple I went to I was kind of hanging back and not interacting with others much but you should get in the groove eventually, and that's fine.

I guess it would be better to start with a relatively local tournament that happens weekly/biweekly or something, as opposed going to a huge major event or whatever. Something small-stakes that you can return to repeatedly is generally easier from the social side of things, and they're probably going to be more active in welcoming new players. At a major event it's a lot easier for everyone to just kind do their own thing while you get lost in the crowd not really knowing what to do.

For me I had the advantage of living near a college campus which is a natural place for this sort of thing, but I just started by going a biweekly tournament series in the basement of a local restaurant that was maybe 15 minutes from where I lived. After going to that for a few months I kind of felt like I was part of the community there and was also getting better at the game, and from there I started also going to larger tournaments throughout the state. (Which I was never really a high or top contender in the statewide events, but they were a good time nonetheless.)

SeabassDebeste posted...

love rock and terry being up here

hey cmon cmon git serayus!

Okay-uh!

Leonhart4 posted...

Terry is great

Not a Mortal Kombat fan huh

I am not. In fairness, most of my fighting game allegiances were determined as a kid, and my parents were not MK fans to say the least. Even as I got older and gave the series a try, though, they just never grabbed me. Always felt clunky. And, as previously stated, I'm not much of a gore guy.

I think some of the designs are cool enough, but nah, none of them were threats for this list.

pyresword posted...

There's not too much advice to give other than just pick one and go to it. I wouldn't worry about it too much. The worst that really happens is you go and play some video games and then come home. The first couple I went to I was kind of hanging back and not interacting with others much but you should get in the groove eventually, and that's fine.

I guess it would be better to start with a relatively local tournament that happens weekly/biweekly or something, as opposed going to a huge major event or whatever. Something small-stakes that you can return to repeatedly is generally easier from the social side of things, and they're probably going to be more active in welcoming new players. At a major event it's a lot easier for everyone to just kind do their own thing while you get lost in the crowd not really knowing what to do.

For me I had the advantage of living near a college campus which is a natural place for this sort of thing, but I just started by going a biweekly tournament series in the basement of a local restaurant that was maybe 15 minutes from where I lived. After going to that for a few months I kind of felt like I was part of the community there and was also getting better at the game, and from there I started also going to larger tournaments throughout the state. (Which I was never really a high or top contender in the statewide events, but they were a good time nonetheless.)

Appreciate the help! Sounds like I'm just gonna have to push through and get over myself eventually... Provided I can ever find the time after this year in the first place.

Anyway, late hint tonight, but here it is. This is another of my personal favorite writeups, I think.

Game #18 Hint: If you thought doing two games in one spot was silly, brace yourself. Weve got a trilogy coming up now.

Heck yeah Phoenix Wright OT

Wrong B8-beloved trilogy, I'm afraid!

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Game #18 - The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Trilogy

Im an obvious RPG fan and a denizen of Board 8, so I dont imagine this inclusion is much of a surprise to anyone. The Trails series, taken as a whole, is pretty much everything I want JRPGs to be - hell, extend that to fantasy media in general. An absolutely sprawling story that wears its heart on its sleeve and is never afraid to be optimistic. Obsessive effort put into the writing and worldbuilding. Famous fighters with badass epithets. NPCs that have lives and arent just window dressing. Wonderful, memorable music. Immersion. Trails games arent perfect, but youd be hard pressed to tailor a franchise from the ground up thats more perfect for my taste on paper. While Ive played Crossbell and some of Cold Steel and enjoyed them both to (heavily) varying degrees, the Sky trilogy remains the peak, and I doubt thats ever going to change. Its the beginning of the journey, both chronologically and for me personally, and theres an extra bit of heart baked into every little moment that makes it feel particularly special.

There was definitely a bit of a hump that I had to climb over at first, though. Trails pacing can very rarely be positively described as anything but measured, but even by those standards, FC starts slow. After a fantastic opening scene thats more than satisfactory in introducing mysteries that will go on to form the primary narrative threads of two full games to follow, it takes several hours for anything else of real interest to happen. FC, to an almost unparalleled degree in the genre, is content to ease you in, as if to say, Whats the rush? Theres gonna be a couple dozen games in this series by the end - you knew what you were getting into. Its a strategy that I understand and wholeheartedly agree with, but I have to admit, its also one that led to a couple of false starts. I had to hit the New Game button on three separate occasions before I made it through the prologue and Chapter 1, because as pleasant as all the stage setting is, it hadnt quite sunk its claws into me enough that I could keep from being distracted by shinier games on my shelf that seemed to offer more excitement for less commitment.

Everything clicked on that third try, though, and those repeated efforts have repeatedly borne fruit ever since. FC ends up feeling like a delightful origin story - Estelle and Joshua accomplish some impressive things as Junior Bracers alone (and they mostly have fun all the while), but theres a perpetual sense that theyre only scratching the surface of what they can achieve together with all of the people they meet. SC pays off that feeling in spades, building on the masterful cliffhanger of the first game to produce a much more sprawling and typical JRPG plot without ever sacrificing any of its down-to-earth charm. The 3rd could defensibly be called a fanservice game, but thats not a bad thing. Yeah, running around a bunch of palette-swapped corridors and encountering reused assets is a little lame sometimes, but its all done in service of character stories and setups for plots in future entries. Those are the things that made us all fans in the first place, right? Plus, 3rd is perfectly capable of buckling down and getting serious when it needs to, and Im not just talking about Star Door 15. Kevin gets put through the ringer in every way possible during his stay in Phantasma, and Chapter 7 in particular, with all its big reveals and his battle through Gehenna with Ries, stands out as one of my favorite segments in any video game. Its a wonderful example of great JRPG writing, done by creators who understand people and especially understand the characters theyve woven.

