Ike and Lyn popularity?

[dragonlordsd]

Well, there are a few things.

Path of Radiance actually sold quite well, it had very high reviews too. Although it came out pretty late in the GameCube's life cycle, thanks to backwards compatibility on the Wii, it had a lot of growth during that generation as well. It was Radiant Dawn that actually tanked due to it's difficulty, bad reviews, and complete lack of support conversations turning people off.

Ike is also extremely popular among the female audience due in no small part to Fujos shipping him with Soren, so that's given him an enormous amount of staying power through things like fanfics and fan art, which keeps him in people's memory. He's also not unpopular with male players, so that helps too.

As for Lyn, she's derived almost entirely from emulators. I mean, GBA Fe sold fine and reviewed fine, but it was pretty niche. GBA emulators are super easy to run, and almost any pc can handle them, so even people who don't normally do serious gaming could get into her game.

As for why she's popular, well...

1. She's generally every male FE player's first crush. (And maybe some female players)

2. She's got a unique and interesting personality with a lot more depth than most of the other lords (such as her intense hatred of the bandits that killed her parents)

3. She's got a great character design. ( I mean, I don't know how well it works as an outfit, but artistically speaking, it really stands out.)

[Stephen the Great]

3 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Roy may not have to many people into him since he's a kid and looks the part but I hear plenty of people being atracted to Lucina and naming her their "waifu". She's very popular to pair with the avatar for a reason.

Which of the two (Lyn and Lucina) do you prefer?

[Etrurian emperor]

48 minutes ago, Sigismund of Luxemburg said:

Which of the two (Lyn and Lucina) do you prefer?

Neither if I'm honest. I think both appeal to somewhat different tastes so they don't compete with each other for my attention. I also don't have particularly strong feelings about who they should end up with. 

I tend not to rate characters for their looks anyway. Well, I do for a cool design but not for how attractive I'd find them. 

Edited November 6, 2017 by Etrurian emperor

[AbsoluteZer0Nova]

On 11/3/2017 at 8:08 PM, Rezzy said:

I was counting both Ikes together.  I think they should have combined all the characters with multiple games, since guys like Ike and Marth got a bit screwed over by split votes, and it also prevented more guys from getting into the top 10/20, since Ike and Marth were taking up two slots.

Yeah like had that been the case for the poll for the males the change of order would have been Marth 4th, Chrom 5th, Ephraim 6th, Robin 7th, Takumi 8th, Leo 9th and then Henry earning 10th in joining the top 10 club. Then onto females pretty much the same, but instead of Nowi being 10th Tiki would have been 10th instead.

[Jave]

4 hours ago, Book Bro said:

Heroes isn't obscure, but the poll sure would have been for anyone who wasn't already an FE fan. I just don't see someone who only likes Ike in Smash going out of their way to visit the Heroes site and find the poll. Maybe a few people but enough to make a difference? I doubt it.

You need to take into account that a lot of people who voted on the poll probably only played Awakening and/or Fates, but still might have given Ike a vote because he's "That cool dude from Smash Bros." or "That dude with the robo suit from Awakening DLC".

I think it's safe to say that had Ike never been in Smash, his placement in the poll would have been different. Still Top #10, but probably not #1.

[Book Bro]

9 minutes ago, Jave said:

You need to take into account that a lot of people who voted on the poll probably only played Awakening and/or Fates, but still might have given Ike a vote because he's "That cool dude from Smash Bros." or "That dude with the robo suit from Awakening DLC".

I think it's safe to say that had Ike never been in Smash, his placement in the poll would have been different. Still Top #10, but probably not #1.

Again, maybe a few people did this, but probably not that many. I'd wager most people who only know Fates and Awakening would vote for characters from those games. We've seen with Warriors how a limited number of slots quickly fills up between just those two games.

I do agree that Smash contributes to his popularity, I just don't think it's the main cause or that it means he isn't popular for other reasons within the FE fanbase.

[B_E_P_I_S_M_A_N]

5 hours ago, Book Bro said:

Heroes isn't obscure, but the poll sure would have been for anyone who wasn't already an FE fan. I just don't see someone who only likes Ike in Smash going out of their way to visit the Heroes site and find the poll. Maybe a few people but enough to make a difference? I doubt it.

Or hey, playable in Smash Switch? Ah who am I kidding, she and Isaac will just have to live on as assist trophies forever.

Hey, if Little Mac got a second chance, anyone's fair game. 

[SoulWeaver]

6 hours ago, Book Bro said:

Heroes isn't obscure, but the poll sure would have been for anyone who wasn't already an FE fan. I just don't see someone who only likes Ike in Smash going out of their way to visit the Heroes site and find the poll. Maybe a few people but enough to make a difference? I doubt it.

Or hey, playable in Smash Switch? Ah who am I kidding, she and Isaac will just have to live on as assist trophies forever.

Considering Roy managed to pull off 2nd, chances are a fair amount of Smash players had something to do with this. He's Our Boi™ and we love him, but he's still not first choice for a lot of people out there. Also, never forget the power of memes.

You play Smash Flash 2? Isaac's been playable for a bit, someone send his move data to Sakurai the next time a Smash game is announced. Also I'd rather have Takamaru playable.

14 minutes ago, B_E_P_I_S_M_A_N said:

Hey, if Little Mac got a second chance, anyone's fair game. 

