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16Describe Video Game characters who [[EnsembleDarkhorse really caught on with the fans, despite not being a main character]] here.
17----
18!!Games/franchises with their own pages:
19
20[[index]]
21* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/AnimalCrossing'' (Villagers)
22* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/AzurLane''
23* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/TheBindingOfIsaac''
24* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/BraveFrontier''
25* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/DarkSouls''
26* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/DragaliaLost''
27* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/DragonAge''
28* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/TheElderScrolls''
29* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/{{Fallout}}''
30* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/FateGrandOrder''
31* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/FinalFantasy''
32* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/FireEmblem''
33* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/FiveNightsAtFreddys''
34* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/GranblueFantasy''
35* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/HatsuneMikuColorfulStage''
36* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/JustDance''
37* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/TheKingOfFighters''
38* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/{{Kirby}}''
39* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/TheLegendOfZelda''
40* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/MegaMan''
41* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/{{Pokemon}}''
42* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/SonicTheHedgehog''
43* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/SuperMarioBros''
44* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/{{Tekken}}''
45* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/TouhouProject''
46* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/{{Undertale}}''
47* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/WorldOfWarcraft''
48* ''EnsembleDarkHorse/YandereSimulator''
49[[/index]]
50
51----
52!!Individual examples:
53
54[[foldercontrol]]
55
56[[folder:#-B]]
57* In ''VideoGame/AgarestSenki'' for the protagonists of the five generations, Thoma himself is the most well-liked of the 5 protagonists followed by Leo. For the other party members, we've got Fyuria, Valeria (enough to be brought back to Agarest 2), Silvi, and Murmina.
58* Uzuki from ''VisualNovel/AkaiIto''. In an official poll asking which [[YuriGenre couple]] was the most popular, Uzuki and the main character Kei ended up as number one.
59* Blitztank from ''VideoGame/AkatsukiBlitzkampf'' [[GuestFighter and later]] ''VideoGame/BlazBlueCrossTagBattle'' is popular with fans because it's a SapientTank with a SkullForAHead [[RuleOfCool in a fighting game]].
60* May Greenfield, from ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore For Answer''. Practically no characterization, is an entirely optional wingman, and is ''never seen outside of her mech,'' but AC fandom in general and 4chan's /m/ in particular have fallen in love with the cheerful teenage girl in the bright green [[MightyGlacier Engine of Destruction]].
61** Whose logo is a smiley face. Unsurprisingly, (fan) depiction of her is with green hair. And busty.
62** From the same franchise is [[BestBossEver Nineball]]. No player may consider themselves true AC fans if they don't know Nineball, owing to the fact that ''everyone'' [[ThatOneBoss has had their asses handed to them once by this guy]] and he won't hesitate to do it again.
63** Stinger, while not as popular, has his fans as well.
64* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'':
65** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'' gave the gaming public Malik, Jerusalem quest giver. He has established himself as a fan favourite, mainly for being bitter, sarcastic, and delightfully mean to Altair. So naturally, he [[DroppedABridgeOnHim gets a bridge dropped on him]] in the backstory for ''Revelations''.
66** Even more extreme is his brother Kadar, who exists only to get fridged fifteen minutes into the game. He still gets into a lot of fanart.
67** Damascus' Rafiq (who apparently has no name). He's a...talkative, odd sort of guy.
68--->'''Rafiq D:''' Whose life do you come to collect today?\
69'''Altaïr:''' His name is Abu'l Nuqoud.\
70'''Rafiq D:''' Oh, the Merchant King of Damascus! Richest man in the city! Quite exciting, quite dangerous! I envy you, Altaïr--well, not the bit where you were beaten and stripped of your rank -- but I envy everything else! Oh, except for the terrible things the other assassins say about you; but yes, aside from the failure and the hatred, yes, aside from those things, I envy you very much!\
71'''Altaïr:''' If you're finished...
72** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' has plenty. Claudia, Uncle Mario, La Volpe, Caterina Sforza, Machiavelli, Rosa... pretty much all the supporting cast, basically.
73** Leonardo Da Vinci, with his sheer {{Adorkable}} nature and enthusiasm. The quick-time option to hug him has led to players claiming to have restarted the game after missing it.
74** Bartolomeo Da Alviano, on account of his... [[LargeHam bombastic nature]] and [[SirSwearsALot abundance of]] [[BoisterousBruiser character]].
75** Subject 16 / Clay Kaczmarek, by dint of his [[TheWoobie Woobie nature]] and traumatic backstory, which eventually resulted in his getting a DLC pack for ''Revelations''.
76** From ''Brotherhood'', Cesare Borgia garnered this, mostly for being hot it seems. Deviantart has lots of fanarts showing him molesting Ezio or the poor, scared shitless Leonardo Da Vinci.
77** ''Revelations'' has Yusuf Tazim, the snarky head of the Istanbul Assassins, who still manages to kill several [[EliteMooks Janissaries]] during his LastStand.
78** From ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'', there's Haytham Kenway, the DecoyProtagonist of the initial sequences, who's been compared to a seventeenth-century James Bond, and is some circles is considered more interesting than his son, the main character. Like Achilles below, he plays a major role in ''Assassin's Creed: Rogue'', which takes place before III.
79** Benjamin Franklin, despite the small amount of appearances he has in-story. The fact that he has one of the funniest conversations in the whole game helps.
80** Achilles, due to his combination of humor and pessimism. Fans were hoping for him to show up in the next game, though that didn't happen. He did appear in [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRogue the game after that]], though, which explored some of his backstory.
81* [[BloodKnight Augus]] from ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'' is easily one of the more liked characters in the game, as his boisterous personality and relatively manly and badass traits make him quite a popular character even [[spoiler: after Asura defeats and kills him]]. Many fans clamour for him to be playable in extra scenarios or DLC.
82* One of the most popular and interesting characters in ''VideoGame/AtelierIrisEternalMana'' is not a playable character, but rather a shopkeeper of all things. Veola, the owner of the magic shop in the first town you visit becomes the most captivating and fleshed out character in the game as the plot progresses. The character in question is also the subject of some fan fiction.
83* Achmed Khan from ''VideoGame/BackyardSports''. Originally, he was just a regular playable character who was not on ''any'' of the artwork of the first few games. But he got a massive fanbase, mostly due to his guitar-player wannabe personality. This probably led to his inclusion as a playable character in ''Backyard Skateboarding'', and (unfortunately) his {{Flanderization}}.
84* Minsc (and Boo!) from the ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' series. Practically the series' mascot character(s).
85** The main reason for this is because his legendary {{Cloudcuckoolander}} tendencies (mostly by relying on Boo to do any thinking beyond "hitting bad guy with {{BFS}}") backed up by being a [[LargeHam living wall of ham]].
86** They even got a shout out in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' with Tali (ironically another Creator/BioWare EnsembleDarkhorse herself) having a combat line referencing one of Minsc's and a purchasable space hamster for your quarters.
87** To some, the paladin Keldorn attains this status for the simple virtue of being one of the few D&D paladins ''ever'' who manages to avert all their [[HolierThanThou most]] [[KnightTemplar common]] [[LawfulStupid flaws]].
88** Imoen started out as a childhood friend [[spoiler: and half-sister]] of the main character thrown in at the last minute (she doesn't even get any banter lines with the party) as a recruitable party member due to playtesting finding the beginning of the game too hard without recruiting the two evil-aligned AxCrazy characters you run into soon after. She was even slated to die once the sequel came around, but her surprising popularity kept her alive, and she went on to become the series' GenkiGirl and [[TheWoobie Woobie]] extraordinaire (not to mention one of the best mages in the second game.)
89** [[TokenEvilTeammate Viconia]] is also popular because... well, you know.
90* ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'':
91** The series has a huge cast, 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 Platform/Nintendo64 standards), [[BossRemix epic music,]] and dialogue that's pretty funny by the standards of an already comedy-centric game.
92** Mr. Patch, another boss from ''Tooie,'' is almost as popular. Once again, his epic boss fight may have something to do with this, as he's easily [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever the largest character]] in the entire ''series'', and has to be fought while flying. He also manages to be quite funny (how many other characters' {{Boss Subtitle|s}} calls them a "Strange Wobbly Inflatable Thing?).
93** Sexy Grunty. During the game over sequence of the first game, VainSorceress Gruntilda gets her wish to become beautiful. [[MsFanservice And boy, does she ever!]] Naturally, she became popular due to her sheer, overwhelming sexiness... and perhaps for the large amounts of [[NightmareFuel/BanjoKazooie Nightmare Fuel]] said game-over was capable of inducing, particularly "Ugly Tooty."
94** Clanker, the giant mechanical shark/whale thing from Clanker's Cavern in the first game. Despite his scary appearance, Clanker is one of the [[TheWoobie more pitiable characters in the series]] -- he's forced to serve as Grunty's trash compactor in a tiny, confined cavern full of grimy water, when all he wants to do is breathe fresh air and swim free.
95* ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos Origins'' gives us Guillo, [[TheHero Sagi's]] magical puppet sidekick. Aside from having several GameBreaker specials and items, Guillo is widely considered the best character in the game, being a hilarious DeadpanSnarker foil to Sagi, having a compelling backstory, and just generally being a total badass.
96* ''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 [[Website/{{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 {{Superboss}} ''twice''.
97** Also, the Stage 2 flamingoes. Part of a high-scoring secret, the flamingoes have become very popular amongst ''Garegga'' fans, despite being little sprites that have no relevance to the protagonists or antagonists.
98* ''VideoGame/BendyAndTheInkMachine'':
99** Wally Franks might count as one. Mostly because his audio logs come off as a welcomed comic relief in every chapter.
100** Thomas Connor, due to the fact that despite only being contracted to work for Joey Drew Studios, he's easily [[OnlySaneMan the most stable employee]], and seems to be one of the only people to not take Joey Drew's antics. This combined with the fact that he was only one smart enough to try to get out when he could led to people relating to him quite a bit.
101* ''VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil'':
102** Meii is one of the more popular characters in the fandom, following only behind the main characters. She's liked far more than her fellow [=NPCs=] in the game's MissionControl. However, she's also a voluptuous, [[AmazingTechnicolorWildlife blue-furred]] CatGirl, which explains a lot.
103** There's also Yoa, one of the {{Heartwarming Orphan}}s from the lighthouse. Among the six orphans, she's easily the most popular--probably because she, too, is blue, with unusual facial markings, speaks a mysterious language, and seems to be either an excellent snoop or have psychic powers. Her cool design and air of mystery make her very popular with the fans, despite her being just another NPC otherwise.
104* Loki from ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac''. Compared to [[ThatOneBoss certain infamous bosses]] fought in The Depths and Necropolis like Mask of Infamy and The Bloat, Loki is a goofy and loveable BreatherBoss and is pretty popular as a result (the fact that he's referred as "Mr. Cool" in the credits certainly helps.
105** The Dark Bum in ''[[UpdatedRerelease Rebirth]]'' immediately gained popularity due to how much of a GameBreaker he was in the initial release (offering Soul Hearts in exchange for health pick-ups at a 1:1 ratio.)
106** Eve has a surprising amount of popularity considering that she's otherwise generally seen as a LowTierLetdown.
107* Rosalind and Robert Lutece from ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'' have been considered rather endearing by fans for their odd behavior and speech mannerisms. They even won the 2013 VGX award for "Best Character of the Year."
108* ''VideoGame/BlasterMasterZeroII'' introduced additional Metal Attacker pilots as supporting characters. Out of all of them, the one who got the most attention is Kanna, a ditzy yet cute {{Plant Alien|s}} girl encountered on the planet Stranga. She became so popular that she not only got a RaisingSim mini-game DLC dedicated to her, but she even made an appearance in ''VideoGame/BlasterMasterZeroIII'', with her profile on [[http://blastermaster-zero.com/en/zero3/ the official website for that game]] basically admitting they're NotEvenBotheringWithAnExcuse regarding why she's back beyond PopularityPower.
109-->It's like, totally bonkers, but Kanna appears in this game for some reason.
110* Bang Shishigami is one of the more unexpectedly popular characters in ''Franchise/BlazBlue''. At first it appeared as though he was going to be a ripoff of [[VideoGame/GuiltyGear Chipp Zanuff]]. By the time the Arcade game came out, he was highly-praised for his [[LargeHam hammily]] [[HotBlooded over]]-[[NoIndoorVoice the]]-top hilariousness. He's practically a living ShoutOut to every manly Shonen character designed in the past two decades of Anime history. This is quite surprising that he's usually seen as [[ButtMonkey a clown in-universe]] ([[TheChewToy who likes bitching on him]]) as well as not even considered "important" by ASW themselves (he's considered weaker than Carl, of all people, as a vigilante), although that may change in the future due to story progression. He also enjoys a lot of fanworks.
111** Also, [[CatGirl Taokaka]]. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that there isn't a single person who hates her, due to her established reputation for being such a hilarious character. She even lampshades her status in Relius' Gag Reel.
112---> "Tao would never say that because Tao's adorable and friendly and a fan favorite."
113** Makoto Nanaya used to be this back in ''[[VideoGame/BlazBlueCalamityTrigger 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 ''[[VideoGame/BlazBlueContinuumShift Continuum Shift Extend]]'' has been criticised as clumsily handled and has made her into a BaseBreakingCharacter.
114** Amongst NPC's, Kokonoe and Jubei are darkhorses too. Kokonoe is well loved for her utter snarkiness and the hilarity she brought in "Help me! Professor Kokonoe!", although her darker, [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope Slippery Slope Jumping]] actual story has also earned her haters. Jubei is universally liked simply because he's probably the only Six Heroes with the least mental problems or emotional baggage and the closest they can get for a BigGood.
115*** The prayers for Kokonoe's fans are answered as she becomes a DLC for ''Chronophantasma''.
116** [[MadScientist Relius]] is shaping up to be this, gaining a huge amount of popularity just after becoming a playable character. Oh, and this is ''despite'' being a FauxAffablyEvil villain who performs MindRape ForScience This is probably because despite his status as an important BigBadDuumvirate, he wasn't as oversaturated in attention as compared to [[{{Troll}} Hazama]] (who has slowly lost his favor over time and is facing CreatorsPet accusations), nor was he the main concern of the main hero (Ragna), thus fulfilling the Dark Horse qualifications. Having one of the two big gag reels from ''Extend'' helps, too.
117** Perhaps the strangest EnsembleDarkhorse of them all is the [[https://cdn.donmai.us/original/5a/da/__hype_dog_blazblue__5adaceb5a89dfd78337da5e24558b115.gif fluffy white dog (commonly known as Hype Dog)]] in the background of one of the stages, notable for barking its head off and being '''absolutely adorable'''.
118** As for the third game, ''Chronophantasma'', [[BloodKnight Azrael]] of Sector Seven has proven to be by far the most well-received of the three new characters in America and Europe. Interestingly, [[WholesomeCrossdresser Amane]] [[AgentPeacock Nishiki]] is the most popular in Japan. [[ValuesDissonance This is mainly due to cultural differences in views towards "manly" characters]].
119** As of a recent popularity poll, Azrael has officially overcome his fellow newcomers (including Kokonoe!) to be included in the top ten most popular characters in both Blazblue AND Guilty Gear combined. DAYUM!
120** Litchi's gag reel for the third game features Bullet in a Ragna-inspired outfit. It's truly surprising how much fanart this rendition of Bullet gets.
121** Most of them are at least ''playable'', whereas Hype Dog was more close to a MemeticBystander. There is a darkhorse that has been around since the first game, the fans like him, but he has never set himself amongst the playable characters no matter how much he got teased for it. That character is Jubei, one of the Six Heroes and hailed as the most powerful creature alive, the father of the aforementioned Kokonoe, teacher of Ragna (and later Jin) and PintSizedPowerhouse extraordinary. Seriously, this guy can have cute plushies about him, and forced the fans to wait 9 whole years before making him ''playable!?'' [[TrollingCreator Truly, Toshimichi Mori's favorite drink must be our tears.]]
122* In ''VideoGame/BlazBlueCrossTagBattle'', [[VideoGame/UnderNightInBirth Gordeau]]. He comes from the least known of the four franchises in this crossover title, and he's not even a major character in his home game. However he is the single most played character of the open beta, more than any of the ''Blazblue'' roster and even more than [[WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} the titular four heroines of a certain Rooster Teeth-produced web anime series that has exploded in popularity in recent years]] who it bears repeating ''make their fighting game debut in this title''. That is how insanely well-received Gordeau is. Gordeau fans pin it on being a manly scythe-wielding NiceGuy who plays and looks like a mix of [[VideoGame/GuiltyGear Sol Badguy]] and [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry classic Dante]] and who is also top tier.
123* ''VideoGame/BloodstainedRitualOfTheNight'':
124** Orlok Fahrenheit Dracule, better known simply as O.D.. He's ''Bloodstained''[='s=] answer to Alucard in everything but name, aided by him having Alucard's look and voice actor(s) [[note]]whereas in Japanese he's fittingly voiced by Creator/RyotaroOkiayu, who's consistently lent his voice to Alucard since [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight 1997]], the English version arguably went the extra mile by getting Robert Belgrade, Al's original English voice actor from the same game, to effectively "reprise" the role[[/note]], and the game deliberately gives him a role similar to the Master Librarian from ''[=SotN=]'' — complete with the exact same "High Jump into chair from the room below" EasterEgg (which can also be triggered with Invert). Then there's the matter of [[spoiler:his secret boss fight in the Glacial Tomb]]: hilarious for [[spoiler:its "reasoning" (he was ''[[DisproportionateRetribution not]]'' joking about how valuable the Tome of Conquest is to him)]] and utterly cool in design (as O.D. [[spoiler:employs [[AnIcePersion cyrokinesis]] and [[TimeStandsStill chronokinesis]] along with Alucard's various transformations]]).
125** Lindsay, the NPC who tasks Miriam with avenging her fallen friends and family, is fairly popular in the fanbase, mostly because of "[[MemeticMutation Kill those murderers]] '''[[MemeticMutation DEAD!!]]'''"
126** In a game full of memorable enemy designs, Tamako-Death stands out for the [[InstrumentOfMurder appeal]] of a cute girl with a guitar as her weapon that shoots fire set to heavy metal riffs.
127** As far as summons go, Carabosse is a popular choice due to the fact that she can attack and heal Miriam, which makes her quite useful.
128** VideoGame/ShovelKnight's cameo as the [[AnimatedArmor Shovel Armor]] has also been praised. It helps that players can obtain his trusty armor and shovel as {{Random Drop}}s.
129** Bloodless, a mid-game boss, garnered attention and pretty much a lot of love from lots of players, due to both her boss fight (which involves lots of {{Fanservice}} [[ClothingDamage along the way]]) and the ability to play as her on Boss Revenge Mode. It was enough for Iga to decide to [[spoiler:make her playable ''in the main game as well'' via the "BLOODLESS" code used as the player name]].