This writeup heralds a bit of a shift into the latter entries of this project, which are increasingly going to feature games that are often polarizing in some way, and/or that are niche to varying degrees, with clear visions and carefully crafted experiences, that have firm stories they want to tell and feelings they want to capture. Games that indisputably arent for everyone because theyre not trying to be. Its not difficult to find criticism of this series, and I agree with some of it. Combat, for example, has grown on me, but all in all its probably the aspect of Trails I consistently find least enjoyable. Other critiques, though, like the people who complain theres too much talking? Theyre missing the point to the degree that people who offer them are just wasting keystrokes. Falcom doesnt care one bit if Trails is disliked by gamers who dont like a lot of dialogue in games. It shouldve been very easy for them to tell before even clicking the download button that the series is simply not meant for them. Its like going to the Italian restaurant down the street and then grumbling that they dont offer anything for people who dont like Italian food. I personally came to Trails because of the depth of the world it offers and the promise to transport me fully into that world. Any good gameplay bonuses are just that, and I would no more judge it negatively for having a lot of text than I would criticize Mitch Hedbergs stand-up for not being scary. The world is the draw, and youve got to embrace it. Think about it. Live in it for a while.

(cont'd in next post)

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This is a franchise that demands - not just asks, demands - full buy-in. You want to be cynical about the real world, hold it at arms length, doubt that its rougher edges can ever be fixed? Thats just fine, life sucks sometimes, but as soon as you boot up FC and hear those first few piano notes of The Whereabouts of Light, youd better dig down and find a willingness to check those feelings at the door for the remainder of the time you spend playing these games, because if you cant, youd be better off just asking for a refund straight away. These are games about helping people. These are games about trying to make the world a better place, be it through small chores or legendary deeds, and believing that thats really possible. Theyre about counting on the people around you, finding lifelong friends in unexpected places, and accomplishing amazing things together. Theyre about the chance that any problem can be solved if a few people just sit and talk honestly for a while. Maybe more than anything else, theyre about redemption, and the idea that anyone can be forgiven and find a way to become better if they commit to it hard enough. I dont know if I always believe in all of those things when I wake up in the morning, but I can tell you without reservation that I believe them when Im playing Trails in the Sky, because Falcom has *made* me believe it.

It really does all start with the Sky trilogy in more ways than one. It espouses those beliefs more completely than any other arc yet to be released. Weissmann loses because hes cruel, and the heroes win because they love. I need stories like that. I think we all do, especially when theyre told this well. There were points in my life where the world seemed to be trying its best to make me a cynic, but the further I got into my twenties, and especially now as I quickly approach the end of my third decade on this Earth, its evident to me that Ive secretly been an optimist all this time. I think Trails might have had at least a small part in that.

And while I can (and will) point to certain moments or characters that pulled more of the weight, the small details are even more important. None of these games messages would come through if I wasnt being drawn so completely into Zemuria. Take, for instance, Rinon. Rinon is an NPC that operates the general store in Rolent alongside his mother, Bloom, an overbearing woman obsessed with finding him a wife. By sheer chance, on her way home from vacation in Grancel, Bloom meets Kitty, a young woman heading to Bose for her own vacation plans that cant be altered, who thinks owning a store would be a lovely life. By ANOTHER sheer chance (read: Luciolas fog-laden Ouroboros plot), the airship theyre on gets stuck in Rolent, and since no one can go anywhere for days, Bloom invites Kitty to stay with her and Rinon in the meantime. You can guess where things go from there. Its a wholesome little tale of how something random and beautiful came out of a malicious attempt by an antagonist to wreak havoc on an innocent town, and if thats not emblematic of the signature Trails optimism, I dont know what is.

I remember this all - names, towns, everything - without having to look it up. And I think everyone whos played these games has their own personal favorite NPC storyline, because its just so enjoyable to run around talking to them all as their lives change along with everything happening in the story. This is worldbuilding done right. Nail the small stuff and the buy-in for the big stuff will take care of itself. I read paragraphs of optional text in the 3rd on a countrys economic structure, for crying out loud, whereas trying to get me to read a textbook on my own real life countrys economy in college was a herculean task. Trails wants you to embrace it wholeheartedly, and it understands that the best way to do that is to offer itself up with the warmest and most inviting of open arms. No other game, and certainly no other franchise, gives me the saccharine fuzzies that Sky does. My feeble and unintentional attempts to resist never stood a chance.

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The Moment: The End of the Faceless
This is the Trails equivalent of the moment in One Piece where Mihawk shows up at the Baratie and casually dismantles Zoro in a duel. In other words, a sudden, shocking display that the world and powers that are still lurking in the series future are massive in size and scope far beyond what was really comprehensible before. A big, flashing, neon sign of You aint seen nothing yet.

Ouroboros is one of the biggest reasons that the story of FC and SC work as fantastically as they do (and I dont know if I really care for the direction theyve gone in since, but thats beside the point). Theyre omnipresent throughout the two games (even if its not immediately obvious in FC), theyre obviously dangerous, and despite the development we get on some of its Enforcers, their purpose and goals as a collective remain pretty unclear. And through it all, Georg Weissmann has, ironically, been the face of the organization and the most openly antagonistic, driving the plot - as well as many impulse purchases of SC, no doubt - with levels of cruelty and ambition that stand in stark contrast to almost everything else weve seen in Liberl. He spends eighty-plus hours of gameplay manipulating the plot on puppet strings, toying with the heroes, always far out of reach and multiple steps ahead. It takes a sacrifice from one of the worlds strongest fighters and a gambit by Cassius effin Bright to bring him down in the end, and even then, its still just barely enough.

Five minutes later, it turns out even he doesnt really have a clue whats going on. One of the highest ranking members of a shadow cadre thats exerting their will on entire countries, and even hes just another piece on the board to be manipulated. But we barely have a chance to consider the enormity of such a twist before a wisecracking doofus of a priest strides in, drops a stone cold get on my level taunt, and executes him with the same level of difficulty as most people have in swatting away flies. And its still not over! Even Campanella gets in on the fun, dipping in to do what he does best: talk mysteriously. He reiterates that no one really liked Weissmann anyway and that his death is largely immaterial, takes a couple jabs at Kevin, and teleports away with the creepy staff of doom thats apparently still important.

