What is the best and worst Fire Emblem cast of characters to you?

[redtutel]

My favorite cast of characters is Awakening. I loved meeting everyone playing the game for the first time. Sure games like Path of Radiance may have some more three dimensional characters, but they also have some zero dimensional characters too. To me, everyone in the Awakening cast is memorable, and so far it's the only game I can say that about.

My least favorite cast so far is Shadow Dragon. It has mostly zero dimensional characters with a handful of memorable ones

[DefyingFates]

Best: Sacred Stones; it probably helps that the cast is small but you get a feel for every character right away and get that there's something beneath the surface even if they're introduced as a gag. Then you have the supports which run the gamut from funny to sad to endearing while also being interesting and fleshing out the characters taking part in them.

Worst: Fates, which is the exact opposite of the above. It has way too many characters who are all introduced as a living gimmick and nothing more, unless you dig through the dozens of supports they have to find the one or two that aren't "I hate you! ... I still hate you! ...Let's get married!" And only a few of them even get that privilege (imho)!

[Thane]

15 minutes ago, DefyingFates said:

Best: Sacred Stones; it probably helps that the cast is small but you get a feel for every character right away and get that there's something beneath the surface even if they're introduced as a gag. Then you have the supports which run the gamut from funny to sad to endearing while also being interesting and fleshing out the characters taking part in them.

Worst: Fates, which is the exact opposite of the above. It has way too many characters who are all introduced as a living gimmick and nothing more, unless you dig through the dozens of supports they have to find the one or two that aren't "I hate you! ... I still hate you! ...Let's get married!" And only a few of them even get that privilege (imho)!

I think another major difference between Sacred Stones and Fates' casts are how they all relate to one another. Sacred Stones has a relatively interwoven cast, with relationships being established even between even minor characters and minor villains. Compare this to Fates where everyone is either connected to Corrin in some way or their bizarre family tree. Who are Hana and Tsubaki? Well, Sakura's retainers, obviously! And outside of that? Well...not much. That's their role in the story and it ends there. They're generally malleable and without a background or established relationships with other characters.

[DefyingFates]

8 minutes ago, Thane said:

I think another major difference between Sacred Stones and Fates' casts are how they all relate to one another. Sacred Stones has a relatively interwoven cast, with relationships being established even between even minor characters and minor villains. Compare this to Fates where everyone is either connected to Corrin in some way or their bizarre family tree. Who are Hana and Tsubaki? Well, Sakura's retainers, obviously! And outside of that? Well...not much. That's their role in the story and it ends there. They're generally malleable and without a background or established relationships with other characters.

This too, thank you!

[Etrurian emperor]

29 minutes ago, Thane said:

I think another major difference between Sacred Stones and Fates' casts are how they all relate to one another. Sacred Stones has a relatively interwoven cast, with relationships being established even between even minor characters and minor villains. Compare this to Fates where everyone is either connected to Corrin in some way or their bizarre family tree. Who are Hana and Tsubaki? Well, Sakura's retainers, obviously! And outside of that? Well...not much. That's their role in the story and it ends there. They're generally malleable and without a background or established relationships with other characters.

I believe that Hana and Tsubaki, as well as just about any Hoshidan retainers are nobles in their own right. I've heard the argument that this might reflect Hoshido putting more faith in its nobility while the Nohrian royals all having slum dwellers, random weirdo's and mercenaries as their retainers imply they are more of a meritocracy. It would have been great if the game did anything with that....but they don't.

[Thane]

12 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said:

I believe that Hana and Tsubaki, as well as just about any Hoshidan retainers are nobles in their own right. I've heard the argument that this might reflect Hoshido putting more faith in its nobility while the Nohrian royals all having slum dwellers, random weirdo's and mercenaries as their retainers imply they are more of a meritocracy. It would have been great if the game did anything with that....but they don't.

I know Tsubaki and Setsuna are, but Hinata and Oboro? I thought Oboro was the daughter of two tailors and Hinata...uh...duuuh...

