History EnsembleDarkHorse / VideoGames

** As a whole, characters ''not'' related to the Belmonts seem to be more popular. More notable cases include [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIIDraculasCurse Grant DaNasty]] (the first ally to be encountered in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIIDraculasCurse'' and the one fans valued the most due to his [[GameBreaker game-breaking]] [[WallCrawl wall-climbing abilities]]), [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaRondoOfBlood Maria]] [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight Renard]] ([[BadassAdorable both as]] [[TokenMiniMoe a]] [[CuteWitch child]] [[KungFuWizard and]] [[SheIsAllGrownUp an]] [[HotWitch adult]]), and [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Hammer]] (a [[RetiredBadass retired army grunt]] who functions as a weapons and items supplier to Soma; fans desperately want to see him playable despite being DummiedOut of ''Dawn'''s Julius Mode and ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDespair Harmony of Despair]]'').

** In terms of villains, we have Death (due to being Dracula's AffablyEvil [[TheDragon Dragon]] and a more challenging boss than Drac himself), Carmilla (for EvilIsSexy and MsFanservice reasons), Slogra (a member of Death's PraetorianGuard alongside Gaibon and the only MemeticBadass of the series ''not'' named [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaI Simon]], [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaRondoOfBlood Richter]], or [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Julius]]), and [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLamentOfInnocence Joachim Armster]] (partially overlapping with DracoInLeatherPants, but the appeal of a SecretCharacter who uses psychokinesis to wield ''[[DualWielding five]]'' swords is most certainly there). Galamoth also has shades of this, but that's moreso thanks to his ThatOneBoss status in ''[=SotN=]'' than any actual characterization (he's implied to be TheStarscream, but is the BigBad of the [[CanonDiscontinuity non-canon]] ''VideoGame/KidDracula'' and TheGhost in ''Judgment'', where he sends [[TheDragon The Time Reaper]] in his place).

*** Speaking of the female protagonist, [[CanonName Kotone Shiomi]] is more popular than her male counterpart, despite never appearing in anything related to ''VideoGame/Persona3'' except the Live-action theater, ''VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth'' and a Drama CD. This is presumably mostly because of her having Social Links with every SEES member (yes, even [[CoolPet Koromaru]]) thus giving the characters more 'development' and because of having the choice of [[PlatonicLifePartners remaining as friends]], as well as her all-around [[PluckyGirl cheerful, energetic disposition]].

** If the staggering amount of fanart and cosplays are anything to go by, [[HotScientist Dr. Naomi]] is quite loved by the fanbase. Half the reason due to her [[GagBoobs knockers]] and all the cool stuff that she provides Travis, including [[spoiler: a giant mecha.]]

** If the staggering amount of fanart and cosplays are anything to go by, [[HotScientist Dr. Naomi]] is quite loved by the fanbase. Half the reason due to [[{{Gainaxing}} her]] [[GagBoobs knockers]] and all the cool stuff that she provides Travis, including [[spoiler: a giant mecha.]]

* ''VideoGame/BattleGaregga'' has Black Heart, the boss of Stage 5 and the second-to-last boss, and it's even more popular than [[FinalBoss Glow Squid]]; in fact, on the Japanese version of [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} That Other Wiki]], the ''Battle Garegga'' page has ''[[http://tinyurl.com/bg-blackheart a whole section for Black Heart]]''. Its owes its popularity to [[ThatOneBoss how much harder it is compared to the past four bosses]] when you first encounter it, and a very major scoring trick you can exploit when you encounter it a second time. It was popular enough that in the SpiritualSuccessor ''VideoGame/ArmedPoliceBatrider'', it appears as a BonusBoss ''twice''.

* One of the generic resistance fighter character models from ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' received a lot of [[MemeticMutation memetic fame]] as [[Webcomic/{{Concerned}} Gordon Frohman]] and the animation of [[Fanfic/HalfLifeFullLifeConsequences John Freeman]].

* ''EnsembleDarkhorse/AnimalCrossing'' (Villagers)

*** Among the minor in-universe bands introduced in ''2'', something about the beta fish violinist and front-person for the Celtic rock band ''Bottom Feeders'' captured the fandom's attention and generated an unusually high amount of fan art around the world for a character whose only scraps of backstory come from a Japan-only artbook.