I cant overstate how magnificent this scene is. SC carried a lot of weight on its shoulders; it had to satisfactorily pay off everything that happened in SC, particularly the Estelle and Joshua story, but it also had to keep players interested beyond just that story when itd be easy to say, Well, that was definitely great, but I dont know if I want to invest myself in a story thats going to span over a dozen more fifty-hour JRPGs like this. Weissmanns death made sure that thought never entered my mind. Its extremely effective in reinforcing the idea that, even after all youve done and accomplished already, the plot has barely even started. What a wild thing to comprehend. Two 40-50 hour games full of so much greatness, and they only make up a small piece of the whole story? How do you *not* want to see more? Trails always understands that playing the series is a huge undertaking, and while I undoubtedly have my issues with subsequent arcs, I dont think it ever gets too lazy in earning the investment (time- and money-wise) it commands. These games almost always make sure you have a good, solid reason for wanting to play the next one beyond Well, its the next Trails game. FC had an incredible cliffhanger. Events in the 3rd set up Crossbell and Cold Steel (which themselves often set up each other). And SC had this scene. Not only does it wrap up what comes before by giving a memorable and well-earned death scene to the guy we previously understood to be the main villain, it establishes what comes next about as completely as one could ever hope. Well, except for the fact that Trails treats death more like a suggestion these days. But again, that's beside the point.

Oh, and all of that is without even talking about what an incredible individual moment it is for that aforementioned wisecracking, doofus priest, which leads me to

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The Character: Father Kevin Graham
Sorry I'm good at a lot of things, but pretending to be someone I'm not isn't one of them.

Various life things got in the way of my plans this year, so I dont have Kevins Stigma tattooed on my arm yet like I planned to show off here. The fact that Im planning it at all should show how much I like him, though.

Yeah, those badass epithets I mentioned earlier? Is there one in Trails more badass than the Heretic Hunter? I didnt think much of this guy during my first playthrough of SC. His chemistry with the rest of the party makes him enjoyable enough, but he always feels disconnected and, for lack of a better word, incomplete. He seemed like an odd inclusion when the rest of the playable cast carried over so seamlessly and naturally from everything that happened in the first game, like he was meant more as a vehicle to give players more visibility on the Septian Church, because thats obviously an important piece of the worldbuilding that had received very little focus beforehand.

Well, all of that was true. It just wasnt true in the ways I thought. Kevin definitely gives us some insight into the Church, though at least to the point in the series that Ive reached, we still dont know a ton about it. Hes definitely disconnected, because he has to be and firmly believes he prefers it that way. And man oh man, is he ever incomplete, in more ways than one.

The hunting of Weissmann just flips Kevin Graham as we know him entirely on his head. Its the quickest Ive ever gone from feeling mostly neutral about a character to loving them. The overall reveal is cool enough on its own - even from his first couple of appearances, SC never makes any real attempt to play coy with the fact that hes more than hes letting on, but the extent to which thats the case is unclear. Its relatively early that we learn hes part of the Gralsritter, and it seems like a big enough development to justify the secrecy because weve never heard of them before and its a wild concept that seems to answer all questions about him. For there to be an additional twist beyond that was unexpected and awesome. Whats even more intriguing is the peek we get into his headspace, though. Part of him seems to outright enjoy putting that salt stake in Weissmanns heart (understandably so - talk about adding insult to injury), and to revel in his verbal and literal takedown of his prey - and for a man so consumed by the belief that people should be punished for their misdeeds, some part of him probably does. But once the job is actually done, he immediately transitions into a self-loathing lament of his lot in life. Its every bit as compelling of a setup for Sky the 3rd as FCs ending was for the second game. The series has already proven by this point that it can do a masterful job of putting broken characters back together - damn right I want to see them do it again.

Its fun to look back at his debut in the beginning of SC with the knowledge of the development he eventually gets and see what a perfect introduction it is. He sees Estelle looking down, tries a number of goofball attempts to cheer her up, offers a sincere listening ear for her troubles, and then despite knowing she was already depressed before he showed up, his immediate instinct the second she starts to break down is to apologize for whatever he did to upset her. In just a few lines of dialogue, the game shows off that 1) hes perceptive enough to notice a stranger is way out of sorts, 2) hes happy to make himself the butt of a joke to make that stranger smile, 3) he has a tendency to blame himself for things going wrong, even when theres clear evidence they arent his fault, and 4) none of this stops him from being a flirt. The very next scene is almost as good, showing off more of his lackadaisical nature through his admittance that hes procrastinating on reporting to Grancel Cathedral (via leaving on a flight FROM Grancel, no less), before immediately turning him serious again when he notices from just a couple vague exchanges that Estelle really needs his help at the moment Still under the guise of him neglecting his duties, naturally. No real way to know it at the time, but that whole intro sequence feels like the perfect precursor to pretty much everything about him.

Man, Skys writing is so good. This is a character thats just expertly crafted with the utmost care from beginning to end, even if its not all super obvious on a first playthrough. I mean, look at some of his dialogue portraits - theres a tiny bit of teeth showing in his big grin that gives just enough of a sinister look about him, where its easy to dismiss at the start but takes on a whole new meaning when it comes back alongside a smirk and narrowed eyes during Weissmanns execution. Say what you will about Trails, but its hard to find much fault with its foreshadowing most times.

(cont'd in next post)

(cont'd)

Anyway, you get the picture. SC Kevin becomes a far more interesting character with the benefit of hindsight, but that still pales in comparison (or should I say Salt Pales in comparison? Heh heh heh) to what he becomes in the 3rd. We get the full picture of the downward spiral that was his life (no coincidence that you have to descend down *spiral staircases* to get to the primal grounds, including the one under Aster House), which started out miserable and progressively got worse and worse, to the point that he subconsciously creates a personalized hell just to wallow in his suffering. It says a lot that when Phantasma keyed in on its new master, looking for the person nearby with the worst trauma, it went to Kevin instead of Joshua.

