Breakout Character / Video Games

Breakout Character in Video Games.

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• Originally, the most iconic character from Animal Crossing alongside the Villagers was probably either Tom Nook, K.K. Slider, or Rover. Then came Animal Crossing: New Leaf, which introduced Isabelle, your assistant helping you in your duties as mayor in that game. She was instantly popular and has since become the other face of the franchise, becoming a mainstay in all future entries, "running" the social media accounts for the games, and showing up in other franchises like Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros., and Monster Hunter.
• ARMS character Min Min is a major favorite among the fans and even game producer Kosuke Yabuki, to the point where she ended up as her series' representative in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate via the Volume 2 DLC. For the sake of comparison, not just her, but cover characters Spring Man and Ribbon Girl were in the base game, but the former's an Assist Trophy, the latter's a Mii Fighter Costume, and both are Spirits along with Min Min, yet Min Min is the only one that made the cut (though to be fair, Kosuke has stated that the entire Playable Roster of ARMS count as the "Main Protagonist").
• Ezio Auditore from Assassin's Creed made his debut in the second game as a young Assassin from the Italian city of Florence who wants to avenge the deaths of his father and brothers at the hands of the Templars. Ezio was positively received by the fanbase and critics, allowing him to continue as the main protagonist for two sequels as well as stories set before or after the events of the mainline games. To date, he is the only historical Assassin character to have an entire trilogy.
• Baldur's Gate II:
  • Imoen. In the first game, she was a last minute add in order to "fill the lack of a non psychopath thief during early game", with sound lines scratched from previously scrapped ideas. She became so popular among fans that she returned in the second game playing a central role in the plot, to the point that she was supposed to die anyway according to first scripts but authors opted anyway to let her live, as people were requesting to have her. This is evident when noticing that she has almost no banters after midgame, as plans changed last minute and time-constraints prevented to develop further her interactions. On the other hand, there is a character (Yoshimo) that plot-dies and has unused lines for later events that could be triggered if cheating and allowing him to stay in the party (this character was supposed to probably be recruited by most players and then carry on, but reintroducing Imoen forced the authors to kill him in order to free a slot in the party for her).
  • Minsc with his hamster Boo was originally thought as a comic side-kick in the first game. He is so popular among fans that not only he comes back in BGII whatever your alignment is, but he is also referred in some easter eggs in other Bioware games and is probably the most iconic character of the entire saga. Mass Effect 2 for example clearly refers to him in two occasions. He has since gone on to become a generalized mascot for Dungeons & Dragons, particularly in any context where a more humorous or kid-friendly image is required (and Boo's fuzziness would be helpful).
  • Coran also appears, although not as a playable character but only as a cameo. Funny thing is, back to 2000 a user in the Bioware Forums called Lanfear annoyed so much all other users and developers with her requests to bring him back, that an annoying NPC called Lanfear is also in the game, looking for Coran.
• Kanna from Blaster Master Zero II immediately drew a lot of... attention by simply showing up on screen during the game's reveal on a Nintendo Direct for about a second. Her popularity didn't go unnoticed, and Inti Creates threw a few bones at her. They added a "Kanna Raising Simulator" DLC where you can create your own different form of Kannas, and she's the only MA pilot Jason revisits in Zero III.
• Handsome Jack of Borderlands 2 proved to be so popular that he received a game that focuses on his Start of Darkness. Even after his death he still has a certain amount of influence in Tales from the Borderlands as a Virtual Ghost. Similarly, Claptrap originally started off as a group of robots involved in sidequests here and there, but eventually became popular enough that he became one of the playable characters of the Pre-Sequel and one of the characters featured in Poker Night 2.
• In The Caligula Effect, the enigmatic Musician Wicked became well-liked by players because of her sociopathic and insane behavior, coupled with the reveal that she was actually the calm and sweet student Marie Mizuguchi. When the anime was created, she was given a lot more screen time compared to the game, with her frequently hanging around with the Go Home Club and getting a lot of Ship Tease with the anime's protagonist, Ritsu Shikishima. She is also the protagonist of a light novel that takes place directly after the events of the anime.
• In the original Civilization, Mahatma Gandhi was simply one of many leaders of the many societies that appeared in that game. In a later instalment he was given a strong affinity for nuclear weapons as a joke, in contrast to the pacifism of the real-life Gandhi, and that joke quickly became the most iconic and memetic thing in the franchise. As a result the nuke-loving Gandhi is now used heavily in Civilization's promotional material.
• Darkstalkers' Morrigan Aensland became not only popular enough to promote herself to the status of protagonist, but she became iconic to the point that there are few Capcom crossover titles that don't include her. By the turn of the 21st century, most gamers easily knew who she was, just not where she came from.
  • Some of the other female characters, such as Felicia and Lilith, have also gained their own fanbase due to their sex appeal and have been promptly featured in crossovers, such as Marvel vs. Capcom or Cross Edge. In the case of Lilith, it is also because of her association with Morrigan.
  • A much more Downplayed example would be Jon Talbain, due to him being an Ensemble Dark Horse among American Fighting Game Fans and Furries. There are chapters of Comic Book and Manga Adaptations of Darkstalkers dedicated to him despite being a minor character, and is one of the lead characters in the Street Fighter vs. Darkstalkers comic book crossover by UDON.
• Dead or Alive:
  • Ayane became popular enough to become the Deuteragonist in Ninja Gaiden and later make multiple appearances in other games like Senran Kagura and Fatal Frame.
  • Similarly, Honoka and Marie Rose proved extremely popular, becoming the faces of the Dead or Alive Xtreme sub-series.
  • As a result of their popularity, the three aforementioned girls were the ones to make a guest appearance in Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash, getting picked over main character Kasumi.
• Varric Tethras from Dragon Age debuted in perhaps the most controversial game of the series but, thanks to his snarky, yet friendly personality, defiance of virtually every popular dwarf cliche, and his excellent chemistry and endearing friendship with the Player Character of said game^*while it is possible to form a rivalry with him, it's almost impossible to do so unless deliberately antagonizing him, that has not slowed down his popularity at all. He's the only party member from that game to be universally well-received and since then, he was a main character in three comic series as well as being one of the only two party members of the entire series to return as a party member in a sequel, Dragon Age: Inquisition in his case. Of those two (the other being Anders), he's the only one who was a party member in two base games.
• Destiny:
  • Cayde-6. In Vanilla Destiny, Cayde was little more than a glorified merchant and questgiver. After some light Flanderization into a wisecracking ace of a Hunter, he ends his tenure in Destiny 2 as the star of his own expansion. Before that he had the honor of playing a major supporting role in nearly every major story event in between and becoming the face of the franchise.
  • Mithrax. A one-off Fallen Elite Mook in Destiny 2 who the player chases around in a minor sidequest chain, climaxing in the player finding him dueling a Hive Knight over the MacGuffin he was looking for. If the player killed the Knight but not Mithrax, he had a unique interaction where he saluted the player and teleported away, forfeiting the MacGuffin. This was enough to make him an Ensemble Dark Horse among a player base already sympathetic to the Tragic Villain Fallen. Bungie took notice and began giving Mithrax further attention through the years, culminating in him becoming founder and leader of the human-allied House of Light and a major character from the Beyond Light expansion onward.
• Detectives United has Agent Dorian Brown, who has turned into one of these for Elephant Games. The developer's social media manager openly admits that Brown has a lot of fangirls, due to being a Sharp-Dressed Man with a charming voice and witty personality, and they're happy to exploit his popularity, especially in Facebook posts. Their other breakout character is Brown's adorkable friend James Blackthorne, of Haunted Hotel, although since that series has ended James's popularity has waned a bit.
• Devil May Cry: Vergil originally appeared as a boss character in the first game where he was the dark knight Nelo Angelo. After revealing himself, he was later presumably killed by Dante. However, his re-introduction in Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening as Dante's Sibling Rival led him to become an important character in the series; he would even go on to be playable in the Special Edition of 3 onwards. In Devil May Cry 4, he was speculated and hinted to be the father of Nero, which was later confirmed by the devs, the 3142 Graphic Arts artbook, and officially canon in Devil May Cry 5 where he appears as two separate entities known as V (the Human half) and Urizen (the Demonic half). Vergil appears in almost every entry in the series but is only playable in every Re-Release of a game, even making it into Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3. Fans consider him to be the second best character besides Dante, as well as becoming hugely memed in the Internet.
• Dragon Quest IV: Party member Torneko would later become the main star of the Mystery Dungeon series, a Roguelike spinoff series where he adventured in the "Mysterious Dungeon" for items and riches.
• Mai Shiranui from Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters franchise is one of the most popular if not the most popular SNK character. She first appeared in Fatal Fury 2 as the sole female fighter. She gained popularity largely due to her being the resident Ms. Fanservice as well as filling in the role of the Ninja (which is mandatory in almost every fighting game). She's also been a Guest Fighter in the Dead or Alive series.
• Fate/Grand Order has many, but three stand out leagues above the rest:
  • Jeanne Alter is the first. An artificial recreation of Jeanne d'Arc made manifest by the Holy Grail in response to a wish by Gilles de Rais, Jeanne Alter is everything the original Jeanne isn't — wrathful, vindictive, and hateful toward both humans and God. She was originally meant to be a one-off villain, but fan interest in her had her make a few appearances in a few other places until she was eventually Promoted to Playable just in time for her own event, which gave her a new look and changed her class from Ruler to Avenger. The event further delved into her character and showed that she was also a Tsundere par excellence with a desire to be loved, and her popularity exploded overnight. When her debut banner first arrived both in China and in North America, the game skyrocketed to the top of the sales charts. She was also quite a Game-Breaker when she was first released, and although she has fallen victim to Power Creep and a change in gameplay mechanics to make bursting down enemies less practical, she's still a solid choice to get through certain boss fights. She later appeared in the third summer event wearing a swimsuit, and as the free Servant, no less. And then there's her child variant that came about from the second Christmas event...
