What makes Ike such an awesome main character?

[PostZordem]

I'm just starting my first playthrough with Path of Radiance, and I'm only about 3 chapters in so far. (I swear I have a good reason for that). I hear that Path of Radiance has a great plot, so I'm looking forward to getting into the juicy parts of the story once I get past the bandits in the beginning (Usually the bandits or whoever the enemy is in the early chapters are the easy-as-pie guys to take down, and it's no different here. I don't mind it, though. It helps get the player familiar with the mechanics of the game and prepares them for the challenges ahead).

Not sure if this really counts as spoilers because it happens very early in the game, but I'll put it in a spoiler box just in case.

Spoiler

The latest chapter I did was where Ike and Co. destroy some bandits after they (the bandit dudes) held some kids captive in an attempt to get back at Ike's group for taking out some of their fellow bandits in a previous chapter. Ike and Co. were ordered not to go out and try and save the kids, but at least their decision paid off.

I know that there's characters that can transform into a bird/beast in the game, though I haven't gotten to the point in the game where they appear yet. They seem like they can be solid units for the team, and I hope that they'll prove valuable in battles. 

From the characters that I've seen, they all seem pretty solid and the game is starting off great in its story too. I still have to remember the names and faces of characters that aren't Ike, Mist (Ike's little sister), and their dad Greil, who's apart of a group known as the Greil Mercenaries, a group that Ike wants to be apart of as well, perhaps to follow in the footsteps of his father. So far, for the characters I'm still trying to associate names + faces with, there's the axe wielder that Ike defeats easily because of the weapon triangle (and the fact that axes kind of suck with hit rates), there's the red-haired mage and the horse rider(one of the stronger units so far), and I'm pretty sure there's another guy in the group, though I forgot his name as well as his weapon of choice. Hope they all get good character development in the game along with my main man Ike and his sister, Mist. (Plus all the potential future recruits to come to the team later in the game)

Now onto the topic that's mentioned above. I may not be very far into Path of Radiance, but Ike seems like a solid main character already. Though what I'm wondering is: What is it about Ike that people love so much. I'm pretty sure he's one of the most popular characters in the entire FE series as well. I'm just curious as to why most people love him as much as they do, and why he's such a highly regarded character in the series. 

Edited May 6, 2022 by CyberZord

[Morgan--Grandmaster]

I think what most people like about Ike immediately is that he's one of the more relatable protagonists in the series. He's the first Lord to not to have a royal bloodline, which makes the fact that he can hold his own with the rest of them all the more impressive, because he is a strong, straightforward, determined, open-minded, ripped dude who wields a two-handed sword like it's nothing who accomplishes all of the things he does because he and his friends fight for a better world free of corrupt usurpers, evil gods, and racism. We also get to see him grow in both Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, so he gets that extra bit of character development. He even got into Smash Bros., which says a lot in and of itself. "I fight for my friends?" anyone? "You'll get no sympathy from me."

Bonus: "I like Ike" was already part of the American zeitgeist that brings upon nostalgia of a simpler time in the political climate. It's really fun to say too.

Edited May 6, 2022 by Morgan--Grandmaster

[AnonymousSpeed]

Nothing, he sucks. Everything people like about him is totally superficial.

He is jacked in Fe10 though, and I do have to respect that.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

I have to assume his popularity comes from getting into Super Smash Bros. Brawl. "But wouldn't he have to be popular to get into Smash in the first place?" Not necessarily - Roy was unknown before showing up in Melee, and Corrin was hardly a hot request when it came to Smash 4 DLC.

I think his personality and character arc are... pretty good. I don't think they stand out a whole lot from other Lords, though. His relationship with Soren is neat, at least.

3 hours ago, CyberZord said:

there's the red-haired mage + I think the horse rider is his sister (one of the stronger units so far),

It took me a full minute to realize you were referring to Rhys, haha. No, he and Titania are not related.

[PostZordem]

19 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

I have to assume his popularity comes from getting into Super Smash Bros. Brawl. "But wouldn't he have to be popular to get into Smash in the first place?" Not necessarily - Roy was unknown before showing up in Melee, and Corrin was hardly a hot request when it came to Smash 4 DLC.

I think his personality and character arc are... pretty good. I don't think they stand out a whole lot from other Lords, though. His relationship with Soren is neat, at least.

It took me a full minute to realize you were referring to Rhys, haha. No, he and Titania are not related.

Super Smash Bros. is generally the game that gets players into other video game series, which is one of the reasons why I've gotten into Fire Emblem, Dragon Quest, Persona, and Xenoblade Chronicles to name a few. In Brawl, Ike and Marth were the only two Fire Emblem representatives. Marth's Brawl move set was pretty similar to the one he had in Melee, while Ike had a move set that took a few notes from Marth, but still managed to feel original and fun. I remember Ike being one of the more fun characters to use in Brawl, which is probably how he gained most of his popularity. Fire Emblem wasn't widely popular in North America until Awakening released, and I don't think Path of Radiance sold a whole bunch of units in the West (at least compared to the likes of other GameCube titles such as Super Mario Sunshine, Mario Party 4-7, Luigi's Mansion, and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door). Plus, once Smash 4 came around, the amount of FE reps increased a good amount, which was probably when people started to get tired of FE characters joining the fray by the time Corrin joined as DLC for Smash 4. Doesn't help that a good few FE characters in Smash use a similar move set to Marth (Roy, Lucina, Ike to an extent, Chrom in Ultimate), so I'd say that would make people favor Ike more compared to the others since he doesn't feel like a Marth Echo. The only FE reps in Smash that I feel are different enough to not feel like Marth are: Marth himself, Ike, Robin, Corrin (though only barely because they've got a few unique draconic powers) and Byleth. 

Given your opinion on Ike's character and personality, I suppose you think he's a solid FE character, but nothing God-Shattering. I can see that, though I haven't beaten enough Fire Emblems to see the pattern quite yet. He seems like a solid character to me personally, and I hope I enjoy him in both Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn.

As for Rhys and Titania, yeah... that was a wild assumption I made based on their conversation in Chapter 2 or 3 (I think). I've removed that part in my original post now. No idea why I thought that now that I think about it (I swear it was the hair, man!).

[MadBoar]

I really liked Ike in path of radiance. The Tellius games are well written in terms of story. They have great world building and character development. However, Edelgard and Dimitri are by far the two best written lords. 

There is also a lot of nostalgia for Ike, as the Tellius games are great. People love the Tellius games, for both game play and story,  and by extension,  Ike. 

 

Edited May 7, 2022 by MadBoar