Why does everyone likes Ike?

[Slumber]

Hot take: Micaiah is a bigger Mary Sue than Ike and an awful unit.

I'm pretty neutral on Ike. I like him for the things I mentioned, but I don't think his actual personality is all that remarkable or anything(It's mostly the thing about him being a bumpkin interacting with tons of nobles that stands out), and I always felt it was kind of a cop-out that his special class was a normal-ass class in almost every other FE. But I don't like the "His story is predictable" argument, though. I can't think of many JRPGs where the main character doesn't turn out to be special in some way, whether it be that they were some sort of science experiment, their family was a bunch of nobles or otherwise uber important rulers, they aren't housing a God or spirit or something, they were a spirit fart, or something along these lines.

Ike being a normal dude really is a unique trait, not just for Fire Emblem, but for JRPGs in general. Hell, even thinking about western fantasy, characters end up being special all the time half-way or near the end of the stories. Considering how RD's story plays out, it would have been incredibly easy to have written in that either Greil or Elena were the descendants of one of the super important characters that either fought Ashunera or something along those lines. But no, Greil was just a supremely talented general and Elena was a priestess who got entrusted a MacGuffin just because she was good at her job, basically.

Edited February 16, 2017 by Slumber

[Rafiel's Aria]

1 hour ago, tailfin said:

Part of my dislike for Ike stems not only from his rabid, obnoxious fanbase, but also as to how generic he is. As someone who loves her jRPGs ( and who reads a lot ), Ike is extremely unremarkable in my eyes. While his tale in PoR is well-told, it is also derivative, and anyone who has played more than 2 jRPGs will roll their eyes at Ike's quest for revenge and the predicatable character arc that follows. His RD self however, made me flat-out hate him ( even if he did save the life of my favourite FE character - dilemma ). He is just thorougly unlikable for me. It must be due to the fact that not only is he so blunt it borders on rudeness, but he also has that perputual scowl on his face. I can't find myself warming up to someone who repeatedly looks as though someone stole his breakfast.

FE really needs more adult lords like Sigurd imho. But given the Japanese fetish for real young male heroes ( 20 or under), I don't see this happening anytime soon.

I'm pretty neutral on Ike myself, but this really addresses a lot of the problems I had with him. As a lord character, I appreciate that he was different. I love a good story of a "pauper" rising to power. Ike didn't have a lot of the benefits the other noble lords in the franchise had, so he ends up being this force of raw power that does things his own way which has its pros and cons. For example, as someone mentioned before, it can make his plot refreshing compared to the doom and gloom of politics in other games, but his inexperience with nobles can make him come off as incredibly ignorant and needlessly rude. Some people find this endearing. Personally, Ike's character archetype is one of my least favorite since he wants to be a home-grown hero, but he can't function without his friends like Titania and Soren for example who basically handle the guild's affairs. Ike's a hero, yes, and he does a lot of great things, but I think a lot of those things should be credited to the guild as a whole and not just Ike. 

But now I feel as though I'm just ranting. XD As to why people like him... He's a pretty decent unit. I had some trouble with him in PoR. But in RD, he always rose to god-like levels. Despite his rudeness, his awkwardness around women has some funny moments. I enjoy his chemistry with both Soren quite a bit. He's got a kind heart, so even if he's not a good tactician like Soren or an experienced leader (like Titania), he serves as a moral compass and kind of sticks with what he believes. 

But I'm with you on the older lords for sure. I'd love to see a lord character that's like...slightly experienced, maybe already married, and doesn't have to be coddled throughout the game because his/her parents died. lol

[Etria]

8 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

To be fair, nowadays there's hardly anything original left, if at all. At that point you just look at the how and why, rather than the what. Ike himself isn't unique, neither the combination of what makes Ike. But it is less common.

Obviously. But that's not what I meant. If 8 out of 10 books I've read have heroes that hate nobility, then I won't view Ike and his attitude as special.