Saizou and Kagerou are ninja though, so most likely not nobles either. Kagerou had to take over for her sickly older brother so I'm not sure if the meritocracy argument holds water. Sure would've been an interesting aspect but instead all retainers are super loyal and capable (in combat) while being nutjobs outside of it so...

Edited November 26, 2018 by Thane

[Etrurian emperor]

1 minute ago, Thane said:

I know Tsubaki and Setsuna are, but Hinata and Oboro? I thought Oboro was the daughter of two tailors and Hinata...uh...duuuh...

Hinata is definitely a noble...weirdly enough. I believe his description mentions him being from a long line of Samurai that served the royal family for generations. And while not nobles per se Oboro's parents did have ties to the court.

[Thane]

1 minute ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Hinata is definitely a noble...weirdly enough. I believe his description mentions him being from a long line of Samurai that served the royal family for generations. And while not nobles per se Oboro's parents did have ties to the court.

And Azama the monk? Kagerou and Saizou the ninja? I'm not sure I buy the meritocracy argument, like I said in my edited post.

[Ottservia]

10 minutes ago, Thane said:

And Azama the monk? Kagerou and Saizou the ninja? I'm not sure I buy the meritocracy argument, like I said in my edited post.

While I’m unsure of azama, saizo is from the famed saizo ninja clan who has served the royal family for generations. Kagerou is likely a similar case.

[Sub Zero]

BEST: Awakening, FE7 and SoV. The characters in those games were just too good, SoV has the best cast in the series imo

WORST: Fates. Listen, I know everyones saying this but I just couldn't care less about the Fates characters. They're about as bland as cardboard flavored ice cream and..well it doesn't help that the main character JUST SUCKKKKKKSSSSSSS!

[Skyla]

TELLIUS is the best by far, the majority of the cast felt so real.

Scared stones and Valentia's cast are close behind.

Worst is Binding blade and Archanea. Both these casts are fill to the brim with Bland, boring characters with two to three exceptions. I'm not a big fan of Awakening either. 

[Etrurian emperor]

12 hours ago, Thane said:

And Azama the monk? Kagerou and Saizou the ninja? I'm not sure I buy the meritocracy argument, like I said in my edited post.

Like Otts says Saizo is definitely a noble. He's from a very esteemed clan that has served the royals for generation and scoffs at Charlotte dismissing him as part of the rank and file. Now I'm not all that knowledgeable about Setsuna but I'm pretty sure she's a noble too. At least that's what her wiki article says. Azama probably isn't but its worth pointing out team Hinoka is the exception to the Hoshido retainers in general since they are more like a ball and chain than actual servants. 

Not being convinced of the argument is natural since the game itself never mention it. Its more of a headcanon, really.  But we do got the image of the Hoshidan retainers mostly being nobles or people with existing ties to the court while in Nohr the retainers are staffed by just about any random wacko the royals found on the street.  Maybe its very subtle world building but with Fates writing its also possible its all completely by accident and the writers just didn't stop to notice. I wouldn't put that past them. 

Edited November 27, 2018 by Etrurian emperor

[Jingle Jangle]

3 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said:

 Now I'm not all that knowledgeable about Setsuna but I'm pretty sure she's a noble too. At least that's what her wiki article says.

In Niles and Setsuna B support:

Quote

Niles: I feel bad for her, with you as a retainer... How did you start serving the royal family, anyway?

Setsuna: Oh, my family is an important one in Hoshido, so...it just kind of happened...

Niles: So, your privilege is what got you such an esteemed position? I see... That is perhaps the most infuriating answer you could have given.

Setsuna: Is it? I guess I could elaborate... I used to practice my archery every day in the castle. One day, Lady Hinoka saw me, and then she ordered me to serve her. I agreed, and here I am.

Niles: That makes a bit more sense—you are definitely a skilled archer. That must have heavily outweighed your... other attributes.

Setsuna: It wasn't until I'd been her retainer awhile that Lady Hinoka commented about me. Something about my listening skills. I believe it was a compliment. She's always giving me compliments.

It makes her more of a bored rich girl.

[henrymidfields]

Worst: I think Fates for having more cases personalities that just aren't suited for wartime.