  • The next character, and for a long time Jeanne Alter's sole rival in this category, was Ereshkigal, the Sumerian goddess of the underworld. Incredibly, she wasn't even supposed to be a character at first — she originally started out as a theoretical design for Ishtar, her sister. Nasu vetoed the design, but felt that it was too good to let go to waste, so he rewrote the script to incorporate the design as a separate character. And when fans got to experience the Babylonia chapter, they immediately latched onto her for her appearance (it didn't hurt that she was almost the mirror image of Rin from Fate/EXTRA), her Character Development, and especially her absolutely Adorkable interactions with the protagonist. Truly impressive for a character who didn't even have a sprite yet! She would eventually be Promoted to Playable roughly a year later, in the third Christmas event, and her name rocketed up to the #1 trend on Japanese Twitter.
  • For the next four years, it was just between those two for the biggest hit with the fans. It would take until the release of the sixth Lostbelt in 2021 for a new challenger to arrive. But arrive she did, in the form of said Lostbelt's king, Morgan. She appeared as the ruler of Faerie Britain, stood in the heroes' way, and made for an incredibly dangerous opponent. And yet, as the story went on, players discovered her absolutely HORRIFIC backstory, which quickly turned her into one of the biggest Woobies in the game — and given that this is the Nasuverse, that's no small feat. She also won fans over with her interactions with her knights, her interactions with the protagonist as a playable Servant and her Character Development as such, and received a huge boost in gameplay with the release of the sixth anniversary Servant (Koyanskaya of Light), who turned her into an excellent Berserker for farming. Since her release, she has had rate-up events three times in the span of ten months. Not even Jeanne Alter and Ereshkigal can boast that!
• Final Fantasy has lots of examples:
  • Final Fantasy II has Minwu the White Wizard. He's a Guest-Star Party Member for a short portion of the game and dies mid-way through the story performing a Heroic Sacrifice. He has garnered a lot of fans, especially in in Japan, the remake adds in Soul of Rebirth where he is the main protagonist and appears in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy along with Firion.
  • In Final Fantasy IV, Kain was merely The Lancer to The Hero Cecil, but proved to be an Ensemble Dark Horse. In the game's sequel The After Years, Cecil is Demoted to Extra while his son Ceodore is the protagonist. However, a sizeable part of the storyline focuses on Kain and his battle with his Evil Twin Enemy Without who is masquerading as him. He's also a playable character in Dissidia 012 and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy.
    • Rydia too, she almost rivals Kain in popularity. This resulted in her being arguably the main protagonist in The After Years, with her Eidolons are a strong plot point and the main villain is her Evil Counterpart. She has also appeared in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy and World of Final Fantasy, and was at one point planned to be a playable character in Dissidia Final Fantasy NT.
  • Gilgamesh, who was a villain, has the most appearances in Final Fantasy games overall. Dissidia 012 even confirms the longtime fan theory that, unlike most other recurring characters, it's the same Gilgamesh in every single appearance.
    • Faris is the most popular female character in the game and is often second or third in line for crossovers after Bartz. She even received a base NV unit in Brave Exvius with a CG limit break and she's the first non-original generation character that isn't the main character or antagonist to receive one.
  • Final Fantasy VI:
    • Mog is easily the most popular moogle in the entire franchise. Which is funny considering he is a relatively minor character. Final Fantasy XIV has multiple references to him, and they even named the real money store, Mogstation, after him.
    • Kefka Palazzo started out as greatly overlooked in Japan, where he was generally regarded as an opportunistic idiot and not nearly as interesting as earlier villains in the series, but quite popular in the west thanks to Ted Woolsey's interpretation of the character. However, following his inclusion in Dissidia, which took a lot of cues from Woolsey's characterization, his popularity soared to the skies. Following this he has, among other things, appeared as a boss in Final Fantasy XIV's Interdimensional Rift Raid, and his likeness even made an appearance as the Mysterious Sir boss in Kingdom Hearts χ as a part of the Final Fantasy Record Keeper special collab event of 2018.
  • As Final Fantasy VII is considered as one of (if not the) most popular entry in the series, it has plenty of its own:
    • Cloud Strife and Sephiroth are, by far, its two most popular characters and have had the most cameo appearances outside the game, such as in Ehrgeiz, Kingdom Hearts (I and II), and Dissidia. Cloud even found his way into the Super Smash Bros. series as a downloadable playable character in the fourth game, which is surprising since FFVII was never released on a Nintendo console until 2019! This was followed by Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which not only has Cloud in the base game, but also added Sephiroth through DLC in 2020.
    • Tifa Lockhart is also regarded as one of Square Enix's most beloved characters and has consistently ranked high in various gaming popularity polls (noted under "Reception"). Fan demand was great enough that she was eventually made playable in Dissidia 012. (That said, the director has stated he probably wouldn't have made the sequel at all if Tifa wasn't in it.) Tifa's overwhelming popularity was proven once again during live screenings of the E3 (2019) reveal trailer for the Final Fantasy VII Remake. The crowd went wild with cheers and applause the moment she appeared onscreen.
    • Vincent Valentine gained enough of a fanbase to eventually warrant his own game, as did Zack Fair, who was retroactively given a much bigger role as a result (in Crisis Core, Before Crisis, and Advent Children Complete).
    • Amusingly, Dirge of Cerberus led to its own breakout character: Shelke Rui (Shelke the Transparent). Since her appearance as a antagonist-turned-ally and possible Love Interest, she's become the token Dirge of Cerberus character transplanted into the greater Final Fantasy crossover metaverse: she appears as one of four Final Fantasy VII characters in World of Final Fantasy (Cloud, Tifa, and Sephiroth as DLC; note how Vincent isn't here), and she, a non-player character from a spin-off, also joins the cast of Final Fantasy Record Keeper and Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia before several party members featured in their main game (Alma and Meliadoul from Final Fantasy Tactics, Gogo and Umaro from Final Fantasy VI among others, and specifically to Opera Omnia, Red XIII from Final Fantasy VII and Rikku from Final Fantasy X).
  • Laguna Loire from Final Fantasy VIII is a Hero of Another Story (an in-universe "Dream World" sequence) and can only be played five times. However, he became a very popular character due to his mature, yet light and humorous storyline/dialogues. He surprised many a fan by becoming the game's third representative in Dissidia 012, over the likes of Rinoa or Seifer. He was also going to be in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, (according to the Ultimania), but was cut when SE realized both games would be released at about the same time.
  • Final Fantasy X's Rikku went from a fairly minor member of the main cast to getting a major role in the sequel.
  • In Final Fantasy XI, Shantotto started off as just a rather random NPC with a series of somewhat humourous quests and being involved in the black mage quests. Then she made a cameo towards the end of the Windurst missions and some of the Chains of Promathia missions. Then she was a major character in Treasures of Aht Urhgan and appeared in some minor events (such as being the main enemy in a fight against some of the female characters). Then she represented the game in Dissidia Final Fantasy. Then she got her own storyline expansion centered just around her. With the added bonus that she's voiced by Megumi Hayashibara.
  • Final Fantasy XIV has similar representation with Y'shtola Rhul, the resident Miqo'te of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. While not more significant than the other group members, her popular design and representation of a game-specific species causes her to be treated as the game's mascot character. Like Shantotto, she's the one made playable in the Dissidia series, represents the game in Theatrhythm, and she was one of the first two characters from the game to be added to Record Keeper and was later designated the game's main representative during anniversary celebrations. Fortunately, this allows there to be a White Mage among Final Fantasy's designated lead characters.
    • From Shadowbringers onwards, this has happened to G'raha Tia (also ironically a miqo'te). Combined with a hearty helping of Ascended Extra, G'raha went from being a popular but only peripherally important character from a side story, to having a hugely significant role in the Main Story Quests as the Crystal Exarch. His unwavering dedication to his gruelling mission, combined with his complete devotion to the Player Character, made him incredibly endearing to the playerbase, and despite the story placing enough death flags to fill a graveyard, his popularity encouraged the developers to save him. He's now joined the rest of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn as a full-fledged party member for Endwalker.
• Fire Emblem:
  • Lucina from Fire Emblem: Awakening is enormously popular, thanks to being a character drenched in mystery with a very sympathetic backstory and personality. So popular, in fact, that she was actually included as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U over her father Chrom, who is the actual main character of the game, and who almost everyone thought was guaranteed a spot in the roster (he had to wait until Ultimate before joining the roster). She also placed second for females in the first Fire Emblem Heroes' Choose Your Legends poll, beaten only by Lyn.
  • Tharja from Awakening is another example. In Japan, she was the second most popular female character after Lucina, and even had a collectible figurine of herself released despite not being one of the main characters. An Expy of her appeared in Fire Emblem Fates as a playable character from the game's second generation, and she also appeared as the mirage of Kiria in Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE and as DLC for Fire Emblem Warriors.
  • Gaius is also very popular, despite being an entirely optional unit and was one of four characters (the other three being Chrom, Cordelia and Tharja) to get a special swimsuit scene in a DLC and an Expy in Fates, Asugi.
  • To a slightly lesser extent, Henry, one of the most popular characters in the western Fire Emblem community for his humorous and kind nature contrasting with his love of the macabre. He was able to snag the eleventh place in the series-wide popularity poll, and get himself an alternate limited-time draw in Fire Emblem: Heroes, a position usually reserved for more popular or plot-centric characters, before even Tharja.
  • Owain, Inigo, and Severa were the three most popular second-generation characters in Awakening after Lucina. As a result, they returned in Fire Emblem Fates as playable characters in the Conquest and Revelation routes, were they served as retainers to Nohr's royal family, and this time as first generation characters and with a DLC campaign explaining how they ended up in the Fates universe. Owain and Inigo also appeared as trophies in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.