 

3 hours ago, tailfin said:

Part of my dislike for Ike stems not only from his rabid, obnoxious fanbase, but also as to how generic he is. As someone who loves her jRPGs ( and who reads a lot ), Ike is extremely unremarkable in my eyes. While his tale in PoR is well-told, it is also derivative, and anyone who has played more than 2 jRPGs will roll their eyes at Ike's quest for revenge and the predicatable character arc that follows. His RD self however, made me flat-out hate him ( even if he did save the life of my favourite FE character - dilemma ). He is just thorougly unlikable for me. It must be due to the fact that not only is he so blunt it borders on rudeness, but he also has that perputual scowl on his face. I can't find myself warming up to someone who repeatedly looks as though someone stole his breakfast.

FE really needs more adult lords like Sigurd imho. But given the Japanese fetish for real young male heroes ( 20 or under), I don't see this happening anytime soon.

I agree with everything.

[Thane]

To me, some of the things that drag Ike down are the generic revenge quest against the Black Knight and conversely zero personal involvement with Ashnard whom he doesn't even recognize until the final chapter, his rather lifeless portrayal in Radiant Dawn and how he suddenly leaves Tellius forever, abandoning his family, friends and father's legacy which he has said were things he lived by; it's like an ultimate betrayal of who he is as a character. 

That being said, he's got a lot of things going for him, from the unusual humble beginnings (which are shared by Lyn but hey) to his confidence to some pretty damn funny character interactions. It's refreshing to see someone as blunt as him in the series.

Speaking of Lyn, I want to know why she's popular, too.

Edited February 16, 2017 by Thane

[Magical Glace]

12 hours ago, Ryuke said:

*Expects flaming attacks*

I am probably the only guy that doesnt like Ike. Espeicially in PoR... where his sword can damage and kill Ashnard while everyone else (except for the 2) can hit him.

That aside. Also his stubbornness that all he wants is Black Knight.

 

(Sorry Ike fan... please take it easy) 

Honestly, I can't stand Ike either, though in my case it was more because he was such a spotlight hog in the latter half of 10.

If there's anything I don't like in fictional media, it's taking an old character who already developed and taking a newer character, then giving most of the focus to the former.  

Honestly Ike in FE10 should've been like Seliph in Thracia at best, a NPC who is there but ultimately not the focus.  Micaiah should have been the main character the whole way through.  Ike already had his time.

Edited February 16, 2017 by Glaceon Mage

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

I only have an issue with him in FE10... mainly because he steals Micky the spotlight and his personality is stuck.

In FE9 there's nothing really wrong with him.

[Anacybele]

18 minutes ago, Glaceon Mage said:

Honestly Ike in FE10 should've been like Seliph in Thracia at best, a NPC who is there but ultimately not the focus.  Micaiah should have been the main character the whole way through.  Ike already had his time.

Sorry, but while I agree Micaiah should've had a bit more spotlight, there was no way Ike was not going to be playable in RD. It would've felt unfitting for who he is.

[Magical Glace]

1 minute ago, Anacybele said:

Sorry, but while I agree Micaiah should've had a bit more spotlight, there was no way Ike was not going to be playable in RD. It would've felt unfitting for who he is.

He would be off doing his own thing, again, like Seliph.  

Just not be the main focus of the story.  Seliph doesn't appear in many chapters of FE5, because he was off doing his own thing (namely, some of the events of FE4's second half in this case).  

Seliph wasn't just sitting around doing nothing in Thracia 776.  He was doing things.  His actions just weren't the main focus.

[Sunwoo]

2 hours ago, Thane said:

Speaking of Lyn, I want to know why she's popular, too.

Well, it probably starts with a "w" and ends with an "aifu" -- *shot*

PoR!Ike is fine, he may not be the most interesting character ever, but he still had his character development and arc. RD!Ike is as interesting as a jar of dirt. Actually, I take that back. A jar of dirt is more interesting, because of that one scene in Pirates of the Caribbean, where Jack Sparrow had a jar of dirt.

Edited February 16, 2017 by Sunwoo

[Thane]

Just now, Sunwoo said:

Well, it probably starts with a "w" and ends with an "aifu" -- *shot*

She's not a 3DS character; that makes her automatically immune to being objectified!

