What Fire Emblem characters have grown on you the most?

[Sooks]

What Fire Emblem characters have grown on you the most, and why? I’ll start. Petra and Linhardt from FE16, are mine. I was absolutely not expecting characters to go beyond their one note in this game, so for the entirety of Verdant Wind and Azure Moon (the two routes where you don’t start with them (and I didn’t use them)) I thought they would be the most boring characters in the game. Linhardt’s note is that he likes to take naps more than anything, including doing work or participating in class, and Petra’s is that she speaks in broken English (kinda). Petra’s isn’t even a personality trait, and Linhardt’s is more of an interest at that. So of course I thought they would be boring, but when I actually used them and got their supports that quickly changed. I didn’t expect them to be so nuanced (and for Petra to be a top tier waifu 👌👌). They went from my least favorites to some of my favorites on the game, some might even remember Petra made my top 10 three houses characters (iirc she was number 8 or 9), but what about you guys? What characters (series wide) have grown the most on you and why?

[Benice]

For me, it's Esteban from Berwick Saga. (This will probably shock absolutely nobody who frequents Far from the Forest) He makes an awful first impression, which is leaving his family, making his sister, Arina, the only one who can work to feed the family of five. (Was it five? Ah, something like that.) He then joins up with a band of brigands to get money. Oh, and Arina is considering working for a brothel so she can afford to feed her siblings and ailing mother. And he joins as an enemy late into chapter three and is a pain to recruit.

However, once you recruit him, (and save Arina's physical integrity) he becomes playable as a mercenary. He is shown to care about his family and is aware of how much of a hotheaded jerk/bumbling fool he is, and doesn't think much of himself. He's also rather lazy, most of the time. However, he is willing to put everything on the line for his family and has a really neat character arc that I won't spoil, (even though nobody's ever gonna play Berwick Saga.)

Otherwise, the two popular lords from FE7 are the only ones I can think of right now:

Hector- I still strongly dislike him as a character, but he's at least not totally one-note in his mode.

Lyn-I realize now how badly Mark screwed her over in Lyn mode.

[Fire Emblem Fan]

I'm assuming you mean characters you initially disliked that grew on you over time, and not characters you liked and counted as favorites immediately. So, no Lyn, or Brom, or Joshua listed here, since they were characters I immediately loved and counted as favorites.

Going by game, I think the characters that grew on me the most over time were:

• Shadow Dragon/New Mystery: Jeorge, Sheena, Samson, Lorenz
• Echoes: Mae, Clive, Boey
• Genealogy of the Holy War: Edain, Ares
• Thracia 776: Saias, Sara, Selfina
• Binding Blade: Perceval, Lugh
• Blazing Blade: Lucius, Isadora
• Sacred Stones: Innes, Seth
• Tellius: Tibarn, Lethe, Naesala
• Awakening: Sumia, Brady
• Fates: Dwyer, Ignatius, Flora
• Three Houses: Ferdinand

[twilitfalchion]

Lysithea - I didn't necessarily have a bad first impression of her, but she didn't seem to be the kind of character I would have much interest in. However, after discovering how she develops over the game's story as well as her backstory from before the game's events, she quickly became my favorite character in Three Houses. She's also the best 3H S-support option for Byleth.

Seteth - Seteth immediately came across to me as a stern, abrupt character with little else to his personality. But my opinion definitely changed over the course of the story. He really is a caring person who only wants the best for Flayn and Rhea.

Frederick - Kind of like Seteth, Frederick came across initially as a cold person, but little bits of personality eventually started to peek through in his supports. There's just something I like about the guy, even if he is a bit one note.

Soren - A character who's a jerk a fair bit of the time, but with some seriously meaningful reasons as to why he is that way. He's definitely more of a love-or-hate character, but I really appreciate his backstory and place within the plot of the Tellius games. One of my favorites.

There's probably more, but these are the ones that stick out to me as I'm writing this right now.

[Anacybele]

I gotta say first that things don't really grow on me. If I dislike something, I typically will forever. It's very difficult to get me to change my opinion like that. Or to get me to change my opinion at all, really, unless you're my stepfather who is just somehow always able to be that convincing.

But anyway. There is one case where an FE character I initially disliked did end up becoming someone I like.