And its all such a shame because so much of that suffering was self-inflicted through the agonizingly human mistake of judging oneself too harshly. Im not saying all of his problems couldve been solved purely through making some different choices, but you have to imagine things wouldnt have become nearly as awful if he had leaned on Ries or not specifically requested to be sent on the most terrible Gralsritter missions possible - in other words, done anything other than actively seeking whatever option would cause him the most pain. But who among us hasnt known someone thats responded to trauma by withdrawing and self-destructing? Many of us have *been* that person. Its natural. If nothing else, it all makes him one of the most effective problem solvers in the franchise. Kevin has the skills to oppose the most dangerous people on the continent and plenty of self-loathing to keep him tied to that job. But something had to give eventually, because as Rufina says once, That poor boy is just far too kind. I think theres a lot of scientific studies out there showing that guilt and empathy are pretty heavily correlated, and Kevin certainly has excess guilt to go around.

Which leads me to why, out of all the possible things and designs in the world, I want to put his Stigma onto my body as my one and only tattoo. I always knew that, if I got one, Id want it to be something from video games, but how did I land on this? Frankly, I dont have that much in common with the character. Ive led a privileged life by many standards, with pretty much no real trauma to speak of. One thing we do share, though - I am astoundingly, hilariously, unnecessarily hard on myself, at least according to all the people closest to me. No matter the scenario and regardless of context, Ive struggled my entire life with the constant feeling that Im letting myself and everyone around me down, that Im a burden to the people I love, and that everything Im even tangentially involved with that goes wrong is a massive disaster exclusively of my own making, despite the fact that Ive been pretty successful in most walks of life. Therapy has helped, but so has Sky the 3rd. I think learning how to forgive yourself for things when it doesnt come naturally to you is one of the hardest things in the world to do, but Kevins journey is a constant reminder in my mind that it has to be done. Almost by accident, he surrounds himself with a small group of remarkable people - including one truly special woman - that refuse to let him fall all the way into the hole he dug himself. He learns to lean on them. He learns that no matter how bad things might seem in one moment, good things are on the horizon. He learns he has ways of offering real value to the world. Maybe most importantly, he learns that, at least the majority of the time, no one thinks as badly of him as he does of himself.

He doesnt become an entirely changed man overnight, though he tries his best. Its pretty clear, especially in Crossbell, that hes having to repeatedly relearn these things at times. But then, so am I. What matters is that were trying. So thats why I wanted to have a constant reminder with me to just cut myself a little slack sometimes. I found myself a small group of remarkable people and a truly special woman, and I lean on them when I need to. I make more of an effort to see the light side in myself than I used to. Stories can help to inspire those things in us, and Kevins story definitely inspires me even now. Trails prides itself on being an uplifting series, and its crowning achievement in, uh, upliftingness is in taking us along for the ride as Kevin realizes hes a pretty okay guy.

I have no trouble understanding why people love Estelle so much - hell, I love her, too. But Kevin is unassailable as a Trials protagonist to me, and hes the single biggest reason why this series holds such a lasting place in my heart. I can only hope to be as much of a boon to the people around me as Grail Sphere has been to my Sky playthroughs.

One big factor (for me) in Symphonia's memorability (that i didn't realize until way later) is the stellar DUB Cast. prefer ENG voices but i typically end up defaulting to JP if there's dual audio option because of the variance in quality for eng dubs. But everyone in Symphonia is so good. And battle quotes are a big part of sticking in your mind like that.

the best one from indeed the best character:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC9c7_3L3fQ

very happy when he still got to keep his wings at least in the anime despite them not doing the alternate path.

Dubs forever

Aw yeah Trails in the Sky

Kevin is definitely one of my favorite characters also. Estelle and Renne are easy #1 and #2 for me but Kevin and several others aren't too far behind.

NBIceman posted...

Weissmann loses because hes cruel, and the heroes win because they love.

This is an interesting point because this is like the biggest JRPG cliche ever, but as far as I can recall this is the only one to make me sit back and think "y'know they make a pretty good point"

kateee posted...

One big factor (for me) in Symphonia's memorability (that i didn't realize until way later) is the stellar DUB Cast. prefer ENG voices but i typically end up defaulting to JP if there's dual audio option because of the variance in quality for eng dubs. But everyone in Symphonia is so good. And battle quotes are a big part of sticking in your mind like that.

the best one from indeed the best character:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC9c7_3L3fQ

very happy when he still got to keep his wings at least in the anime despite them not doing the alternate path.

Leonhart4 posted...

Dubs forever

Yeah, I'm a staunch dub guy. I can only think of a couple pieces of media that I've ever switched over to Japanese audio, and that had more to do with translation than performances. I've never played a video game where the voice acting was so poor that it made me switch... And I played Arc Rise Fantasia this year.

Symphonia's definitely stands out as a good one, though. Frankly, I'd say almost every Tales game starting with that one had a great dub.

pyresword posted...

This is an interesting point because this is like the biggest JRPG cliche ever, but as far as I can recall this is the only one to make me sit back and think "y'know they make a pretty good point"

Trails makes you believe! That's all there is to it. Sky is telling the oldest story in history and making magic out of it.

Kevin actually did overtake Estelle as my favorite character from Trails towards the end of 3rd, but then the very end happened and Estelle's speech to Renne in the ending was just perfect. Definitely my #2 pick from the Sky trilogy and honestly maybe even the whole series (think most of the competition would be in Crossbell with Randy and Tio alongside Renne herself)

Kevin's Stigma S-Craft reveal in... Chapter 4, I think... of 3rd is an all-timer though. The music and then the still-reigning champion of S-Craft incantations.

Poor Kevin literally forgotten by Falcom though when in the initial release of Daybreak they forgot to include him in a CG of the Dominions and had to patch it to put him in lmao. At least he finally, finally, returns in Horizon. now remember anelace you cowards.

NBIceman posted...

I've never played a video game where the voice acting was so poor that it made me switch...