[Sunwoo]

1 minute ago, Thane said:

She's not a 3DS character; that makes her automatically immune to being objectified!

I've seen so many Tactician/Lyn fanfiction and people who would like to romance Lyn so I wouldn't be surprised if Lyn's so popular because she's the original FE waifu. Even if marriage didn't exist back then.

[Thane]

26 minutes ago, Sunwoo said:

I've seen so many Tactician/Lyn fanfiction and people who would like to romance Lyn so I wouldn't be surprised if Lyn's so popular because she's the original FE waifu. Even if marriage didn't exist back then.

Oh I know, I was merely poking fun at the people who proclaimed Lyn's victory to be a middle finger to the 3DS games and "waifu culture" as if some people didn't vote for Lyn for her design alone.

[Sunwoo]

Yeah, I totally get what you mean. In all seriousness, though, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case for Ike too in a way -- if he got a not-insignificant amount of his votes from people projecting things onto him and less of his actual character? But in a way, I suppose every FE character who made that list is kind of guilty of the same thing.

[Tuvy]

14 hours ago, Anacybele said:

Slumber pretty much hit the nail on the head. Even the most common reason people voted Ike in the Famitsu poll was that he was different and unique when it came to lords.

I love him a lot for the same reason and he has my favorite designs in the series, especially in RD with those badass muscles and Vanguard armor. <3 Ike was also the first lord I was introduced to in the series since PoR was my first FE game.

I don't recall Ike being very stubborn though. He's just blunt and kind of sheltered (didn't even know what laguz were at first and he also doesn't know what being drunk is! lol). I love his bluntness though, and this makes him relatable to me as well. I tend to be blunt and I'm honest to a fault just as Ike is.

I also think he's one of the best written characters in the series and definitely the best written lord as far as PoR goes. I still think he has a good personality in RD too, but he lacked anymore development in that game, sadly, so...

I think disliking Ike just because he can beat Ashnard and the BK (whom he has legit reasons for wanting to smash their faces in) is silly, but I'm not going to try to change your opinion. Even the most popular characters have people who dislike them. I dislike a lot of popular FE females myself (Lucina, Camilla, Tharja, Micaiah, and Lyn to name a few), so I know that all too well.

Oh yeah, LodestarRoy has a point about Smash too. Ike is even pretty unique in that game, being the only heavyweight sword wielder and the only really manly sword wielder. lol

MY question is why is IS ignoring Ike in Heroes? I mean, Ephraim and Eirika as focus characters is fine, and Seliph and Julia as focus characters isn't farfetched either. They're all important to their respective games and and Ephraim and Eirika were also in the top ten in the Heroes poll. But the datamined banner, which can be assumed to be the next one, is a group of random minor characters! Why start going for random characters that aren't popular and are already in the game when Ike and his crew are still begging to be added? He WON the male side of the poll too! On top of that, he has art in the Heroes title screen, so now I feel like I'm being trolled as a big Ike fan.

Dragoncat: If Slumber hadn't beaten me to much of what I would've said, I would definitely have a big wall of text here, yes. lol

Who says random characters aren't popular! :(

[Ryuke]

16 hours ago, Dragoncat said:

Well, he goes through some personal growth, he was the first lord who wasn't nobility, etc. Honestly you can't take him wanting to find and kill BK against him, the dude killed his father...

I see the bat signal going up. Ana's going to see this, and she'll probably give you a wall of text, fair warning lol :)

Ahem. Alm. Of course not many people played that game. Though Alm do becomes a King. Meanwhile Ike needs Soren and Soren doesnt want to go back to his nobility root. *Radiant Dawn spoiler*

 

16 hours ago, Slumber said:

He's the only regular dude in the franchise that's a main character. Literally everyone else is of royal or otherwise special blood.

Ike was the son of a general. That's about where his specialness begins and ends. Some dude comes out of nowhere, kills his father, threatens his sister, and then he ends up killing a tyrannical king and eventually a GOD. Of course he'll be fixated on the Black Knight. He was a normal dude, and the Black Knight killed his father right in front of him.