Xander. Yeah, a Fates character of all things too. Don't get me wrong though, I still hate him in Birthright. His portrayal is just trash there. But things are different with him in FE Warriors and Heroes. I saw a more entertaining and likable side of him. He's fun to play as in Warriors and I really enjoyed his support conversation with Frederick. Bunny Xander was also my first pulled 5 star unit in Heroes (I had absurdly shitty luck when the game launched, yeah) and he's fun in this outfit. lol

I still won't say he's a favorite or anything, but I do like Xander now, outside of Birthright.

[Sooks]

58 minutes ago, twilitfalchion said:

She's also the best 3H S-support option for Byleth.

Like she has the best ship with Byleth, she’s your best girl (so who you would marry), or she has the best s support? please don’t spoil the s support

[starburst]

Velouria

Her looks and class did not particularly appeal to me, and I was indifferent to his father (whom I had to use for various maps to recruit her.)

It took me well over a year to try her, and, God, I fell in love with her battle quotes! I find them really funny, and it made me want to know more about her. I discovered her character, learned how to use her class, and realised how an overpowered unit she was.

I now dedicate about half an hour grinding supports between her parents, so that I can recruit her earlier and use her a few more chapters per camping.

 

Hapi

She is the one positive thing that I can name about Four Houses.

I did not even like her appearance, and only knew about her while reading Supports of other characters. But I love her voice actress! I do. She is so witty and genuine, she always makes me laugh.

If I tried Four Houses again, she would be the reason why.

[Yexin]

in general, my first opinion on a FE character is really hard to change, especially if it's very negative (Edelgard and Lysithea)

some characters who ended up growing on me, though, are characters who i never really used in any playthrough: you know, quite obscure characters or pre-promoted units
after some playthroughs (mostly PoR and RD), i started appreciating these characters a lot more: the likes of Calill, Stefan, Muarim, Tauroneo, Aran, Sigrun and so on (not naming Makalov, Astrid and Kieran because i already fell in love with them the moment i laid my eyes on them)

now i can say that, at the very least, i like every PoR and RD character

 

except for Mia

Edited August 30, 2020 by Yexin

[Anathaco]

Clive (Echoes): When I first saw him I figured he'd be this straitlaced, goody-two-shoes noble type who could never do wrong. Yet over time I've really come to appreciate just how flawed he actually is- he's hypocritical and cowardly, sure, but as Alm assumes more and more command he's able to use his time to reflect on where he has gone wrong and correct his flaws, and I'd even go so far as to say that Clive's character arc is one of the most satisfying things in Echoes, right up there with Cantor death animations, the shield throw, and every scene where Unity starts playing. 

Kiria (TMS): I didn't think much of her at first, but when I started watching her side stories, that all changed. Her story is super relatable to me, her little quirks and secret interests flesh her out as an actual human being facing pressure to be somebody she isn't, and she gets bonus points for The Labyrinth, because that song is great. I'm not usually one for waifus and all that, but if I had to name somebody as my waifu it'd be her.

 

[twilitfalchion]

7 hours ago, Sooks1016 said:

Like she has the best ship with Byleth, she’s your best girl (so who you would marry), or she has the best s support? please don’t spoil the s support

All of the above, actually. She gets the best possible ending by pairing her with Byleth, and I really love her character so I would pick her over the others. Although Marianne was my first S-support, Lysithea has become my favorite.

[Ottservia]

9 hours ago, Anacybele said:

I gotta say first that things don't really grow on me. If I dislike something, I typically will forever. It's very difficult to get me to change my opinion like that. Or to get me to change my opinion at all, really, unless you're my stepfather who is just somehow always able to be that convincing.

But anyway. There is one case where an FE character I initially disliked did end up becoming someone I like.

Xander. Yeah, a Fates character of all things too. Don't get me wrong though, I still hate him in Birthright. His portrayal is just trash there. But things are different with him in FE Warriors and Heroes. I saw a more entertaining and likable side of him. He's fun to play as in Warriors and I really enjoyed his support conversation with Frederick. Bunny Xander was also my first pulled 5 star unit in Heroes (I had absurdly shitty luck when the game launched, yeah) and he's fun in this outfit. lol

I still won't say he's a favorite or anything, but I do like Xander now, outside of Birthright.