Best: This would be subject to change once I have access to Tellius/Jugdral games, but Binding Blade, at the moment. The characters themselves could be better, but at the same time, I feel that the characters' supports add to the backstories and history of Elibe, something that did not happen in the more recent games I played.

Edited November 27, 2018 by henrymidfields

[SniperGYS]

Best: Tellius, I think they are very good, idk why but I like them a lot

Worst: Conquest. Really mostly the only one I care is Leo. Well, the siblings are fine, but the one I care the most is Leo, aside of them... I hardly remember the other exist lol, and never used them actually, I just jumped into Conquest with the siblings, Corrins, Azura and a bunch of transported Oboros and Takumis

[Dandy Druid]

Best: It's either PoR or Sacred Stones. PoR had base conversations, which really helped out a lot of characters. And a lot of PoR characters were strengthened when they were in RD. However, I don't think RD's cast is stronger mainly because the newer characters got shafted and the crappy "Support" system didn't do much to develop them. Senri Kita did a great job designing them as well. Meanwhile, Sacred Stones had a small, but interwoven cast. It helps that a lot of characters knew each other prior to the beginning of the game, so supports didn't feel like some sort of awkward conversation you would have at something like student orientation. Some people have noted that SS did have some weird supports, and I do agree. However, the cast is fairly likable and they have some of the best character designs in the series.

Worst: Archanea for me. It's a large cast, and a good percentage of that cast was a blank slate. I understand that they were designed for Ironman playthroughs (so you don't get attached), but this made them quite a boring cast. FE12 did some heavy lifting by giving them supports, but due to the fact that these supports aren't heavily referenced or talked about, I assume most of them weren't too entertaining. From the supports I saw myself, I liked them, but they weren't the most original or memorable. Shadow Dragon has some of the most beautiful art in the series, but unfortunately, a lot of the characters look flat out bored and made comic relief moments flop.

I see a lot of people hating on Fates and Awakening, and although I do think their opinions are justified, the reason neither of those games are called the worst for me is because at least when they had a great character, they really had a great character. Sure, there's a bunch of bad supports, but at least a good portion of the cast was decently characterized. But when there was a bad character, they really had a bad character. 

[Ottservia]

8 hours ago, Dandy Druid said:

I see a lot of people hating on Fates and Awakening, and although I do think their opinions are justified, the reason neither of those games are called the worst for me is because at least when they had a great character, they really had a great character. Sure, there's a bunch of bad supports, but at least a good portion of the cast was decently characterized. But when there was a bad character, they really had a bad character. 

Agreed. Though I think that last bit really only really applies to fates imo. Don’t get me wrong awakening definitely has a few stinkers but imo the worst awakening ever does(in terms of character writing anyway) is unmemorable or annoying characters. 

Honestly though the place awakening’s character writing truly shines is with the child characters. What I love about these characters is that they all(with 3 exceptions) adhere to the theme of “how does one cope with living in what is essentially the apocalypse?” Each one(again with three exceptions) has some kind of answer to that question all of which(at least to me) are realistic, and relatable ways of dealing with tragedy. It grounds them and makes me care about them and their struggles.

[Dandy Druid]

13 hours ago, Otts486 said:

Agreed. Though I think that last bit really only really applies to fates imo. Don’t get me wrong awakening definitely has a few stinkers but imo the worst awakening ever does(in terms of character writing anyway) is unmemorable or annoying characters. 

Honestly though the place awakening’s character writing truly shines is with the child characters. What I love about these characters is that they all(with 3 exceptions) adhere to the theme of “how does one cope with living in what is essentially the apocalypse?” Each one(again with three exceptions) has some kind of answer to that question all of which(at least to me) are realistic, and relatable ways of dealing with tragedy. It grounds them and makes me care about them and their struggles.

Tbh I really agree. In fact, I actually like most of the child units from both Awakening and Fates because I feel like the majority of them were decently characterized. Awakening's kids didn't include a dud, except maybe Laurent. But having one dud isn't too bad.