He has a simple character, and seeing him interact people like Elincia and Sanaki is 100x more interesting than it would have been if Ike was another noble or a vessel for a God like the other lords in the series. He doesn't have a particularly emotive or outwardly noteworthy personality, but we see him go through a lot of shit, and almost all of his successes can be attributed purely to the fact that he's just that competent of a fighter/leader.

Also, as a unit, he's one of the best in both games he's in. And the best units in PoR and RD are ridiculously good, so him being up there is quite noteworthy.

ALSO, him being a lord with a lot of muscle makes him pretty unique, as pretty much every lord besides Hector and Chrom(Even Hector and Chrom are sticks compared to Ike) are twigs.

So to recap: He has a unique story and character for a main character in the series, he has a unique design compared to every other lord, and he's a good unit.

As for best unit. All lord are good in FE. The weakest growth happens to be everyone first game Eliwood... even then he isnt bad considering his growth is like a Paladin only to occur late game. Roy has amazing growth with late promotion. Robin and Corrin is pretty broken when you put him next to Ike.

 

What's weird is .. most normal dude wouldnt go ape-shit when their father was slained (ie: Eliwood, Marth, Eirika/Ephraim espeicially, arguably Hoshido sibling). 

15 hours ago, Mirania said:

Count me in on the people who don't like Ike. To me, he's the blandest lord of them all and as lively as a dead fish. Also, Ike fans made me hate him for a while but I got over that. I'm back to "I don't care but keep him out of my face".

I really used to hate him too... But you know in the world that we live in today... I gotta give respect where respect is due. Really didnt like him in PoR. I liked him more in RD (maybe its the design) or maybe he didnt go ape-shit ... until *villain*

 

16 hours ago, Anacybele said:

Slumber pretty much hit the nail on the head. Even the most common reason people voted Ike in the Famitsu poll was that he was different and unique when it came to lords.

I love him a lot for the same reason and he has my favorite designs in the series, especially in RD with those badass muscles and Vanguard armor. <3 Ike was also the first lord I was introduced to in the series since PoR was my first FE game.

I don't recall Ike being very stubborn though. He's just blunt and kind of sheltered (didn't even know what laguz were at first and he also doesn't know what being drunk is! lol). I love his bluntness though, and this makes him relatable to me as well. I tend to be blunt and I'm honest to a fault just as Ike is.

I also think he's one of the best written characters in the series and definitely the best written lord as far as PoR goes. I still think he has a good personality in RD too, but he lacked anymore development in that game, sadly, so...

I think disliking Ike just because he can beat Ashnard and the BK (whom he has legit reasons for wanting to smash their faces in) is silly, but I'm not going to try to change your opinion. Even the most popular characters have people who dislike them. I dislike a lot of popular FE females myself (Lucina, Camilla, Tharja, Micaiah, and Lyn to name a few), so I know that all too well.

Oh yeah, LodestarRoy has a point about Smash too. Ike is even pretty unique in that game, being the only heavyweight sword wielder and the only really manly sword wielder. lol

MY question is why is IS ignoring Ike in Heroes? I mean, Ephraim and Eirika as focus characters is fine, and Seliph and Julia as focus characters isn't farfetched either. They're all important to their respective games and and Ephraim and Eirika were also in the top ten in the Heroes poll. But the datamined banner, which can be assumed to be the next one, is a group of random minor characters! Why start going for random characters that aren't popular and are already in the game when Ike and his crew are still begging to be added? He WON the male side of the poll too! On top of that, he has art in the Heroes title screen, so now I feel like I'm being trolled as a big Ike fan.

Dragoncat: If Slumber hadn't beaten me to much of what I would've said, I would definitely have a big wall of text here, yes. lol

Ike has the most voted poll is most probably because Smash players to FE players. Surprisingly alot of people first FE game happens to be PoR ... I dont know if its because its a console game or what not... despite GBA games being the one that is most played (hacking community perhaps).

