History EnsembleDarkhorse / VideoGames

** Makoto Nanaya used to be this back in ''Calamity Trigger''. She was an NPC who only appeared in flashback sequences, an old friend of Noel's from the academy days. Despite her very limited screen-time and nominal importance to the overarching plot, she got a surprisingly warm reception from the fandom, mostly due to similarities with the above Taokaka [[note]]they're both [[CuteMonsterGirl cute animal girls]] with [[TheDitz ditzy]], food-loving personalities who play the role of the plucky comic relief[[/note]]. However, her introduction into the main story by ''Continuum Shift Extend'' has been criticised as clumsily handled and has made her into a BaseBreakingCharacter. She has even drawn CanonSue accusations, although [[ComicBook/SquirrelGirl given who the inspiration for her character is]], [[StealthParody that may be somewhat the point]].

** ''VideoGame/Pikmin2'': The Waterwraith is probably one of the most memorable bosses in the game, due to being [[SomethingCompletelyDifferent so different]] from everything else. For starters, it is considered one of the biggest sources of Nightmare Fuel in its game, as in any of the first sublevels of its dungeon, it will crash down and start chasing you after an invisible timer reaches its limit. Then there's the actual fight with it, where after getting Purple Pikmin its rollers will eventually get broken and it's revealed that the thing is actually a DirtyCoward. This probably got a nod in the third game, where [[spoiler:the final boss seems to be related to it. How, though, is even more FanFicFuel on its own]].

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' Trish is somewhat of a BreakoutCharacter, in the first game she was only vital to the plot where [[spoiler:she was a clone of Dante's mother: Eva created to trick him into coming to Mallet Island]]. She later appears as a SecretCharacter in Devil May Cry 2 after fans complained about her not being playable in the original. She later returns in the Anime(after being absent in 3) where [[spoiler:she has gone solo after being fed-up with Dante's atitude]]. She later goes on to become one of the series' staple characters alongside Lady, who she is often paired with and shares a similar status in the series.

** Pleinar is '''[[AmericansHateTingle A LOT]]''' more popular in Japan than in America...though she does get points for being a GameBreaker MemeticBadass in the states. She's a MemeticBystander in Japan.

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* Bain from ''VideoGame/PAYDAYTheHeist'' grew into this trope, being well known for having planned each heist carefully and how he can get your crew out of custody/jail no matter how many cops and civilians you killed.

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!!Other Examples:

** Whose logo is a smiley face. Unsurprisingly, (fan) depiction of her is with [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair green hair]]. And busty.

* ''EnsembleDarkhorse/MortalKombat''

** [[VerbalTic With immense enthusiasm:]] the elcor are possibly ''the'' most popular minor species in the game lore, in no shortage due to [[CreepyMonotone their slow, deliberate speech]] and their [[ThatMakesMeFeelAngry tendency to indicate what emotion they are feeling]] [[ActuallyPrettyFunny making them a surprise hit amongst fans.]] Matters are definitely helped by most of the elcor [[PlayerCharacter Shepard]] encountering being [[NiceGuy very friendly and cordial to them.]]

* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'':
** Shermie. A one-shot villain who never officially appears in future non-dream match installments, but remains very popular and ends up being included in both ''VideoGame/SNKGalsFighters'' and ''VideoGame/NeoGeoBattleColiseum''. It helps that she's got a killer rack and [[ShesGotLegs nice legs]]. As of ''XIV'', she's one of the many dead characters brought back to life by Verse, just in time to appear in ''VideoGame/SNKHeroinesTagTeamFrenzy''. Her teammates Yashiro Nanakase and Chris get similar treatment as well.
** Eiji Kisaragi, the no-nonsense {{ninja}} from ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting 2''. ''Very'' popular among the fandom. Discounting his appearance in the ''KOF: KYO'' manga, SNK finally brought him back in ''XI'' to please the crowd after an '''eight''' game absence. (Note: his last in-game appearance was in ''[='95=]'', ''the second game in the series''.)
** Ron, the badass [[NonPlayerCharacter NPC]] who shows up in ''KOF 2000'', is a notable example.
** Even the [[ButtMonkey American Sports Team]] has a surprisingly large following despite the fact that they only appeared canonically in the very first installment.
** Oswald. A combination of being one of the best characters in the game and just having a pretty damn cool character design made him one of the most popular characters on the ''XI'' roster. Fans were excited when he was teased, then later announced, for ''XIV's'' second round of DLC characters. Pretty impressive for someone who was essentially meant as a one-off character.
** May Lee went from being a ReplacementScrappy for Kim to becoming one of the more well-received characters from the Eolith era due to her quirky {{tokusatsu}} mannerisms and general cuteness.
** Angel, even though she only appears in ''2001'' canonically, gets a lot of popularity due to being very powerful gameplay-wise and being quite the bombshell. Enough that she even reappears in ''XIV'' when people would least suspect her (with Ramon to boot).
** In the new ''XIV'', King of Dinosaurs' introduction was met with very favorable reception, mostly because he's basically a [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs dinosaur-themed]] [[{{Expy}} Tizoc]].[[note]] Especially since he is Tizoc trying to perform a FaceHeelTurn...emphasis on "[[PokeThePoodle trying]]".[[/note]]
** While all four of the characters for ''XIV''[='s=] DLC Pack 1 have had fans, a lot were excited to see Rock Howard finally make his main series debut.

* ''VideoGame/HuniePop'': Of the four SecretCharacters, the most popular seems to be [[spoiler:the badass [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe alien]] bounty hunter Celeste.]]