130* ''VideoGame/BlueArchive'':
131** Millennium's C&C club is this, as the members are a mix of SecretAgent in disguise as {{Meido}}. In particular are the ColdSniper Karin and [[TheDitz ditzy]] Asuna, especially after they (as well as Akane and Neru) got BunnyGirl outfits.
132* ''VideoGame/{{Bugsnax}}'':
133** Bunger quickly garnered a large amount of popularity among fans despite not being a major focus of either the game or its promotional material (both of which instead hyped up Strabby as the ''Bugsnax'' mascot), thanks to a combination of Bunger's cute design, amusing name, and SimpletonVoice PokemonSpeak. It helps that WebVideo/{{Vinesauce}} Vinny was instantly smitten with the "stupid little burger" and Bunger memes and fanart spread like wildfire within the Vinesauce community.
134** The Big Bopsicle is also pretty popular due to how aggressive its voice is, making it sound like it's giving a ClusterFBomb.
135** Scoopy Banoopy gained a wave of fans based on the name alone, as well as its [[TheEeyore Eeyore-like]] appearance and the fact that it's based on a banana split, a very popular type of ice cream sundae.
136** Though they are one of the last to be invited back to Snaxburg, Floofty is easily one of the most popular grumpuses of the main cast for their memorability as an [[ForScience ethically-questionable]] InsufferableGenius. Being a canonically nonbinary character in a medium where respectful portrayals of such identities are fairly uncommon [[LGBTFanbase doesn't hurt either.]] There's even "Floofty Friday" on the official Young Horses Discord channel!
137[[/folder]]
138
139[[folder:C-D]]
140* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'':
141** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaJudgment'' has one in Golem, who was largely a non-entity in the game, players considered him inconsequential, but they grew a fondness for him in this game, and has what's considered the ''best'' story mode in the game. His IronWoobie status may also have gotten some fandom, too.
142** 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/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow 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]]'').
143*** There's also the leads of some of the [[CanonDiscontinuity non-canon side games]]. [[MagicKnight Nathan Graves]] from ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaCircleOfTheMoon Circle of the Moon]]'' and Cornell, [[RedBaron the Blue Crescent Moon]] from ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLegacyOfDarkness Legacy of Darkness]]'' both have ''very'' devoted fanbases despite their games being largely inconsequential to the overall timeline (this is probably thanks in part to their games being more experimental than the standard ''Castlevania'' mold). Cue Cornell making [[UnexpectedCharacter a pleasantly surprising reappearance]] as one of the [[FirstInstallmentWins few modern characters]] in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaJudgment'' (alongside the then newcomer [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia Shanoa]]), second in terms of darkhorse status to the aforementioned Golem, one of the few characters to ''not'' have their characterization change from what was previously established, and probably the ''only'' [[Manga/DeathNote Takeshi]] [[Manga/HikaruNoGo Obata]] [[ArtShift redesign]] to be ''praised'' by the fans instead of detested (face it; going from a WolfMan to a ''[[NinjaPirateZombieRobot wolf knight]]'' can hardly be considered a downgrade).
144** 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 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/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow 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).
145** As far as Belmonts go, the most popular one is the one that DIDN'T get his own game. Julius Belmont is a canonical badass, a trait especially elevated in ''Dawn Of Sorrow'' where, when asked how he took down the more powerful regenerating monsters despite being unable to draw magic seals to stop the regeneration, he responds by stating he just kills them too fast for them to regenerate. His popularity probably has to do with being canonically the strongest Belmont and indeed possibly the strongest character in the series, having permanently killed Dracula, teaming up with Alucard, having the more well received playable post game quests, being totally manly with a BadassLongcoat and, in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow Aria of Sorrow]]'', being a combination of ThatOneBoss and BestBossEver, along with his theme music. Added to this is the fact that at the time of the ''Sorrow'' games, he was in his mid-'''fifties'''. Even with the reboot, many fans are still clamoring for a game based on the war of 1999, where he permanently killed Dracula but [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot it was never elaborated how.]]
146* Kanpachi from ''VideoGame/CaveStory'' is merely a fishing Mimiga who isn't much important[[spoiler:, until he manages to catch a key for you]]. Mirai Gamer fandom seems to [[http://www.cavestory.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3573 raise him]] to MemeticBadass levels.
147** How can we mention ''Cave Story'' without bringing up Balrog? [[CatchPhrase OH YEAAAAAH!!!]]
148* ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' had quite a few.
149** [[DracoInLeatherPants Ghost Widow]], an attractive [[OurGhostsAreDifferent undead]] [[TheDragon right-hand woman]] to [[BigBad Lord Recluse]] (mainly popular for being the ''only'' character in the game with animated hair), the MemeticBadass [[SuperCop Blue Steel]], and new character Desdemonda, made to showcase the [[HeelFaceTurn Going Rogue]] expansion. Desdemonda's case was helped by her portrayal at [=HeroCon=] by a [[StatuesqueStunner tall and attractive model]].
150** While the Korean version of the game failed, the characters created for it proved surprisingly popular, especially MrFanservice Foreshadow and SwordAndGun user Spark Blade. Good aversions of CaptainEthnic.
151* Schala from ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' is one of the most beloved characters in the game despite being an NPC. There's also Gato, Lucca's combat training robot in the Millennial Fair, mostly for his catchy theme which he sings himself [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrqsLbdcJYo as heard in the OVA]].
152** Guile of ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' is also a fair bit more popular than most of the optional characters in the game if only for the fan theory that he's Magus in disguise.
153* ''VideoGame/CorpseParty'':
154** Seiko Shinohara. A cheeky, eccentric girl who stays relentlessly cheerful even when trapped in a haunted school full of dead bodies. That and her 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''.
155** Of the original five cast members Yoshiki is by far the most well-liked. In the PC games he had little relevance in the overall story, but as the series has gone on he's almost become a BreakoutCharacter, at times becoming more involved in the plot than actual protagonist Satoshi. His level-headedness, blunt but kind demeanor, [[{{Bishonen}} pretty face]], and devotion to keeping Ayumi alive [[spoiler: (to the point that he'll erase himself from history if it means a chance to help her)]] are all reasons for his popularity.
156* ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'':
157** Many of the Original Trilogy bosses are popular within the fandom, most notably [[AwesomeAussie Dingodile]], [[CuteAndPsycho Ripper Roo]], and [[DumbMuscle Tiny Tiger]].
158** Crunch Bandicoot, a super buff bandicoot originally introduced as a badass rival to the main character in ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootTheWrathOfCortex''. WordOfGod claims Crunch's cameo in ''VideoGame/CrashTwinsanity'' was solely to appease his huge fanbase.
159** Tawna garnered a rather large fanbase, but appeared prominently in only two games and made very minor cameos in others (due to the CreatorBacklash concerning ExecutiveMeddling bowdlerizing her original character design). Her popularity further increased with ''VideoGame/CrashTeamRacingNitroFueled'', in which she finally gets PromotedToPlayable, has [[SuddenlyVoiced dialogue]] and an established personality.
160** Fake Crash, a random version of Crash that was meant to be an in-game joke turns into a total fame by the Japanese that makes him now a tag-along guy.
161** Ami, Isabella, Liz and Megumi from ''Crash Team Racing'' already had a minor following as the Trophy Girls in the original 1999 game, but their grand return as playable racers in ''VideoGame/CrashTeamRacingNitroFueled'', with newly-established personalities, made their popularity explode, and they instantly became fan favourites.
162** Evil Coco is a rather extreme example of this; she was one of the [[TroubledProduction many examples]] of [[WhatCouldHaveBeen cut content]] from ''VideoGame/CrashTwinsanity'', but she has a considerable amount of fan-art to her name and was seen by fans as a missed opportunity. Her presumed brother Evil Crash (who did make it to the game) also gets quite a bit of love for a character who was never seen again after ''Twinsanity'' (excluding some cameos and a Crash skin in ''VideoGame/CrashTagTeamRacing'' that vaguely resembled him).
163* Katya, one of the playable characters of ''[[https://outrightgames.com/en-ca/games/crayola-scoot/ Crayola Scoot]]'', quickly became popular because she's a black cat FunnyAnimal witch who happened to [[PopularWithFurries appeal to the furries]].
164* ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'':
165** King Dice, due to his creative [[BossRush boss fight]], his insanely catchy theme song, and his cool design.
166** Cala Maria, for her [[CuteMonsterGirl appealing]] [[GorgeousGorgon design]] and her creative boss fight.
167** Cagney Carnation was one of the first bosses seen from the game, leading to him having a place in some players' hearts. Not to mention the general BodyHorror he pulls off during his fight and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOuAJqsCt0Y lively background music]] of the stage.
168** Werner Werman as well, due to having a pretty fun and creative boss fight, with a neat twist at the end.
169** Despite him being a very difficult boss to many, plenty of people in the UsefulNotes/FurryFandom have been slowly growing attached to Grim Matchstick. Even outside it, general consensus is that he's too adorable to stay angry at, and is generally beloved despite the rage he induces.
170** Sally Stageplay, for her AffectionateParody of a [=JRPG=] boss battle and her small stature, as most bosses are an AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever.
171** Mac and Lord Forkington are both [=NPCs=] who only pop up on the Inkwell Isle map, but they do receive quite a bit of attention.
172* ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'':
173** Jon Talbain. [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff Especially in the United States]]. Thanks to Capcom Japan's [[AmericansHateTingle absolute refusal to include him in any future games featuring the Darkstalkers]], he's become this in many fans' eyes. Even Ryoma Niitsuma, the director of ''Marvel vs. Capcom 3'', [[http://iplaywinner.com/news/2010/10/23/niitsuma-disconfirms-characters-for-mvc3-but-gives-some-hope.html notes that if he had more development time, Jon would have been the game's 4th rep for this series (after Morrigan, Felicia, and Hsien-Ko).]]
174** Anita. Many players wish to see the older and [[DefrostingIceQueen more cheerful]] self (as seen in Dee's story from ''Vampire Savior 2'' and [[WhatCouldHaveBeen planned to be included in the third game]]) as a playable character in future games. She made, however, the jump to playable in some crossovers, such as ''VideoGame/MarvelSuperHeroes'' and ''[[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomClashOfTheSuperheroes Marvel vs. Capcom]]'', where she was a selectable AssistCharacter.
175** Lei-Lei/Hsien-Ko: The jiangshi girl's innovative fighting style and overall cuteness made her a fan favorite as well, with her appearing in ''[[VideoGame/SuperGemFighter Pocket Fighter]]'', ''VideoGame/NamcoXCapcom'', ''[[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3 Marvel vs. Capcom 3]]'', and ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone''. She even [[AscendedExtra gets a very large role in the anime]], in which she is the secondary protagonist along with her sister.
176** Lord Raptor/Zabel Zarock: his rock star nature and hilarious, [[LargeHam hammy]] yet brutal quotes and fighting style have made him very popular amongst Western fans, many who wanted to see him in ''Marvel vs. Capcom 3'' as DLC. He made it into ''Namco × Capcom'' and ''Project X Zone'' as one of the villains.
177** B.B. Hood/Bulleta: Similar to Lord Raptor above, she has garnered a sizable fanbase (again, at least in the West). Most of this stems from the take that she's an FauxAffablyEvil [[BitchInSheepsClothing take]] on Literature/LittleRedRidingHood [[TokenHuman who seems completely out of place in this series]] [[BadassNormal and yet manages]] [[LittleMissBadass to hold her own]]. Along with Felicia and Anakaris, she did manage to join Morrigan in the ''[[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom2 Marvel vs. Capcom 2]]'' lineup. She also was the sole series representative in ''VideoGame/CannonSpike'' and showed up in ''Project X Zone 2'' as an enemy unit after what has been essentially a ''fifteen'' year-long absence.
178** Jedah: Another really popular character to Western fans due to the fact that he's [[DarkMessiah sort of an interesting take on]] [[{{Satan}} the devil]]. He's sexy, classy, [[AntiVillain semi-evil]], has the most bloody and brutal specials of everyone in the cast, and has an unforgettable maniacal laugh courtesy of the [[Creator/IsshinChiba voice]] of [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure Dio Brando]]. Aside of a playable stint in ''VideoGame/CapcomFightingEvolution'', he'd appear as one of the major villains in both ''VideoGame/CrossEdge'' and ''Project X Zone'' as well as a playable character in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomInfinite''.
179* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000: VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' has several:
180** Sindri Myr, TheStarscream of the first campaign. A suave MagnificentBastard who plays everyone else like puppets and voiced by Creator/ScottMcNeil at his finest, he still remains the most popular and beloved villain of the series despite not appearing since.
181** Ork Warboss Gorgutz Headhunta, who debuted in ''Winter Assault'' as the leader of the Orks and as a textbook example of LaughablyEvil got all of the funniest lines. He subsequently returned for ''Dark Crusade'', where his popularity only grew after he ''still'' got all of the best lines, and ''Soulstorm'', which... [[FanonDiscontinuity most people pretend never happened]]. Fans kept hoping he would return for ''Dawn of War II'', even after it became increasingly unlikely.
182** ''Winter Assault'' also has [[FourStarBadass General Sturnn]], who, being the only Imperial Guard officer who actually looks like he's been through a few decades of hell, is widely considered the hardest bastard in the galaxy, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKIAMAqGNIY his speech]] at the end of the Guard campaign is well-regarded for its manliness rating.
183** Eliphas the Inheritor of the Word Bearers Legion, a suave and witty evil overlord (and the only Chaos Lord with the slightest modicum of sense) who graced ''Dark Crusade'' but seemed doom to death in canon. Then the trailer for ''Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising'' was released, fans assumed the Chaos Lord shown was Eliphas and rejoiced, and Relic scrambled to put him in the campaign anyway as a treat for the fans. Even despite [[DeathIsCheap dying again]] he returned as a playable character for ''Retribution''.
184** [[MemeticBadass Vance]] [[FanNickname Motherfucking]] [[MemeticBadass Stubbs]] is pretty much the only commander in ''Soulstorm'' that's popular for the right reasons as opposed to [[GeneralFailure Indrick]] [[LargeHam Boreale]] who is popular, [[NarmCharm but for all the wrong reasons.]]
185** [[BadassNormal Sergeant-Major Merrick]] is VERY popular, despite being only a supporting character in ''Dawn of War II'' and ''Chaos Rising''. He [[AscendedExtra becomes a playable character]] in ''Retribution'', much to the fandom's pleasure.
186** Araghast, despite getting screwed over in the ''Chaos Rising'' campaign due to Eliphas replacing the role he would have filled (indeed, in the final product he has few lines and serves no purpose in the story), still has a significant group of dedicated fans who love his [[LargeHam endless ham]].
187** ''Retribution'' has the '''entire''' Ork campaign. All four of the characters have many fans (especially Bludflagg, due in part to much resemblance to Gorgutz) and nearly every mission has at least one hilarious line that solidifies the claim that Orks really are da best.
188* ''VideoGame/DeadlyPremonition'' has a few, given its large cast with fairly expansive backstories; of the "visible" cast, most notable is probably Carol. She's one of the few people in the seemingly sweet Greenvale who's as [[DeadpanSnarker as acerbic as the protagonist,]] not to mention her stylish choice of dress, the fact that she's a lounge singer, and her [[spoiler: very, very strong {{Yandere}} tendencies]].
189** Even moreso in certain ways is Punk York. During one small conversation, York offhandedly mentions that he used to [[FormerTeenRebel dress like a punk rocker in high school]]. The idea completely captivated fans' imaginations, producing many pieces of fanart of a teenaged, punk-dressed York, and "punk York" was among the more requested alternate costumes for the UpdatedRerelease.
190* ''Videogame/DeadOrAlive'':
191** Christie has quite the loyal fanbase, mostly because she was the first female villain in a series known for having beautiful ladies. Her fans also love her because of her being the oldest in a roster with mostly young girls, her seductive femme-fatale attitude and her sexy British accent courtesy of fan-favorite voice actress Laura Bailey. Her absence in ''Xtreme Beach Volleyball 3'' was a point of contention for MANY fans.
192** Leon as even though his plotline seems complete, he's appeared in various games as a bonus character and when he was cut from ''[=DOA5=]'', the fans were not happy... until he returned in ''[=DOA5U=]''.
193** Mila gets a lot of love from the fanbase for going completely against the grain for a female DOA fighter. To wit, she's cute and attractive without being hyper-sexualized (at least by the series' standards) or playing up any fetishes, has a hot-blooded but still humble personality, [[SpiritedCompetitor shows great sportsmanship]], and her MMA-based fighting style is [[SimpleYetAwesome short on flashy and balletic moves, but it looks very damned painful and effective]].
194** Hitomi is also popular with the fanbase since her debut in ''[=DOA3=]''. Even series creator and former director [[WordOfGod Tomonobu Itagaki]] [[CreatorsFavorite likes her]]. She was even allowed to appear in the UpdatedRerelease of ''[=DOA2=]'' for the Platform/{{Xbox}}, albiet without her own story mode.
195** Marie Rose and Honoka were introduced in ''[=DOA5U=]'' and ''[=DOA5LR=]'' respectively as extra characters with no specific story mode, but have gained so much popularity after their debut that they've been [[WolverinePublicity front and center in the cover and promotional material]] for ''Xtreme Beach Volleyball 3'', appeared in ''VideoGame/MusouStars'' as playable characters, and have been part of several cross-company promotions (like guest characters in a ''VideoGame/SenranKagura'' game). It's no surprise the sixth episode has promoted them to full-fledged characters that are very prominent in its Story Mode.
196** Ryu Hayabusa's cute apprentice Momiji has earned a lot of fans through her flashy yet practical moveset and gentle NiceGirl attitude. As of ''6'' she is the single most requested character for [=DLC=] by a huge margin, according to a [=GameFAQs=] poll. She was eventually announced to return in Version 1.11 during the Tokyo Game Show 2019.
197** Momiji’s fellow ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' newcomer, Rachel, also has quite the fanbase because of her slow but highly-damaging moveset and her rather [[{{LikesOlderWomen}} mature]] look and personality, in contrast to the more young-looking newcomers. She even ranked as the 2nd most requested DLC character for ''6,'' right behind Momiji.
198** Anyone who has heard of ''Dead or Alive: Xtreme Venus Vacation'' took a strong liking to the new character Misaki, to the point someone made an actual mod of her. This leads to demands for bringing her in the next installment should Team Ninja puts her in future games.
199** Luna gained this status after her debut in ''Venus Vacation''. Her weird personality while speaking in monotone and her rather hilarious interactions with Ayane made her one of the two popular girls in ''Venus Vacation''.
200** To a lesser exent, Kokoro’s mother, Miyako. For a very minor character whose overall screentime is barely over 2 minutes, she sure has quite a lot of fans who either want to see her playable to break the series’s habit of having mostly young women in its roster and/or just think she’s very hot for a 40yo mother, having a lot of (mostly erotic) fanart and animations made of her.
201* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' Trish is somewhat of a BreakoutCharacter. In the [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry1 first game]], she was only vital to the plot where [[spoiler:she was a look-alike of Dante's mother: Eva created to trick him into coming to Mallet Island]]. She later appears as a SecretCharacter in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry2'' after fans complained about her not being playable in the original. She later returns in [[Anime/DevilMayCryTheAnimatedSeries the anime]] (after being absent in the [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening third game]]) 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.
202* Several in the ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' series, especially with (optional-encounter) characters who have much more backstory and impact than meets the eye:
203** The Morpheus AI in the original game is an optional encounter that is "rewarded" by picking a few locks (that you may have spent as much as or more time doing, depending on how you did it and your skills) and an insignificant number of skill points. The conversation he has with the protagonist is considered one of the game's most interesting conversations, raising some interesting philosophical ideas. One of the games most quoted lines is the AI's idea that "God was a dream of good government".
204** The NSF soldier you find locked up in the UNATCO secure holding facility when JC is imprisoned a third of the way through the game. Despite the fact that nothing in the game indicates you should go out of your way to save him, he's a OneHitPointWonder, and you don't get any reward for helping him get to the Liberty Island helipad besides his thanks and a mention that he can "make it from here", many players choose to save him rather than leave him behind (and spent the whole time escorting him) because the character is ridiculously charismatic and innocent.
205** Aimee, the homeless woman you meet when you first go to Paris, who asks you to kill the greasels who murdered several of her cats. The character has received a MemeticMutation for her victory cry (when you complete the missions) of "You saved mah kittehs!" in a heavily-accented French voice.
206** The Omar in ''[[VideoGame/DeusExInvisibleWar Invisible War]]'', TheSocialDarwinist Cyborg HiveMind that maintains the game's BlackMarket. This is most likely due to their interesting appearance and the Omar Trader's awesome voice.
207** Malik in ''[[VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution Human Revolution]]'', who mostly exists as your comm support, but proved to be so popular that players would go back and replay the Hong Kong crash mission to save her life (and prevent her from being killed and harvested for augs).
208* ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'':
209** Asagi and female archers are quite popular as well. The former was 5th in a Japanese NIS character popularity poll and the latter was 11th. Most of Asagi's popularity comes from the fact that [[TheWoobie she's been largely unsuccessful]] in her quest for main character status (only appearing as a SecretCharacter in several ''Disgaea''-related games; NIS has seemed to turn this into a RunningGag for her).
210** Prinnies even got their own SpinOff.
211** Salvatore from ''VideoGame/Disgaea3'', despite being a side character from the game's QuirkyMinibossSquad, makes as much cameo apperances in other games just as frequently as the main characters.
212** Pleinair 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.
213* The two sets of ''[[Franchise/DotHack .hack//]]'' games have each had at least one Darkhorse: CheerfulChild Mistral for the first four (popular enough that she got to appear in the [[Anime/DotHackSign Sign epilogue]], the only not-plot-important character to do so), and {{Proud Warrior|RaceGuy}} Alkaid for ''[[VideoGame/DotHackGU G.U.]]''.
214** Azure Kite of ''G.U.'' is also extremely popular, what with the [[IncendiaryExponent fire]] and the ImpossiblyCoolWeapon and the badass and...
215** Skeith. Mainly due to CreepyAwesome.
216* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'':
217** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestI'': Curiously, the Green Dragons and their kin[[note]]Blue Dragons and Dread Dragons[[/note]] became very popular. They don't typically pop up much in the series, but when they do, it's always pretty cool to see them.
218** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestII'': While never addressed in canon or other games, quite a few fans are fond of the Princess of Cannock, making up little stories and fanart for her. She did get something of a role via an Expy in Kiefer's sister, Leeza, in ''Dragon Quest VII'', but the personalities of these two are quite different.
219** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'': The Warriors in general, though the female Warrior most distinctly. She appears as various [=NPCs=] in future installments of the series. The male Marital Artist has likewise gone on to appear in future games, as well.
220** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'':
221*** Psaro, who gets his HeelFaceTurn moment in the remakes; Alena, who has a manga feature her as a main character and a game loosely based on her and her two helpers; and Torneko, who has his own series of ''[[{{Roguelike}} Mysterious Dungeon]]'' games. Every main character except the hero and Borya has appeared at least once in the ''VideoGame/FortuneStreet'' series.
222*** Alena in general is considered practically the poster girl of the Dragon Quest series. It helps she's a tough princess who not only dresses conservatively, but is also a BareFistedMonk who will easily dole out the most physical damage as a character in the party. Her high CriticalHit rate also makes her an ideal party member for taking down {{Metal Slime}}s and all their variants.
223*** Kiryl in particular tends to get quite a bit more fan art then you'd expect, and as such appears pretty often in spinoffs. Healie also goes from being a GuestStarPartyMember (albeit the first playable monster one ever) to being one of the most reoccurring characters in the series.
224*** Sofia, the female version of the Hero, who was popular enough to receive an appearance in the arcade crossover game ''Monster Battle Road'' alongside her male counterpart, in contrast to the other heroines who didn't get so much as a nod. There were many fans who lamented her exclusion in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' when Solo appeared as an alternative costume for Hero and not her.
225** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'':
226*** The only reason why Ladja becomes so much more important in the remake is because of how popular he was. To a far lesser extent, [[spoiler: Dwight "Da White" Dwarf also goes from a memorable WarmupBoss from the beginning of the game to a full fledged party member.]]
227*** Prince Harry is also very popular for a GuestStarPartyMember, with many wanting to see a version where he permanently joins the team.
228*** You can't forget Tuppence either, who goes from a completely random recruitable generic soldier with weird hair to a wisecracking CasanovaWannabe.
229*** Pankraz is also one, mostly for being one of the [[GoodParents best fathers ever]] and a [[MemeticBadass Badass]] at that.
230** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVI'':
231*** Dhuran appears to be the most popular member of the Dread Fiends by quite a bit. Being a Noble Demon and not bad looking certainly help.
232*** Among the main party, Carver qualifies. While he lacks the innate popularity that comes with having an attractive design like Ashlynn, Milly or Terry, his reliability throughout the game in battle and modest-yet-supportive Big Brother Mentor personality have endeared many to him.
233*** Due to his rather unique character and situation, even among the rest of the party, Amos is this for some, at least the some who bother giving him the time of day, that is.
234*** Lizzie is also quite popular due to her incredible stats and general usefulness as a party member. The remake establishing her as Terry's somewhat Adorkable Stalker with a Crush gives her further Ugly Cute points.
235** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'': The tiny little Pod/Foo (later: Pip/Conk) families of monsters, who are critter versions of the default heroes of ''Dragon Quest III'', are well-liked by the fans due to their cuteness and paying homage to the third game.
236** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'': Yangus was popular enough to earn his own spin-off. Marcello qualifies, given his fangirls.
237** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'':
238*** Gemma, the hero's sweet childhood friend and potential Love Interest; it's been lamented that she wasn't a full-time party member. Prince Faris is very popular as well, another common sentiment being that he'd have made an organic addition to the party after his arc.
239*** For the villains, Tyriant is well-liked despite not lasting very long. Krystalinda is popular as well.
240*** Among the party members themselves, Sylvando is extremely popular despite arguably having the least amount of story relevance; to the point of placing first in the western popularity poll. By virtue of his own popularity, characters affiliated with him such as Dave and the Soldiers of Smile tend to also be very well-liked, which resulted in them gaining some focus in Sylvando's character episode in the Switch version.
241*** Queen Marina, the ruler of the land beneath the waves, who even after meeting her the first time, still helps you out again later in the story. It also helps that she's very beautiful, elegant, and probably the best ruler of any kingdom in the game.
242* ''VideoGame/DrawnToLife'' has Crazy Barks, whose defining trait is that he likes to [[MemeticMutation TALKINALLCAPSWITHNOSPACESBETWEENWORDS!]]. There is a lot of fan art of this character, especially on Website/DeviantArt.
243[[/folder]]
244
245[[folder:E-L]]
246* ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' has a good few surprisingly likeable minor characters roaming the vast open world.
247** The most literal example is probably Leonard, otherwise known as the emaciated and [[HugeRiderTinyMount way-too-small]] horse Radahn rides. The horse is never officially given a name ('Leonard' comes from datamining), but the absolutely ridiculous image (Leonard is so small compared to Radahn it's easy to miss that Radahn has a mount at all) and the surprisingly sweet backstory that Radahn only learned the GravityMaster magic he was best known for [[MundaneUtility so he could still ride]] [[ABoyAndHisX his childhood mount]].
248** Then there's the giant tortoises found scattered across the Lands Between, who the fandom have quickly taken to. Special mention goes to Miriel, Pastor of Vows, a tortoise cleric wearing a pope hat who's happy to teach you incantations from any book you give him, and unlike Corhyn won't whine about any being heretical.
249** The Living Jars are quite popular due to their odd appearance and representative Alexander, who has a game-spanning questline that's both funny and genuinely moving, along with being the game's equivalent to the Catarina knights of ''VideoGame/DarkSouls''.
250** Blaidd the Half-Wolf is the game's resident Guts expy and much beloved for his cool appearance, amiable nature, and brotherly relationship with Ranni.[[spoiler: Which makes the end of his questline where you have to MercyKill him after he goes mad a massive PlayerPunch.]] Plus, his armor has a ''Frozen'' reference.
251** Blackguard Big Boggart is well-liked for his rough demeanor, HiddenHeartOfGold, and striking up a friendship with the player character over boiled shellfish, to the point where the most common reason Dung Eater's questline is avoided is because Boggart dies if his quest was done first.
252** Sorceress Sellen's endearing AffablyEvil personality made her well-liked from the start, but her popularity skyrocketed after hackers found her model and discovered that she was very attractive under her mask.
253** The Tibia Mariners are quite well-liked for random and fairly easy field bosses for just how ''ridiculous'' they are- glowing skeletons paddling ghost boats and wielding a massive alpine horn.
254** Millicent is an exceptionally popular NPC for her world-spanning questline ([[spoiler: which, if completed, will allow you to spare Melina ''without'' being locked into a DownerEnding]]), character development from an IllGirl to an ActionGirl, and the bittersweet nature of her ending.
255** Rya is very popular for a minor NPC due to her kind nature and the reveal that [[spoiler: she's a Man-Serpent, the only friendly one you meet]].
256* Somewhat in the same vein as Battle Garegga and Black Heart, CAVE's ''VideoGame/{{Espgaluda}}'' gives us [[TheDragon Princess Seseri of Shinra]], the [[CainAndAbel half-sister of the main protagonists]] who desperately wants her father, [[BigBad King Jakou]], to [[WellDoneSonGuy love her]]. Appearing as both the Stage 1 boss and the penultimate boss of the first game, Seseri definitely served the "rival boss" air that Garegga's Black Heart maintained. Because of her popularity, her death in the first game was somewhat retconned as she was brought back in the second game as an automaton, serving as the penultimate boss once again, and with a "True" form similar to CAVE's many [[TrueFinalBoss TFB's]]. In Espgaluda II's [[ArrangeMode Black Label]] edition, the original Seseri, non-cyborg, was even PromotedToPlayable!
257* Creator/HansChristianAndersen from ''VideoGame/FateExtra CCC'' isn't a main character, yet still manages to be one of the most remembered things about the game, possibly thanks to the sheer hilarity of him being a DeadpanSnarker middle-aged man [[OlderThanTheyLook in the body of a young boy]], [[VocalDissonance while still having the voice of an adult man]]. The scene in which he tells off ''[[Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh Gilgamesh]]'', [[StoryBreakerPower of all characters]], most certainly helps.
258* ''[[VideoGame/FZero F-Zero GX/AX]]'' gave us the AX racers. Each are unique in every way possible from the already massive set of 30 unique racers.
259** But of that group, it's usually [[TimePolice Phoenix]], Princia, and [[ActionGirl Lily]] who get the most attention.
260** To a lesser extent, Samurai Goroh is one. Despite being a ButtMonkey in ''GX'', the anime revamped him as a much better-looking long hair LovableRogue mentor to [[SupportingProtagonist Ryu Suzaku/Rick Wheeler]] whose penchant for enacting awesome moments was second only to Captain Falcon himself. They also gave him one ''fox'' of a wife in the form of [[FemmeFatale Lisa Brilliant]]. Come ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'', he's the ''only'' character in the series besides Falcon to get non-trophy representation as an Assist Trophy.
261** More or less, the series could be summed up as "[[SpotlightStealingSquad Captain]] [[SeriesMascot Falcon]] + Everyone Else". There's a favorite out there for everyone.
262* The dinaurians from ''VideoGame/FossilFighters''. A little more than halfway through the first game, it concludes its ToBeAMaster plot with the main character actually becoming a master, and shifts focus to a group of [[LizardFolk dinosaur-like aliens]] who want to take over the Earth. Their plot wraps up, and they don't appear at all in the sequel (save for in some DownloadableContent). However, almost the ''entire fandom'' for the two games revolves around them, especially the [[SuperMode more saurian Battle Forms]] they can take, composed of HardLight.
263* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'':
264** Anthony [[MeaningfulName Carmine]], a RedShirt killed early in the campaign. He was playable in multiplayer, and was so popular that it was very common to fight [=COG=] teams filled entirely with Anthony Carmines. In the sequel, Carmine was brought back -- or more specifically, his brother, Ben Carmine who has a similar personality [[spoiler:He dies as well although he was given more screen time and a dramatic, emotive death unlike Anthony]]. Then in the third game, Carmine is resurrected yet again with Clay Carmine, with a running gag about his family's expendability with Clay narrowly avoiding death multiple times. [[spoiler: However, Clay does survive in the end]].
265** From the Locust side we have [[TheDragon General RAAM]]. Despite appearing only about three times in the first game and having a much smaller role than Skorge and Myrrah. He is so popular that an entire DLC for the third game is a single-player prequel story where RAAM returns, and is playable.
266** Among the weapon selection, the Gnasher Shotgun seemingly acquired EnsembleDarkhorse status. It's fairly obvious that the Lancer and its [[ChainsawGood Chainsaw Bayonet]], the signature weapons of the series, were intended to be the weapon people relied on most. However, the shotgun was so strong that 90% of the community used it exclusively, and foamed at the mouth when Epic [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks tweaked it in the sequel]].
267* ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'' has Rief's sister, [[SequelHook Nowell]], who enjoys a good fanbase for a OneSceneWonder.
268* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' series:
269** '''Bridget.''' Through the sheer power of MemeticMutation, she quickly became one of the most popular characters in the entire franchise, especially in Japan where she even outranks other very popular characters around the world like Dizzy, Baiken, Johnny, Slayer, and even Elphelt from the more recent entries. It's to the point where Bridget and her backstory were how many people even became aware of ''Guilty Gear'' in the first place. With each new character popularity poll, Bridget consistently topped several of the lists, so when it was finally confirmed that Bridget would become the first character of ''-STRIVE-'''s second DLC season, the fandom erupted in joy. The later reveal that Bridget has come around to identifying as a trans woman attracted even more eyes to the series, in part due to the representation she provided.
270** Robo-Ky. Despite being Ky's [[EvilTwin evil robot twin]] who wears the same clothes and even copies some of his moveset, Robo-Ky developed a [[LovableSexManiac distinct]], [[PluckyComicRelief separate]] identity that fans found charmingly hilarious. His appearance in ''Xrd Revelator''s story mode boosted his popularity further when [[spoiler:he and Venom defeat Bedman (a feat that other characters could not pull before)]]; however, his unplayable status in that game was considered a missed opportunity by many.
271** Within minutes of seeing footage of him, fans immediately proclaimed their adoration of ''Xrd'' story NPC Leo Whitefang. He was confirmed as DLC. Cue fandom exploding. He grew to great importance in the main story, and returned for ''-STRIVE-'' as part of the default roster.
272** And with the coming of ''Xrd'''s Story Mode, President Gabriel turned into one of these, gaining a surprising amount of popularity after fans finally got to see his combat prowess against Bedman. Now known as a MemeticBadass, people have been requesting that he become playable.
273** While moderately popular in previous installments, [[HandicappedBadass Baiken]] received a massive surge in popularity after her return in Xrd: Rev 2. She’s one of the most played characters both online and in arcades (mostly by new players), as well as gained tons of fan art. It probably helps that she had a [[EyepatchOfPower noticeable]] [[FanservicePack redesign]] that drew a lot of newer fans to her.
274** Goldlewis Dickinson quickly became a fan favorite in ''-STRIVE-'', being a manly badass who wields a freaking armored coffin as a ball and chain, and was considered one of the more memorable characters in the game despite not being playable until the first DLC. His support of Bridget's transition in her arcade mode endeared him to fans even more.
275%%** Let us not forget that [[NiceGirl Dizzy]] would've never have [[BreakoutCharacter broken out]] if the fans haven't fallen in love with her since her days of ''Guilty Gear X''.
276* "Male_07", one of the generic resistance fighter character models from ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' received a lot of [[MemeticMutation memetic fame]] due to being featured in various ''VideoGame/GarrysMod''-made media, such as being [[Webcomic/{{Concerned}} Concerned's]] Gordon Frohman, and John Freeman in the machinima adaptation of ''Fanfic/HalfLifeFullLifeConsequences''.
277** [[RobotBuddy Dog]] was so beloved by the fans that Creator/{{Valve|Software}} ensured he would be the first thing the player sees at the beginning of ''Episode One'', and was reintroduced in ''Episode Two'' by fighting a Strider and ''tearing out its goddamn brain''.
278** [[BadassPreacher Father]] [[OneSceneWonder Grigori]], who appeared in one level and was never even mentioned again, yet is still remembered as one of the best parts of the game.
279** A large amount of fans of the [[WhatCouldHaveBeen original storyline of Half-Life 2]] like Animal, who would be a rebellious footsoldier and he is noted for being frantic and nervous. He would only be seen briefly before getting killed by a sniper.
280** Adrian Shephard, player character of the ''[[VideoGame/HalfLifeOpposingForce Opposing Force]]'' expansion, had no affect on the overall storyline and isn't mentioned anywhere else in the series, but many years after his appearance fans still clamour for him to return to the series in some way.
281** An IntendedAudienceReaction by the developers of ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' is the Weighted CompanionCube, it's literally just an inanimate box. They needed to make sure you kept that Cube with you as your friend; when people ''didn't'' care about it, they'd leave it behind and not realize they needed it to complete puzzles. The Space Core from the end of ''VideoGame/Portal2'' joins the Companion Cube amongst the darkhorses of the series.
282* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'':
283** Sergeant Major Avery Johnson started out as an expendable, randomly spawned Marine in ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved''. In ''VideoGame/Halo2'', he is promoted three pay grades at once, from Staff Sergeant to Sergeant Major, and hailed as the only survivor besides the Master Chief of the events of the first ''Halo'' (despite the presence throughout the game of Gunnery Sergeant Marcus Stacker and PFC Chips Dubbo, two other Marine survivors). In ''VideoGame/Halo3'', Johnson [[HeroicSacrifice heroically sacrifices]] himself so Chief can destroy the Flood. There were many ManlyTears during that scene.