  • Female Corrin from Fire Emblem Fates deserves a special mention that despite being the main character, she overshadows her male counterpart by a surprisingly large margin. This could be attributed to fans enjoying her versatile customization options and being unhindered by gameplay oversights such as the short amount of potential spouses leaving out an additional unit to recruit. She became so popular she managed to get a set of figurines and remained high in the official poll for Fire Emblem Heroes, while male Corrin crashed out of the top 20 altogether by the time it ended.
  • Camilla and Takumi, while having major roles in Fire Emblem Fates, placed incredibly high on the Fire Emblem Heroes poll, both placing higher than their big brothers (who are more important to the story of Fates overall), and the latter beating out fellow Breakout Character Female Corrin. Both were among the eight mainline Fire Emblem characters promoted for Heroes as well (these characters consisting of three Lords and fellow Breakout Characters), got their own video that plays when you summon them, and even appeared on a promotional poster over either Corrin (the main character of the game they appeared in). Camilla in particular went on to be the second Emblem from Fates (only behind Corrin, of course) to appear in Fire Emblem Engage.
  • Robin, the playable Avatar of Fire Emblem: Awakening, appeared alongside Lucina (see above) as playable fighters in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U over the actual main lead Chrom (who was thought to be a shoo-in for a roster spot), helped cement him as a breakout character. In somewhat of a reversal of female Corrin, it was the male Robin who got the good deal, getting an amiibo of himself which lead to appearances in Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., Fire Emblem Fates, and Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. He was also promoted alongside other Breakout Characters in Fire Emblem Heroes, getting his own video when summoned, and remaining in the top 10 (8th place, beating out fellow Breakout Character Takumi) in the official poll for the same game while female Robin was knocked out of the top 10 by the time it ended.
  • A particularly prominent example of a Breakout Character from the Fire Emblem series is Ike, protagonist of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and co-protagonist of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. When Ike was first announced for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, most of the Internet's reaction was "Who the hell is Ike?" But he would later prove to be so popular there that it got people going back to play his games. And among the people who played his games, he's extremely popular for his unique status as a non-Lord main character, his character development, and his incredible power in battle, and since Brawl, he's appeared in Fire Emblem: Awakening (along with his descendant, Priam), Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U and Ultimate, got an amiibo made, and made further appearances in Fire Emblem Fates, Code Name: S.T.E.A.M, and Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. In the first Fire Emblem Heroes "Choose Your Legend" poll, Ike's Path of Radiance incarnation won the male category, while his Radiant Dawn incarnation placed fifth. He's the only person to appear in either top ten twice. And if you combine his votes, he beats out the winner of the women's bracket (Lyn) by 1500 votes.
  • From Ike's series, the most popular non-main character is far and away Nephenee, who not only appears in Heroes, but has Expies in both Awakening and Fates - Donnel and Mozu, respectively.
  • Ike's popularity wouldn't soar as high if it wasn't for the character he's based on: Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade's Hector. While he is a powerhouse on his own and not the main Lord of the main story, he broke the mold of typical Lords by being more abrasive and Hot-Blooded and yet also providing good insight and character development (not to mention using axes instead of swords), making him unlike other typical goody-two-shoes Lords and impressing the fans so much that he became sort of mini-archetype amongst Lords in general, the more down-to-earth, hotheaded type of Lords that Ike would become, and Hector usually remains as one of the more beloved Lords amongst the series.
  • Reinhardt is a very unprecedented case in that he became this solely thanks to his appearance in Fire Emblem Heroes, where he is notorious for being one of the biggest Game Breakers thanks to his unique tome. Prior to that, the majority of fans probably didn't even know who he was, as he appeared solely in Fire Emblem: Thracia 776, one of the most unpopular entries in the series that hasn't even been released in western shores. His infamy in Heroes became such that he rose from 584th to 11th most popular hero, and 5th overall for males, beating many fan favorites like Chrom and Robin in the second Choose Your Legends poll. He was even given an alternate variant in the very first Thracia banner along with his sister Olwen, before several series protagonists such as Alm and especially Marth received such an honor.
  • Possibly the humblest origins of any popular Fire Emblem character belongs to the Gatekeeper from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. He was nothing more than a generic recurring NPC in the base game, who would cheerfully declare he had nothing to report, before making some small talk. His sunny disposition and chatty nature won him enough fans that he was put up for a vote to be included in Heroes and he won handily, beating iconic series hero Marth by nearly 30,000 votes. He proved popular there too, and was added into the Three Houses stage in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate where he observed the battle from the background. This culminated in not only his return as an NPC in Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, but also his promotion to the playable cast (albeit as a Secret Character).
  • Even Fire Emblem Heroes itself has its own breakout character with Princess Veronica. Her story instantly resonated with the fans, to the point where an entire chapter of the story was solely dedicated to her. Veronica even makes an appearance in the main series itself, being one of the summonable Emblems in Fire Emblem Engage.
• The Indie game Freedom Planet has Milla, being the Heartwarming Orphan of the team who had very cute moments with Lilac. Originally she wasn't intended to be playable, and she was planned to be killed off after Brevon turns her into a mutant, but the devs couldn't bring themselves to go through with it, and she was later made playable with a kickstarter stretch goal. She's become as iconic as Lilac herself, even having more fanart than Deuteragonist Carol Tea, and just as much as Sash Lilac. Being a favorite among speedrunners doesn't hurt her Memetic Badass status among fans. There's also Neera Li, a popular midboss who got a good amount of fanart and was believed to be a playable character by some thanks to her design. Come Freedom Planet 2, and she's been Promoted to Playable as the fourth main character.
• Gears of War has the Carmines. In the first game, there was Anthony Carmine, whose entire character was to show that Helmets Are Hardly Heroic and to get shot in the head, receiving two lines of dialogue in the meantime that established him as a naïve recruit. As it turned out, the fanbase liked his "inexperienced youngster" characterization and thought his helmet, ironically, looked cool, to the point where he was one of the most picked characters for multiplayer. The next game introduced his brother, Benjamin Carmine, who shared Anthony's earlier characterization but expanded on it, and though he died, he managed to survive most of the game and even managed a Heroic Sacrifice. In the third game, the third brother shows up, an out-and-out muscular super-badass by the name of Clayton Carmine who survives the entire game.
• Guilty Gear:
  • Baiken has always been among the most recognizable characters the series has but was never too much around the cream of the crop like Sol, Ky, Dizzy, etc. However over the years, she has grown more and more popular for her design and personality that by the time of Xrd, newcomers and outsiders were interested in Guilty Gear solely for Baiken alone, to the point that ArcSys is very confident in lending Baiken for other video game series as a guest, and as a selling factor for separate DLC in Guilty Gear itsself. Baiken also plays a central role in STRIVE's story DLC Another Story, when in past games she tended to have more of a solo arc largely independent from most characters.
  • However, Baiken barely even holds a candle to the likes of Bridget, who has arguably been the breakout character of the series since her debut in XX, thanks to her cute design, as well as the humor revolving around it, even originally being the trope namer for Unsettling Gender-Reveal. However, her reintroduction in STRIVE truly cemented her status as a breakout character with her being retooled from an effeminate young man made to wear feminine clothing, to a full-on transgender woman; a decision that, while initially controversial, resulted in her gaining a massive surge in popularity, especially since the Guilty Gear series was already incredibly popular in the LGBTQ+ community. It's gotten to the point that Bridget is now the de-facto face of the series, eclipsing mainstays such as Sol and Ky.
• Sergeant Johnson of Halo: Combat Evolved. Originally intended to be a homage to the Drill Sergeant Nasty stock character type and just another NPC marine who will probably die numerous times throughout any given playthrough of the campaign, he became so popular that Bungie retconned his death in the legendary bonus cutscene to add him into Halo 2 and Halo 3. He even got a starring role in the novel Halo: Contact Harvest, penned by one of Halo's main writers. This is largely due to David Scully's hilariously stellar delivery as Johnson's voice actor.
• Kingdom Hearts:
  • Axel was an important villain in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and was intended to carry over to Kingdom Hearts II as the tutorial boss. However, both fans and the staff liked him too much, and his role was extended into KHII's main scenario. He ultimately went on to become one of the main characters of the series, forming a trio with Roxas and Xion in 358/2 Days, having his original self, Lea, introduced in Birth by Sleep and returning to life as Lea in 3D. To receive a Keyblade no less!
  • For that matter, Roxas. Fans like him for being a sympathetic Troubled, but Cute who is badass as hell (dual-wielding Keyblades? Sure is). It's basically an open secret that Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days is an excuse for the game makers to put him in the protagonist role. Even though his importance in the story mostly ends after Days, he is such an iconic character that even casual KH players not bothered to pay attention to the story recognize him by name. It's funny to think that the Prolonged Prologue of II was actually lambasted when it was first released because it took a long time to play as Sora again, a reception that fans nowadays consider an Old Shame. His popularity also rubbed off on Ventus. Though he is not without merit, Ven is well-liked mainly because he is a Roxas lookalike.
  • Aqua was one of the three protagonists in Birth by Sleep, but the developers were surprised to find that she was by far the most well-liked of the trio. As a result, she was made the sole playable character in the (albeit rather short) game Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-, which served as a prologue to Kingdom Hearts III. She was also featured as both a boss and a playable character in KHIII itself, and was also the playable leader for Team BBS in Melody of Memory.