And about the last bit you're referring to: yeah I was thinking of Fates when I said that. Awakening didn't have an outlandishly bad characters, but Fates sure did. Peri's whole backstory felt vain and doesn't justify her obsession with killing stuff. Iago was a villain with no layers and was evil for the sake of being evil. Camilla, although overhated, does represent Fates' lost potential the best. She could have been a great character, but I don't think the writer's wrote her to her full potential.

Although I do think Fates had higher highs than Awakening, it also had much lower lows. The characterization quality was all over the place.

[Gregster101]

My favorite cast is a tie between Path of Radiance and Shadows of Valentia. Both games have likable casts that behave and feel like real people, and with the exception of Makalov and Faye, there’s no one in either game who I dislike. I also like Genealogy’s cast a lot, since it has some of my favorite characters in the series like Arthur, Tine, and ESPECIALLY Patty.

Compare this to my least favorite cast, which is unsurprisingly Fates. Now for the record, there are some characters from Fates that I do like. I like Takumi, Leo, Oboro, Beruka, Benny, Charlotte, the Awakening trio, Azama, Silas, Kaze, Orochi, Nyx, Forest, Midori, Niles, Kagero, Saizo, Scarlet, and Shura. That’s about it tho. Everyone else I either don’t like, or I flat out hate (and there’s a lot of them including Corrin, Azura, Camilla, Xander, Hinata, Hisame, Nina, Rhajat, AND ESPECIALLY Peri). And while I do enjoy some characters like Arthur and Izana, I can’t imagine anyone in real life actually acting like them (especially Izana, there’s no way someone like him should be the leader of a country, it doesn’t make any sense).

Edited December 1, 2018 by Gregster101

[Faustino]

The Tellius games (specifically Radiant Dawn) has the best cast for reasons already stated. 

The worst would have to go to both Awakening and Fates. While there are a couple of characters I do like and find more entertaining from those games combined, the rest of them I just don’t give a shit whatsoever and there are a few of those that I truly hate, which I’m not going to say it here.

[Abosikay]

Ok... Hear me out... and I might be a little biased, but... FE5 has the best characters overall. Now, going into detail a large portion of these characters, technically, suck. Because of the severe lack of supports and just dialogue between units in general, some characters, like Kein and Alba have literally no lines of dialogue in game except for their escape quotes and their death quotes. But anyway, looking over these characters, you really get a sense of an army. I believe that not all characters should be deeply explained with intricate backstories. That's why awakening's cast is a cast I actually don't really like. Because everyone is a personality and show everything you need to know about them right off the bat, it takes away from the digging into their story, or just the feel that you're commanding a soldier. I don't know, I can probably agree that the tellius series has the best character dynamic, as their interactions feel genuine and natural. Unlike Fates. Legit, Hana's support with Saizo is just her eating Saizo's biscuits, and then saying "yo let's get married" "ok. Here, have more B I S C U I T S". I feel that if and when Thracia get's a remake, it can take the spot of best characters if they add supports, remove fatigue, and add more conversations between battles, showing character decisions and feelings. Thracia has the best potential, but I think the worst cast is either Shadow Dragon or Binding Blade.

[Fabulously Olivier]

Best: Path of Radiance

A majority of my favorite characters come from Path of Radiance. Bastian, my favorite character in totality. Nasir, my favorite dragon and second favorite character. Zihark, my favorite Myrmidon. I like every playable character, aside from Makalov, Rolf, and Devdan/Danved.

I do specify Path of Radiance, however, as Radiant Dawn introduces a lot of characters without fleshing any of them out. Radiant Dawn has a few new favorites for me (Nolan, Raphiel, Nailah, Pelleas, and adult Sothe), but also completely ruins Astrid and introduces Meg, one of the worst characters in the franchise.

 

Runner-Up: Sacred Stones

Sacred Stones is second only to Path of Radiance when it comes to the sheer number of my favorite characters that it includes. Innes is my favorite archer. Cormag is my favorite wyvern rider. Forde is my favorite social knight. Gilliam is my favorite knight. Gerik, Joshua, Lute, Saleh, Duessel, Tana, and others are also fairly high up for me.