I like this attitude. This is my official answer to quote at people who tell me the character I want is impossible now.

[B_E_P_I_S_M_A_N]

16 hours ago, SoulWeaver said:

never forget the power of memes. 

I mean, if they're powerful enough to win presidential elections, they're powerful enough to get our guys (and gals) into the game. 

16 hours ago, SoulWeaver said:

I like this attitude. This is my official answer to quote at people who tell me the character I want is impossible now.

Don't forget, Charizard was once a Poké Ball summon and Dedede was part of the background at one point. 

Also, who you play as regularly in Smash may affect your opinion of a character. People who like the Elibe be games might try maining Roy, and those who already main Roy might try out the Elibe games. If you don't main Roy at all and have never played a FE game in your life, chances are, you probably won't care much about Roy. 

[SoulWeaver]

14 minutes ago, B_E_P_I_S_M_A_N said:

Don't forget, Charizard was once a Poké Ball summon and Dedede was part of the background at one point. 

Also, who you play as regularly in Smash may affect your opinion of a character. People who like the Elibe be games might try maining Roy, and those who already main Roy might try out the Elibe games. If you don't main Roy at all and have never played a FE game in your life, chances are, you probably won't care much about Roy. 

The difference with DDD is that Sakurai originally intended him to be playable before Brawl, but had to relegate him to simple background material thanks to time constraints. You do bear a good point, though.

The problem with Roy is there's almost no way you can be serious about Smash and main Roy - he's just too bad, even in Smash 4. I'm calling it at least 50% memes and at least 33% "hey, I think I saw that guy somewhere…eh, guess I'll click him."

I'm not about to complain, though.

[Icelerate]

Ike and Lyn both hate politics maybe FE players feel they are more relatable because they don't like politicians IRL. 

[Magical Glace]

1 hour ago, SoulWeaver said:

The problem with Roy is there's almost no way you can be serious about Smash and main Roy - he's just too bad, even in Smash 4.

I think you're forgetting that most Smash players don't play competitively, and in a non-competitive environment it's fully possible to main Roy and do well.

 

Anyway, to answer the thread:  For Ike, it's because of Smash, for Lyn it's because America Marth and waifu.  I don't think it's too complicated, really.

[B_E_P_I_S_M_A_N]

3 hours ago, Glaceon Mage said:

I think you're forgetting that most Smash players don't play competitively, and in a non-competitive environment it's fully possible to main Roy and do well.

Yeah, and this would be the case with me. I started playing Roy recently and while I acknowledge that he isn't competitive level, he's still pretty fun to play as. It's good to have secondary mains when you main Sonic ;) 

[bethany81707]

7 hours ago, SoulWeaver said:

The problem with Roy is there's almost no way you can be serious about Smash and main Roy - he's just too bad, even in Smash 4. I'm calling it at least 50% memes and at least 33% "hey, I think I saw that guy somewhere…eh, guess I'll click him."

We'll settle this in Smash.

[SoulWeaver]

2 hours ago, bethany81707 said:

We'll settle this in Smash.

Eh, I guess, but I still need to practice my Roy more before I feel ready to bring him to the big leagues. His hitbox placement still really sucks and he doesn't have the same movement(assuming you meant Smash 4), and those are super problematic, but he's still Our Boi™, so I main him regardless, both in Melee and Smash 4.

[Fire Emblem Fan]

I like Lyn for a multitude of reasons. I like her supports, she's a well-written character and has depth that a lot of people seem to overlook. Her supports with Wallace are particularly good, it's a shame they're kinda hard to get. I also like her story, even though it's short. It grows her as a character, planting the seeds for all of her supports later on.

And Marth was my first FE Lord.

[Icelerate]

Screentime and exposure is the main reason why certain characters are more popular than others. Lyn has the most screentime in FE7 and Ike has the most screen time in the Tellius series and has Smash as well. Being well-written is nice and all but if you're an obscure character, being well-written won't save you. 

[edgelordweeaboo]

Ike became big off Smash and the cult fanbase of the Tellius series. Lyn became popular because she was the first female lord, and the first lord shown in a western fire emblem game

[Giordy]

 it's not for smash. Robin is in smash yet he reached  only the 8th place.

Chrom is an assist like lyn, yet  he is only 4... Lyn and Ike are the prefered characters because of their "humble origins". The Players feel closer to them because they are simple. And even if Lin is a noble, she does not care about her status, and she dislikes royalty. 

[Topaz Light]

My understanding of the reasoning for each character respectively is that Ike owes a lot of his popularity to Super Smash Bros. Brawl and to a lesser extent it being on a system that could run both of Ike's games, while Lyn's popularity is largely owed to her essentially being to the Western fanbase what Marth is to the Japanese fanbase. Lyn is the first Lord we ever got over here, so I'd imagine a lot of people (myself included) have a lot of nostalgia for her and for what she represents, which obviously could easily translate into fondness.

[Mylady]

Lyn's game was the first to come to west, so there's the nostalgia factor. For some, she is the first lord and she is a good looking female with bare legs and big breasts. Also while her personality is nothing innovative or special, she doesn't have any facepalming moment, she is not offensive in any aspect. 

 

Ike is because of Smash and his games didn't sell well back in the day it was released but now it's considered one of the best stories by the fandom. 

Edited April 8, 2020 by Mylady