• One of the Waddle Dees in the Kirby series has turned into his own character. He originally appeared as a minor opponent in the Megaton Punch Kirby Super Star minigame, but later went on to become the joke boss in Kirby & the Amazing Mirror. He would end up being very popular with the fans after that, so the developers followed up by making him a major character in Kirby Super Star Ultra in the Revenge of the King episode, and eventually promoting him to playable in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, with his primary abilities being the spear and being able to simply jump continuously rather than float or fly with wings, and he acquired an Uniformity Exception-inducing bandanna. Since then, Bandanna Waddle Dee has been a core part of the series.
• Like a Dragon: Goro Majima was introduced as a borderline Ax-Crazy rival to leading man Kazuma Kiryu. As the series progressed, his popularity grew as his character developed into one of the most complex and likeable members of the Tojo Clan, eventually granting him a starring role alongside Kiryu as a playable character in Yakuza 0, along with a side-story campaign of his own in Yakuza Kiwami 2.
• Mana Series
  • While the orignial release of Trials of Mana was a No Export for You for American gamers, the fandom immediately latched onto Riesz for being an Action Girl and not just princess of her country, but also Captain of the Guard, having a very likable personality, and being an excellent support character in the game. Up until the Trials remake, Riesz had more fanart of her than of the rest of the cast, and quite possibly everyone in the Mana franchise, combined!
  • Legend of Mana has L'il Cactus, the main character's initial roommate who is... a talking cactus who says very little and just keeps a diary of the main character's adventures after clearing each episode. His quirky traits endeared himself to the audience so much that he became a Recurring Character in the franchise with appearances in Sword of Mana to fulfil basically the same role as in Legend, and central to a game-spanning side quest in the remake of Trials.
• Mass Effect
  • In Mass Effect, it was obvious the spotlight was supposed to be on your two human squadmates. They both got lots of screentime, were the major romance options (Liara sort of played second fiddle), and were your first two partners. Instead, fans centered on Tali and Garrus. In the sequel, Bioware took notice of their popularity and gave them larger roles in the story, while the surviving human is Demoted to Extra. Garrus and Tali returned as squadmates, gained a lot more character focus, and both became romance options. By the third game, both Garrus and Tali are easily in the category of "top five most important characters in the entire series," as they're the only characters who are squadmates in all three games and Shepard can call them their closest friends. In the third game, Garrus and Liara have the most dialogue with Shepard by far, even though the former can be dead at that point in the story.
  • Wrex, also from the first game, was just as popular as Tali and Garrus. Though his possible death in the first game gave him a reduced role in the second, he returns in the third game as a major character during the Tuchanka arc. If he survives, he even returns in the Citadel DLC, becoming a temporary squadmate again.
  • Mordin and Legion were both insanely popular squadmates introduced in Mass Effect 2 and this led to them gaining more significant story roles in Mass Effect 3. Since any of the ME2 squadmates could've been killed during the suicide mission, the vast majority of them were Demoted to Extra. Mordin and Legion, on the other hand, return for the Tuchanka and Rannoch arcs, respectively, with the resolution of their character arcs tied heavily into each story's conclusion.
• Mega Man:
  • Tron Bonne from Mega Man Legends, the Gadgeteer Genius tsundere member of the Quirky Miniboss Squad. Her popularity not only gave her the starring role of her own Spin-Off game, The Misadventures of Tron Bonne, but also led to her appearing in various Capcom crossovers. In fact, she has made the most appearances of any character from the franchise in these fighting games, even more so than the titular Blue Bomber himself, due to the swapping between the different Mega Man incarnations and Zero.
  • Zero of Mega Man X is an unusual example. He was a supporting character in his first appearance, and was promoted to main character status as the series progressed, especially getting his own series that further showed his awesomeness. Zero was supposed to be the main character (in other words, Mega Man X himself), but was "demoted" because his creator, Keiji Inafune, was told that Zero looked too different from the original Mega Man. His positive reception led to him later becoming the main character after all.
  • From Mega Man Battle Network, we have Bass.EXE. Bass is a moderately popular character in the classic series, and a simple Optional Boss in the first Battle Network game. He would gain plot relevance in 2 and 3 due to positive reception from fans and even the game's staff. Oh yeah, and in each of the six games, he's always the strongest encounter.
  • Aile from Mega Man ZX is the Distaff Counterpart of Vent, but she would overshadow him due to being the first true female playable protagonist (as opposed to be a playable side character) of the Mega Man franchise. While Vent did star as the main protagonist for the ZX manga adaptation back in 2006, Aile was chosen to represent Mega Man ZX in Mega Man X DiVE in 2020 with Vent absent. In fact, DiVe would later chose Aile again to represent Mega Man ZX Advent as her older self, rather than choosing Grey or Ashe.
• Metal Gear: Originally, Big Boss is the Big Bad of the first two games. After the release of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, he became an ultra-popular Tragic Hero-turned-Anti-Villain and went on to star in his own prequel games to show that transition.
• Mortal Kombat:
  • The early MK games featured Liu Kang as the lead character and the intro of the second game even goes as far as to declare him as the canonical winner of the first tournament. However, the rival ninjas Sub-Zero and Scorpion ultimately prove to be more popular characters (to the point that Midway created Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 in response to all the complaints about Scorpion's absence in the original edition). And as the series went on, the marketing for the newer games tended to focused more around them, culminating with their appearances on the packaging of Mortal Kombat 9 and Mortal Kombat X.
  • Johnny Cage certainly wasn't the most popular character in the original MK and its sequels. But by the time of MK9 and the start of MKX, he's grown in popularity so much he can get away with beating both mascot ninjas Scorpion and Sub-Zero in a two-on-one match at the start of the game. Johnny pretty much replaces Liu Kang as The Hero of Earthrealm.
  • Quan Chi wasn't much more than a manipulating Necromancer in his early games, though his fatality was admittedly pretty awesome. But in Mortal Kombat 9, where he is redesigned into a Kratos-looking badass, he immediately became way more popular, continuing into MKX where he is one of the most played characters.
  • Fair to say Mileena, despite being considered a Ax-Crazy Butter Face, is far more popular than the rest of the franchise's female characters and is on many top ten sexiest female video game character lists as well as best MK character lists. Her sheer popularity led to her return after dying in MKX, with her long-awaited return in Mortal Kombat 11 being lampshaded during her reveal trailer with Erron Black:
    Mileena: A coin for your thoughts, Erron?
    Erron Black: Just trying to reckon why the hell you're back.
    Mileena: A million souls cried out for my return.
  • Kotal Kahn became very popular after his debut and was especially given a lot of screen time in the Mortal Kombat X comic.
  • Kenshi Takahashi from Deadly Alliance is easily the most popular character to debut from that game. In fact, he was the only returning post-Mortal Kombat 3 character, besides Quan Chi, to be part of Mortal Kombat 9's roster, as downloadable content. He would also return for Mortal Kombat X, this time as part of the base roster.
• While not more popular than the main characters, Murray the Mighty Demonic Skull was only intended to be in one scene of The Curse of Monkey Island. The beta testers liked him so much that the developers added him to several other scenes and subsequent games (as a bouncer for Planet Threepwood in Escape from Monkey Island and locked up in a treasure chest inside a giant manatee in the third episode of Tales of Monkey Island).
  Murray: "...and the forces of darkness will applaud me as I STRIDE through the gates of Hell carrying your head on a pike!"
  Guybrush Threepwood: "Stride?"
  Murray: "Alright then, ROLL! ROLL through the gates of Hell... Must you take the fun out of everything?"
• In Ninja Gaiden, Ryu Hayabusa's pretty apprentice Momiji won over a lot of fans through her interesting Miko-inspired design and gentle, polite Nice Girl personality. She quickly usurped Irene Lew as the poster girl for the rebooted franchise, has appeared in every installment since since her introduction in Dragon Sword, and also was included in Dead or Alive and Warriors Orochi 3; she even made a cameo appearance in For Honor. In 3, she was the only girl to appear in the base game: Ayane and Kasumi only appear in the expansion and Rachel is conspicuous in her absence. She was also the only Ninja Gaiden heroine to make an appearance in Z, though she still only played a very small role.
• Of Orcs and Men had Styx, a wily and snarky Goblin and the self-proclaimed "Master of Shadows". He became so popular despite technically being the deuteragonist to the determined and heroic Orc protagonist, Arkhail, that he was given a spin-off game to expand on his history before meeting Arkhail. That game ended up making him even more popular resulting in a sequel, and it's now to the point that the original game has experienced Sequel Displacement and is remembered mostly for being Styx's debut.
• Originally, Sojourn was the poster character for Overwatch 2- as with Tracer for Overwatch- and she was a playable hero in the beta. Then Kiriko made her debut in the game's launch in a big way and quickly became a fan favorite (although not without some controversy). This didn't go unnoticed by Blizzard, and as a result, Kikiro has had more highlight intros and a LOT more skins (including one Legandary, one Mythic, and two crossover events) than any new playable character introduced that year. She's also the only support character so far with a full cinematic.
• Naoto Shirogane from Persona 4 also proved popular enough to get a spin-off novel, which was later adapted into a manga.
• Pokémon:
  • It's hard to remember, but Pikachu wasn't the original mascot of the franchise. Clefairy was supposed to be. The Anime of the Game had Pikachu be the starter of the protagonist instead of one of the original three, and when the series took off so did Pikachu. Pikachu evolved into the series mascot, even getting its own game in the form of Pokémon Yellow Version, and never looked back. This has resulted in a steady stream of unique moves for Pikachu and not for its evolved form Raichu, in an attempt to keep the now-undisputed mascot viable in actual gameplay.
  • Sinnoh Champion Cynthia becomes the most popular Champion in the series among fans, leading to her going on to appear in Pokemon Heart Gold And Soul Silver, Pokémon Black and White, Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, and Pokémon Sun and Moon. Until Cynthia, the anime always gave Champions less attention than the Elite Four of a region, despite the Champion being a higher-ranking position. Cynthia on the other hand has been a major recurring character ever since her introduction.