 

Worst: Conquest

I flat out do not care about most of the cast. While it has some of my favorite characters (Xander, Leo, Ophelia, and Kaze), it aggravates me with some of my most loathed characters in the franchise (Elise, Effie, Camilla, Charlotte, Felicia, Peri, and both versions of Kana). Most of the rest of the cast is just one giant "meh" to me.

I actually like Birthright's cast by comparison. I like all of its royals (especially Hinoka) and think that the only real failures of its cast are the Awakening clone children.

Edited January 30, 2019 by Etheus

[Sunwoo]

Best: So far, the characters of Tellius are overall my favorite cast. Even the minor characters got quite a bit of spotlight or development despite not being required. These are characters that really seem to belong in this world and all have their moments. Even Ilyana, who is frequently (and deservedly) cited as one of the worst FE characters overall, has some depth to her in part 3 of RD when she reacts to the fact that she has to fight against people she has grown close to and cares about. Ike may be the main lord, but plenty of secondary and minor characters (like Elincia, Jill, Pelleas, and Skrimir) have plenty of time to develop and no one really feels disconnected from the setting.

Also, the motivations of the villains were put in an interesting contrast overall. You have the senators, who wanted power and control and believed that the laguz were inferior, but in the end they all ended up fighting alongside ancient beings who should've by all rights despised them but believed that humanity had broken its promise to Ashera and deserved to be wiped out.

Worst: This ... is a bit of a tough one. Which do I find worse, the cast of Shadow Dragon who in general lacked character and didn't have any support conversations or base conversations to develop past their initial speaking lines (if they even got any)? Or is it Fates, which did give them plenty of character and personality but I found to be poorly implemented and sometimes outright contradictory?

Neither cast was great, but I feel like the fact that the Fates crew was supposed to have deep character and personality and effort in it, but it feel horribly short, is worse than the purposefully minimalist approach to SD.

[NekoKnight]

5 hours ago, Sunwoo said:

no one really feels disconnected from the setting.

I think this is one of the most important elements in creating a solid cast, along with characters having relationships with each other that exist prior to them joining your army.

To compare two characters, let's look at Zihark and Lon'qu. Both are sword masters with sensibilities affected by a tragic event in their pasts but the former has a strong connection with elements of the setting (his own feelings towards the Laguz in conflict with his loyalty to his very racist country.) It's not a character that could be inserted into literally any game. Good characters inform on the setting.

 

[Flere210]

Best: path of radiance and awakening. The former is my first FE so i am Biased, but i love how some characters get their own arc just trough base conversation, such as Jill evolving from a racist glory seeker into a woman willing to fight her own father for the sake of the race she once despised. 

Awakening has a cast of characters that are usually quite layered if you actually dig the supports, whit only a few remaining one dimentional. And i agree whit the child characters and how they cope whit the apocalypse, as a person that loved both Ocarina and Chrono Trigger to death that theme is dear to me.

Worst: Radiant Dawn. I am not joking, i consider RD such a disappoint that it has the worst cast despite re-using the best one. 

There are 2 reason: the newcomer are akaneia tier bland, wich was just unacceptable after the gba games and PoR. And the returning characters are 90% of the time either worse than before, or they just do nothing relevant. 

Ike had a great devolopment over PoR, but in RD he is just the invincibile Gary Stu that everyone praise at every occasion( it's still more beareble than Corrin because he at least has great feats) and when he enter in the story, Micaiah gets completely sidelined. Naesala ia one of the best villains/anti heroes in the franchise, a Travant that doesn't cross the moral event horizon (selling Reyson was a shitty thing, but nowhere as terrible as how Travant killed Quan) and so he can still be on the heroes side, but RD had to whitewash him whit the damned blood pact. Elincia is the only character that really gets improved in RD, but is too litle. Archanea is bad too, but it was NES and early SNES, they were average or above average for the time. 

Fates imo is overall way worse than awakening, but it had some diamonds in the rough, wich is more than what i can say about Archanea or RD newcomers.