284** Stacker and Dubbo themselves earned this status when, like [[Franchise/StarWars Wedge]], they both end up living through the entire original trilogy. Stacker even gets to show up in ''VideoGame/Halo4''.
285** The [[BadassNormal ODSTs]] ([[ItsRainingMen Orbital Drop Shock Troopers]]) quickly became a respected part of the franchise, with even the employees at Bungie considering these guys to be their favorites; with a name like that, what's not to like? They even got their own GaidenGame in ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'', with one of its leads, the Creator/NathanFillion-voiced Edward Buck, becoming popular enough to find his way into the main series in ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'' (and quickly becoming of one of ''that'' game's most popular characters).
286** Speaking of ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'', 031 Exuberant Witness was one of the few parts of the campaign that ''didn't'' [[BrokenBase break the base]], in large part for being both quirky ''and'' helpful, not to mention being one of the few unambiguously ''good'' Forerunner [=AIs=] in the entire franchise.
287** The Arbiter is an interesting case; he started off as a BaseBreakingCharacter when he debuted as one of ''Halo 2''[='s=] leads, but after [[DemotedToExtra being demoted to a supporting character]] in ''Halo 3'', his [[VindicatedByHistory reputation steadily improved]] to the point where he's now one of the most popular characters in the franchise; ''Halo 2: Anniversary''[='s=] terminals revolve largely around him, and he's considered one of the best parts of ''Halo 5''[='s=] campaign.
288* Every edition of the ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon'' series (with the possible exception of the Platform/GameBoy editions) contains at least one, usually a popular non-marriage candidate. Some of the more prominent examples include Pastor Carter (from the Mineral Town games), Flora and Carter the Archeologist (the Wonderful Life versions), Marian (Grand Bazaar), Alisa (Island of Happiness/Sunshine Island) and Eileen (The Tale of Two Towns).
289** Marriageable darkhorses (usually male) include Cliff (Mineral Town), Vaughn (Island of Happiness), Chase (Tree of Tranquility), Dirk (Grand Bazaar) and Cam (The Tale of Two Towns).
290** In ''A Wonderful Life'', Lumina was so popular that she was turned into a marriage candidate in the Special Edition of of the game.
291* In ''VideoGame/AHatInTime'', there's Queen Vanessa. [[OneSceneWonder She only shows up for one level]], but it's a memorable one, because, in what is by and large a cute adventure of whimsy and nostalgia, she manages to be [[SurprisinglyCreepyMoment genuinely and legitimately terrifying]]. It's partially for her [[{{Yandere}} backstory]], and partially the fact that she temporarily turns the game into a paranoia-inducing StealthBasedMission akin to ''VideoGame/AmnesiaTheDarkDescent''.
292* ''VideoGame/{{Homeworld}}'''s Kadeshi are a Darkhorse species [[spoiler:or rather [[LongLostRelative culture]]]]. Whether or not the Kushan eradicated them is a subject of [[FlameWar debate]].
293* Varla Guns from ''VideoGame/TheHouseOfTheDeadOverkill''. The Platform/PlayStation3 version even has two exclusive chapters where you play as her, because people loved her so much on the Wii version.
294* ''VideoGame/HuniePop'': Of the four {{Secret Character}}s, the most popular seems to be [[spoiler:the badass [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe alien]] bounty hunter Celeste]].
295* ''[[VideoGame/Huniepop2 HuniePop 2: Double Date]]'': Ashley, a [[BritishRockstar British punk rocker]] tomboy chick, quickly won over huge sections of the playerbase with her hilarious dialogue and a [[NiceGirl surprisingly sweet personality]].
296* ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'' has a huge cast, so expect to find a lot of characters that fall under this trope.
297** [[EvilDuo Burn and Gazelle]] only appear in few episodes and they're the only that don't appear in ''GO'', but they still have a massive amount of fanart and fanfiction. Their popularity comes from their HoYay moments, making them one of the most popular ships in the fandom, their love/hate relationship, their contrasting personalities and the fact that they merged their teams to make a single strong team.
298** Nepper became a fan favourite thanks to all his badass efforts and abilities in his match with Chaos against Raimon. More exactly, he's the only character who ever broke through Aphrodi's "Heaven's Time". And he appeared in only '''2''' episodes out of '''127'''.
299** Speaking of Aphrodi, he's also a fan favourite. He only appeared in few episodes [[note]]in the original series at least, but he was popular LONG before he started to appear more[[/note]], but he's one of the most [[AgentPeacock badass characters, while looking fabulous at the same time]], which is enough to make him popular. But what really made him a fan favourite was that time when he joined Raimon for a while to help them in the matches against Diamond Dust and Chaos and even helped Fubuki with his issues. He could have stayed more with them if he hadn't injured in the second match, but he was still glad to help them.
300* The ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' series has a few, but the most surprisingly popular character has to be Jinx. He only appeared in three missions in the '''ENTIRE''' series.
301* Yoyo from ''VideoGame/JetSetRadio'' became this when he was RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap in ''Future''. Although he is kidnapped for 1/3rd of the game, he's the most popular character amongst the female gamers, and you'll be surprised by how much fan art and fanfiction he has. Cube, the goth girl, is this for the male gamers.
302* ''VideoGame/JurassicWorldEvolution2'':
303** Among the creatures new to the sequel, the ''Tylosaurus'' has quickly cemented a place as one of the most popular new creatures, thanks to it being by and large the single best creature in the game in terms of financial investment to appeal ratio, and a small pod can single handedly carry a park over the 5 star finish line, a godsend in Challenge mode due to ''Tylosaurus'' being available in Challenge mode regardless of map, especially the maps where space is at a premium or the roster of dinosaurs is limited.
304** The ''Kronosaurus'' for not only being an accurate pliosaur especially compared to the ''Liopleurodon'', but also being the first marine reptile to be able to take on the ''Mosasaurus'' and ''win''. The ''Kronosaurus'' is also a great alternative to the ''Tylosaurus'', especially if it is available in Challenge Mode, as it has similar appeal, cost and more importantly, it has slightly lower space requirement. This means that, coupled with the Humble trait, you can house two ''Kronosaurus'' in 5-section lagoons that are otherwise only big enough for one ''Tylosaurus''.
305** The four new genera of the Feathered Species Pack have made a great first impression to fans, particularly with their [[ShownTheirWork realistic designs]]. ''Deinocheirus'' and ''Yutyrannus'' are praised for being {{Feathered Fiend}}s, while ''Sinosauropteryx'' and ''Jeholopterus'' have received love for looking [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter extremely adorable]].
306** The ''Utahraptor'' from the Cretaceous Predator Pack for being the first dromaeosaurid to outright avert the RaptorAttack trope, not only sporting an up-to-date design but also being the first raptor to ''not'' hunt larger dinosaurs in packs.
307* [[DemonicSpiders Eggplant Wizards]] from ''VideoGame/KidIcarus''. In fact, one was even a main villain on ''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster'' and got on the cover of the second game.
308%%** [[HotGoddess Pa]][[{{Adorkable}} lu]][[{{Troll}} tena]] was also quite popular thanks to her redesign in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl''. Following ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'', the fanbase just kept growing from there.
309** ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'':
310*** [[HotGoddess Phosphora]] is quite popular, to the point where she was made an Assist Trophy in ''Super Smash Bros. For 3DS/Wii U''.
311*** There's also the unnamed little girl from Chapter 18, for contributing to the somber opening of [[WhamEpisode the chapter]]. It's to the point that there's a myriad of fan theories revolving around her.
312*** [[MsFanservice Pandora]] is this, but mostly because of her design.
313* ''VideoGame/KanColle'':
314** The Akatsuki-class Destroyers, mainly for being adorable and somewhat quirky.
315** Kisaragi. between her feminine vanity, flirting attitude towards the player, and her sisterly relationship with Mutsuki, there's a legitimately good reason why she's deserves to be on the spot. [[spoiler:Many fans, especially Americans, are outraged at her first death in Episode 3 of the anime, although TheMovie brings her back ''twice'' due to popular demand.]]
316** Shimakaze's attitude, IconicOutfit, and reputation as the SeriesMascot meta-wise has made her one of the most popular Ship Girls among the fanbase.
317** Being Shimakaze's counterpart, Amatsukaze shares Shimakaze design and popularity. In addition, Amatsukaze's sister ship Yukikaze and Tokitsukaze are often paired together with the two in many fan arts.
318** While the Kongou-class Battleships are very popular themselves for being [[BunnyEarsLawyer a bunch of adorable but deadly weirdos]], Kongou stands out among them and is one of the most memorable Ship Girls for her well-spoken English, {{Catchphrase}}, and VerbalTic.
319** Akagi has won a lot of fans due to her Senpai/Kōhai dynamic with Fubuki, [[BigEater comically ravenous appetite]] (especially if bauxite is involved), and being a girlfriend/wife material.
320** Kaga too, for her no-nonsense personality, ImageSong, and much like Akagi, being a girlfriend/wife material, albeit in a different direction. [[spoiler:Being the only known Ship Girl who [[WasOnceAMan was once an Abyssal]] and has PastLifeMemories of it doesn't hurt a bit.]]
321** Iowa is unsurprisingly [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff a big hit in America]], given her historical counterpart's fame in World War II.
322** Yuudachi, for her memetic "Poi" VerbalTic. She is often paired together with Shigure, for both of them share dog ears inspired hairstyles.
323** Suzuya's cheerful high school girl personality attracted lots of fans. Her popularity only grew more when she was featured in TheMovie.
324** Similarly, Tenryuu's hotheaded personality also gained her quite a name.
325** Fusou and Yamashiro got this treatment for their sisterly relationship with Shigure and their RunningGag of being BornUnlucky. Yamashiro is even more so, mainly due to her aggessiveness and being one of the few known battleship-type Ship Girls who [[spoiler:delivered the fatal blow on a Princess-type Abyssal on her own (albeit with Shigure's backing) in ''Let's Meet at Sea'']].
326* Colonel Radec in ''VideoGame/Killzone2'', due to his badassery and awesome-looking uniform, despite the fact that a) [[DracoInLeatherPants he's a villain]] and b) is a soulless monster who will ''[[BadBoss execute his own men if they don't wear their uniform right]]'' and would probably drop punt a baby into a minefield if it led to achieving his mission.
327* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
328** Among Organization XIII, Demyx easily stands out as the biggest darkhorse. He's arguably the least important member, dying halfway through ''II'' without contributing much to the plot and only gets a ''slightly'' increased role in ''III'', [[spoiler: helping Vexen to recover extra vessels in the Replica Program to revive Roxas]]. Despite this, he has one of the largest fan followings among the organization for being an [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain ineffectual]] PunchClockVillain, while simultaneously having [[WakeUpCallBoss a surprisingly challenging boss fight]].
329** Another example is Zexion. Despite only appearing in a few scenes for Riku's story in ''Chain of Memories'', being killed off by Axel (off-screen in the original, too) before the end of the story and all in all being unimportant, he has a large fanbase for [[{{Bishonen}} pretty obvious reasons]]. It doesn't hurt that he's deliberately presented as one of the more mysterious organization members, leading to heaps of fan-speculation, and acting as TheAtoner in ''3D'' and ''III''.
330* Princess Charm from ''Knockout City''. Despite only appearing in a single trailer for a mock interview [[NeverTrustATrailer and being completely unheard of in the actual game]], she gained a sizable fandom for her LittleMissBadass schtick, delivering a harsh TakeThat towards the idea of the DamselInDistress, and [[NonStandardCharacterDesign being rendered in stunningly fluid pixel art]]. Most of the fan-art depicts her alone, and there were many calling for her to become an AscendedExtra.
331* Herschel Biggs, [[NobleBigotWithABadge Rusty Galloway]] and [[TheCoroner Malcolm Carruthers]] seem to be the most popular characters in the VideoGame/LANoire fandom.
332* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'', being what it is, has a lot of characters that fit this description.
333** Mordekaiser is considered to be low-tier and nigh useless in competitive gameplay. Now go ask the players about him. They will probably go answer with "[[Memes/LeagueOfLegends Mordekaiser es #1. HUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUE.]]"
334** Draven has become this VERY QUICKLY, because that's so Draven. He then went on to obliterate all comers in the Website/GameFAQs 2013 Character Battle, making a strong statement early on by defeating Link, the highest ranked member of the Character Battle's "Noble Nine" (nine characters who used to only ever lose to eachother in 1-on-1 matches).
335* ''VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet'':
336** Clive Handforth from ''[=LBP2=].'' He's a nigh-impossible-to-hate combination of adorable character design (he's made of office supplies!), varying degrees of cynicism, and tendency to utter the best lines in the game. Perhaps if he'd cheer up if he knew he had so many fans! [[TheEeyore Or not.]]
337** General consensus among the Sackfolk of the Imagisphere is that Marlon Random is the most memorable and [[MemeticMutation memetic]] character in ''[=LBP3=]''.
338* ''VideoGame/LiveALive'':
339** Lei Kugo, in spite of being entirely capable of [[spoiler:being KilledOffForReal and ending up as nothing more than an afterthought]], is not only the most popular of the three Earthen Heart disciples, but also a very popular character in general, thanks to her ActionGirl status, as well as for also having the potential to be [[spoiler:the sole female party member in the final chapter]] and for being the most developed major female character in general. It's likely due to this popularity that she's the most common of the three disciples to be portrayed as [[spoiler:the Earth Heart successor]]. Notably, she's the one most featured in the trailers for the remake that deal with the Imperial China chapter.
340** The Mimic Mammet from the Twilight of Edo Japan chapter exists for the sole purpose of blowing itself up soon after it's recruited as part of the chapter's PacifistRun, yet is still a surprisingly popular character who a lot of fans like to portray as sticking around longer in the chapter and even afterwards.
341** The angel Akira summons during his Divine attacks, despite being a generic sprite that can appear on a few different occasions outside of those attacks, is surprisingly popular among fans and shows up in a lot of fan art for Akira, usually being portrayed as either a sort of GuardianAngel or FightingSpirit for him, and is even sometimes shipped with him.
342[[/folder]]
343
344[[folder:M-O]]
345* ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom2''
346** Ruby Heart and Amingo, who are [[OriginalGeneration original characters]]. They managed to appear in the ''VideoGame/SNKVsCapcom: Card Fighters Clash'' series, though.
347** And [[VideoGame/{{Strider}} Strider Hiryu]], who's one of the most requested characters for ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'', thanks to his previous appearances. To give you an idea, he ended in third place in one of Capcom's poll for favorite ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom''[=/=]''Franchise/StreetFighter'' characters, with VideoGame/{{Mega Man|Classic}} and [[VideoGame/FinalFight Poison]] before him. That doesn't sound all that good, until you realize that the poll featured exactly '''111''' characters. This actually seems to have paid off in Hiryu's favor. While he didn't make the cut (due to licensing issues) for ''[=MvC3=]'', fan demand almost singlehandedly ensured that he'd be joining the roster of ''[[UpdatedRerelease Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3]]''.
348* The ''Franchise/MassEffect'' series, especially [[VideoGame/MassEffect2 the second episode]], gives us a ''slew'' of {{One Scene Wonder}}s like [[CoolOldLady Aethyta the bartender (and asari matriarch)]], [[InternalAffairs Gianna Parasini]], the crime boss Aria T'Loak, Charr the krogan who attempts to woo his Asari girlfriend with ([[SoBadItsGood bad]]) poetry, the Tupari Sports Drink vending machine on the Citadel, "Refund Guy" in both games (he still hasn't gotten his refund, after two years!), [[HeroicWannabe Conrad Verner]], the [[JustFriends Friend Zoned Turian]] and ValleyGirl Quarian on Illium, the [[AGodAmI "Biotic God"]] volus Niftu Cal, [[Creator/AdamBaldwin Kal'Reegar]] (who has [[http://twitter.com/KalReegar his own twitter page now]]!), [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Shiala]], Urz the varren, and '''especially''' [[AscendedMeme Blasto the Hanar Spectre]].
349** Also Techno-Turian and the Turian Gardener on the Citadel. [[WildMassGuessing Who might be the same person.]]
350** [[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]] 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.]]
351** Ken and Gabby, the engineers on the ''Normandy'' and [[spoiler:the main reason you should go into the Omega 4 relay ''right away'' after they are kidnapped]].
352** ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' doesn't have a FinalBoss in the traditional sense, so the final enemy ends up being a [[{{Mooks}} Marauder]], not really different than any of the other ones that you fight throughout the game. He's become very popular, and has been [[FanNickname given the nickname]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=467pmIX-oZo Marauder]] [[http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/Vulpix1000/motivator48cfb4eb2d9b0e12556e3209267450038685b648.jpg Shields]].
353*** Due to the ending causing [[BrokenBase the base to be blown wide open]], the fandom insist that he is trying to ''save'' Shepard from it.
354--> [[MemeticMutation "We must honour his sacrifice".]]
355** Refund Guy comes back in ''3''. [[spoiler:He finally gets his refund of fifteen credits. The clerk says he's never seen someone so dedicated over a toaster.]]
356*** A few other darkhorses return for [=ME3=], or at least receive some recognition: Aethyta is around the Citadel, and is revealed to be [[spoiler:[[LukeIAmYourFather Liara's Father]]]]. Charr and Kal'Reegar both come back [[spoiler: for massive TearJerker. Charr dies fighting the indoctrinated rachni, and leaves behind a poem to be sent to his asari wife/ex-girlfriend; Kal'Reegar sacrifices himself fighting the Reapers.]] Lastly, Aria comes back to offer you some sidequests. (She also acts as a temporary party member during the Omega DLC, of which she is the central character.)
357** [[TheCaptain Captain]] (later {{Major|lyAwesome}}) [[BadassBystander Kirrahe]], loved for his HoldTheLine and DareToBeBadass speeches by the fandom. Many wished that he was a party member, making his [[spoiler:potential TakingTheBullet moment from Mass Effect 3 a huge tear jerker.]]
358** After the first game, there was a lot of attention paid to the Luna VI (its final message said "Help" in a binary code, leading many to believe it was actually an AI). Toward the end of the third game, we learn that [[spoiler:EDI, a rather major character, ''is'' that VI -- upgraded, of course]].
359* The ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series has Psycho Mantis, ever-popular for his NoFourthWall MindScrew boss fight, Sniper Wolf, who still succeeds in [[TearJerker making gamers cry]], the [[spoiler:AI simulation]] Colonel and his [[MemeticMutation memetically-delicious]] "I need scissors! 61!", and the perplexing example of Raikov, who exists solely to mock [[ReplacementScrappy Raiden]], be knocked unconscious and impersonated (and provide some HoYay with the game's BigBad, but [[BlatantLies surely that's irrelevant]]). The best example, however, has to be [[CompanionCube The Cardboard Box]] (tm).