  • Dawn, the female player character from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, was initially just a Distaff Counterpart to Lucas, who was featured more prominently in the early trailers of the games. But she gained popularity with fans when Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl promoted her as a co-lead protagonist alongside Ash, complete with a well-defined character journey revolving around Pokémon Contests. In the post-Diamond and Pearl series, Dawn has the most guest-starred episodes out of all of Ash's former travelling companions, surpassing even the likes of Misty. Her popularity in the anime eventually bled into spin-off games like Pokémon Masters, where she became playable within the first year of the game's release, while her male counterpart, Lucas, did not even appear in the game at all until January 2022, more than two years after the game's release. When the first trailer for the Diamond and Pearl remakes arrived, Dawn is the first character seen and many news outlets gave her top-billing over Lucas. Even Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which doesn't feature Dawn, made sure to mention Akari (an ancestral character who resembles Dawn) first before Rei (the ancestral Lucas).
  • Rosa, the female player character from Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, had quietly gained popularity since she debuted, but her popularity really shot up shortly before the release of Pokémon Masters. She is featured on the main promotional artwork for that game and is a major NPC in it, and the first 5-star character who joins the player for free. Since then, there has been a good amount of merchandise of her, topped only by the above-mentioned Cynthia. Compare that to her male counterpart, Nate, who has become mostly forgotten and hadn't had any official merchandise or appearances past Black 2 and White 2 until he was also added to Pokémon Masters, well over a year after Rosa.
  • Gloria, the female player character from Pokémon Sword and Shield, has achieved overwhelming popularity from the day she was introduced. It was such that she not only was the subject of multiple merchandise pieces, official art, and trading cards, but she became the very first Generation VIII character to be playable in Pokémon Masters, months prior to other fan favorites such as Piers and Raihan.
  • Each generation of Pokémon has its share of species, however major or minor that become this:
    • Generation I: Charizard,^note Charizard was the fan favorite starter, and thanks to popularity poll results and merchandise sales, can be argued to be the most popular Pokémon in the United States. It was one of two Pokémon to get two Mega Evolutions in X and Y, and was also depicted as the main Pokémon in Pokémon Origins, the first animated Pokémon feature directly aimed at the Periphery Demographic. Charizard's popularity also led to the one used by the main character of the anime to consistently be depicted as a total badass, and aside from the ever-present Pikachu he's the most common of Ash's season one team to make return appearances. Pikachu,^note  As noted above, thanks to the initial popularity of the anime, Pikachu was made into the official mascot of the franchise. Pikachu's popularity even warranted a Recursive Adaptation, Pokémon Yellow. Jigglypuff,^note During the early days of the franchise, Jigglypuff was the second most popular Pokémon in Japan — again, due to the anime — and was one of the most prominent recurring characters in the anime, although its popularity has waned since then. After 14 years though it was brought back for the Sun and Moon anime. Meowth,^note Meowth is by and large a regular Pokémon in the games, but the anime is where its true popularity lies: most prominently is Team Rocket's Meowth, it is unique in that it is one of the very few Pokémon in the whole franchise to talk the human language, thus he acts more human-like than all other Pokémon and sets himself up as "Pikachu's main rival", much like Tom and Jerry. Eevee (and all its Eeveelutions),^note Eevee and its evolutions quickly became fan favorites for their adorable designs, and being the original Pokémon to have a branched evolution. Its popularity was so overwhelming that Eeveelution merchandise are frequently top sellers, and later generations would introduce more evolutions, with Sylveon in particular being used heavily in promos for Pokémon X & Y to show off the new Fairy type. Mewtwo^note Like Charizard, Mewtwo got two Mega Evolutions and ranks very high in popularity polls. Starting off as an Optional Boss in the original game and being the star of Pokémon: The First Movie led to Mewtwo also becoming one of the most popular Pokémon in the franchise., Gengar^note Its evolutionary line made an impression on players as the only Ghost type Pokémon in Gen 1. Coupled with a design that many considered to be terrifying. Even with the introduction of other Ghost types, Gengar is still competitively viable and is always put on the team of a Ghost type gym or Elite Four members. It placed 10th in the 2020 popularity vote and is the most requested fighter when asked for Pokkén Tournament. Its popularity is, no doubt, why it was featured on Ash's team in Pokémon Journeys: The Series., Magikarp/Gyarados^note Magikarp became the franchise's poster child for the Magikarp Power trope (of which it is the Trope Namer), and captivated many fans due to its being an extremely weak and dopey fish that evolves into the gigantic badass sea dragon Gyarados. Both of them have received a lot of merchandise, especially with Magikarp in Japan where it regularly gets Pokémon Center promotions and special videos. Gyarados' Shiny form is also one of the most well-known in the series, being a mandatory encounter in Pokémon Gold and Silver and garnering a lot of attention for its deep red coloration.
    • Generation II: Wooper/Quagsire,^note A line of derpily adorable salamanders. Though relatively ignored at first, the Wooper line exploded in popularity in the late 2010s and early 2020s thanks to their adorable, carefree designs, as well as Quagsire being deceptively useful in competitive play. Aside from becoming more prominent in merchandising, Wooper got a Poison/Ground Paldean variant in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Additionally, Wooper often appears in promotional media relating to the Johto region. The Pokémon Company has also acknowledged certain memes surrounding the line, namely the "This" meme shortly after Paldean Wooper's reveal. Tyranitar^note Tyranitar became one of the most popular early Dark-types for its menacing Not Zilla design and its usefulness in battles. It returned in almost every game after Gen II, and ended up getting a lot of merchandise and focus, even becoming playable in Pokémon Unite. It even got its own Paradox Pokémon variant in Iron Thorns in Generation IX.
    • Generation III: Blaziken,^note Although not to the level of Charizard, Blaziken ended up becoming the most used starter of the third generation. Blaziken's popularity led to the game developers into creating two Expy starters in the form of Infernape and Emboar. Blaziken also was the first starter after the originals to get a Mega Evolution in Gen VI (and as an event, at that!). As an aside, Torchic is also popular in its own right as it received plenty of minor showcasing. Gardevoir,^note Gardevoir and the whole family has become much more prominent in later generations than its first. It got Gallade as an alternate second stage evolution, and Generation VI gives it a Mega Evolution which is the Champion's signature Pokémon, and Iron Valiant is a deliberate Composite Character of both. Rayquaza^note Rayquaza, like Charizard, ranks high in popularity polls and was voted as the most popular version mascot in a Japanese poll. It got quite a few gratuitous appearances across the franchise from late 2011 to early 2012, including as Oda Nobunaga's strongest Pokémon in Pokémon Conquest. It also got a Mega Evolution in Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, which is considered to be the biggest Game-Breaker in the franchise since Mewtwo in Gen I (before the Special stat was split in two).
    • Generation IV: Piplup,^note Piplup is extremely popular in Japan, moreso than its future evolutions. Part of it might have been due to the penguin craze around at the time, but Piplup's popularity was solidified when it became Dawn's starter in the anime and given co-star treatment next to Pikachu only several episodes in. Since then, Piplup has appeared prominently in the franchise, being the starter Pokémon for protagonists such Haerta and Platinum, as well as the main hero in the Mystery Dungeon Explorer specials. Dawn's Piplup in particular has led to several Expies such as Ash's Oshawott and Clemont's Chespin. If that wasn't clear already, Piplup appears as a starter for one of main characters in the twentieth movie despite being neither a Gen I or VII Pokémon. Bidoof,^note Despite being a Com Mon, Bidoof would get a lot of attention from official and unofficial sources, thanks to memes surrounding its derpy appearance and status as a Boring, but Practical HM Slave. In addition to receiving a good amount of merch, for April Fools' Day 2021, Pokémon's social media pages became entirely Bidoof themed, and later that year they announced a new fandom holiday in the form of Bidoof Day and the animated short Bidoof's Big Stand. Lucario,^note Lucario's popularity exploded upon release, quickly overshadowing the starters of the gen as the most popular Pokémon. Lucario became the focal Pokémon of the eighth movie, a gift Pokémon in every subsequent game released after its introduction, became a fighter in the Super Smash Bros. series, and even given an expy in the form of Zoroark. It's even set to be prominently featured in the twentieth movie despite the fact Gen IV is not being advertised at the time. Ash himself eventually got one in the Journeys anime as well., Garchomp,^note Garchomp is commonly considered the most popular pseudo-legendary Pokémon in the franchise, and often ranks second in popularity to Lucario as far as Generation IV goes. It is the Signature Mon of the aforementioned Champion Cynthia, and was made playable in Pokkén Tournament due to its popularity. Giratina,^note Similar to Rayquaza, Giratina proved to be the most popular out of its Legendary Trio for its Creepy Awesome design and rebellious backstory befitting of the "Renegade Pokémon". Its turn as part of the Big Bad Duumvirate in Pokémon Legends: Arceus made it even more popular, and it also boasts one of the most expensive cards in the modern Pokémon TCG. Darkrai^note Despite being a Mythical Pokémon, which are usually treated as in-game secrets that get one anime movie in the limelight, its JRPG villain aesthetic made it popular enough to be an antagonist in several spinoff games along with its expected role in Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai. It had a memorable appearance as the True Final Boss of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers, and was also the Final Boss of Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia and PokePark 2: Wonders Beyond, Arceus^note  Being the at the time absolute strongest Pokémon and In-Universe Creator Deity quickly helped Arceus gain a lot of mainstream appeal for a mythical Pokémon, which culminated in it getting it's own game years down the line in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
    • Generation V: Zekrom^note Its appearance on the cover ensured that the White version ended up becoming the best-selling version. Like Rayquaza, Zekrom was one of Oda Nobunaga's most prominent Pokémon in Pokémon Conquest, and is the closest one can get to the main Pokémon of the game. Zekrom proved to be so popular that Mega Charizard X ended up being modeled after it.