Funny Birthright Xander is the Xander I like the most just because of how nuanced he is in that route. Xander as a character has grown on me a lot in recent years ever since I revisited fates a while back. Yeah sure Xander is a hypocrite but that’s intentional and that’s what makes him so interesting in birthright. He isn’t rewarded for his hypocrisy. He dies for his blind loyalty to his father and nation over trusting his own family. He accidentally kills his own sister and dies a martyr in what is essentially assisted suicide. He realizes he’s wrong in the end and I find that kind of character writing compelling. It gives him a lot of depth if you ask me. 

[Anacybele]

1 hour ago, Ottservia said:

Funny Birthright Xander is the Xander I like the most just because of how nuanced he is in that route. Xander as a character has grown on me a lot in recent years ever since I revisited fates a while back. Yeah sure Xander is a hypocrite but that’s intentional and that’s what makes him so interesting in birthright. He isn’t rewarded for his hypocrisy. He dies for his blind loyalty to his father and nation over trusting his own family. He accidentally kills his own sister and dies a martyr in what is essentially assisted suicide. He realizes he’s wrong in the end and I find that kind of character writing compelling. It gives him a lot of depth if you ask me. 

I'm not surprised you'd say this. I find myself disagreeing with you nearly 100% of the time on what good writing is. And of course, I completely disagree with you here too.

[Sooks]

1 minute ago, Anacybele said:

I find myself disagreeing with you nearly 100% of the time on what good writing is.

Lol

[Fabulously Olivier]

Linhardt. I somewhat disliked his design and thought he'd be one note. But I wasn't expecting him to be so smart, witty, and kind. And I wasn't expecting him to be bold enough to be so brazenly critical of his fellow nobles (when they deserve it). He's just a great person and a well-rounded character.

 

Edelgard. The franchise has a bad habit of making female lords like Celica and Eirika into naive damsels with little agency of their own at the end. So my expectations for Edelgard were low. But oh boy. I was never expecting to find a tough, driven, no-nonsense anti-theist who essentially drives the entire plot of her game.

[Samz707]

Dorcas, a bit kinda.

I initally used him a decent bit on my first Fe7 run for the meme but found myself kinda liking him actually as a character, you (In my experience, for all I know one FE game does heavily do this.) tend to encounter bandits as just a generic group of evil dudes who want to kill the men and slave the women so you just sorta cut them all down without a thought, they're just generic mooks who want to slave women so kill them all! so I was suprised how he had actual reasons for being a bandit.

[Carter]

Most of the Awakening cast. I was 12 when Awakening first came out, and for some reason, I had very strong opinions on characters that I didn't even bother to learn about or read supports for. I kinda just sped through the game without reading the dialogue or paying attention to the story and characters (I also did this for Sacred Stones, which was my very first FE game). I paid more attention to character design/appearance and gravitated toward those with unnatural hair colors and louder personalities, which is probably why I loved Severa so much.

I specifically didn't really like Frederick, Stahl, Vaike, and Henry, but I do like them a lot more now. I would now even consider Stahl to be one of my favorite Awakening characters. And after all these years, I still ship him and Sumia and I am still mad that they cannot support lol

[Topaz Light]

I don't suppose I could just count "basically everyone from Gaiden" here, could I? Considering FE15 took the vast majority of them from being essentially colorful base stat + growth rate pack labels to being actual characters. In particular, Mae really grew on me a lot to the point that I'd say she counts, anyway. I think FE15 made her dynamic with Boey seem like they were genuinely friends under the jabs at each other, and just in general, she seems like a really upbeat, positive person.

Saber and Sonya, too, actually. I really like Saber's voice acting, and I appreciate that Sonya's basically a magic Navarre archetype, complete with the long hair, dark backstory, and Killer weapon (Excalibur is basically "Killer Black Magic" in Gaiden, let's be honest). Plus, she's as "recruited from the enemy side" as anybody really is in Fire Emblem Gaiden and Echoes. I just think she's really cool, and it would've been neat if she had more plot presence. I understand why she doesn't, since she's part of an Arran/Samson duo so she's at higher risk than most characters of just not being recruited at all, but it's still a bit of a bummer to think of the squandered potential there.