The first game that made me wish I could switch was actually Tales of Legendia.

And a lot of the time it's more so that a few characters/performances are distractingly bad rather than the whole cast whereas with JP dub it's neutral at worst.

Persona 4 also made me think this

I'm glad we're getting into character talk, because it leads perfectly into the most outrageous ranking of this entire project, which is going to take 5(!) posts to fully cover. I really and truly didn't mean to write so much, but Trails draws it out of me when I get going.

Ranking the Sky 3rd Party Members

_stingers_ is in the midst of a much larger undertaking right now, and I applaud him. Trying to rank even sixteen people from this series was hard enough.

It was a little tough to narrow down which characters I wanted to focus on, but I figured the party members from 3rd was a decent enough group. It includes almost all of the best ones and the majority of the most important.

Also, as a reminder, I've only played chronologically up to CS2, so I imagine there will be further development for some of these in the future that could very much sway me one way or another. Looking forward to everyone telling me I'm crazy!

16. Josette
Josette sucks, man. Everything about her is so incongruous with everything this series can normally hang its hat on. Her only function is to annoyingly pine after Joshua and argue with Estelle in order to create fake trappings of a love triangle that doesnt actually exist. It actually just makes the Estelle/Joshua story worse, because every line of dialogue thats spent on some variation of Estelle in SC complaining about the stupid tomboy bandit girl is a line that distracts from the actual-somewhat-compelling romantic conflict that is their relationship. Its so tiring. Her relationship with her family is fine, sort of, I guess, but even then, she spends most of her spotlight Door in 3rd screaming at them over an honest mistake that involves Joshua. On the rare occasion she even interacts with someone else for more than a line or two, its all just generic tsundere 101 stuff, too, and if she has some sort of gameplay niche that makes her useful in combat, I was sure never smart enough to find it. Wretched, trash heap character that stands out as being even worse when compared to everyone else in the trilogy.

15. Julia
I wish I liked Julia more, because I tend to enjoy her archetype as the strong, dutiful military woman utterly devoted to her royal family charge. Its always a solid base. But most of these Sky characters have solid bases, and she doesnt get much of a chance to build on hers. I like her design, the relationship with Kloe is done well, and I get a kick out of her in-universe army of fangirls that seems to span the continent. Outside of that Eh. Her extended party time in 3rd is cool enough as a novelty, but shes really not even that great of a combat unit.

The Star Door in the 3rd with Julia and Male Erebonian Julia is pretty representative of her, honestly, because its not bad, but its decidedly less fun and interesting than the vast majority of other Doors in the game. Weve got much better characters to talk about, so lets move on.

14. Scherazard
Apart from being one of very few women, real or fictional, that I think looks prettier with shorter hair, Scherazard doesnt stand out in any way to me. Shes there, she exists, shes fine. She has her moments, because pretty much every Trails party member has their moments, and I think she serves as an effective first mentor for Skys pair of protagonists from both an in- and out-of-universe perspective. Past that, its tough to come up with much about her thats memorable. Shes overshadowed in her FC chapter by Olivier being at his most Olivier, and then after she leaves the party, the plot ramps up quickly enough that shes kind of just left in the dust.

The stuff with Luciola in SC is hamstrung by Luciola being the worst Enforcer. Her spotlight Door in 3rd is excellent in how it presents a story on what it means to be a Bracer that contrasts heavily with Estelle and Joshuas experiences in FC - I always appreciate extra Guild worldbuilding (worldGuilding?) - but it drags a little longer than it needs to and does more for Aina as an individual character than Schera. With all that in mind, she needs an entertaining personality, and fortune telling alcoholic with a hint of dominatrix doesnt do it for me for a variety of reasons.

This turned out kind of negative for a character I think is perfectly serviceable, but whatever, Ive spent enough time on Schera.

13. Tita
The issue with Tita is that all of her best qualities and most memorable moments are really vehicles for the purposes of developing other, more interesting characters. Mostly Agate, but also Estelle and Renne to a certain extent. I wouldnt go nearly so far as to say that she approaches being more of a plot device than a character or anything, but when I think of Tita, its pretty much always in relation to other members of the party.

Shes a big time star in one of SCs better chapters, with her relentless support of Agate during the events with Ragnard and Loewe, up to and including her jumping in front of a sword blow for him, and I like how shes progressively characterized in relation to the rest of her family in that shes somewhat more grounded than the truly obsessive inventors but can still get lost in her own world when she gets to work on a new experiment.

Unfortunately, shes also the centerpiece of the disturbing, infuriating, out-of-place side plot in 3rd where the rest of the cast inexplicably decides it wants to taint the otherwise wholesome brother-sister relationship she has with Agate by implying hes a pederast, so Yeah. Its not really her fault, but it just leaves a bad taste in the mouth. She also gets disappointingly little to do with Renne in that game despite a decent amount of effort being put forth to set up some big confrontation that never quite comes. As fun as the Orbal Gear is to use, the final game in the trilogy is not kind to Tita.

12. Anelace
This characters out-of-universe journey is fascinating to me. From an unimportant side character in FC to a playable guest in SC to a full-time party member who inexplicably gets the strongest weapon in the game and becomes a combat monster in 3rd. I mean, sure, alright!

I like Anelace, but she very much stands out as being constantly on the periphery of the plot. The fact that she even gets brought into Phantasma while Grant, Carna, and Kurt end up as enemies doesnt make a ton of sense, but whatever - I wont spend much effort poking holes in a fanservice decision for a fanservice-y game. She does occupy a nice role in the narrative, though, as a relative newbie to the Guild around Estelles age and similar to her in a lot of ways. Again, that sort of thing helps with Bracer worldbuilding in showing us glimpses of what things could be like for Estelle once shes just a little further up on the ladder and dealing with more typical Bracer things instead of, well, everything else.

And shes certainly enjoyable enough when shes around. I get a kick out of her desperate attempt to wish stuffed animals into existence in 3rd and she bounces well off of her most common pairings, but she doesnt have much depth. Even her Door is relatively dull aside from the reward. Thats fine, though! Especially in a series like this, not everyone needs to be super developed by a grand adventure. She serves her purpose well.