    • Generation VI: Braixen,^note The fact that Braixen wasn't the fourth Fire/Fighting type starter in a row is what gave it even more lovely reception than the detested Pignite and Emboar, and while it evolves into the Fire/Psychic type Delphox, the Braixen stage itself happens to be more popular (which puts it in a position where the middle stage is the most popular). But what really gathers so much appeal for Braixen is its unique design which likens it to a Tsundere girl, which is so prominent that you'll often see much fanart online with behaving like a Tsundere, even calling people baka, and many people will breed or soft reset their game so that they get the female Fennekin and will choose not to evolve it to its final stage. Its popularity grew even further when the anime Serena's Fennekin evolved into a Braixen, and even when Braixen was revealed as a playable character in Pokkén Tournament. Greninja,^note Greninja became the fan favorite starter of Gen VI, quickly becoming both the most used starter of the gen and voted the most popular. It got handpicked, coincidentally, by Sakurai to serve as the Gen rep for Super Smash Bros. and was also the starter given to Ash in the anime, complete with its own unique transformation that eventually made its way into Pokémon Sun and Moon. Goomy^note When first revealed at the start of Gen VI, it quickly reached memetic status due to the juxtaposition of it being a small cute slug while also being a dragon-type at the same time. It also helps that its evolutions are more peaceful and kind compared to most pseudo-legendaries, which is reminiscent of Gen I's Dragonite. This popularity resulted in lots of Goomy-related merch and even having a spot on Ash's team in the X and Y anime. It's even available in Sun and Moon and is the only Pokémon from an older generation to be given out at an Easter Egg event in Japan and Korea.
    • Generation VII: Rowlet,^note Of the starters, Rowlet has grown to be the most popular starter in its generation's line-up and arguably the most popular Grass starter period for its cute and round design, for being the first Grass starter since Bulbasaur to have dual typing from the beginning, and for its final form taking a turn with its Ghost-typing, though its first form is definitely most popular. Its anime incarnation, with its sleepy personality, definitely gave it a cuteness boost. It even returned as the Grass-type starter in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and as a side effect, its fully evolved form Decidueye was added to Pokémon Unite (where it evolves from Rowlet) and the Nintendo Switch port of Pokken Tournament. Mimikyu,^note A cute Ghost/Fairy Pokémon that wears a shabby Pikachu costume because it wants to be as popular; this quickly became a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy in the real world. It was one of the most marketed 'mons and got a special Image Song. It also helps that Mimikyu is a genuinely useful Pokémon, thanks to a good typing, high Speed and Attack, and an Ability that lets it avoid damage for a single turn. Alolan Vulpix,^note A variant of the Generation I Pokémon Vulpix found in Alola, undoubtedly thanks to its adorable appearance and major role in the anime. In response, Alolan Vulpix has received more merchandise than any other Pokémon introduced in Alola. It even has the honor of being the only unevolved Pokémon to recieve a VStar card in the TCG, managing to feature in one even before Series Mascot Pikachu. Also helping its popularity is its evolution, Alolan Ninetales, which is very useful competitively, especially in double battles. Alolan Vulpix also retroactively made the regular Fire-typed Vulpix popular once more. Lycanroc^note A Rock-type wolf Pokémon that comes in three forms; the Midday form, the Midnight form, and the Dusk form. The Midday and Dusk forms are quadrupedal, while the Midnight form is bipedal, resembling a werewolf. Together with their pre-evolution Rockruff, they are among the most promoted Pokémon of their generation, with the Dusk and Midnight forms being owned by Ash Ketchum and Gladion respectively in the anime., Incineroar^note The most prominent of the final form starters in the anime, belonging to Cross (Ash's rival) in the 20th movie and Professor Kukui and eventually Ash himself in the anime proper. It would later be revealed as the final newcomer in the base roster for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
    • Generation VIII: Dracovish,^note Dracovish would become a surprise fan-favourite due to its utterly insane capability in battle contrasted with its goofy appearance and cursed existence. Consequently, it began getting featured heavily in merch and the official twitter, and being made part of Ash's team in Pokémon: The Series. Dragapult,^note Like Garchomp, Dragapult became an instant fan-favorite among the pseudo-legendaries for its blistering speed and unique design themed around stealth bombers and family units. It's frequently marketed as a poster child for Dragon-types alongside Garchomp, and also became playable in Pokémon Unite. Hisuian Zorua/Zoroark^note The Normal/Ghost variant of Generation V's Zoroark line, Hisuian Zorua and Zoroark managed to find immense popularity thanks to their unique typings, tragic backstory, and cute/Creepy Awesome designs respectively. A shiny Hisuian Zorua (later Zoroark) is featured heavily in Pokémon: Hisuian Snow, while Hisuian Zoroark was among the first Pokémon to be confirmed to return in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Rather ironic seeing how the original Zoroark line was a failed attempt at recapturing Lucario's popularity.
    • Generation IX: Sprigatito,^note Similar to Rowlet, Sprigatito became an instant hit with fans thanks to its Cute Kitten design. While its final evolution Meowscarada is also quite popular, the first stage is most beloved. Sprigatito is the protagonist's main Pokémon in Pokémon Horizons: The Series, is a playable character in Pokémon Unite that evolves all the way into Meowscarada during gameplay, and gets a lot of focus in merchandise - even getting its own unevolved ex card in the TCG. Ceruledge,^note Ceruledge became an instant fan-favorite for its ghostly Black Knight design and signature move of Bitter Blade, scoring high in a Japanese popularity poll and easily outstripping its version counterpart Armarouge. It's often marketed over Armarouge and even has a prominent role in Pokémon Horizons: The Series. Miraidon^note Out of the two box legendaries, Miraidon became the more popular one (especially in the West) for being an awesome robotic dragon. It often got the spotlight over Koraidon in various pieces of merchandise and even became a surprise playable character in Pokémon Unite as the second representative from Generation IX.
    • Ten characters on this list (Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Pichu, Mewtwo, Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charizard, Lucario, Greninja, and Incineroar) are playable in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, while one other (Rayquaza) is a boss in a previous game, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and a stage hazard in Wii U and Ultimate.
  • The Hex Maniac, specifically her incarnation from the Sixth Generation games, is considered one of the most popular NPC Trainers among the the fandom, so much so that for Pokémon Masters 2022 Halloween event she was actually added as a playable Sync pair with Haunter, and even given a canon name, Helena.
• GLaDOS from Portal was originally intended to only speak in the Relaxation Chamber at the start of the game; but playtesters liked her so much, Valve decided to use her throughout the game. She became synonymous with the Portal franchise and was even the final boss of the first game.
• Puyo Puyo: Applicable to many characters, as most were mooks in the original games, but especially to Witch. Starting as not only a mook, but a mook that you had to go out of your way to find in the basement level, she eventually skyrocketed to the third most popular character in the entire series (after Arle, the main character, and Schezo) and received her own spin-off game, Comet Summoner, and a supporting role in Madou Monogatari: Tower of the Magician. Fans loudly complained when Sega put her on a bus and she was given a cameo in 7 and finally brought back for good in Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary.
• The Rance series contains three major examples:
  • Rick Addison made his debut in Rance III, where he was little more than a Mauve Shirt with a distinct name and design who is introduced very late into the game. When he scored surprisingly high in a popularity poll afterwards, he was made into a full-fledged party member in the following game and received a more distinct characterization that established him as both a reliable One-Man Army and a dorky Nice Guy. Since then, he has gained progressively more prominence throughout the series, regularly scored highly among male characters in popularity polls, and become the second most prominent male character in the series besides Player Character Rance himself with the screen time to match.
  • Cessna Benville was introduced in Rance VI as just one in a trio of Mauve Shirt female party members who each receive some characterization but otherwise play no notable role in the overall story of the game. Her cute design, endearing personality, and surprising usefulness in battle caused her to score very high in the game's popularity poll, eventually earning her and her two associates encore appearances in two following games. Of particular note is her appearance in Rance X, in which she and her companions were added to the game through a post-release patch that actually altered story content (specifically the fight against Warg) to make her play a prominent role in it.
  • Reset Kalar, Rance's daughter, was an instant smash; topping her debut game's popularity poll and gaining a surge of tie-in products with her face on them. This popularity continued into the next game, where, despite essentially only making a cameo appearance, she scored at the top of her category in the popularity poll. Naturally, she's given plenty of screentime in Rance X and while not getting first in the poll, is the highest ranked of her siblings.
• Resident Evil:
  • Much her partner Leon, Claire Redfield rose to high popularity thanks to RE2 as she quickly got a sequel in Code Veronica. She’s still remains one of the most celebrated female characters in the franchise and despite appearing in less games than fellow female protagonists Jill and Ada, only starring in one other game Resident Evil: Revelations 2. Claire still appears in heaps of other RE media such as Resident Evil: Degeneration, Resident Evil: Heavenly Island and the upcoming Resident Evil Infinite Darkness series.
  • Rebecca Chambers was a fairly minor character in the original Resident Evil but she garnered steady popularity in both Japan and the West making a cameo and RE2 and getting a bigger role in the Gamecube remake of RE1 and then her own game Resident Evil 0 (where she's much more badass compared to other titles). Since then Rebecca has made appearances in RE5's Mercenaries Mode, the live action Resident Evil Stage Show and Resident Evil: Vendetta. Rebecca's popularity is also highly ironic given her own creator Shinji Mikami actually dislikes her and only put her in the original game due to his staff demanding it.
  • Jack Krauser. He originally appeared in Resident Evil 4 as a Remember the New Guy? before he dies, but his badassery led him to getting expanded on in a prequel mission in The Darkside Chronicles.