360** This may have led to Raikov's re-appearance in ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps Portable Ops]]'', this time as a playable character, who despite having limited relevance to the main story, ended up having more lines than in ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 3|SnakeEater}}''.
361** Psycho Mantis ends up coming BackFromTheDead briefly in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', and is seen as a child in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain''.
362** The [[spoiler:Colonel AI]] from ''Metal Gear Solid 2'' is so popular that he's basically entirely eclipsed the [[spoiler:actual Colonel]] in terms of personality and memorability. Even in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' and ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 4|GunsOfThePatriots}}'', there were references to the [[spoiler:Colonel AI]] (in ''4'', this meant an EasterEgg flashback of something Snake couldn't possibly have known about), and the [[spoiler:real Colonel]]'s personality was changed to be a little more {{Cloudcuckoolander}} to bring it in line with [[spoiler:the Colonel AI]]. [[spoiler:The Colonel AI]] is probably the only thing about ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 2|SonsOfLiberty}}'' that even its detractors liked.
363** The End from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' for having what is considered by many fans the most awesome boss battle in the entire series besides Psycho Mantis (and to some, the best boss fight in gaming history). No other enemies, no music, just you and a 100-year-old, part-plant, ghillie suit-clad veteran sniper in a tense SniperDuel over a massive old-growth forest area. Not only is the old man nearly impossible to spot and know the whole forest inside-out, he has the ability to outrun Snake and ''photosynthesise'' to recover his stamina. The most notable thing is the sheer number of {{Outside The Box Tactic}}s you can use to beat him: [[spoiler:use thermal goggles to see his footprints, catch and release his parrot and see where it flies to (or if you're feeling cruel simply shoot it to deprive him of his spotter, but be careful because this infuriates him and makes him more aggressive), use the directional microphone to hear his breathing or snoring or his loudly admonishing his little bird, hide in the river using the crocodile head as cover, using the KonamiCode to reveal him on the Map. If all else fails, just save the game when his fight begeins, then wait at least 8 days and he will die of old age, which is what he's most well known for.]]
364** [[ButtMonkey Johnny Sasaki]] (who gets a major role in ''[=MGS4=]'').
365** ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' has Monsoon. He appears in the game for about five minutes and then his boss fight begins in which he is killed. But his [[LargeHam infamous "memes speech"]] before his boss fight, the [[DetachmentCombat uniqueness]] and [[ThatOneBoss intensity]] of [[AwesomeBosses/VideoGames the fight itself]], and his [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic awesome boss theme]] have led to him having a huge internet fanbase, way disproportionate to his screen time.
366* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'':
367** Kraid, despite the fact that the games have given little to no background on who he is, is popular for his Kaiju-like design being an epic display of the SequelEscalation in ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' and the fact he was one of the earliest bosses Samus faced, alongside Ridley and Mother Brain. In fact, him being overshadowed by [[SpotlightStealingSquad Ridley]] only made him even more popular as fans wanted the underutilized big boy to make a comeback in a 3D game[[note]]especially when ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' development team revealed he would been featured as Meta-Kraid if they had more time)[[/note]] rather having another Ridley boss fight. When a trailer for ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'' shows Samus fighting Kraid (or maybe another of his species) in full 3D graphics, fans were ecstatic to say the least.
368** Upon revelation of ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM,'' fans quickly fell in love with Anthony Higgs, who earned the nickname MBD (Mysterious Black Dude). When the game became notoriously divisive, even those who didn't like the game overall tended to regard Anthony as the best part of it. He's portrayed as Samus' best friend... and unlike the highly contested portrayal of Adam, Anthony actually ''acts like it,'' being a kind, supportive person, with a good sense of humor and respect for Samus. It doesn't hurt that he's also a badass wielding a {{BFG}}.
369** Rundas, the ice-based alien bounty hunter of ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'' certainly has a large following. Most likely because 1) [[{{Pun}} cool powers]]; 2) his [[Creator/ChristopherSabat voice]] and personality; 3) twice he rescues Samus, once from several Pirate shuttles and the other from falling to her death after battling Meta Ridley; 4) out of the three hunters, he seemed to be able to control his corruption the best, well enough in fact that Dark Samus had to take control of him herself to fight Samus; 5) his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nMFLquJeCc hauntingly sad and beautiful boss theme.]]
370*** All of the other bounty hunters to some extent; Ghor, being basically a cyborg version of the [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]], and Gandraya the shapeshifter who [[HoYay/VideoGames seems to like teasing Samus]].
371** Of all the bounty hunters that appeared in ''Metroid Prime: Hunters'', Sylux, only referred to as an 'it' seem to be the most popular. And the ship that appears to follow Samus in the ''Metroid Prime 3'' ending looks very similar to Sylux's.
372* Murray, the Mighty Demonic Skull from ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland''. Originally a one-shot character scheduled to appear only during the opening sequence, feedback on the demo -- which featured the full conversation with a maniacal, animated CardCarryingVillain ''skull'' with an over-the-top EvilLaugh and plans for world domination -- convinced the creators to turn him into a RecurringCharacter who even got a spot in the follow-up, ''VideoGame/EscapeFromMonkeyIsland''. And naturally, he shows up in ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' (in Episode 3, "Lair of the Leviathan").
373** Murray turned out to be such a staple of the series that when Ron Gilbert, creator of the original two games [[CreatorBacklash who didn't like the direction the series took after his departure]], finally got to finish his own trilogy with ''Return to Monkey Island'' he had to specify that ''Curse'' -- and hence Murray -- [[https://twitter.com/grumpygamer/status/1511022135191384067 would still be considered canon on twitter]]. Murray even shows up in the game's announcement trailer.
374--->'''Murray:''' Ron Gilbert told me he'd ''never'' make another ''Monkey Island'' unles-''*gets knocked into the drink*''
375* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'':
376** Yian Kut-Ku has long been a fan favourite monster for its UglyCute design and for being the go-to WakeUpCallBoss ever since [[VideoGame/MonsterHunter2004 the very first game]] on the Platform/PlayStation2. In fact, when Famitsu held a poll about which monsters should return in ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterPortable3rd'', Yian Kut-Ku was ranked #1.
377** ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'':
378*** Kula Ya-Ku, the New World cousin of Yian Kut-Ku, is a cross between an Oviraptor and a giant chicken prone to digging up rocks and throwing them at hunters and monsters alike. A lot of players can't help but feel a kinship to the goofy creature as it is hideously outmatched by monsters but gets by with ingenuity and unorthodox tactics.
379*** Tobi-Kadachi won a lot of fans immediately due to its unique thunder snake/ferret/flying squirrel design, even though it only appeared in the reveal trailer for [[OneSceneWonder six seconds]].
380*** Great Girros is very popular on account of a) having a cool PlagueDoctor looking armour set, and b) the fact it often gets mixed up in fights between the hunter and his large target monster and paralyses the latter, making it a HelpfulMook.
381*** Odogaron. Odo has a legions of fans for several reasons. His armour looks awesome on both male and female characters (males get a {{Samurai}}-esque armour suit, females get a more MsFanservice kunoichi look) and it also offers great stats and useful skills like Critical Eye and Speed Sharpening. Many of its weapons are also top-tier choices, with many Insect Glaive users swearing the Odogaron IG is the best one in the game. Odogaron is also a Turf War champion through sheer [[AxCrazy Az-Craziness]], humiliating Paolumu and defeating Legiana convincingly; only [[spoiler:Vaal Hazak]] has his number in a fight.
382* The ''VideoGame/{{Mother}}'' series has a lot of [[EccentricTownsfolk Quirky NPCs]], so it's got a few darkhorses.
383** ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'' 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.
384*** Compare Tony's prominence in fanart to his actual role, for example.
385*** The ghosts of Osohe Castle in ''VideoGame/Mother3'', particularly the one with the wine goblet, are surprisingly popular for their presence in-game.
386* In ''VideoGame/{{Neptunia}}'', [[Platform/PlayStation3 Noire]] is consistently high in the polls. Appropriate, seeing as the series has primarily been on the [=PlayStation=] brand. Creator/{{Falcom}} is also pretty popular amongst the cast. For the villains, CFW Brave is the highest ranked among all of them (probably because of his NobleDemon traits, in contrast to his fellow Felons), and for [=NPCs=], it's Histoire.
387* Jackle from ''VideoGame/NightsIntoDreams''. This card-throwing maniac has become so popular that even newer fans of the ''[=NiGHTS=]'' series who never played the original game love him to pieces.
388* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' fans seem to love Letz Shake. His status as Ensemble Darkhorse is especially noteworthy in that [[spoiler:[[BaitAndSwitchBoss you don't even get to fight him]] despite his seemingly very powerful Dr. Shake weapon; Henry [[TheWorfEffect kills him]] [[CurbstompBattle in one blow]], and doesn't even give you the courtesy of a replacement boss to fight]].
389** [[spoiler: This has been rectified in the sequel. Letz Shake and Dr. Shake have combined to form Dr. Letz Shake. Now with awesome new VerbalTic. Exclamation mark.]]
390** There's also Bad Girl, one of the most recognizable characters from the first game, probably for being the most psychotic (and having an awesome theme song.) Also, being hot.
391** ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle'' has [[ElegantGothicLolita Margaret]]. Reaper, reaper that's what people call me...
392** If the staggering amount of fanart and cosplays are anything to go by, Dr. Naomi is quite loved by the fanbase. Half the reason due to her knockers and all the cool stuff that she provides Travis, including [[spoiler: a giant mecha.]]
393* ''VideoGame/NuclearThrone'' has Y.V. (Yung Venuz) and Y.C (Yung Cuz). The former is a playable character from Vlambeers earlier game Gun Godz. The latter is an EasterEgg character found in a secret area [[spoiler:and is a DummiedOut playable character]]. Both are well liked in the community due to their design (Y.V. is designed after the Eye of Providence, which incidentally makes him popular with ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' fans as well due to his similarities with Bill Cipher and Y.C. is a round version of Y.V.) and the fact that Y.V. is a FountainOfMemes:
394--> '''Loading Screen''': [[Website/{{Twitter}} #verifyvenuz]]
395* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'': Gareth, Therion's third chapter boss and right-hand man of Darius. Despite only appearing once, he has an oddly large amount of fanart, most of which pair him up with his boss. Probably has to do with the fact that he's genuinely loyal to his boss.
396* In ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'', the EnsembleDarkhorse is probably Oki, who is very much of a badass, take into account he has one of the best fights in the ''game'', is probably one of the characters with the most personality, and he can ''turn into a wolf'', yeah, he's ''that'' awesome. Waka probably counts too.
397** Tobi is also very popular, despite showing up for only one dungeon and in essence being ''A piece of paper''. So popular that the HD port of Okami gave him a trophy, despite normally being set aside for slightly more major events. Most bosses get insults. Tobi gets "Rest In Peace".
398* ''VideoGame/{{Omori}}'' has several {{Ensemble Darkhorse}}s:
399** Captain Spaceboy, or more specifically, his [[SuperpoweredEvilSide edgy alter-ego Space Ex-Boyfriend]]. He serves as the WakeUpCallBoss of the game, has a badass appearance and music, and is also TheWoobie due to his relationship with [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Sweetheart]]. As a result, he has as much fanart as everyone else.
400** Pluto, due to his LargeHam mannerisms and memorable boss fight as [[OneWingedAngel Pluto (Expanded)]].
401** The Bread Twins, despite being a completely optional encounter that's easy to miss, are a surprisingly popular subject for art compared to their role. It helps that their battle theme is considered to be one of the best in the game and [[spoiler: their real life counterparts are bizarre {{Cloudcuckoolander}}s.]]
402** Basil, while an important character, goes missing and doesn't have much screen time. [[spoiler:Even when taking his real world self into account, while even more important to the plot, it's still not much]]. Even so, people love him for his {{Adorkable}}ness and precious nature as a [[InnocentFlowerGirl sweet flower boy]]. [[spoiler:Even more so due to TheReveal that he was an accomplice to the faked suicide of Mari, being the one who thought it and [[GoodCannotComprehendEvil chose to believe that a monster killed her, rather than accept it was Sunny]]. There's a reason [[FanPreferredCouple he's shipped]] with Sunny so much.]]
403** Rococo, the alien artist. A minor character who had the unfortunate pleasure of dating [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Sweetheart]] for the sake of [[LastOfHisKind repopulating his destroyed world]], only to get dumped and banished into the walls of her castle. [[TheWoobie His tragic backstory]] and [[SugarWiki/AwesomeArt impressive artwork]] makes him memorable to say the least.
404[[/folder]]
405
406[[folder:P-R]]
407* 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.
408* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'':
409** [[{{Meganekko}} Chihiro]] from ''VideoGame/Persona3''. She's the only character who returns OlderAndWiser in ''VideoGame/Persona4'', and while she is a Social Link, she's not even a party member! It's probably the glasses... or her ShrinkingViolet with slight dashes of {{Yandere}} streak.
410** Elizabeth as well. In the original release, she was mostly a [[SideQuest side-quest hub character]], but she gathered enough popularity to receive a fully voice acted personal side-quest in the UpdatedRerelease [[spoiler:which ends with her and the main character sleeping together!]]. She also obtained additional quests and dialogue, and was another of the few characters from ''VideoGame/Persona3'' to receive a ShoutOut in ''VideoGame/Persona4'' through [[spoiler:her sister, Margaret.]] In the PSP rerelease, her brother Theodore was introduced as a possible replacement for her in the female protagonist's route, and he's just as popular for his charming looks and niceness. Unfortunately, he tends to be the butt of his sisters' ''very'' painful pranks.
411** Both of them pale in comparison to BadassLongcoat Shinjiro Aragaki, who stands as a fan-favorite party member despite only being available for a small fraction of the game. Unsurprisingly, when the PSP update of the game added the option of playing as a female protagonist, Shinji was not only made a possible love interest, but maxing out his Social Link provides an additional bonus: [[spoiler:it saves him from his PlotlineDeath]].
412*** 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 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]].
413** And once again continuing from above, [[TeamPet Koromaru]] is also beloved for being a BadassAdorable dog who is actually quite the useful party member even though [[spoiler:he's the only permanent character whose Persona cannot evolve]]. The PSP release also gave him more spotlight, allowing for him to be taken for walks and the chance to catch up with your Social Link friends, or your dormmates can tag along as well, levelling up their Social Links should you have some with them depending on the protagonist's gender, Koromaru included if you're playing as the female protagonist.
414* ''VideoGame/Persona4'':
415** Of the minor social links, [[LovableJock Kou Ichijou]] and [[PluckyGirl Ayane Matsunaga]] manage to be ''surprisingly'' popular in spite of both of their minor statuses relative to the game. Both are very well liked in several cult circles for the former's relatability and latter's genuine growth and [[TheCutie adorableness]], and this is helped in no short part due to their [[MemeticMutation legendary portrayals]] in the [[Webcomic/{{Hiimdaisy}} Persona 4 Hiimdaisy Comic]].
416** Mr. Morooka has quite a few fans who find him funny and/or good at teaching. Some even joke that he should have been a party member.
417** The [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} "Spacey Girl"]] and [[JiveTurkey "Funky Student"]] [=NPCs=] (the latter likely helped by his prominence in the [[LetsPlay/Persona4EnduranceRun Endurance Run]]).
418** [[{{Troll}} Shadow Yosuke]] and [[MoodSwinger Shadow Naoto]] tend towards being the most popular of the Shadows. Particularly notable in that the former is only part of the tutorial and doesn't have a special venue like most of the other Shadows, while the latter is, as mentioned above, a BreatherBoss.
419* ''VideoGame/Persona5'':
420** Tae Takemi became an instant hit when she was unveiled as part of the Cooperation cast, simply thanks to her bizarre behavior and excellent design. Once the game was released proper, Takemi continued to garner praise for her sympathetic backstory and for offering one of the steamier DidTheyOrDidntThey Rank 10 scenes in the franchise.
421** Sadayo Kawakami as well for having extremely useful confidant skills and being a rather interesting character despite her first impression. The skills in question also tend to revolve around her doing chores or favors for the protagonist, contrasting how most confidant skills give the protag themselves new abilities; this makes her stand out as someone who's working just as hard for the player's success as the player is. This includes one of the most useful skills in the game, giving the protagonist a massage that allows him to do something at night if he explored a Palace or Mementos that day. If you max out her Confidant, this ability carries over to a New Game+ as soon as your start her confidant again. However a part of this is also the wish fulfillment aspect of a student hooking up with a teacher, which is [[BrokenBase a ''very'' divisive issue]] among the fanbase and makes her being a romantic option the biggest area of complaint about her as a character.
422** Hifumi Togo was planned to be a party member, but was [[DemotedToExtra Demoted To Confidant]] due to the game's story already being packed enough as-is. She has a large fan following, with many people wishing she still had her original expanded role. It helps that she has one of the most useful Confidant gameplay bonuses, allowing party members to swap out mid-battle.
423** Munehisa Iwai won himself many fans due to his interesting backstory, VitriolicBestBuds dynamic with Joker, and his genuine desire to [[spoiler:become a good father for his adopted son]]. It also helps that he's second to Joker in being the game's MrFanservice.
424** Shinya gets this because of his cute little brother relationship with the Protagonist, his sharp tongue, and for his [[MemeticMutation "Get Smoked"]] hat.
425** Sojiro is fairly popular, due to having some of [[VideoGame/Persona4 Dojima]]'s better qualities as a ParentalSubstitute without his more controversial decisions.
426** Lala Escargot, the owner of Crossroads. More than a few people have lamented that she wasn't a Confidant, due to her personality, being a good boss who looks out for the MC, and being a respectful portrayal of a non-hetero-normative person (either a male crossdresser or a transwoman, and referred to with female pronouns), which many found refreshing after seeing the CampGay [[TheScrappy NPC duo]], as well as being a {{Gonk}} person that's not a complete JerkAss like the ones in ''Persona 4''. She placed first in the NPC popularity poll in Japan.
427** Shiho Suzui due to her [[NiceGirl kind nature]] (being one of the first students to actually talk to Joker like a normal person, as well as to talk to Ann without thinking first about Ann's mixed ancestry), her [[TheWoobie Woobie]] status and the [[SmallRoleBigImpact impact she has on the story]]. Many fans hoped that if there were ever an expanded re-release ala ''Persona 4 Golden'' that Shiho would get her own Confidant role, but as of ''Persona 5 Royal'' that unfortunately proved not to be the case.
428* ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}}'':
429** ''VideoGame/Pikmin2001'': 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.
430** ''VideoGame/Pikmin2'': The Waterwraith is probably one of the most memorable bosses in the game, due to being 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]].