Cain and Hardin also count. In Cain's case, I recall somebody actually made a thread here a while back talking about him as a character, which sort of opened my eyes to how he has a surprising amount of depth for a non-main character in Shadow Dragon. Still not a huge amount, but some. Hardin, I think I initially thought was boring, but I've come to really appreciate the fact that he's basically another character in a very similar position to Marth, who could well be a Lord in his own right. He even has his own little "starting posse", complete with his own pair of Cavaliers!

Y'know what, Alfonse from Fire Emblem Heroes might be the best example for me, actually. I had originally written him off as just a bland, generic protagonist for the sake of Fire Emblem Heroes getting its own Blue-Haired Swordboy Lord, but over time, I feel he's been elaborated on as a character in a way that definitely gives him much more of his own identity and personality. Alfonse looking his story's equivalent to Death in the face and daring her to come kill him is still a standout moment in... really the whole series for me. Is it cheesy? Sure. Is it also cool and badass as hell? Absolutely.

[Benice]

9 hours ago, Samz707 said:

you (In my experience, for all I know one FE game does heavily do this.) tend to encounter bandits as just a generic group of evil dudes who want to kill the men and slave the women so you just sorta cut them all down without a thought, they're just generic mooks who want to slave women so kill them all! so I was suprised how he had actual reasons for being a bandit.

Berwick Saga actually has a ton of dialogue for bandits-IIRC, one of the maps has two friends (who are generics with no names or portraits) who are intending to leave their bandit group behind and stuff, and tons of other generics have things like that- It makes fighting bandits a lot more interesting. And makes you feel kinda sad when you see their death quotes.

...Dangit, I monologued about Berwick again. Sorry!

 

Anyways, I thought of a few more characters who grew on me.

Karel: One of the things FE7 did right-Having now played FE7 and FE6 at similar times, I saw how on-the-money his portrayal was in FE7. I initially just discarded him as one of FE7's weak references.

Wade: I love Lot, but frequently overlooked Wade, who initially appears to be the fighteriest fighter who ever fightered, but I love his dynamic with Lot, and he gets lots of characterization from it.

Marcia-Initially found her to be really boring, but her insults have easily been the highlight of PoR for me, and she has been fairly interesting. And I don't even mean that in an ironic way! Er, this time. I'll probably rant about FE9 at some point when it's irrelevant.

[Samz707]

28 minutes ago, Benice said:

Berwick Saga actually has a ton of dialogue for bandits-IIRC, one of the maps has two friends (who are generics with no names or portraits) who are intending to leave their bandit group behind and stuff, and tons of other generics have things like that- It makes fighting bandits a lot more interesting. And makes you feel kinda sad when you see their death quotes.

...Dangit, I monologued about Berwick again. Sorry!

 

Eh, no problem, It's getting me more interested in Berwick when I eventually get around to playing it.

[Etrurian emperor]

Takumi

I guess he's the big one. I always expected Takumi would very naturally be inferior to Leo and I certainly didn't expect to like him. He was a male tsundere and I tend not to like such characters. Turns out he's one of my favorite Fire Emblem characters. A sympathetic tsundere who avoids the pitfalls most of his type fall into. Despite all the bluster Takumi has a lot of likable traits and he's troubled enough to make his worse moments more pitiable than off putting. Even with his short fuse Takumi comes off as a nice kid who's easy to sympathize with. I think the most important trait that sold me on him is just how friendly he is to characters who won him over. He's very clearly the best of friends with his retainers despite being their boss and there's rarely a sign of him reverting to his tsundere ways and forcing them to jump through hoops to prove themselves to him. This also applies to Sakura who he's always depicted as being very close with. On top of that he's also just a very useful unit. 

Hanneman

I never expected to dislike Hanneman but I never expected that he would become one of my favorite character either. I expected a fun, unoffensive gimmick character. What I got was a character with very grounded ambitions and very interesting motivations for having such am ambition. Having some of the best supports and really being a very friendly, empathetic fellow greatly helped him too. 