*** The Salmonids tend to get this treatment a lot, especially by the people who enjoy Salmon Run. Despite being implied to be AlwaysChaoticEvil, they're loved for their UglyCute designs and being in what's considered by many to be one of the best game modes introduced in ''2'', with only [[{{Gonk}} the]] [[ThatOneBoss Flyfish]] being unanimously hated by fans.

** ''[[VideoGame/Splatoon1 Splatoon 1]]'':

** ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'':

** VideoGame/Splatoon2'':

* ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'':
** [[https://cdn.wikimg.net/splatoonwiki/images/e/e6/Annie1.png Annie, the sea anemone girl]] who runs the headgear store, has become quite popular due to her unique design and shy personality.
** The female anemone-like member of the Chirpy Chirps (ABXY) band has only appeared on an album cover, but judging by the amount of fanart of her compared to the others, she's become the popular [[FaceOfTheBand 'face' of the band]]. She eventually makes a [[AscendedExtra proper in-game appearance]] in ''VideoGame/Splatoon3'' (her name is Harmony, by the way).
** From the Switch Footage reveal, the Inkling girl with short 'bob-cut' tentacle hair has become extremely popular in fanart.
** The Salmonids from Salmon Run tend to get this treatment a lot, especially by the people who enjoy Salmon Run. Despite being implied to be AlwaysChaoticEvil they're loved for their UglyCute designs and being in what's considered by many to be one of the best game modes in ''Splatoon 2'', with only [[{{Gonk}} the]] [[ThatOneBoss Flyfish]] being unanimously hated by fans of the Salmonid.
** Among the minor in-universe bands, something about the [[NoNameGiven nameless]] violinist and front-person for the Celtic punk band, ''Bottom Feeders'', captured the fandom's attention and generated an unusually high amount of fan art for a character about whom essentially nothing beyond an appearance and instrument is known.
** [=Dedf1sh=], the Octoling DJ that supplies music for the Octo Expansion, became popular with fans the moment they were shown on Nintendo's Twitter account through a combination of their design, backstory, and [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic beats.]]
** C.Q. Cumber, the MemeticPsychopath of a train conductor, is also popular for his UglyCute design and his "Test failed" catchphrase.
** Among the "Denizens of the Deep", the sea angel jock gets the most fanart.

*** Although he has since been eclipsed by Makoto and bizarrely enough, [[spoiler: Q]], both of whom finished in the top 5 of Capcom's latest character popularity poll, at 2 and 4 respectively.

** Another ''Final Fight'' example comes from ColonelBadass Rolento, whose last appearances were in ''Street Fighter Alpha 3'', ''[[VideoGame/CapcomVsSNK2MarkOfTheMillennium Capcom vs. SNK 2]]'', ''Namco x Capcom'', and ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken''. He remains a popular choice in polls, and everyone wanted to see him in ''SSFIV''.

** Out of ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'''s newcomers, the no-nonsense CIA agent (and mother of one) Crimson Viper managed to overshadow the rest of the newcomers, to the point that Viper is the fourth ''SF'' rep in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'' (alongside Ryu, Chun-Li, and Akuma). (Would you believe it that Abel was supposed to be the focal point of ''IV''?) But then [[EvilIsSexy deliciously insane and evil]] Taekwondoka Juri (from ''Super SFIV'') came along and ''eclipsed'' them in popularity, to the point many argue that if ''[=MvC3=]'' had come out a little later, Juri would've easily snatched C. Viper's spot.

** The no-nonsense CIA agent (and mother of one) Crimson Viper (vanilla ''SFIV'') and the [[EvilIsSexy deliciously insane and evil]] Taekwondoka Juri (''Super''), have pretty much overshadowed the other newcomers, to the point that Viper is the fourth ''SF'' rep in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'' (alongside Ryu, Chun-Li, and Akuma). Would you believe it that Abel was supposed to be the focal point of ''IV''? Didn't think so.

** Salvatore from ''VideoGame/Disgaea3'', despite her status as a GoldfishPoopGang side character, makes as much appearances as a cameo in other games almost as frequently as the main characters.

* [[LawfulGood Herschel Biggs]], [[NobleBigotWithABadge Rusty Galloway]] and [[TheCoroner Malcolm Carruthers]] seem to be the most popular characters in the VideoGame/LANoire fandom.

*** All of the other bounty hunters to some extent; Ghor, being basically a cyborg version of ComicBook/IncredibleHulk, and Gandraya the shapeshifter who [[HoYay/VideoGames seems to like teasing Samus]].