I like Ike in RD WAYYY more than PoR. Perhaps its his nice design ... and him being less ruthless. He acts like a mercenary. Go there and accomplish goal. PoR is him and his vedetta against BK. But honestly me disliking Ike really didnt stem from BK. It's from beating Ashnard. In all my FE games... there is one characters that I like at least if not more than the main lord (IE: Ares in FE4, Perceval/Cecilia/Lilina in FE6, Cormag/Vanessa in/Joshua/Marisa FE8, Haar/Jill/Titania/Lucia (despite her being weak af in 10 due to plot) in FE9/10, Frederick/Cherche/Stahl/Cordelia in FE13, Ryoma/Xander/Saizo/Kagero/Setsuna in Fates)

 

I am with you... I didnt like some of the popular female heroes. Lucina has bad design but whatever. Micaiah... oh I forgot about her already. Lyn ... something seems off.. idk what it is.

Camilla and Tharja despite both being decent units --- I want to like them but too many fanservice.

Maybe its because Ike to you is what waifu to most people and female char. Then again... I am with you. I enjoy pairing units rather than ... oh she's my waifu.

 

FE Heroes... As mentioned above, there are certain "random" characters like I really enjoy. Hell even villain like Petrine, BK in PoR, goddamn Valter and Caellach who to me is a love/hate relationship. Also ... Ike being released later is for the longevity of the game. That's as long as I can get... 

16 hours ago, Azz said:

Personally, I really like Ike and I don't think I can expand on anything that others have not already said.

My only gripe with him is that he is the only one that can kill Ashera. I don't mind Ashnard as much and it makes complete sense as to why he s the only one who can face the BK, but with Ashera, like Micaihah, IMO, should have been the one to finish her off. In fact, I feel like Ike took the spotlight from Miccy in RD. Now again, I like Ike, so I didn't mind him having more screen time, but at the cost of the other main character that IMO can barely be called a MC because of her lack of development is stupid. But that's about it tho.

Yeah... I see what you mean...Micaiah should get something. I feel like Ashnard is worse cause you cannot even damage him. Like literally all these well trained unit you train with are worthless. In otherword you are force to abuse Ike. (I do train my lord ... however this feels like a Prologue mission)

9 hours ago, tailfin said:

Part of my dislike for Ike stems not only from his rabid, obnoxious fanbase, but also as to how generic he is. As someone who loves her jRPGs ( and who reads a lot ), Ike is extremely unremarkable in my eyes. While his tale in PoR is well-told, it is also derivative, and anyone who has played more than 2 jRPGs will roll their eyes at Ike's quest for revenge and the predicatable character arc that follows. His RD self however, made me flat-out hate him ( even if he did save the life of my favourite FE character - dilemma ). He is just thorougly unlikable for me. It must be due to the fact that not only is he so blunt it borders on rudeness, but he also has that perputual scowl on his face. I can't find myself warming up to someone who repeatedly looks as though someone stole his breakfast.

FE really needs more adult lords like Sigurd imho. But given the Japanese fetish for real young male heroes ( 20 or under), I don't see this happening anytime soon.

Lol... As mentioned above (sorry). I actually like his RD over his PoR. Slaying Ashnard is the turnoff ... I remember how he tells everyone ... only I can damage him. In a standard JRPG ... all your heroes can hit the boss ... except not in PoR. Yeah... there are some really obnoxious Ike..not naming who -- most probably stem from Smash community.

 

Yeah.. Lucia is bae man... I literally has to used cheat code to make her playable in Radiant Dawn. (idgaf ... screw the plot reason). I cannot believe they gave her no worthy good looking men than that ugly Bastian.

 

[Water Mage]

6 hours ago, Glaceon Mage said:

Honestly, I can't stand Ike either, though in my case it was more because he was such a spotlight hog in the latter half of 10.

If there's anything I don't like in fictional media, it's taking an old character who already developed and taking a newer character, then giving most of the focus to the former.  

Honestly Ike in FE10 should've been like Seliph in Thracia at best, a NPC who is there but ultimately not the focus.  Micaiah should have been the main character the whole way through.  Ike already had his time.