Dorothea:

The first thing I saw of Dorothea was her tearing Ferdie a new one despite him having done nothing to deserve it. I thought she'd be a jerk who'd be extremely hostile to everyone for no reason. But nope, she's a very nice young lady. Dorothea is very warm, friendly and empathetic towards just about everyone which is quite the surprising trait in a gold digger. She's certainly not without her flaws but since her usual behavior is so wholesome and with how the war seems to hit her so hard I find it hard to hold that against her. 

Everyone in Echoes:

In Gaiden everyone in the cast was a complete nobody and given how Shadow Dragon turned out I assumed this would remain the case. Then the whole cast got fleshed out personalities, new design and endearing relations with each other. Turns out they went from complete nobodies to one of the best casts in the series. 

Alfonse:

Because.....

Quote

Y'know what, Alfonse from Fire Emblem Heroes might be the best example for me, actually. I had originally written him off as just a bland, generic protagonist for the sake of Fire Emblem Heroes getting its own Blue-Haired Swordboy Lord, but over time, I feel he's been elaborated on as a character in a way that definitely gives him much more of his own identity and personality. Alfonse looking his story's equivalent to Death in the face and daring her to come kill him is still a standout moment in... really the whole series for me. Is it cheesy? Sure. Is it also cool and badass as hell? Absolutely.

Yeah pretty much that. 

Gordin:

I don't love Gordin to a significant extend or anything but he did became one of my favorite Archeneans. In Shadow Dragon he was just one of the random mutes who just happened to have a somewhat amusing encounter with a bandit. It was only in New Mystery I really warmed up to Gordin. Despite being the junior Altean and despite his own meekness he's very gentle, supportive and helpful to Ryan which was rather sweet. I guess the whole ''But Maaaarth!'' thing didn't harm his case either. 

Edited September 1, 2020 by Etrurian emperor

[Stylus]

Chrom is the Fire Emblem character who has grown on me the most.

Now I'm cheating here a bit, as Chrom has always been a favored character of mine. However, even though I liked Chrom as a character, I have come to like him more and more as I grow, to the point where he may be my favorite character in the series (I like Marth quite a bit, but that's mostly due to Smash Bros.).

One of Chrom's distinguishing characteristics is his willingness to do good, without being foolish. Mild spoilers ahead.
 

Spoiler

In Chrom's support conversations with Robin, Robin chides Chrom for his perceived foolishness. Robin insists that it is unwise for Chrom to put himself in danger, as Chrom did when aiding and trusting Robin in their first encounter. Chrom reveals that this is not an act of foolishness, but a conscious decision. Chrom knows the danger, and is willing to face it in order to do what he believes is right.

"Robin, if I see someone hurt or in need, I'm going to help them."

Later in life at university, I heard an incredibly similar scenario presented in Martin Luther King Jr.'s Mountaintop speech.

MLK states: "Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness."

MLK says it better than I ever could, so I'll link the video. Watch from 29:14 -> 34:07

MLK's most important and relevant assertion here is the idea that the travelers who came upon the man before the Good Samaritan asked "If I stopped to help this man, what will happen to me?"

MLK asserts that the Good Samaritan "reversed the question," instead asking "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?"

Chrom is not unintelligent. He knows that he is placing himself in danger by helping people. He knows that when he found a man on the side of the road (sound familiar?), that he could have been a bandit, or potential perpetrators could have still been lurking nearby. Chrom knows all this, and acts to help Robin in his time of need anyways, because he is of superior moral character. I've seen this echoed elsewhere as well (there was a pretty funny Frasier episode with a similar premise), and I have grown to admire characters like Chrom, those who are willing to sacrifice safety or other things in order to help those in need, full well knowing the danger.

This differs from other characters in Fire Emblem who may be seen as good people, but are actually just lucky, stupid, or both.

Wallace from FE7 trusts that Lyn is not a usurper, but rather the legitimate heir to Caelin. He trusts her so because "a person with eyes as bright and true as yours is no deceiver." Give me a break. I'm sure Brendan thought the same thing.

In Sacred Stones, Eirika hands over a very important item to the deranged super-villain/mass-murderer/Satan because she trusted the person before they became literally possessed. That's not how possession works, Eirika.

Chrom knows the risks of doing good, and chooses to do good anyways. There are many things I like about his character, but as the years go by, his selflessness has grown on me the most.