* Katya, one of the playable characters of ''VideoGame/CrayolaScoot'', quickly became popular because she's a black cat FunnyAnimal witch who happened to [[PopularWithFurries appeal to the furries]].

** ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia Vesperia]]'' has Flynn; though he had a prominent role in the original game due to his rivalry/friendship with Yuri, his popularity led to him being PromotedToPlayable in the remakes.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': Remiel is only a supporting villain, but the reveal that he was EvilAllAlong makes him a well done example of a character the audience can LoveToHate despite his short screen time, especially after it's revealed he was a villain.

** And if there's another boom (such as ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia Vesperia]]''
*** But even Vesperia has a good number of Ensemble Dark Horses like Judith, Raven, Rita, and Flynn.

* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'':
** The Captain, a wannabe-character who only serves as someone Arthas can talk to in the human campaign of ''Warcraft III'' has attained many fans among the community. In the retelling of the ''Warcraft III'' events in the book ''Arthas: Rise of the Lich King'', he finally gained a name -- or actually two, split into two separate characters, Falric and Luc Valonforth.
** Captain Placeholder, despite being nothing more than well, a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin placeholder]], still managed to become popular enough that fans [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2xuO8JBepM wrote a song about him]].
** Fel Rangari Anaara has proven popular enough to have [[http://archiveofourown.org/works/6135781 fanfiction dedicated to her]] despite having no lines or any relevance at all beyond letting hunters tame fel wolves.

*** Kongman is a rather hilarious example, actually. He's a very minor optional character in the original, but his portrayal in the remake vaulted him into popularity to the point where he personality was more developed in the remake. People love to hate him, and Namco's bonus DVD's waste no effort in ripping the piss out of him.

** ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' brings us the NewAgeRetroHippie, a minor enemy that sticks out due to having one of the most creative names in the localization and having a great theme.

** Surprisingly, ''Big the Cat'' has fallen into this after so long of being TheScrappy, in a similar vein to [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Waluigi]]. Aside of being [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap consistently better-received]] than he was upon [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure his debut]], even that has led to memes about how he's [[MemeticBadass clearly everyone's favorite character]], as well as being responsible for some of the [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments funniest moments]] from {{Lets Play}}s of the game, such as the WebVideo/GameGrumps and LetsPlay/TheRunawayGuys. Sega of Virgin Islands even gave Big [[VisualNovel/BigsBigFishingAdventure3TheTrial his own game]], and he even got his own ''VideoGame/LegoDimensions'' scenarios.

** 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 the Archie Comic's last major run.

** Seiko Shinohara. A cheeky, eccentric girl who stays relentlessly cheerful even when trapped in a haunted school full of dead bodies. That and her [[SchoolgirlLesbians possibly one-sided crush on Naomi]] has made her one of the most popular characters in the series, despite her not even making it past the first chapter of ''Blood Covered'' or ''Book of Shadows''.

** Cala Maria, for her [[CuteMonsterGirl appealing]] [[GorgeousGorgon design]] and her creative boss fight. [[VideoGame/{{Shantae}} Not unlike another giant mermaid.]]

** Adam Kapowski, elite Black Egrets soldier, is well liked amongst the fandom for his status as a [[TheGenericGuy generic]] DoggedNiceGuy.
** Feng, Cerebella's roommate, is well liked for her [[AnimeChineseGirl cute appearance]] and [[EpicFail humorous backstory]]. She has a surprisingly large amount of fanart.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

** 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'' & UsefulNotes/PlayStationNetwork UpdatedRerelease. She also got a lot of screentime in the Shattered World saga during the Archie Comic's last major run.

* ''EnsembleDarkhorse/AnimalCrossing''

** Omid is well-liked for being upbeat, friendly, and funny. Which is probably why he was the first to die in Season Two.

** Rosie the dog for being surprisingly sweet if Clem chooses to get to know her and for mauling Abel when he attacks Clem. The fact that, unlike most other dogs in post-apocalyptic stories, she survives in the end helps too. You can find several comments calling her best girl.

** Pete became a fan favorite for being a strong and stern leader type, as well as being the only member of the Cabin group who was consistently intelligent and welcoming of Clementine. Many believe that if Pete had lived past "All That Remains"/"A House Divided", the plot wouldn't have turned so dark.

** Conrad became well-liked by the fans after episode 2 in which he becomes determinant, because unlike every other Telltale game in which determinant characters tend to die quickly, not only can he survive several determinant deaths (thereby making him the first to survive so long) but his added depth, Character Development (unlike the rest of the new cast) and a fairly important role in the rest of the game has earned him a lot of love, perhaps even more so than the other members of the cast (excluding Clementine of course.)

** On the other hand, there's also Violet. Other than being the first female LGBT character since Paige from Michonne, fans have taken a liking towards her for being a DefrostingIceQueen, as well as also being a potential romance for Clementine.
** James was an instant hit with players due to his past as a Whisperer, his preference at using non-lethal means to get rid of walkers, and the fact that he's played by Johnny Yong Bosch. People were hoping that he'd become another potential romance for Clementine before Episode 3, where he was confirmed gay.
** Omar has become a Memetic Badass simply for having the least screen time among the new characters and still managing to survive the season.
Rosie the dog for being surprisingly sweet if Clem chooses to get to know her and for mauling Abel when he attacks Clem. The fact that, unlike most other dogs in post-apocalyptic stories, she survives in the end helps too. You can find several comments calling her best girl.