11. Mueller
Male Erebonian Julias only real role in the story is to play the eternal beleaguered straight man to Oliviers lunacy, but Well, he plays it to perfection. A big part of Oliviers comedy comes from the reactions he gets from the dumbfounded people around him, and because no ones had more practice in that position than Mueller, no one does it better than him. That sounds like damning with faint praise - Oh, hes just here to make another character better - but hey, the straight man is an integral component of many good comedy acts! He deserves credit for that.

He also benefits from a straightforward cool factor. Ive always loved his design and color scheme, and hes built up solidly as a swordsman to be feared as befits his station. Theres not much development beyond that, although his admission in the Star Door he shares with Julia that a part of him resents that he was forced to be Oliverts lifelong babysitter makes him feel a little more complete. I also really appreciate how, purely by saying his name, he manages to affect Olivier enough to drop his act for a moment and be sincere in 3rds ending.

Extra points, by the way, for his hilariously thin and conspicuous disguise in Azure when he needs the SSSs help finding Olivier. One of the funnier parts of that game, really.

Overall, solid but unspectacular.

10. Zin
Many of my favorite JRPG casts have that one understated character, the quiet, grounding presence in the party, that I never really think much of on reflection. Then I replay the game and am reminded of how glad I am to have them around. Zin is that character in the Sky trilogy, and not just because SCs Thunder God Kick is maybe the most fun attack in the entire franchise to date.

Straightforward and honest, rarely ever knocked off balance - Zin the Immovable, indeed. Hes a nice, chill guy, but he doesnt fall into the characterization you often see with characters like him who have dedicated their life to martial arts. Hes got a witty sense of humor and doesnt mind being relaxed and a little silly when the situation calls for it. I quite like the bits of self-doubt we see in the storyline with Walter, as well. I feel like he gets retroactively more awesome in future games despite not physically appearing, too - seeing how amazing other A-Rank Bracers are gives some context to how effective he must be in his job that we didnt really have before.

He gets a real shining moment in 3rds ending, too, where he and Richard decide to be the first ones to leave because they know no one else will want to fall on that sword. It really shows off his maturity and emotional intelligence, and that role of resolute calm that no one else in the party fills quite as well.

Zin just feels like a very complete character despite a relative lack of screen time and plot importance. The fact that he only just makes the top 10 is a testament to how fantastic this cast is as a whole. I look forward to him hopefully showing up again in Calvard!

9. Kloe
It feels wrong to have Kloe not even crack the top half of this ranking, but what are you gonna do? As Ive said multiple times now, theres just too many good characters in Sky. Her biggest problem is that shes at her best in FC and her worst in 3rd. Dont get me wrong - putting her best foot forward in FC is important. With that games role in the trilogy, this sort of party member contributes a lot. But that sort of progression (or, rather, regression) is completely unique to her as far as the rest of this list goes unless someone wants to make an argument for Schera.

The biggest compliment I can give her is that the Jenis chapter in FC, despite being the most filler-y of any chapter in the game by far, is one of its best. She has immediate and excellent chemistry with the main pair and does a lot of heavy lifting in making the time at the school seem welcoming and pleasant instead of tedious. SCs a mixed bag, though. Her reasoning for being around as much as she is feels tenuous, and a lot of her personal development either feels overwrought or happens completely offscreen, but her little girl talk with Estelle at Jenis is one of my favorite small moments in the series even if it fails the Bechdel Test hard.

3rd is rough on her. Her personal Door would be completely pointless if it wasnt introducing Lechter - all of her development has already taken place, so the Door has to revert her back to a time before it happened, and she almost feels like an entirely different (and exceedingly less likable) character because of it. Im still not even positive I understand her inner conflict at that time in the first place. Her love confession to Joshua in the banquet Door also feels really awkward, for some reason? And not in the way that I think it was intended.

All that said, I like her personality enough that the downward slide doesnt completely sink her. She gets to show off a deceptively sneaky and clever side at times, especially in regards to hiding her identity, and in totality, I do think her growth is done well. Shes an awesome combat unit, too. I think she burned a little too bright a little too early, but thats not the worst thing.

8. Joshua
Much like Zin, Joshuas greatest strength is his reserved, self-assured calm, though it obviously plays even better because he gets by far the most time to bounce off of Estelle, who Has none of that. Really, hes defined by his relationship to her, for better or worse. Almost always better. Their dynamic drives FC, their separation SC, and their reunion and partnership reverberates in many ways through multiple games to follow, even when they hardly appear.

Hes at his very best in 3rd. He adapts to the situation in Phantasma in an instant, the banquet Door puts his newfound happiness front and center, and his interactions with the rest of the party (and with Loewe) all game do a good job of showing how all the weight from his past has been lifted off his shoulders. He gets an excellent scene with Kevin talking about his gratitude for everything hes done, even as the latter tries to insist hes a bastard thats just been using them all, and though Estelle is the one who finishes the job, its actually Joshua whos the first one that starts getting through to Renne a little bit in the ending.

The glaring issue here is that we get variants of his story out of multiple other party members across the Trails franchise, and theyre all at least a little more interesting than he is. Maybe glaring is too harsh - this is still an upper tier character in a series overflowing with strong ones - but his journey just doesnt feel quite as impactful to me when its followed up by Rennes and Randys and, to a degree, Kevins.

Through it all, though, his development does still stand out in that its probably the best example of that central love redeems theme for the series, because he gets both ends of it. Hes redeemed by Estelle and Cassius and all of their allies, and in turn, he helps to redeem Loewe and Renne. Trailss optimism shines through in Joshua almost as much as it does in the Estelles and Lloyds of the world, just from a different angle. Thats a pretty big deal.