431* General Darkhart from ''VideoGame/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanOnline'' has been one of the most popular bosses in the game ever since weapon drops were added. It's a moderately-high-level boss, found in the doldrums of Padres del Fuego, and reaching him requires walking for about ten minutes through a cave system maze and a forest. So why is he so popular? Because he's rumored to drop Famed and [[InfinityPlusOneSword Legendary Weapons]] at a higher rate than other enemies and bosses in the game. It had gotten to the point where people advertised "DH Runs" in their guild chat in order to streamline farming him. ''[[FanRemake The Legend of Pirates Online]]'' turned him into a BreakoutCharacter, giving him his own Lobby menu, a required battle in the Headstone Story Quest, and turning him into the sole drop location of [[InfinityPlusOneSword Jack Sparrow's Blade]].
432* Dak'kon from ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'' was TheStoic WarriorMonk, and his badass HumbleHero behavior was so well-received by fans that in the third edition of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' and onward, his entire race (Githzerai) was rewritten to be more like him.
433* A number of ''VideoGame/PopNMusic'''s many, many, MANY characters have more fans than mascots Nyami and Mimi; Milk, MZD, and Minit's, just to name a few.
434* Bottlooi, an OriginalCharacter from ''VideoGame/PowerBomberman'', is well-liked due to her HardDrinkingPartyGirl design.
435* ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'':
436** Sasha Nein, the German secret agent has an almost absurdly huge fanbase. This is probably because of his deep, smooth, German accent. As well as his calm (but not cold) reaction to the absurdity going around him, as well as a strong hatred for tacky furniture (ugh, that ''tiffany lamp'').
437** ''Psychonauts'' also has D'Artagnan, the original protagonist, who was cut for being hard to render. Nonetheless, he does get a quick cameo reference in the end, and fans seem to have latched on to him as well.
438** [[spoiler:The Milkman, the ManchurianAgent implanted inside [[ConspiracyTheorist Boyd Cooper]]'s mind]] is very popular with fans (and non-fans, too) due to his creepy personality, the memes his presence spawned, and the existence and creativity of his level, the MilkmanConspiracy, which is widely regarded as one of the game's best levels.
439* ''VideoGame/Psychonauts2'' has Sam Boole, who is well-liked for her off-kilter personality. She provides some of the funniest moments in the game and is related to Dogen Boole, contributing to her popularity.
440* ''VideoGame/PunchOut'':
441** WarmUpBoss Glass Joe, who is almost literally the series' [[TheChewToy punching bag]], having a career record of 1-99. Perhaps it's his [[TheWoobie Woobieness]] that's garnered him such a fanbase; perhaps it's due to the [[NotSoHarmlessVillain surprisingly difficult battle against him in the Wii game's Title Defense mode]]. Either way, Joe is perhaps the most popular character in the series, and many fans want him to have his own game.
442** Also Aran Ryan. Or at least after the Wii version turned him into an [[AxCrazy absolute nut.]]
443* Out of the many Puchirus monsters in the obscure DS game ''Puchi Puchi Virus''. A Sea Bee, a goldfish/bee hybrid Puchirus monster, inspired more fanart than other characters.
444* The [[BigEater Hungry Pum(p)kin]] from ''VideoGame/PumkinLand'' [sic] is a character who only appears in one of the game's [[MinigameGame minigames]], yet has a pretty decent MemeticMutation [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/pumkin based around it.]] Especially in YouTubePoop. "I'm very hungry!"
445* ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'' has [[CuteMonsterGirl Draco Centauros]]. She was just a random {{mook|s}} and actually the first (normal) enemy, but was so liked she got upgraded to [[EliteMooks one of the hardest enemies]] in the sequel and then to outright a playable character with her own story mode along [[TheDragon Schezo]]. Then the franchise reboot came and all old characters were gone (immediately qualifying for this trope). Then they made ''15th anniversary'', which brought up the old main cast and a few others... but not her. Fan reaction managed to bring her back up for the ''next game''... And even have other two other fan-favorite characters make a cameo!
446** There's also [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Witch]], who was so popular back in the old Puyo-days that [[http://puyonexus.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=183 she was given her own PC game provided by Compile Discstation Magazine.]] This game's claimed as the best Discstation games out there.
447** Sig is a huge fan favorite, to the point where he can easily be argued to be the most popular SEGA created character in the franchise.
448* ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'':
449** The Galactic Rangers from ''Up Your Arsenal''. Not only among the only characters that give Ratchet proper appreciation for his work, they promise to pay him back for all his help. During the final boss fight, they make good on that promise. Gets better. They have been [[AndTheFandomRejoiced/RatchetAndClank confirmed]] to appear in the ''[[WesternAnimation/RatchetAndClank2016 film]]''!
450** [[MemeticBadass Mr. Zurkon requires no nanotech to survive. Mr. Zurkon lives on fear.]]
451* ''VideoGame/{{Rayman}}'': From the original, Bad/Dark Rayman, who was popular enough to later appear as an unlockable character in Rayman M.
452* The ''VideoGame/ReaderRabbit'' character Vermina is well-liked by most fans, despite being a minor character and villain. Naturally, she is the youngest and most [[HighHeelFaceTurn feminine]] of the latter group, although her adorable IAmSong about loving sailing more than fame or luxury probably also helped.
453* The ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' series is rife with this.
454** The MemeticMutation of the first game's legendarily bad voice acting led to throwaway character Barry Burton becoming a playable character in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' and its "Mercenaries: Reunion" mode. Note that the rest of the Reunion cast consists of the main characters, TheDragon, and the helicopter pilot from ''[=RE5=]'' itself, as well as long-time recurring character Rebecca Chambers; Barry's completely-out-of-the-blue appearance is the [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Crowning Moment of Awesome]] for many fans who enjoyed mocking his [[NarmCharm deadpan delivery of his lines]]. Capcom understands this to the point where his Narm-tastic "I have THIS!" line about his revolver has carried over to ''[=RE5=]'' [[spoiler:and to ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations2'']].
455** HUNK appeared in a flashback cutscene in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' in which his entire team is thrashed. However,he completed his mission as the SoleSurvivor with limited ammo in a [=minigame=]. The [[MemeticBadass badassery implied by that]], and his trademark [[GasMaskMooks gas mask]], made him popular with many fans -- so popular, in fact, that several sequels that never mention him at all have minigames including him as a playable character.
456** Out of all the freaks and mutants in the ''Resident Evil'' series [[BreakoutVillain the one who stands out the most]] is the Nemesis from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis''. His appearance in ''[[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3 Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3]]'' pretty much cements this.
457** Jack Krauser from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' was such a popular villain that he reappears in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheDarksideChronicles'', where he receives a more detailed backstory, and reappeared in ''The Mercenaries 3D''. Not only that, but he's even a favorite among the creators themselves.
458*** Then there's the Merchant from ''[=RE4=]''. The man([[AmbiguouslyHuman ?]]) sets up shop in monster-infested dungeons without a care in the world, has GlowingEyes that indicate he's one of the [[ParasiteZombie Parasite Zombies]] you're killing and yet is perfectly peaceful... but the true reason fans remember him is that the English dub, for no adequately-explained reason, has him TalkLikeAPirate (or given how often guns come up in his dialogue, [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 fans think he talks like an ork]]).
459*** Who could forget [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUtynY6dJLU MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE!]]
460** Manuela from ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheDarksideChronicles The Darkside Chronicles]]'' seems to be heading in this direction despite canon suggesting that she'll only be a one-shot character ([[spoiler:she survives the events of the game and is taken into the custody of the U.S. government]]). That lovely singing voice of hers is probably why. She gets bonus points for [[spoiler:actually becoming one with the [[VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica T-Veronica virus]] to no ill-effect (something Alexia Ashford ''couldn't'' do) and then ''using [[BloodyMurder said]] [[PlayingWithFire powers]]'' to help out Leon and Krauser during the final battle]].
461** 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]] style.
462* The Wrestler and the Reporter from the ''VideoGame/RhythmHeaven Fever'' stage "Ringside" are just as associated with the franchise as the intended series mascots, Marshall and the Chorus Boys. Only the Wrestler and Reporter had become [[MemeticMutation memetic]], however. Nintendo was quick to acknowledge their newfound fame, as the Ringside duo get a shared trophy in ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU Super Smash Bros. for Wii U]]'', one of the few from the ''Rhythm Heaven'' franchise.
463* ''VideoGame/RuneFactory4'' has several:
464** Porcoline, the local chef, is well-loved by many fans, and many wish he was one of the game's romance options. Not only does he seem to have a massive crush on the protagonist [[SingleTargetSexuality regardless of their gender]], and his [[BigEater obsession with food]] is seen as funny... but he's also the single biggest NiceGuy in the series, opening up his inn to anyone who needs it, and looking after [[SpoonyBard Margaret,]] [[TheWisePrince Arthur,]] and [[{{Tsundere}} Dylas]] as if they were his own children. Beyond simple humor, many fans admire him for his kindness.
465** Bado, the shopkeeper, is another character who fans wish was marriageable. He's a lazy shopkeeper who's constantly thinking up absurd get-rich-quick schemes, though he's too lazy to actually go through with them. Not only do fans find this funny, but many are attracted to his [[BaraGenre strong, manly look]] and find him handsome.
466** Illuminata, the detective. Unlike the two above, there's some evidence that she ''was'' a love interest at one point, but was DummiedOut. She has swimsuit and pajama sprites, which normally only marriage candidates have. Many fans like the fact that she has an unusual job, being a detective, and that she's an [[LikesOlderWomen older woman.]]
467* ''VideoGame/{{Rosenkreuzstilette}}'' has a lot of lovable characters for such an obscure indie game franchise, but the following two really stand out:
468** Luste Teuber is well-liked for being a cheerful FunPersonified character whose IdiotHero tendencies are absolutely adorable. She even got an April Fools' joke dedicated to herself, giving her a fairly attractive aged-up form and loading said joke with several hilarious gags.
469** Schwer-Muta Casasola Merkle is also quite popular, as she is known for her stages having hilarious trollish designs and {{Schmuck Bait}}s, as well as having an adorable design, somewhat creepy emotionless dialogues (which also provide funny moments), and a genuinely sad reason for turning on her own colleagues in RKS. She's also featured as the fandom's mascot, and even has her own mascot in the form of her best friend Zeppy the squid.
470[[/folder]]
471
472[[folder:S]]
473* The third season of the ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'' games introduces Sal, a six foot tall cockroach. Sounds disgustingly unappealing, right? Yet his kind, simple personality makes him such a likeable GentleGiant that no one can help but love him, even Sam and [[KillerRabbit Max]] themselves. People can't help but feel guilty when they have to [[ButtMonkey beat]] [[TheChewToy the]] [[TheWoobie crap]] out of him later. [[spoiler:Or when he dies in a HeroicSacrifice, RedemptionEqualsDeath moment, but it's you who persuade him into it.]]
474* Tachibana Ukyo from ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'', a badass swordsman afflicted with [[IncurableCoughOfDeath tuberculosis]], was intended for death early on in the series. However, due to popularity among fans, he was ''not'' killed off and has appeared throughout the series. Or rather, the later ''Samurai Shodown'' game stories are always set in a time frame where they can include Ukyo (that one game that didn't have him turned out to be a flop). Also further addressing to the trope, come the second game, Ukyo takes a huge step down from story relevance thanks to being ousted as the true rival of Haohmaru by Genjuro, and each game diminishes his importance. He's still a fan favorite either way.
475** Iroha seems to be another case; despite only having a single appearance in the series (in ''VI''), she was popular enough to gain a spin-off game starring her.
476*** This seems to partially stem from the fact that she's an utterly stacked NinjaMaid whose lines are [[BreakingTheFourthWall directly addressed at the players]], [[WordOfGod specifically, the male ones]].
477** Cham Cham is also quite popular for someone who only showed up in three games (''II'', ''IV'', and ''VI''; and in ''IV'', she was a Platform/PlayStation-exclusive character). She even has her own pachinko game.
478** Shiki from the Hyper Neo Geo 64 titles is quite popular as well. Even though she never made it to the main series until the 2019 revival, she was among the first characters from her subseries to make it into other {{Creator/SNK}} crossovers, such as ''VideoGame/SNKVsCapcomSVCChaos'' and ''VideoGame/NeoGeoBattleColiseum''.
479** And then there's Nakoruru, who's a full-on BreakoutCharacter.
480* ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara'' is a series rife with {{Yaoi Fangirl}}s for fans. However, there is one figure that stands to be very popular amongst the boys, and that is... Oichi. Her charm is just how tragic she ends up in her life, with her whole story being a huge TearJerker. She also has the voice of Creator/MamikoNoto, and with some other things, she became the series' dear girl and even when ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara 3'' is announced to have some characters, especially those close to Nobunaga, to be cut... when asked about Oichi's eventual fate, the producers always say "I'm not telling" to tease the fans. Oh, and she's also the sole playable female in the fighting game spinoff. And now she is confirmed to be playable in [=SB3=], despite being historically LONG DEAD before Sekigahara even begins (but then again, this game really doesn't care about historical accuracy, so she's there by popular demand). And then, it gets even better in English when she gets a popular voice actress to voice her: Creator/LauraBailey.
481** No mention of Oichi's light saber wielding, shield boomerang throwing, justice maniac husband Nagamasa Azai? Along side Oichi, Nagamasa wasn't initially playable in his first appearance in ''Sengoku Basara 2''. His popularity sky rockets him into Playable Character status in the expansion ''[=SB2=]: Heroes''. Even after his canonical death, fans were clamoring for his return. After taking a leave of absence in ''Sengoku Basara 3'', with the story being rebooted, Nagamasa, announced along side Oichi, and his newly NPC sister Kyougoku Maria, are returning in ''Sengoku Basara 4''. It also helps that even history-wise, aside of being Oichi's husband, he's just another warlord that Nobunaga trounced without anything super awesome like other warlords. So for him to explode in popularity in this series... well, that certainly fits greatly.
482* In ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'', the one character who most people agree on an interpretation of is Agro. Since Agro is ''a horse'', she has the advantage of lacking the GreyAndGrayMorality of the rest of the characters: she's just a loyal steed doing as her master directs her.
483* Looking back at the ''VideoGame/{{Shining}}'' series, if there is one character who receives considerable popularity, it's none other than ''VideoGame/ShiningTears''' token [[AnIcePerson ice witch]] Blanc Neige. She is often hailed as one of the best [=NPCs=] to have around (despite being {{squishy|Wizard}}) and possesses a skill that is extremely useful, and many fawn over seeing how she [[DefrostingIceQueen starts out super aloof and bitchy, then warms up]] and [[spoiler:lets out a very cute smile if paired at the ending]]. Maybe she's not the true main character, but she stands out as the character who received the most fanarts, and also escaped the 'cut', appearing in the crossover with ''VideoGame/ShiningWind''. And if there's one more factor to her popularity, it's her voice in the game, in the Japanese version. She's voiced by none other than Music/MegumiHayashibara herself.
484** From the sequel to Tears, ''VideoGame/ShiningWind'', we have Creator/TetsuInada's own beast king Rouen. He's a badass who is also a pirate and a king of a Chinese based kingdom.
485** An older example back from the Genesis days would be the [[TeamPet Kiwi]], an optional character from ''VideoGame/ShiningForceII''. His stats aside from physical defense is poor, and Magic will inevitably one hit kill him every time. He is a bit of a MagikarpPower type, if you level him to his promotion level, he gains the ability of flight and breathing fire!...But even with this he's still likely to be instant killed by magic due to his horrible HP. Despite this, many players will use him through the whole game, giving him nearly all of the stat boosting items to keep him on par with the rest of the force.
486* Several of the main demons in the main ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' have received this treatment. Notably, Mara, Matador and Alice. Mara, for being a CrazyIsCool HurricaneOfPuns Giant GagPenis, Matador for becoming THE representative of the series' [[ThatOneBoss trademark bosses]], and {{Alice|Allusion}} is a LittleMissBadass who just wants you... [[SignatureMove to]] [[CastingAShadow Die]] [[OneHitKO for]] [[CreepyAwesome Her]]!
487* In ''VideoGame/SidMeiersPirates'' The Indian War Canoe. This is the tiniest, puniest ship in the game, used only by Indians to make raids against ports. However, in the hands of the player, it is a war machine -- forgoing cannon-play entirely to go for a quick boarding, dodging between cannonballs. Players skilled with Fencing can pretty much defeat any ship this way, no matter how large, and very quickly the ship became a cult favourite, especially for playing at the highest difficulty levels.
488* ''Franchise/SilentHill'':
489** Scarlet from ''Homecoming'' has her own fan club.
490** Vincent is also pretty popular for being a interesting psycho and Stanley Coleman despite barely appearing in ''3''.
491** Walter Sullivan is perhaps the most well liked aspect of fourth game, as he manages to charismatic and likeable as well as batshit insane and AxCrazy. Walter also tends to be FanArt magnet online usually depicting him [[HoYay with Henry]].
492* Don't ask us how, but the pre-packaged Frances Worthington III, a student from ''[[VideoGame/TheSims2 The Sims 2: University]]'' somehow developed a small cult that's absolutely obsessed with him. Per the strangeness that is ''[=TS2=]'' fandom, you can't quite tell how serious they really are about it.
493** Most simmers have a strange fascination with Goopy Gilscarbo, a funny-looking [[RummageSaleReject plainclothes]] townie with allegedly great genes.
494*** Goopy's genes are considered great by the fandom because he produces kids that aren't [[OnlySixFaces Face 1 or Face 2]], but [[HollywoodHomely aren't so bizarre as to be considered outright ugly]].
495* [[LovableRogue Gilder]] and [[WhiteHairBlackHeart Ramirez]] from ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'' both get this treatment at times.
496* ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'':
497** So far, Peacock seems to be drawing the most attention, probably by virtue of being the weirdest character -- which is quite an achievement, given what the other characters are like. This is most likely due to her spouting a bunch of [[FountainOfMemes familiar lines]] and [[CrazyIsCool her appearance and fighting style being based on old cartoons.]]
498** Even though Painwheel is not the most visually attractive character, her [[TheWoobie backstory]] and deadly moveset, along with stellar voice work by Danielle [=McRae=], helped her become a firm fan favorite.
499** [[CuteMonsterGirl Squigly]] is very popular among the burgeoning fanbase, and she isn't even part of the default roster!
500** [[FishPerson Minette]], a character who was only seen in one picture in the Story Mode Trailer, and whose name was only known at the time by WordOfGod, gained popularity shortly after the trailer went up.
501** Panzerfaust, a huge, muscular character with a tank for a fist, and whose name was also only revealed by WordOfGod, who grew in popularity as the possible first playable male character until Big Band was chosen. He was previously part of another game concept by Alex Ahad, but shows up in the background of Parasoul's Story Mode in the same uniform as the rest of her soldiers. A popular Website/YouTube voice actor, General Ivan, recorded some lines for him and sent them to Mike Z.
502** Stanley Whitefin, also known by the FanNickname "Science Shark." He was apparently designed as a throwaway background character and was actually intended ''to die'' over the course of the story... but fans took a liking to him, and he was even a possible DLC candidate.
503** Big Band, aka [[FanNickname Sax Deka]], is another background character with a large following. In fact, he replaced Umbrella as the second DLC character.