  • HUNK was just a masked goon from Umbrella in RE2 who was killed by the mutated William Birkin, however thanks staring in a Mini-Game where he survives and fights his way to freedom, HUNK gained immense popularity. HUNK much like Wesker found his way in subsequent titles despite having little to do with the main story.
  • Nemesis from RE3 originally was more of a Monster of the Week and simply called “Pursuer” and in Japan wasn’t even in the title of the game^note which was called Resident Evil: Last Escape. But Nemesis quickly became as synonymous with the franchise as the zombies thanks to his Implacable Man behaviour and appeared frequently in other RE and Capcom media as well as a hotly anticipated remake.
  • Nemesis' predecessor T-103 aka Tyrant wasn't particularly popular. But thanks to his revamp in RE2make, he became so popular that he found his way into Monster Hunter: World (alongside Leon and Claire) as well as a playable appearance in Resident Evil Project Resistance.
  • Jack Baker from Resident Evil 7 was just one of the recurring antagonists in the game, but thanks to his Large Ham Ax-Crazy one-liners and being a particularly persistent foe, he soon eclipsed the rest of the Bakers in popularity and even overshadowed the game's Big Bad Eveline. Unsurprisingly Jack features heavily in the RE7's mini-games, it's End of Zoe DLC and even a playable appearance in the multiplayer Resident Evil Re:Verse.
  • Ethan Winters ironically became this with Resident Evil Village. His first appearance in the previous installment, Resident Evil 7, while not disliked, was considered a bit of a waste since it meant not having one of the previous beloved protagonists as the lead. He was considered kind of bland and forgettable due to being largely a blank slate with very Dull Surprise reactions to whatever he was going through. With Village, he received a healthy helping of Rescued from the Scrappy Heap with much more characterization and a singleminded drive to save his daughter, no matter what hell he went through. And the game certainly put him through a lot of hell, starting with half of one of his hands getting mangled in the opening combat sequence. But all this suffering only augmented his popularity, as he pushed through it all just to save his daughter. The turn around was so complete that a lot of fans were really saddened that Ethan dies at the end of the game, wishing that he could continue to be a recurring protagonist in the franchise.
  • Lady Dimitrescu from Resident Evil Village is probably the only RE character who became a Breakout Character before her game was even released. When she was first shown she didn't causes much of a stir, but when later screenshots and gameplay revealed she's a Statuesque Stunner who will be hunting the player down like Mr X and Nemesis, the Internet collectively exploded with excitement. Fan Art and Cosplay of Lady Dimitrescu quickly ensued.
• Akira Kazama of Rival Schools was first introduced in the first game as a Badass Biker who was searching for his missing older brother, and was later revealed to actually be a girl in disguise. Despite her minimal role in the game's overall story, she proved to be the fan favorite of the cast with her having her own separate story mode in the second game. Her popularity eventually led to her being chosen as the series' representative in Street Fighter V making her the first character from her series to be playable there.
• In the Shin Megami Tensei series, several demons have become massively popular, chief amongst them Alice, Mara and Matador. These three have been given more notable appearances than other demons in the series, with Alice reaching main Bonus Boss status in Devil Survivor 2, Mara being one of the franchises most recurring demons to appear in sidequests, and Matador being tied with the Pale Rider as most recurring member of the Fiend race in the main series.
• When Yacht Club Games was creating their first game, Shovel Knight, during the Kickstarter campaign that helped them along the way, they made several proposals. These proposals included the idea of making 3 knights of the Order of No Quarter playable with their own games and mechanics, and revealing more about their character. To decide which knights would be playable they decided to make a poll called Dig the Vote, where fans would vote for the knights they wanted playable. The most popular knights overall proved to be Plague Knight, Specter Knight, and King Knight, who each got their own campaigns; Plague of Shadows, Specter of Torment and King of Cards, respectively.
• Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Knuckles the Echidna. He initially showed up as an antagonist tricked by Eggman to oppose Sonic, but he proved popular enough that he headlined his own game the following year, and a few years later, he became part of the "Big Three" along with Sonic and Tails. This even extended to the Archie comics where Knuckles had his own spin-off book that at one point almost surpassed Sonic's in popularity. By the noughties, he appeared in just about every game in a major role up until the 2010s when he began to fall Out of Focus. His popularity seems to have revived in lieu his debut in the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 film, where not only is a significant part of the marketing surrounding the film was his initial rivalry with Sonic. To the point where even before the film came out, a spin off series about him was already announced. The Japanese title for the film is even called Sonic vs. Knuckles, giving him equal billing as the main character themself.
  • Shadow the Hedgehog is probably an even better example than Knuckles as he debuted after the Classic era. He was meant to be Killed Off for Real in his debut game Sonic Adventure 2, but was brought back due to his popularity. He's far from the only Evil Twin that Sonic's had, but his personality and fleshed out backstory proved so popular that several games afterward centered on him in some way, to the point where the last one in his story arc starred him and not Sonic. Even after the series started to downplay the secondary cast into smaller roles, he's still one of the most recognizable characters in the franchise.
  • The debut of the Wisps was in Sonic Colors, where Eggman was harvesting their power to use in his interstellar amusement park, and existed mostly as a gameplay mechanic. After the success of Sonic Colors, Takashi Iizuka declared them a staple of the franchise going forward, and they and their corresponding powers have since reappeared in Sonic Generations, Sonic Lost World, and Sonic Forces.
• Splatoon: The Octolings started out as Elite Mooks, but the fandom became fascinated with their backstory, and they were Promoted to Playable in Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion.
• Krystal from Star Fox started out as a hold-over from Dinosaur Planet before it became Star Fox Adventures and while intended to be a playable deuteragonist as with the former, a Christmas Rushed production led to her being benched as a Damsel in Distress for the game's majority. This didn’t stop Krystal from cultivating a following due to her design, and intriguing origins as a Last of Her Kind drifter whose prescence added fantasy tropes to a Sci-Fi setting. Krystal would go on to become a core member of the titular team in Star Fox: Assault, and much of the plot of Star Fox Command focuses on her and her relationship with Fox, with a few story routes outright making her the protagonist. Her abscence in the reboot Star Fox Zero was a surprise, but Krystal’s long-awaited debut in Super Smash Bros. in Ultimate (albeit as an Assist Trophy) more or less confirmed she’s here to stay in the franchise.
• Star Wars has seen a couple.
  • In Knights of the Old Republic, Token Evil Teammate HK-47 proved to be one of the most popular characters in the game, so much so that in the sequel, there were more HK-47s, who served as the villains.
  • Lana Beniko, in Star Wars: The Old Republic, a supporting character in Shadow of Revan, becomes the first companion met in Knights of the Fallen Empire. One reason for her breakout is that she is a Sith with Light Side qualities.
  • In Star Wars Starfighter, Freeoin pirate Nym had a decent supporting role, but he proved to be such a popular character that he was given a much more prominent role in Jedi Starfighter.
  • In Star Wars Outlaws, ND-5, a trenchcoat-wielding BX-series commando droid and the companion of the protagonist Kay Vess, became popular immediately following the announcement of the game, with many finding the character attractive despite it being a droid, fact which even surprised the developers, who said that the character's attractiveness never crossed their minds when designing it.
• In Stellaris, two of the preset empires have come to eclipse the others:
  • The memetic, Ugly Cute, eccentric and dementedly friendly Blorg are generally pulled up as a representation of the sillier, more tongue-in-cheek aspects of the game.
  • Combining Most Writers Are Human with Evil Is Cool, the ruthless and imperialistic Commonwealth of Man are frequently used as a stand-in for the game's more gleefully diabolical fans, or simply when an instantly-recognizable and intimidating antagonist is needed. Their appearance in the Paths to Ascension trailer for the Utopia expansion just cemented it.
• Street Fighter:
  • Chun-Li was one of the original twelve in Street Fighter II. She became very popular due to being percieved as the only playable female character at the time due to the relative obscurity of other examples, as well as her quick kick-based fighting style. She has since appeared as playable character in almost every Street Fighter game (with Street Fighter III: New Generation and 2nd Impact being her only absences). However, if crossovers are taken into account, then Chun-Li has appeared in more games than Ken. She and Ryu are the only ones to appear in each of the Vs. games.
  • People loved Guile. They loved his all-Americanness so much that both the film and the cartoon shunted Ryu to the sidelines and made Guile the protagonist.
  • Akuma is one of the most popular characters in the game for being an epically difficult Superboss and has made appearances in Cyberbots and Tekken 7.
  • Not many people were that hyped for Rashid in Street Fighter V when he was announced, but, when they actually played as him, he became the most popular newcomer by a long shot. The "A Shadow's Fall" story mode increased Rashid's popularity; he's essentially the most important character, gets the most character development, saves the world and pretty much overshadows almost every other character, even Ryu.
• Georg Prime from Suikoden II was just one of the characters of the 108 needed to be recruited. He appeared very late in the game and had almost no impact on the story. However, his backstory by having Richmond investigate him proved to be popular to fans so much that in Suikoden V, set a few years before Suikoden, Georg became one of the main characters. Indeed, the very setting of Suikoden V was chosen specifically to facilitate having Georg as a main character and to show the portion of his backstory that had been the source of the most fan speculation. The rest is history.
• Super Mario Bros.:
  • Luigi started off as a simple Palette Swap of Mario, and became perhaps the biggest fan-favorite of the entire franchise. He got a game of his own, and while he remained out of the main series in the Nintendo 64 and GameCube era, he came back in Super Mario Galaxy, earning bigger roles in the main series as it went on. 2013 was even made The Year of Luigi to celebrate his 30th anniversary.
  • Princess Peach broke out on the sheer success of her debut game. Beforehand, Mario had a lady friend in Pauline. The success of Mario 1 guaranteed that the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom would be Mario's signature heroine from now on, being Promoted to Playable in the American sequel, and getting her very own game. She has appeared in more games than any other female character in video game history, and is effectively the vanguard female of the entire medium.