Actually, there´s something even better that Ike could have been in RD. An antagonist.

Honestly, the entire part 3 of RD should have been told from Micaiah´s side, with the Greil Mercenaries and the Laguz Alliance as the antagonist, in particular Ike as the main antagonist. With his reputation in RD, Ike would make an incredibly effective and terryifing antagonist, and would have a worked as wall for Micaiah to surpass.

Edited February 16, 2017 by Water Mage

[Magical Glace]

Just now, Water Mage said:

Actually, there´s something even better that Ike could have been in RD. An antagonist.

Honestly, the entire part 3 of RD should have been told from Micaiah´s side, with the Greil Mercenaries and the Laguz Alliance as the antagonist, in particular Ike as the main antagonist. With his reputation in RD, Ike would make an incredibly effective antagonist, and would have a worked as wall for Micaiah to surpass.

Yeah, that would work too.

Honestly just boot him out of "main protagonist" in FE10 and I'm happy.  Haha.

[Water Mage]

1 minute ago, Glaceon Mage said:

Yeah, that would work too.

Honestly just boot him out of "main protagonist" in FE10 and I'm happy.  Haha.

 Perhaps Ike in RD could have been like the Black Knight in PoR. An immensely powerful foe that everyone runs from when you meet him during story, and eventually leading to a final showdown between him and Micaiah.

[Luchi]

Then Miccy puts him to sleep and Purges/Thani-bombs the lights off his sorry RES-arse. Heh. Pity IS loves the guy so much they won't dare think of making him a 'villian'.

[Ryuke]

10 minutes ago, tailfin said:

Then Miccy puts him to sleep and Purges/Thani-bombs the lights off his sorry RES-arse. Heh. Pity IS loves the guy so much they won't dare think of making him a 'villian'.

You know... that would be pretty epic. Sorry Ana.

 

 

[Anacybele]

No, I admit Ike being the antagonist might've been a good story, even if I personally don't like the idea of fighting against him. :(

But I think it would've been too hard to do effectively without staining Ike's image as an honorable mercenary and without killing him. IS would have to come up with a good excuse to keep him alive because it's not very realistic for a warrior of his might to go down in battle that early.

It'd be sad to see him die like that anyway. :(

[Magical Glace]

To be fair, main antagonists usually aren't defeated until the end of a game.

so as a main antagonist he wouldn't be killed early, it would defeat the point.

[Radiant head]

18 hours ago, Gustavos said:

 Has to have boss dialogue with all the bosses, even when all he has to say is "Whoa! You're a mage huh?"

lol I think this was more like a meta comment for the player, who has to deal with a mage boss for the first time while everyone except for Soren/Rhys has pitiful res 

most of the appeal of Ike for me was superficial at first.  he has a really cool, brash style in smash, which was really unique compared to like marth, roy, or even another swordsman like link.  that lead me to his games. so I was predisposed to like him before playing the games. 

even after that though I think being a lower class "lord" in the game makes him really likable, as someone who is really into social activism. he has a good narrative arc where he's forced into filling his father's shoes.  his personality is based on him being really blunt and socially inept which really works.  for all the talk about him being bland (which, fair enough), not being "bland" in fire emblem means having some one-note exaggerated trait, so I prefer this.  

Edited February 16, 2017 by Radiant head

[Water Mage]

19 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

No, I admit Ike being the antagonist might've been a good story, even if I personally don't like the idea of fighting against him. :(

But I think it would've been too hard to do effectively without staining Ike's image as an honorable mercenary and without killing him. IS would have to come up with a good excuse to keep him alive because it's not very realistic for a warrior of his might to go down in battle that early.

It'd be sad to see him die like that anyway. :(

To be honest,I meant that Ike would be the main antagonist of part 3, not the whole game.

Ike could have been like the Laguz royals in RD, being only playable at part 4.

[Anacybele]

37 minutes ago, Water Mage said:

To be honest,I meant that Ike would be the main antagonist of part 3, not the whole game.

Ike could have been like the Laguz royals in RD, being only playable at part 4.

Oh, well, that's different then. :P