** The main antagonist of Yakuza 2, Ryuji Goda, he was so popular that he even appeared in Dead Souls as a playable character, he also makes a cameo in 0 where he threatens to steal Majima's Pants.

** The female anemone-like member of the Chirpy Chirps (ABXY) band has only appeared on an album cover, but judging by the amount of fanart of her compared to the others, she's become the popular [[FaceOfTheBand 'face' of the band]].

** While Mr. X, in the original ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'', was a little more forgettable than the other Tyrants from the series, especially his successor, Nemesis, he exploded in popularity with the [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake 2019 remake]] thanks to his [[AdaptationalBadass huge badass upgrade]], great AI that provided a consistent threat throughout the game, and [[BadassLongcoat great]] [[NiceHat style]].

** ''VideoGame/Uncharted2AmongThieves'': Tenzin has quite a fan following for [[BigDamnHeroes stabbing the shit out of a suited Guardian with a massive kukri just before it bitch-slaps the life out of you]]. Not to mention his NiceHat.

* ''VideoGame/LiveALive'': Of the three pupils in the Inheritance chapter, Li Kuugo has the largest fanbase thanks to her cute design, high speed, and being the only female lead in the game.

** Shinya gets this because of his cute little brother relationship with the Protagonist, his sharp tongue, and for his [[MemeticMutation "Get Smoked"]] [[NiceHat hat]].

** ''VideoGame/Pikmin1'': The Puffstool and their Mushroom Pikmin (AKA [[FanNickname Toadmin, Puffmin, etc, etc, etc]]). Three appearances in the entire series, all in only the first game and two of them being in the game's challenge mode. Despite that, they serve as FanFicFuel and the mushroom-itized Pikmin have a lot of fan art. Some fan art of group shots of Pikmin even include the mushroom variety as sort-of [[SixthRanger eighth ranger]] to the established red, yellow, blue, purple, white, rock, and winged varieties.

** Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel got to appear on posters in ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' and are popular thanks to the [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics Archie comics]], even though, up until 2018, Ray only appeared in one game (''VideoGame/SegaSonicTheHedgehog'') and Mighty in two (''[=SegaSonic=] the Hedgehog'' and ''VideoGame/KnucklesChaotix''). Needless to say, fans lost it when the duo made a surprise return in ''VideoGame/SonicMania Plus''.
** In another corner of the fandom, a great deal of prominence has been given to Honey the Cat, an extraordinarily detailed character who was DummiedOut of ''Sonic the Fighters''. This may have motivated Sega's decision to promote her to playable in the 2012 UsefulNotes/XboxLiveArcade and UsefulNotes/PlayStationNetwork UpdatedRerelease. She also got a lot of screentime in the Shattered World saga during [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics the Archie series']] last major run.

** The series has LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters, many of them being incidentals or one-offs worth only a single Jiggy. Nonetheless, some of them get to be quite popular. Prime among them are Chilly Willy and Chili Billy, the twin bosses of Hailfire Peaks in ''Tooie.'' In a world of goofy and cartoonish creatures, they stand out because they're ''[[OurDragonsAreDifferent enormous, screen-filling DRAGONS]],'' with massive glowing spikes (visually impressive by UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 standards), [[BossRemix epic music,]] and dialogue that's pretty funny by the standards of an already comedy-centric game.

* ''[[VideoGame/FZero F-Zero GX/AX]]'' gave us the AX racers. Each are unique in every way possible from the already [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters massive]] set of 30 unique racers.

* ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'' has LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters, so expect to find a lot of characters that fall under this trope.

* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'', [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters being what it is]], has a lot of characters that fit this description.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Mother}}'' series has {{Loads and Loads of|Characters}} [[EccentricTownsfolk Quirky NPCs]], so it's got a few darkhorses.

* A number of ''VideoGame/PopNMusic'''s [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters many, many, MANY characters]] have more fans than mascots Nyami and Mimi; Milk, MZD, and Minit's, just to name a few.

* ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' is prone to this, since ''[[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters every single grunt character]]'' has their own [[CastOfSnowflakes appearance, animations, voice sets]], personality, and personal biography. This can lead to some players [[VideoGameCaringPotential becoming attached to some of the grunts]] even more than the main characters themselves!