  • Yoshi was popular enough after his debut in Super Mario World for the next game in the main series to feature him as the main character, which set the road for his very own sub-series, with games such as Yoshi's Story and Yoshi's Cookie. He even receives a cameo in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening which lampshades his then-new popularity.
  • Wario was created for Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins to symbolize the development team's displeasure with developing for a series they did not create. However, the guy became so popular that he ended up getting his own Spin-Off series, Wario Land. And if that wasn't enough, that series became so popular, Wario received another spin-off series called WarioWare, which has typically become one of Nintendo's flagship franchises for showcasing each new console's unique features. Not bad for a one shot Evil Counterpart/Rival born of a Writer Revolt.
  • Within the WarioWare series is Ashley, the young witch introduced in WarioWare: Touched!. Quite popular in Japan (and well-liked outside of Japan), Nintendo started to catch on her popularity after the release of Game & Wario and started to heavily promote her: she was made into an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, had a reward themed after her on the Japanese Club Nintendo, had three Nintendo 3DS themes before any Wario games were released for the system, was used in Japan to promote games she doesn't appear in, has a ridiculous number of badges in Nintendo Badge Arcade and was even the subject of a 2017 April Fools gag about a fake game starring her, has her own minigame with an unlockable character gallery dedicated solely to her and her assistant Red (and no one else) in WarioWare Gold, and is an unlockable costume in Super Mario Maker. This makes her the first and so far only WarioWare character to appear in a Mario game in any form.
  • Diddy Kong, DK's little buddy, made his debut in the original Donkey Kong Country as a sidekick for DK, but became so popular that he was the star of the next game in the series, and went on to appear in virtually every game in the series with the exception of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. He even showed up as a popular character in many Mario spin-offs, to the point that people actually got angry when he didn't return in Mario Kart 8 or its Updated Re Release.
  • Dixie Kong followed the same pattern as her boyfriend Diddy by making her debut as the sidekick in Donkey Kong Country 2, and quickly became beloved by fans for her cute design and usefulness in gameplay. She headlined the third game in the series and after her absence in Donkey Kong 64 was met with disappointment by fans, she made occasional appearances in Mario spinoffs until her return in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze was met with great fanfare and cemented her as the series' third main character.
  • Rosalina was introduced as a main character in Super Mario Galaxy; quickly becoming an fan-favorite amongst the fandom. Six years after her debut, after being Demoted to Extra in Super Mario Galaxy 2 and becoming a regular character in the Mario Kart series, she suddenly took a spotlight in the main series by being Promoted to Playable as a Secret Character in Super Mario 3D World, and later being featured as a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, probably the biggest honor for any Nintendo character.
  • Even Waluigi has received this in a way (mostly through Memetic Mutation). Despite mainly appearing exclusively in spinoff titles, Waluigi was one of many characters to be playable in Super Mario Maker, appearing in the game from the start before other more prominent characters like Daisy or Toadette. He also starred as the Big Bad (for the first level of the game, anyhow) of Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix, where he's the one who kickstarts the game's plot by stealing the Music Keys from Truffle Towers. These days, it's very easy to find fans of him online, and requests for Waluigi to be playable in Smash Bros. or get a game with significant focus on him are very popular.
• Super Robot Wars: Original Generation: Kyosuke Nanbu proved to be so popular that he and his girlfriend Excellen Browning are promoted into main characters by the second game.
  • Axel Almer, in context of the Original Generation series (in his debut at Super Robot Wars Advance, he was always one of the protagonists). When he was introduced, he was designated as The Rival and antagonist of the aforementioned Kyosuke, whereas his original rival and co-protagonist, Lamia Loveless, got saddled with the more heroic role like if she was picked as the protagonist in the original game, and worse, he accidentally got a dose of Adaptational Jerkass (or the Atlus translation made him a lot more jerky than he originally was), which didn't make a good impression and it seemed like Banpresto wanted to push Lamia as the main representative of Advance (and to an extent, it worked, since Lamia had strong popularity overall). Then come Original Generations where Axel was rerailed into more of his old antagonist self with more touches of a Noble Demon and proved to be really well received, which made him survive the events of Original Generations to appear in Gaiden, definitely pulled a Heel–Face Turn there, and his more 'lone wolf' personality means he's more eligible to appear in other spin-offs like Endless Frontier (where his previous amnesiac lovable goofball personality in Advance when picked as protagonist resurfaced) and more freedom to appear in other medias. As a result, Axel has truly broken out from his fate to be second fiddle on Kyosuke and Lamia, he has proven that he is the independent face of Advance.
• Tales Series:
  • While Tales of Destiny had a mixed reception in the US, it was a major success in Japan and the fan-favorite character, Leon Magnus, placed highly on Tales Series popularity polls for many years. He is only around for half of the game, but his edgy-cute Pretty Boy looks, his tragic story, and the built-in fandom of his popular voice actor make him a go-to choice for cameo appearances and optional costumes. It's almost an unspoken guarantee that he'll be a playable character in spin-off games. He is also the only returning playable character in Tales of Destiny 2, though he goes by a different name.
    English-speaking players tend to be left in the cold by the focus on Leon. Pretty boy and/or seiyuu fandom doesn't go as far internationally, and Leon is abusive towards the other characters in the original version of Tales of Destiny, including the main character and player surrogate, Stahn. This, coupled with the fact that he ultimately betrays the heroes and dies in infamy, generates impressions of Character Shilling. Series writers seem to acknowledge he is divisive and mellow out his personality in the PS2 remake so he is a Defrosting Ice King who goes through a long Trauma Conga Line.
  • Tales of Eternia has Celsius, the Summon Spirit of Ice. She's notably popular compared to her fellow Summon Spirits that she appeared as a playable character in Radiant Mythology 2 and 3 based on her Eternia design.
  • Tales of the Abyss introduced one of the most popular chracters of the entire Tales Series, Jade Curtiss. Jade the Necromancer is the oldest playable character whose actions have significant impact on the world he lived and his personality is also notable. He is so popular that future polls banned him and the following character because they take the top spots for years to come.
  • Tales of Vesperia: And that character in question, the protagonist Yuri Lowell. He is what you get if Jade was a protagonist swordsman, and like the aforementioned Jade Curtiss, Yuri ended up being so popular that he gets banned from popularity polls for topping them for years to come.
• Emilie "Lili" De Rochefort from the Tekken series. Originally appearing in Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, she eventually became widely popular. Today, she's perhaps the most recognizable female character in the series, besides Nina Williams. She even makes guest appearances in the Queen's Blade franchise and Digimon World Re:Digitize.
• Kabuki from Tengai Makyou II: Manjimaru overshadowed the title character in popularity, and got his own Gaiden Game besides starring in both of the Fighting Game spin-offs.
• Touhou Project:
  • Probably the most striking example is Cirno, the lovable Baka of the series. From her lowly start as a Stage 2 Boss, her popularity grew to the point where she received her own game: Yousei Daisensou ~ Touhou Sangetsusei.
  • Marisa Kirisame, the co-protagonist to Reimu Hakurei, is also one of these; originally she was just another enemy (and a minion to Mima) in the second game, but was Promoted to Playable from the third game on and has since appeared in as many games as Reimu. She also stars in way more fan games (both official and not) as the Player Character, such as Mega Mari and New Super Marisa Land.
• Virtua Fighter: Wolf Hawkfield was just another of the initial eight characters that debuted in the first installment. Yet Japan loved his sheer Canadian-ness (which involves training his wrestling techniques in the snow), so much that All Japan Pro Wrestling went so far as to hire wrestler Jim Steele to be Wolf in real life.
• In most games, the child that the protagonist is saddled with protecting is despised. The developers of The Walking Dead (Telltale) played their cards right with Clementine, however. She's one of the most popular characters in the game.
• Warcraft:
  • Illidan Stormrage appears in only one level and one cutscene in Warcraft III. The Addon Frozen Throne and the World of Warcraft expansion Burning Crusade are all about him being badass. The latter, by turning him from an Anti-Hero to an Omnicidal Maniac, tried to take the edge off of his popularity but was widely considered discontinuity instead. Legion featured him as The major character, with a major goal of reuniting his wandering soul with his imprisoned body, and then aiding him in his battle against the Legion, while also introducing the Demon Hunter class which lets the player character emulate Illidan's style.
  • Highlord Mograine, AKA The Ashbringer, from World of Warcraft got so popular among fans that now he has his own comic series.
  • Saurfang was just a quest-giving NPC among thousands in World of Warcraft, until the fanbase made him a Memetic Badass. Realising how popular he was, Blizzard subsequently made him a veteran fighter in all three wars, commander of a coalition army, right-hand to the Warchief, retroactively right-hand to the former warchief, second in command in the Northrend campaign, and if he hadn't lost his son, he'd probably be Warchief now. Heck, in Legion he becomes the faction leader of Orgrimmar with Warchief Sylvanas gone missing. Battle For Azeroth, while billed as a faction conflict story, devotes a major amount of its plot, including its resolution, towards Saurfang's disillusionment in the Horde after Sylvanas commits genocide by ordering Teldrassil burned, ultimately dying a hero's death to drive Sylvanas out of the position of warchief, and break the cycle of hatred by fighting for the good of both the Horde and Alliance in doing so.
• Yandere Simulator: Kokona Haruka. Initially just the purple Rainbow Girl, she was chosen as a test rival due to her distinctive look. Further characterization in pursuit of the more complex elimination methods gave her a personality, likes, dislikes, and a story arc. While she is no longer a rival as all non-rival-specific eliminations have been implemented, the girl remains a fan-favorite and YandereDev has discussed adding her to the game in a more permanent basis.

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