EVERYONE PAST THIS POINT IS AMAZING

7. Agate
Agate is a JRPG main protagonist who just happens to end up as a supporting character in Trails because theres other stuff going on. Spiky-haired hothead? Check. Giant sword? Check. Rivalry with the cool villain swordsman? Check. Family tragedy and trauma? Check. You get the idea.

He gets the most development of anyone in Sky that isnt a firm main character or Renne (and he might even have an argument over the latter if we dont count future games), but hes likable from the start, too. He works as the no-nonsense hardass mentor to contrast Schera, but hes never unfair and hes willing to recognize when the rookies do stuff right. He softens up pretty much immediately in SC once Estelle becomes a senior in a way that demonstrates that his rude bluntness is more of a teaching tool than a real personality defect, which is further reinforced by the Ravens Door in 3rd. But theres obviously still some rough edges there being used as a defense mechanism, which leads to the great brother-sister relationship with Tita.

Agate works because, simply put, nobody ever quite buys anything about his tough guy persona. Almost from the word Go, Estelle and Joshua are needling him about his awkwardness, but never in a way that makes him feel like a joke, and Tita sees his good heart from the beginning. Every game also does a good job of showing that, despite having all the directness of a sledgehammer to the head, hes plenty smart, because he couldnt be the great Bracer that he is otherwise. He even gets a shockingly poignant line at Loewes death in lamenting that hell never get the chance to even the score.

Just an all-around great character. Starts off good and only gets better as the layers peel back.

6. Renne
I know some people loved Renne right from the jump, or at least by the end of 3rd, but she didnt really click with me until Crossbell. Thats not to say I didnt like her at all, or that Star Door 15 didnt make me have to sit and stare at a wall for a while, but I didnt quite get why she was as insanely popular as I already knew her to be. I have a definite bias against kid genius characters (see: Titas ranking), as many JRPG fans do, and even though I think theres a good balance there where shes very much still a child in all of her disturbing, sociopathic glory, I didnt see much special about her. Good villain, nothing more.

3rd is the obvious turning point, in large part because of the increased screen time and aforementioned Star Door, which all comes together in the ending. Her utter lack of comprehension at the happy tone that persists as party members slowly depart (Why is everyone smiling?) just pulls her character together so well. A broken girl who craves affection and joy and who is simply unequipped to deal with the sudden reawakening of emotions that she spent so long repressing out of necessity.

Crossbell then wraps it all up, appropriately, in a tidy bow. We get some measure of closure with her parents, who really didnt do much of anything wrong as it turns out, but she still cant let go of everything that happened enough to meet them again. Thats emotional enough, but then she gets THREE separate Big Damn Hero moments across the duology to save the people that need her.

For her to go through everything she did and still have the capacity for love I mean, thats how you write a great character. The only reasons shes not higher here are 1) I know shes still not done showing up in the series, and 2) I largely enjoy the remaining characters in the chill parts of Trails more than her.

5. Olivier
Sometimes, while playing Trails, Im surprised by the fact that such a long-running series with so much forethought and interconnectivity doesnt have more running gags. Then I think, Well, whats the point? Theyd all be lame compared to the one where Olivier randomly shows up and plays a song to defuse a tense situation by confusing the hell out of everyone.

Im not always a big fan of bard characters. Honestly, almost never. But even Im not enough of a curmudgeon to pretend this dude isnt hilarious. For being such a well-written series, Trails isnt actually very funny most of the time, but thats fine, because Olivier can more than handle carrying that torch. He never even takes the perverted aspect of his character too far, and hes always the butt of the joke when it pops up. Of course, that all contrasts wonderfully with the fact that hes invaluable when the chips are down, too, and even long after the multiple reveals that hes more than what he seems, these games find ways to slip in little moments suggesting hes even more perceptive than we give him credit for, like how he immediately suspects Kevin knows the Lord of Phantasmas identity.

The trope of a noble who desperately wants to live a life outside of their gilded cage is well worn in any medium you can name, but Ive rarely seen it done as well as this character. He makes absolutely no attempt to fly under the radar and, as opposed to many characters who are trying to find themselves through such rebellion, this man already knows exactly who he is and what he holds dear. Perhaps even more importantly, Trails does an admirable job of selling just how hard it is for Prince Olivert to leave the bard behind. Thats especially evident in 3rds ending, where he finally drops his unflappable front, just for a couple lines of dialogue, to admit to the party how incredibly lucky he feels to have gotten to spend just a little more time with them. Scheras sad comment that he managed to keep pretending he was fine right up until the end is one of the more underappreciated tearjerkers in the series.

Anyway, I think Ive spent enough words talking about my love for a character that everyone knows is wonderful, so Ill just finish by saying Im still curious to learn more about what makes him tick as such a dedicated politician. Also, for the record, the hardest decision on this ranking for me was between fifth and fourth place, and if you caught me on the right day, Olivier could always slip into #4.

4. Ries
Most Trails characters have a bit of a slow burn to them in the same way that Well, everything about the franchise does. Many start off as likable enough, but they take a while to shine. Ries, though? I could tell right off the bat that I was going to love her. Shes introduced by trying her best to keep up a very targeted sort of stoic standoffishness with Kevin, but its so far against her true nature that shes really, really bad at it, and the two of them fall into an easy rapport after he (with an assist from her stomach) disarms her within the first two minutes. The distance between them isnt forgotten by any means, but their chemistry comes through instantly and theyre every bit as good of a main character pairing as the Brights.

The argument with Kevin to begin Chapter 4 in the 3rd is, frankly, some of the best writing Ive ever seen in video games. Her jealousy at Kevins closeness with the rest of the party having formed when she was still on the sidelines that turned to happiness when she thought about how it was helping to fill the emptiness in him, only for the sadness to return when she realized it was just another veneer Its so human, so believably layered, a complexity of feeling that most games dont even attempt to approach.