504** Adam Kapowski, elite Black Egrets soldier, is well-liked amongst the fandom for his status as a [[TheGenericGuy generic]] DoggedNiceGuy.
505** Feng, Cerebella's roommate, is well-liked for her [[AnimeChineseGirl cute appearance]] and [[EpicFail humorous backstory]]. She has a surprisingly large amount of fanart.
506* ''VideoGame/SlyCooper'' has Dimitri. [[MemeticMutation His suit is greasy sweet!]] His ridiculous mannerisms and oddball use for the Clockwerk tailfeathers in ''VideoGame/Sly2BandOfThieves'' (plates in a counterfeit money machine?) made him so popular that he managed to worm his way into [[spoiler:the Cooper Gang]] in the [[VideoGame/Sly3HonorAmongThieves third game]]. Also Muggshot and Panda King from the [[VideoGame/SlyCooperAndTheThieviusRaccoonus first game]], to the point where they would later reappear in the third game.
507* ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'':
508** Li Long (from ''Soul Edge/Soul Blade'') due to his flashy moves.
509** Hwang for being better than his replacement.
510** Talim due to her kind personality.
511** Shura (from ''IV'') is also very popular despite being a bonus character to the point where many fans were disappointed when she was confirmed not to be in ''V''.
512** Among the {{Guest Fighter}}s, [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link]] was the most well received by fans. Many even hope future installments of the series hit a Nintendo platform just so he can be included in it. He also singlehandedly ensured that the [=GameCube=] version of ''Soulcalibur II'' sold more than either the Platform/PlayStation2 or Platform/{{Xbox}} versions.
513** [[Franchise/AssassinsCreed Ezio Auditore]], the GuestFighter in ''V'', seems to have dethroned Link, believe it or not. In a series where guests (barring the aforementioned Link) are ''massive'' {{Base Breaking Character}}s, not only is Ezio noted to be the first guest who ''completely fits the atmosphere of the series'', but he is generating ''so much hype'' that he is creating a JustHereForGodzilla effect from both ''Soulcalibur'' and ''Assassin's Creed'' fans. To put this into perspective, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeuecG4xNnI his reveal trailer]] shows the return of series BigBad [[EvilIsCool Nightmare]]. ''Ezio completely steals the spotlight'', to the point that Nightmare appears to just be an afterthought.
514* ''VideoGame/Warhammer40000SpaceMarine'':
515** [[ActionGirl Second]] [[ActionSurvivor Lieutenant]] [[BadassNormal Mira]], although she is [[Characters/Warhammer40000ImperialGuard Imperial Guard]] and they're usually very well-liked by the fandom anyway.
516** Warboss Grimskull has quite a following, mostly for his VillainousValour and general Orky Crazy Awesomeness.
517* ''Franchise/{{Splatoon}}'':
518** Introduced in [[VideoGame/Splatoon1 the first game]]:
519*** [[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.
520*** The female anemone member of the Chirpy Chirps (ABXY) band initially only appeared on an in-universe album cover, but judging by the amount of fanart of her compared to virtually every other non-idol "Splatband" member, she's become the popular 'face' of the background bands, to the point where the Chirpy Chips were the only ''Splatoon 1'' band to return in ''Splatoon 2''. She eventually makes a [[AscendedExtra proper in-game appearance]] in ''VideoGame/Splatoon3'' (getting an official English name of Harmony in the process).
521** Introduced in ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'':
522*** The Inkling girl with short 'bob-cut' tentacle hair shown in the Switch Footage reveal has become extremely popular in fanart.
523*** 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. This popularity is perhaps part of the reason why ''VideoGame/Splatoon3'' gives the player a little Salmonid sidekick.
524*** Among the minor in-universe bands introduced in ''2'', something about the beta fish violinist 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.
525*** [=Dedf1sh=], the Octoling DJ that supplies the music for most of ''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]]. After Harmony, She eventually goes on to make a physical appearance in Splatoon 3's Side Order DLC.
526*** C.Q. Cumber, ''Octo Expansion''[='s=] MemeticPsychopath of a train conductor, is also popular for his UglyCute design and his "Test failed" catchphrase.
527*** Among the "Denizens of the Deep", the sea angel jock gets the most fanart.
528** Introduced in ''VideoGame/Splatoon3'':
529*** Big Man; one of the members of the new idol group and news hosts, Deep Cut, is well loved due to standing out from all the other physically-appearing idols. He is a male manta ray rather than being very humanoid with a lovable personality. He's loved to the point where he would most likely to win the popularity of Splatfests. Special mention goes to his boss fight, which is a shout-out to the Manta Storm from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine''.
530*** Tao Blue; the Octoling from Yoko & the Gold Bazookas got a lot of attention thanks to her distinctive design features. Many noted that she resembles a blue-ringed octopus.
531* Due to the [[OneSceneWonder nature of the specimens]], a few of the creatures in ''VideoGame/SpookysJumpScareMansion'' can be considered this:
532** Specimen 6 is a ShoutOut to [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask the Happy Mask Salesman]] and has a gimmick like the [[Characters/DoctorWhoAliensAndMonsters Weeping Angels]] or [[VideoGame/SCPContainmentBreach SCP-173]]. It is considered to be the BestBossEver as far as the game goes, due to being difficult and having a [[EyeScream memorable kill screen]].
533** Specimen 8 gets a lot of merits: it has an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b677_os3s34 awesome chase theme]], a {{Wendigo}} design, has a great build up to it, and a few unsettling lines.
534** There's an odd case with Specimen 10. As in, the Specimen 10 before it was replaced due to being a BreatherBoss. Some find it UglyCute, and the fact that it was seen InUniverse as such only helped matters.
535* ''Franchise/SpyroTheDragon'':
536** The Egg Thieves. The second game had only a single thief challenge in Shady Oasis, but the third game had a bunch (usually involving supercharge ramps).
537** The secret agent twins, Handel and Greta, are decent fan-favourites despite being minor [=NPCs=] who only appeared in two worlds across the original trilogy, due to being both [[CreepyChild creepy]] and [[BadassAdorable badass]]. It goes double for Greta, as her role and subsequent badassery in ''Year of the Dragon'''s Fireworks Factory is heralded as one of the most iconic moments of that game.
538** Despite only being playable in a few levels in ''Year of the Dragon'' and having some minor NPC appearances in later games, Bentley is a [[{{Pun}} huge]] fan-favourite due to being a GeniusBruiser who has some great lines due to his SesquipedalianLoquaciousness.
539** Sgt. Byrd, simply due to being a [[FlyingFlightlessBird flying penguin]] with ''[[BadassAdorable missile launchers]]''! He was so popular he made some return playable appearances in ''VideoGame/SpyroAHerosTail'' and ''VideoGame/SpyroAttackOfTheRhynocs''.
540** Agent 9 was so popular for his TriggerHappy personality that he was intended to become a full-on BreakoutCharacter, getting his own spin-off games. Alas, his games never saw the light of day.
541** Ember and Flame from ''A Hero's Tail.'' Each of them only appears for a few minutes in a single brief cutscene to interact with Spyro, though they are available as unlockable [[AndYourRewardIsClothes skins]] for Spyro. However, they're the only dragons Spyro's age introduced in the series ''period'' until [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyro Cynder]], who was in a different continuity. Thus, fans latched on to them, and loved expanding on their [[FanficFuel implied friendship with Spyro.]]
542** The reveal and release of the ''Reignited Trilogy'' saw a major popularity boost for the elder dragons from the original ''Spyro'', owing in large part to their [[CastOfSnowflakes memorably diverse redesigns]], which has made them popular subjects for fan-art despite their very limited interaction with Spyro. While just about all of them have their fans, special attention was given to Bubba (for his BoisterousBruiser attitude) and Magnus (for his [[BigBeautifulMan cuddleability factor]]).
543%%** Trigger Happy, Terrafin, and Gill Grunt from Skylanders
544* In the ''VideoGame/{{SSX}}'' games, Psymon Stark. Not only is he one of the more popular characters due to his out-there personality, he's the only one of the new characters introduced in ''SSX Tricky'' to return in any of the later games.
545* Admiral ZEX from ''VideoGame/StarControl II'' has a surprising amount of appeal outside the [[http://www.starcontrol.classicgaming.gamespy.com main fan site]], but he's no DracoInLeatherPants; female fans simply tend to find him attractive for his '''canon personality'''. Of course, the HoYay with the main character does have something to do with that... additionally, the first Spathi that the player meets -- Captain Fwiffo -- is a fan favourite, even though the player basically only has one conversation with him, after which Fwiffo's commanded ship becomes one of your fleet. It is not uncommon for players to keep his ship in active duty and alive for the rest of the game. Why? Just because Fwiffo rocks.
546* ''VideoGame/StarFox'':
547** Fay and Miyu from ''VideoGame/StarFox2'', for being the first female characters in the series (and not making any appearances ever since).
548** Krystal is incredibly popular as well, since she has a pretty solid fandom and is even one of the more requested characters in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series.
549* Protests arose in some circles that [[DarkActionGirl Thana]], a temporary rival character on Taris for Empire players in ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', was merely a minor NPC and not a full-fledged party member.
550* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'':
551** Originally the only other "[[TheSmurfettePrinciple chick]]" in the roster aside from Chun-Li, Cammy became popular enough to appear in several of the game's crossovers. Sakura, who debuted in ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha Street Fighter Alpha 2]]'', also became popular enough to have her own comic book, which spawned the CanonImmigrant character Karin, who appeared as her rival in ''Alpha 3''.
552** Dan Hibiki, the quintessential JokeCharacter who first appeared in ''Alpha'', has also become unusually popular ''because'' of his status as such.
553** There's also Guy, the Bushin {{ninja}} who crossed over from ''VideoGame/FinalFight'', and Fei Long, one of the original {{Bruce Lee Clone}}s in video games (indeed, Fei Long is the only "New Challenger" from ''Super VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' other than Cammy to return in the original version of ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV''). Charlie/Nash is also pretty popular, despite the fact that in his first chronological appearance, ''he dies''.
554*** And then he dies again. Both in ''Street Fighter Alpha 2'', which, to be fair, was actually [[CanonDiscontinuity superseding the first game's canon]], but then, more absurdly, resurrected and killed once more in ''Alpha 3''. And then resurrected again for ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV''. He might have even been brought back as "Shadow" between those periods, but Capcom's never really come to a conclusion on that point.
555** ''Alpha 3'' had two in Karin (the aforementioned rival to Sakura) and busty masked wrestler Rainbow Mika. [[http://www.eventhubs.com/news/2013/mar/29/results-capcoms-street-fighter-favorite-characters-popularity-poll/ In an official 2013 character poll by Capcom]], Karin was the surprising fan favorite among Japanese ''SF'' fans, outranking ''Ryu'', of all characters. This might explain why both of them return for ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV''.
556** Dudley of ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'' fame is easily the most popular original character from his series, to the point where he was ranked 1st in an online poll held by Capcom to determine which characters should show up in ''Super Street Fighter IV''.
557*** Although he has since been eclipsed by Makoto and bizarrely enough, Q, both of whom finished in the top 5 of Capcom's latest character popularity poll, at 2 and 4 respectively.
558** Also from ''III'' is HighlyVisibleNinja Ibuki, who was originally the only member of that game's cast to appear in another game (''VideoGame/SuperGemFighter''), until Alex showed up in ''VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom''.
559** Another ''Final Fight'' example comes from ColonelBadass Rolento, whose last appearances were in ''Street Fighter Alpha 3'', ''[[VideoGame/CapcomVsSNK2MarkOfTheMillennium Capcom vs. SNK 2]]'', and ''Namco x Capcom''. He remained a popular choice in polls, and he eventually saw a return in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'' in ''USFIV''.
560** Also from ''III'' is GenkiGirl princess Elena. She just ''barely'' missed being included in ''SSFIV'', but she, Rolento (mentioned above), Hugo and Poison were all included in ''Ultra SFIV''. And then we have the [[BashBrothers Lee Bros.]], Yun and Yang, who actually ''did'' make it to the arcade version of ''SSFIV''. Yun also has the distinction of making the most crossover appearances out of the entire ''SFIII'' cast.
561** From ''VideoGame/StreetFighterEX'', there is one name that stands above all: '''SKULLOMANIA'''. Perhaps the [[LargeHam campiest]] {{homage}} to all things {{Toku}}, he is a walking [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Crowning Moment of Funny]]. In the poll for ''Street Fighter IV'' (the same one that Cammy won), he came in ''second place''. Clearly, [[FanNickname Skullo]] is ''the'' darkhorse among darkhorses. And that's not getting into the likes of Garuda (who's second in regards to Skullo), Pullum, Doctrine Dark, Hokuto, Kairi, Cracker Jack (who was probably the original Dudley), Darun, Blair, Allen...
562** Out of ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'''s newcomers, the no-nonsense CIA agent (and mother of one) Crimson Viper proved to be popular among the cast 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''?)
563*** That said, ''Super SFIV'' introduced deliciously insane and evil Taekwondoka Juri and she completely ''eclipsed'' them all in popularity. She's proved to be so popular that she was the only other ''SFIV'' character added to ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'' besides [[SNKBoss Seth]] and was the only other non-''SFII'' or a newcomer in ''VideoGame/StreetFighter6'''s launch roster (besides [[EarlyBirdCameo Luke]]). There are people who argue that if ''[=MvC3=]'' had come out a little later, Juri would've easily taken C. Viper's spot.
564* Although they only appeared in two games, the Dynamic Duo of ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'', "Blue Lightning" Flik and BoisterousBruiser Viktor, remain as fan favorites and fans have been wishing that if the chronological setting is correct, they would reappear again. Too bad Konami never thought of that since their last appearance (though, they did get some mention in the third game).
565** At least Flik and Viktor are still important for the games they appear in. On the other hand, Flik's lover, [[ICallItVera the one he named his sword after]], Odessa Silverberg, only lasts not more than a quarter of the first game before she died. Even then, she was considered pretty cool and well-liked for her short time, even to the point that there was a short story involving her before the events of the first game and she was an all around badass. Of course fans know that she's TooCoolToLive and her death still contributed to Flik's ascension to a darkhorse.
566** BlackKnight Pesmerga also. He is easily accused as a PaletteSwap of Yuber, always joins late and never contributes to the main plot other than 'looking badass', and his customization option is limited, and he's only in two games. He's still well loved anyway thanks to his links with Yuber which unfortunately never got resolved.
567** Hai Yo from the second game, your resident chef... who also has his own optional sub-quest (with nothing to do with the main plot) encapsulated with an addicting cook-off mini-game, then he's revealed to ''also'' be an Series/IronChef, as gameplay-wise, he's highly customizable and can even surpass the aforementioned Pesmerga, [[MagikarpPower just as long as you take your time to train him]]. With that his popularity soared so much that two characters from that sidequest of his, Retso and Shun Min, end up being featured as Stars of Destinies in the fifth game.
568** In ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'', [[GenkiGirl Miakis]] quickly became a fan favorite.
569* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' has a hefty amount, much of it thanks to multiple instances of MemeticMutation.
570** [[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsAlpha Sanger Zonvolt]], "[[InTheNameOfTheMoon The Sword That Smites/Cleaves Evil]]". Originally TheDragon in ''[[GaidenGame Super Robot Wars Alpha Gaiden]]'', his LargeHam tendencies and rampant badassery ascended him to be a selectable protagonist in ''[[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsAlpha Super Robot Wars Alpha 2]]'', with significant plot events in the ''Alpha 3'' finale, all of which carries over into ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration'', as well as [[VideoGame/EndlessFrontier several other incarnations]]. Then he appears in ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone'', the SpiritualSuccessor to ''VideoGame/NamcoXCapcom'', representing [=SRW=] singlehandedly by smiting evil ''on foot'' with a ''human-sized'' [[{{BFS}} Type-3 Colossal Blade]].
571** Sanger's {{Heterosexual Life Partner|s}}, [[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration Elzam von Branstein]]. Like Sanger, Elzam started as TheDragon who joins the protagonists towards the end of ''Original Generation'', but due to a case of [[GoodBadBugs an accidental bug]] that causes his {{Leitmotif}} to override boss themes, including being a CharClone of [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam the titular character]], this caused him to become a MemeticBadass. When he [[CanonImmigrant immigrates to]] ''Alpha 2'', he dons the "Ratsel Feinschmeker" persona via PaperThinDisguise, then re-immigrates back into ''Original Generation 2'' with this persona, only now he gains access to a new {{Super Robot|Genre}} that can [[TransformingMecha turn into a stallion]] named "Aussenseiter" (literally, "dark horse", though most translators' first response would be "outsider"; Creator/{{Atlus}} thankfully picked up on it). This, in turn, created the "[[MemeticMutation Real Men Ride Each Other]]" stint, as Sanger's own HumongousMecha mounts the Aussenseiter in their CombinationAttack. One doesn't get more darkhorse than this.
572** [[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration Russel Bagman]] is TheGenericGuy for ''Original Generation'': no special traits, looks or personal {{Leitmotif}} and close enough to being a FlatCharacter, yet is designed for TakingTheBullet by having [[StoneWall one of the best defensive stats and skills]] in the games. Russel manages to stand out ''because'' he's the most normal character in a cast chalk full of [[BunnyEarsLawyer quirky individuals]].
573** [[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration Kai Kitamura]] seemed like a new character simply there to fill in the party until more were available in ''Original Generation'', but once it set into players that he can stop a rampaging {{Super Robot|Genre}} with little more than a {{Mook|s}}-level Gespenst ''using '''manual''' controls, '''WITHOUT''' preset commands'', {{Memetic Badass}}ery ensued. These days, it's hard to see Kai as anything ''but'' the epitome of BadassNormal, who turn a simple MechaMook into a weapon of mass destruction.
574** You wouldn't expect a character loosely mentioned in a [[AudioAdaptation drama CD]] for a GaidenGame then making his debut in the ''Second Original Generation'' to become this, but [[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration Michiru Hanaten]] does exactly that. This [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent average high school]] foul-mouthed {{Japanese Delinquent|s}} is as generic as the archetype demands, [[spoiler:until he gets his own Super Robot "G-Bankaran" and semi-vocal {{Leitmotif}}]], utterly decimating fan expectations of who he is. Think of him as the CaptainErsatz of [[Anime/MazingerZ Boss]], only ''far'' more competent, [[spoiler:with a MightyGlacier mecha that's no JokeCharacter, but a GameBreaker]].
575** [[Characters/MasouKishin Shu Shirakawa]], thanks to his ominous {{Leitmotif}} "Dark Prison", the [[ThatOneBoss (Neo)]] [[GameBreaker Granzon's firepower]], and the way he trolls villains cemented him as this. Fans got disappointed he was just an AntiClimaxBoss in ''Original Generation Gaiden''; fortunately, he made up for it big time in the ''Second Original Generation'' and [[HeroOfAnotherStory his very own route]], ''[[AnotherSideAnotherStory Dark Prison]]''.