It all leads up to Gehenna, and Chapter 7 as a whole, where she really shines. First by not even entertaining the idea for a second that Rufinas death was Kevins fault or that the Lord of Phantasma could be anything close to her sister, then by basically daring the Lord to drop her into hell in Kevins place, then by steadfastly serving as his emotional lifeline as he tries to push through his literal personalized torture chamber. Ries has an inner strength and peace thats rare in these sorts of fantasy characters with traumatic pasts. She has emotions, and doesnt make much of an attempt to hide them, but she doesnt let them rule her, and that allows her to be at her very best when the people she loves need her. It culminates when shes determined to hold Kevins bowgun with him as he kills Rufina again, and only allows herself to cry when its all over. Thats a strong contender for the most emotional scene in the whole franchise, and think of the ground that covers.

Shes a terrific character, and I didnt even mention some of her other fun moments like the verbal smackdown she gives Renne when they first bring her out of the Sealing Stone. Shes even tons of fun in her limited Azure screen time. Oh, yeah, and the Templar Sword is an awesome weapon. What Im trying to say is Ries is better than your waifu.

3. Estelle
I know, I know. Sacrilege. Estelle being #3 is really no fault of her own, though - shes a 10/10 character in a cast full of great characters, two of which just happen to land with me in specific ways that she doesnt, and I understand completely why she would top a ranking (not just for Sky, but for the whole series) for plenty of people.

These games repeatedly compare Estelle to the shining sun, and while that may not be the most original metaphor, it rarely fits better than with our favorite purveyor of ul-tra vi-o-lence. Shes the unquestioned heart of the story, not just in how her observations and connections and reactions to the world are integral for building players understanding of (and, hopefully, immersion in) Zemuria, but also in how it allows her to see through to the heart of others. She needs no other reason to offer her love to people than that she sees they need such a gift, first and most significantly with Joshua and then with Renne. She truly brings people out of the darkness and into the light through nothing more than her warmth and determination. The best way to get things done in the Trails universe (and therefore, the series believes, in the real world), is to understand people, and no one understands people like Estelle. Hell, even her sense of humor is the most consistent source of comedy that isnt secretly an Erebonian Prince.

Ive also always appreciated the seriess cleverness in avoiding the somewhat overdone inner conflict of a child struggling to live up to the legacy of an inimitable parent by making Estelle completely unaware that her dad has a reputation in the world that borders on mythical, at least until she reaches a point where shes already well on her way to blazing her own trail in life. She has moments, many moments, of self-doubt, but they come entirely from within, and it makes them far more compelling as she always manages to overcome them.

All of the best traits of this series are manifested in Estelle, and its for that reason as much as any other that she was the perfect protagonist to kick it off. Empathy, idealism, unapologetic authenticity - its little wonder shes as popular as she is. Trails has a lot to be proud of, but it may not have any greater triumph than this character, and I can recognize that even if theres a couple of guys for whom I have just the slightest bit more personal affinity.

2. Richard
Alan Richard is a shining example of why Trails writing, despite all of those criticisms some might lob at it for being overly formulaic or long-winded or cheesy or what have you, is worthwhile. This series, across three games, got a memorable anti-villain, then a compelling (if, admittedly, somewhat hurried) redemption story, then a surprising and awesome fanservice party member, out of impostor syndrome.

The more media I consume as part of this trend in recent years that tries to force sympathy for mass murderer villains just because they had bad things happen to them once, the more I realize FC Richard is one of my very favorite antagonists. I like to think he decided he had to stage a coup after having an experience like Billy Beane in Moneyball where everyones trying to replace Jason Giambi with minor league scrubs. How do you fill the void left by Cassius Bright? Well, there is no other man like Cassius Bright, so you cant, right?

Wrong. You cant replace him, but you can recreate him in the aggregate. Richard gets stuck on the fact that hes not Cassius and forgets what he is: an incredibly effective leader who loves his country dearly and is able to inspire impressive deeds through his charisma and smarts. When that sort of person can surround himself with other remarkable people, they can surpass what any one man can do, even if that man is the Divine Blade.

His three-game journey is learning that, or perhaps remembering it. He learns that power and strength arent the same thing. He even learns to accept the rest of the party still calling him Colonel as a positive term of endearment by the end of 3rd. Its no longer just a relic of a time in his life that led him to his greatest mistakes. Its now a sign of respect from a group of people who gave him a second chance. And its fun how he pretty much ends up where Estelle and Joshua started, doing smaller things for the citizenry that could lead to great ripples down the line.

He even gets one of the best Star Doors. Hes scared that he feels like the same man that organized the coup because of how he still thinks, and it doesnt come off as hollow self-loathing of a man looking for redemption. Its a fascinating question. If your greatest mistake was born of genuine love and good intentions, and those remain with you, how can you ever be confident that they wont just lead you to another grave mistake? Even with as much as hes grown, his story still isnt over.

Its just a superlative piece of writing. Pretty much everything about Richard resonates with me on a very deep level. The feeling of never being good enough and relentlessly criticizing yourself, no matter how much success you see or praise you receive from people you respect. The flaw of never quite trusting people, on a micro or macro level, to do things right, and to make up for the weaknesses both in you and in society as a whole. The constant war within yourself that leads you to agonize over every big decision in your life and perpetually wonder if theyre the right ones. I struggle with all of that myself, every day. But Im lucky to share something else with Richard, too - a small group of indescribable people around me who accept my shortcomings, who forgive me when my good intentions lead to errors, and whose support I can always count on. Its that resonance that earns him such a high spot for me.

And if you think hes too high, Id like to remind you that Sieg likes him, too. Youre not really gonna try and argue with Sieg, are you?

1. Kevin
I think I covered him pretty well, but I guess if yall really want me to say more, I guess I-*gets shot by Salt Pale*

Alan Richard at #2 is a choice

Joshua best Sky character

Yeah, Richard is the guy I always seem to be the biggest fan of, and everyone seems to think I'm a bit nuts for it. Hopefully I at least made a reasonable explanation!

I literally forget he even exists most of the time

He's probably gotten the most "oh yeah that guy" reactions out of me from any game I've played when he gets brought up here or even in the series after FC

one of those series i feel like i'd enjoy if i had 300 hours to invest in it