576[[/folder]]
577
578[[folder:T-Z]]
579* ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'':
580** ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'':
581*** Kongman is a rather hilarious example, actually. He's a very minor optional character in the original, but his portrayal 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.
582*** Lilith's quite popular, considering she's a minor character. May be because she is an AscendedGlitch.
583** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': Remiel is only a supporting character, but the reveal that he was EvilAllAlong and in league with the villains makes him a well done example of a character the audience can LoveToHate despite his short screen time.
584** ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2'':
585*** Nanaly Fletch is never seen in popularity polls, her story involvement in-game is rather minimal, but maintains quite a substantial fanbase, nobody complains about her... and when there's a Tales crossover spinoff (''Radiant Mythology'', ''Versus'') she's usually the first character from ''Destiny 2'' to be announced, ''before'' TheHero Kyle is ever announced. She's also the only ''Destiny 2'' representative in the {{Superboss}} battle in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss''.
586*** Harold Berselius is also fairly popular, getting almost as many cameos as Nanaly and not generally getting a lot of hate directed her way despite being a ComedicSociopath. Her outfit was included as DLC for Pascal in ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces''.
587** ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia Vesperia]]'' has Flynn; though he already had a prominent role in the original game due to his rivalry/friendship with Yuri, his popularity led to him being PromotedToPlayable and receiving even more screentime in the remakes.
588** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'': Driselle. Despite being a relatively minor character, her sweet and kind personality, on top of her becoming almost an older sister to Elize, quickly made her someone fans wanted to see more of. Combined with her good design and being implied to have taken training lessons from Rowen, and many wanted her to join the party, especially in the sequel.
589** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'': Rollo. Lots of people love the fat cat. The fact that Rollo is part of a Link arte takes this even further.
590** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'':
591*** Sergei, for being a BadassNormal ReasonableAuthorityFigure that can parry what he can't see because he's just that good. Being voiced by Creator/XanderMobus also helps.
592*** To a degree Muse, Mikleo's mother due to her being TheWoobie and fans wanting her to live happily with her son has her being featured in quite a bit of fanworks. In fact, almost every HighSchoolAU or most other AlternateUniverse fan fiction for Zestiria will feature her to some degree with varying levels of importance. She is almost always alive by the end of said fan fiction.
593** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'':
594*** Benwick proved to be endearing due to being a NiceGuy and genuinely useful to the party.
595*** Grimoirh won over fans from her first appearance between not being frightened by Velvet attempting to scare her into helping them and acting as Laphicet's mentor.
596** From the spin-off games ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheWorld Radiant Mythology'' series, we have [[RoseHairedSweetie Kanonno Earhart]] from RM 2, the sole spin-off heroine to ever make it in the 5th Tales Of character poll, placing in 24th place. Since then, she's appeared in Drama [=CDs=] and ''managed to become a heroine in a Tales Of crossover spin-off game''.
597* ''VideoGame/TheTalosPrinciple'': [=D0G=], the snarky program. He's one of the only programs to return in the "Road to Gehenna" DLC.
598* Minor ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' characters such as Miss Pauling, Archimedies, Merasmus, and [[MemeticBadass SAXTON HAAAAAAALE!!!]]
599* ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'':
600** Rivaling (and perhaps even ''surpassing'') Nina is none other than the awesome, [[JustLikeRobinHood Robin Hood-esque]] [[JustForFun/RecycledINSPACE Space]] {{Ninja}} Yoshimitsu, who quickly became an iconic member of the cast to the point that ''[[LegacyCharacter his ancestor]]'' popped up in ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soulcalibur]]'' and has remained a staple member of the cast ever since. [[ButWaitTheresMore Even better]]; in the Japanese version of ''Soulcalibur'', he's voiced by Creator/NobuyukiHiyama [[TheOtherDarrin and then]] Creator/NorioWakamoto in ''IV'', making him ''even more'' of a darkhorse.
601** Kunimitsu became very popular when she returned in Tag 2 thanks to a cooler new default, flashy fighting style, beautiful animations, and turning her into her own character no longer being a clone to Yoshi. Her newfound popularity allowed her to [[https://twitter.com/Harada_TEKKEN/status/365395288652918784 make it in over Yoshi in Tekken Revolution]] and return to the main games with T7. Not bad for a character who was initially removed from the games for a while [[https://twitter.com/Harada_TEKKEN/status/19974452652 due to being unpopular]].
602** There is also Eddy Gordo, a character that was formerly widely hated for being formerly a character that was easy to button mash with. However, the fact that Christie initially replaced him, along with button mashing turning into a much less effective method helped boost up his popularity to the point where he is a heavily wanted character in the official ''Tekken X Street Fighter'' poll.
603** Alisa is pretty popular. It might be due to the fact that she’s a cute RobotGirl with entertaining animations and a pretty creative fighting style. She scored [[https://twitter.com/47drift/status/497812694557151233?s=21 6th place in a popularity poll.]] She even co-starred with [[Anime/TekkenBloodVengeance Xiaoyu in their own movie]] and made it into ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone''.
604* ''VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope'':
605** Nowa Polska, a Polish rump state where {{Determinator}} Polish refugees fled into Western Kazakhstan after the Fall of Poland and defied the Nazis' expectations that the Polish people would just lie down and die became a major hit even before the full reveal.
606** Gorky, a tiny Russian warlord nation not even eligible for Russian reunification, has plenty of fans thanks to their [[TankGoodness huge tank fleet]]. Within days of Gorky's reveal in the mod's second demo, players were adding custom events and decisions allowing them to be a regional unifier and then finally a national unifier.
607** Despite being only being teased as a secret monarchist path for Komi in initial release, [[spoiler:Sergey Taboritsky's Holy Russian Empire]] has proven to be one of the most popular and widely-discussed paths that any nation can take due to the [[spoiler:uniquely insane nature of Taboritsky's Esoteric Nazism and the [[NightmareFuel sheer horror]] [[DownerEnding and bleakness]] the path entails.]] The fact that this obscure unifier was the first (and so far only) one to get post-national unification content should speak volumes.
608** Of the new Russian paths added in the Cutting Room Floor update, [[spoiler:Mitchell Werbell's West Alaska paths has become the most popular through the sheer ridiculousness of Russia being unified by a bonkers American mercenary and his company, and the route being a WholePlotReference to ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' and the lore around Outer Heaven (Big Boss's attempt to build an entire country of soldiers for hire).]]
609** The Bogi Smerti, a warlord state that use to rise from RK Moskowien's collapse who use Satanic imagery to intimidate their victims, and the mystery surrounding their masked leader and his true identity have made them stand out enough to garner fascination from the fanbase. They and their leader the Antikhrist are often depicted in fan content, with some even hoping that they'd get a focus tree someday. While removed and hated by the Devs (due to their entire lore being incoherent and their addition into the game being a complete joke on their part), the fanbase actually mourned their removal. Their SpiritualSuccessor, [[spoiler:the Brotherhood of Cain, a band of this time-unironic and completely insane Satanists who arise after Taboritsky's Holy Russian Empire collapses with his death]], is similarly popular.
610* Basso The Boxman from the ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}'' games has exactly two canonical appearances: In ''VideoGame/ThiefTheDarkProject'' he's in Cragscleft Prison, and Garrett -- who [[IWasJustPassingThrough had to break into the prison for unrelated reasons]] -- rescues him in exchange for a valuable nonmonetary reward from Basso's sister. In a mission from ''VideoGame/ThiefIITheMetalAge'', Garrett, somewhat against his better judgement, assists Basso in rescuing a indentured servant that Basso's fallen in love with from her cruel mistress. For some reason, [[GameMod Fan Mission]] community liked Basso and he gets used as a plot device of creators. Eventually, {{Fanon}} evolved that established him as a hapless, bumbling individual who was nevertheless Garrett's only true friend in a CrapsackWorld of treacherous allies and manipulative organizations.
611** From the same game series, there's Benny, the incompetent and usually-drunk guardsman. Though he's more of a RunningGag...
612* ''VisualNovel/TokimekiMemorial'' had Miharu Tatebayashi, a sweet ShrinkingViolet who often [[CrashIntoHello crashes into the main guy]] as a hidden character, but she became extremely popular with gamers. Similarly, assistant [[TeamMom Saki Nijino]] also became very well-loved within fandom, often scoring 1st place in character polls and as such became the heroine of the 1st Drama Series game ; and add to the list [[GratuitousEnglish Ayako]] [[BilingualDialogue Katagiri]], who was popular enough to be the heroine of the 2nd Drama Series game.
613** ''Tokimeki Memorial 2'' has [[BrokenBird Kaori]] [[DefrostingIceQueen Yae]] as the ultimate EnsembleDarkhorse of this game. [[TwinSwitch Maho]] [[GenkiGirl Shirayuki]] is also an extremely loved character.
614** ''Tokimeki Memorial 4'' had Miyako Okura, who may well have been an intentional example of this trope, initially being the supporting character who [[TheMatchmaker gives you the information on all the girls]], but [[HiddenInPlainSight if you try hard enough]], you can [[SecretCharacter start]] [[FirstGirlWins dating]] [[ChildhoodFriendRomance her]], whereupon she [[AscendedExtra completely]] [[BreakTheCutie takes]] [[{{Yandere}} over]] [[EpiphanyTherapy the]] [[LoveRedeems game]], and the fanbase loves her for it.
615** In the ''Girl's Side'' branch, Reiichi Himuro of ''Girl's Side 1'' is pretty popular among fans.
616* ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal'':
617** Mike and Stu from Twisted Metal 2 (and to a lesser extent, Jeff and Mike from the original Twisted Metal), for being ThoseTwoGuys that provide ComicRelief -- oh, and driving [[TheBigGuy a giant-ass monster truck]] that can [[CarFu crush other cars under its wheels alone]].
618** Quatro and Orbital are probably the only characters introduced in 4 that fans like, the former for his [[IJustWantToBeNormal sympathetic motives for participating in Twisted Metal]], and the later for being a badass bounty hunter that doesn't fall for the traps of Twisted Metal. It also helps that the rest of the cast are, put very bluntly, annoying and cartoonish.
619** [[{{Goth}} Raven]], the driver of Shadow from Twisted Metal: Black. She's one of the franchise's most popular characters for her goth style and sympathetic backstory and motive. Her Twisted Metal: Lost profile stating how she became a hero to Midtown, using her ocultic powers to protect the innocent and deliver vengeance upon the Ax-Crazy Serial Killers terrorizing the streets only further increased her popularity.
620** Agent Shepard, the latest driver of Crimson Fury in Twisted Metal: Head On, for being savvy enough to [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim straight-up arrest Calypso]] instead of trying to make a wish, and also by [[ShutUpHannibal defying Calypso's]] HannibalLecture before giving him TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.
621* ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'':
622** ''VideoGame/UnchartedDrakesFortune'': Eddy Raja. A little bit crazy wise-cracking rival with a (slight) sense of honor? What's not to love? Some people found him more interesting than the actual main antagonist of the game.
623** ''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 hat.
624** ''VideoGame/Uncharted3DrakesDeception'': Charlie Cutter. He's cocky, sarcastic, and has excellent banter with Nate. He managed to play off the cast so well that many were sad to see him get PutOnTheBus.
625** ''VideoGame/Uncharted4AThiefsEnd''
626*** Nate and Sam's mother never actually appears in-game, but the appeal of an ActionMom AdventurerArchaeologist in the 1980s is pretty undeniable.
627*** Cassie Drake appears to garnered her fair share of fans, despite her brief appearance. Go find any discussion about a hypothetical future Uncharted installment and odds are good that you'll find at least a few people pitching her as the protagonist.
628* ''VideoGame/{{Unpacking}}'': For a game with only a handful of very vague and mostly unseen characters, [[spoiler: the girlfriend]] is almost universally beloved for their colourful and pretty taste in clothes and belongings and for the positive influence they have on the protagonist, even if [[spoiler:they are only implied to appear in the last two levels]].
629* ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' is prone to this, since ''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!
630** The best example would be Edy Nelson from the first game, an UnknownRival to main character Rosie who dreams of becoming a GlamorousWartimeSinger. She has more fanart than any other character, with the exception of [[DarkActionGirl Selvaria]] (a Darkhorse in her own right), and she and Selvaria have entire side chapters dedicated to them as downloadable content!
631*** To a lesser extent, Marina Wulfstan and Isara are rather popular characters. Marina in particular is one of the best units in the game, and the best sniper hands-down, and the revelation in the Edy Detachment DLC that her aloof ColdSniper demeanor [[CutenessProximity disappears in the presence of cute animals]] endeared her to fans even more.
632*** Vyse and Aika, two of the heroes of ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'', were added [[TheCameo as recruitable soldiers]] and even given last names.
633** The Edy Detachment in particular (Edy, Lynn, Homer, Susie, Jann and Marina) is made up completely of {{Ensemble Darkhorse}}s, though Susie is ''far'' more of a BaseBreakingCharacter [[AmericansHateTingle in the west]].
634** From ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChroniclesII'', there are Marion Siegbahn, a prim and proper {{ojou}} with a secret gun fetish, and Alexis Hilden, a white-haired {{bifauxnen}}.
635** [[LargeHam ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?!?!]] Seriously, Vario Kraatz gets quite a bit of love from the fanbase as well, probably due to basically being an {{Expy}} of freaking ELVIS.
636* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'':
637** Carley, largely for being an attractive ActionGirl whose impressive proficiency with a gun yields her several [[Awesome/TheWalkingDead Crowning Moments of Awesome]]. She also gets a lot of love for treating Lee with respect and [[OnlySaneMan being enough of an adult]] to support neutral options when the player tries to keep the peace between Lilly and Kenny.
638** Chuck also is liked by the fandom despite [[spoiler:appearing only half-way through Episode Three and being killed off relatively early in Episode 4]]. Most of the love stems for being a CoolOldGuy and badass, shovel-wielding grandpa with really good and pragmatic advice towards raising Clementine.
639** Omid is well-liked for being upbeat, friendly, and funny. [[spoiler:Which is probably why he was the first to die in Season Two]].
640** 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. [[spoiler:Many believe that if Pete had lived past "All That Remains"/"A House Divided", the plot wouldn't have turned so dark]].
641** Walter was a beloved character in "A House Divided", because his level of kindness was a breath of fresh air after dealing with a group that locked Clementine in a shed.
642** Walter's boyfriend Matthew is in the same boat, resulting in jokes about how much he loves peanut butter.
643** Eddie from the 400 Days DLC, because his banter with Wyatt was so hilarious.
644** Jesus already had this status from both the comic and the show, but quickly became a hit in the game too, for his badass fighting moves, NiceGuy attitude, and being voiced by Garrus Vakarian.
645** Mariana Garcia. Players really enjoyed her adorkable and carefree attitude, many humorous moments and genuine kindness to Javi unlike the rest of their family. [[spoiler:Naturally, they were not happy when she was unceremoniously killed off at the end of the first episode of Season 3]].
646** Conrad from ''A New Frontier'' 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, CharacterDevelopment (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.)
647** Louis, for being an incredibly funny, charismatic, and overall likeable kind of guy, as well as a potential romance for Clementine.
648** 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.
649** 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 Creator/JohnnyYongBosch.
650** Omar has become a MemeticBadass simply for having the least screen time among the new characters of the final season and yet [[spoiler: still managing to survive the season]].
651** Rosie the dog for being surprisingly sweet if Clem chooses to get to know her and for [[spoiler: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.
652* In pretty much every itineration of ''Franchise/TheWitcher'', Dandelion is this. He's the ultimate SpoonyBard. As the saga progresses, he becomes the only spot of light, wits, and humour in this grim-dark world. In the [[Series/TheHexer TV adaptation]], he was the only character to be acclaimed by both fans of the saga and regular viewers. His popularity was actively invoked in the [[TabletopGame/TheWitcherGameOfImagination tabletop game]] and he's still there in the video games, gaining even more fans. A rare case when a NonActionGuy (and more or less ''TheLoad'') in an action-oriented genre becomes highly popular. Being [[AudienceSurrogate just a regular guy]] in the WorldOfBadass helps immensely, not to mention his UndyingLoyalty and enduring kindness and compassion for [[HeroWithBadPublicity witchers]], who are treated like [[FantasticRacism social pariahs]] in this CrapsackWorld.
653* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'':
654** 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.
655** 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]].
656** 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.
657* ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'':
658** [[StreetMusician 777]] is fairly well-liked, thanks to his PunchClockVillain tendencies, humorous sidequest, and tragic death.
659** [[ToBeAMaster Shooter]] is also quite popular among the fandom as well for his LargeHam mannerisms, obsessive love for Tin Pin, and humorous dialogue, especially when interacting with [[TheRival Neku]]. His [[HeroOfAnotherStory expanded]] role in Another Day also helps.
660** [[BattleCouple Sota and Nao]] are beloved within the fandom for their role in cheering Neku out of his related issues concerning Shiki being his Entry Fee in Week 2, [[NiceGuy their genuinely warm-hearted personalities and generosity concerning the other Players]], and tragic deaths at the hands of the Taboo Noise.
661* The ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' series has Goro Majima, who went from having a relatively minor role in the original ''[[VideoGame/Yakuza1 Yakuza]]'' and subsequent titles to becoming a protagonist in his own right in the [[VideoGame/Yakuza0 prequel]], in adddition to a vastly expanded role in the first game's [[VideoGameRemake remake]] and the [[VideoGame/Yakuza2 sequel's]] remake, as well as becoming a playable Charather in [[Videogame/YakuzaDeadSouls Dead Souls]].
662** Akira Nishikiyama; Kiryu's [[SwornBrothers sworn brother]], due to his appearance in 0 where he fought against and alongside Kiryu. Fans wanted to see more of their brotherhood, [[spoiler:but to their dismay his downfall plays a huge role in Yakuza 1/Kiwami, where he even goes to an extent to [[HeroicSacrifice redeem himself by blowing up the 10 Billion yen alongside himself]] after killing Jingu]]
663** 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 [[ItMakesSenseInContext threatens to steal Majima's pants]].
664** One of the villains of 0: Daisaku Kuze, due to the fact that he is the most reoccurring boss in the game. Despite appearing in only one game, fans want to see him reappear in a future title.
665* ''VideoGame/YumeNikki'' has Uboa, TheGrimReaper-like mask thing. And that's not all. Given that the only real "character" is the protagonist herself, the fandom has latched on to a lot of random [=NPCs=] and made them its favorites. The usual suspects are: Uboa, Poniko (Uboa's "normal" form as a blonde girl), Masada (a tall figure dressed all in black, sitting in front of a keyboard in a spaceship, with googly eyes), Monoko (a sweet {{Joshikousei}} who turns into BodyHorror incarnate in the presence of the "Stoplight" effect), and Kyunkyun-kun (a happy rainbow-colored blob who loves to rub poles, and [[NotWhatItLooksLike that is not a euphemism]]).
666[[/folder]]

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