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| 4 | %% NOTE TO EDITORS: This list is alphabetised by title. Please add new examples to the appropriate place in the list. |
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| 8 | BreakoutCharacter in VideoGames. |
| 9 | ---- |
| 10 | !!The following have their own pages: |
| 11 | [[index]] |
| 12 | * BreakoutCharacter/TheDCU |
| 13 | [[/index]] |
| 14 | ---- |
| 15 | * Originally, the most iconic character from ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'' alongside the Villagers was probably either Tom Nook, K.K. Slider, or Rover. Then came ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewLeaf'', 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 ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'', ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'', and ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter''. |
| 16 | * ''VideoGame/{{ARMS}}'' character Min Min is a major favorite among the fans and even [[CreatorsFavorite game producer Kosuke Yabuki]], to the point where she ended up as her series' representative in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' 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"). |
| 17 | * Ezio Auditore from ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' made his debut in the [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII 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 [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood two]] [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations 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. |
| 18 | * ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'': |
| 19 | ** 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 ([[spoiler: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). |
| 20 | ** 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. ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' 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). |
| 21 | ** 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. |
| 22 | * Kanna from ''VideoGame/BlasterMasterZeroII'' immediately drew a lot of... ''[[MsFanservice 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''. |
| 23 | * Handsome Jack of ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' proved to be so popular that he received a [[VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel game]] that focuses on his StartOfDarkness. Even after his death he still has a certain amount of influence in ''VideoGame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'' [[spoiler:as a VirtualGhost]]. 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 ''VideoGame/PokerNight2''. |
| 24 | * In ''VideoGame/TheCaligulaEffect'', the enigmatic Musician Wicked became well-liked by players because of her sociopathic and insane behavior, coupled with the reveal that [[spoiler:she was actually the calm and sweet student Marie Mizuguchi]]. When [[TheAnimeOfTheGame 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 ShipTease 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. |
| 25 | * In the original ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'', UsefulNotes/MahatmaGandhi 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 [[MemeticMutation memetic]] thing in the franchise. As a result the nuke-loving Gandhi is now used heavily in Civilization's promotional material. |
| 26 | %%Needs more context about their popularity.* ''VideoGame/DanganronpaAnotherEpisodeUltraDespairGirls'': Toko Fukawa goes from a simple NPC whose only major roles in the [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc Killing School Life]] was to crush on Byakuya and nearly get framed for murder twice to the {{Deuteragonist}} and second player character of this game. |
| 27 | * ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}''[='=] [[{{Deuteragonist}} Morrigan Aensland]] became not only popular enough [[SpotlightStealingSquad to promote herself to the status of protagonist]], but she became iconic to the point that there are few Creator/{{Capcom}} [[VideoGame/CapcomVs crossover titles]] that ''don't'' include her. By the turn of the 21st century, most gamers ''easily'' knew who she was, [[BestKnownForTheFanservice just not]] [[IconicCharacterForgottenTitle where she came from]]. |
| 28 | ** Some of the other female characters, such as Felicia and Lilith, have also gained their own fanbase due to their [[SexSells sex appeal]] and have been promptly featured in crossovers, such as ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom'' or ''VideoGame/CrossEdge''. In the case of Lilith, it is also because of her association with Morrigan. |
| 29 | ** A much more Downplayed example would be [[WolfMan Jon Talbain]], due to him being an EnsembleDarkHorse among [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff American Fighting Game Fans]] and [[PopularWithFurries Furries]]. There are chapters of [[ComicBookAdaptation Comic Book and Manga Adaptations]] of Darkstalkers [[ADayInTheLimelight dedicated to him despite being a minor character]], and is one of the lead characters in the ''ComicBook/StreetFighterVsDarkstalkers'' comic book crossover by UDON. |
| 30 | * ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'': |
| 31 | ** Ayane became popular enough to become the {{Deuteragonist}} in ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' and later make multiple appearances in other games like ''VideoGame/SenranKagura'' and ''VideoGame/FatalFrame''. |
| 32 | ** Similarly, Honoka and Marie Rose proved extremely popular, becoming the faces of the ''Dead or Alive Xtreme'' sub-series. |
| 33 | ** As a result of their popularity, the three aforementioned girls were the ones to make a guest appearance in ''[[VideoGame/SenranKagura Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash]]'', getting picked over main character Kasumi. |
| 34 | * Varric Tethras from ''Franchise/DragonAge'' debuted in perhaps the [[VideoGame/DragonAgeII 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 PlayerCharacter of said game[[labelnote:*]]while it is possible to form a rivalry with him, it's almost impossible to do so unless deliberately antagonizing him[[/labelnote]], 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, ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' in his case. Of those two (the other being [[VideoGame/DragonAgeOriginsAwakening Anders]]), he's the only one who was a party member in two base games. |
| 35 | * ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'': |
| 36 | ** Cayde-6. In Vanilla Destiny, Cayde was little more than a glorified merchant and questgiver. After some light {{Flanderization}} into a wisecracking [[TheAce ace]] of a Hunter, he ends his tenure in ''VideoGame/Destiny2'' 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. |
| 37 | ** Mithrax. A one-off Fallen EliteMook 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 [[NobleDemon he saluted the player and teleported away]], forfeiting the [=MacGuffin=]. This was enough to make him an EnsembleDarkhorse among a player base already sympathetic to the TragicVillain 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. |
| 38 | * ''VideoGame/DetectivesUnited'' has Agent Dorian Brown, who has turned into one of these for Creator/ElephantGames. The developer's social media manager openly admits that Brown has a lot of {{fangirl}}s, due to being a SharpDressedMan 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 ''VideoGame/HauntedHotel'', although since that series has ended James's popularity has waned a bit. |
| 39 | * ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'': Vergil [[spoiler: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 ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'' as Dante's {{Sibling Rival|ry}} led him to become an important character in the series; he would even go on to be [[PromotedToPlayable playable]] in the ''[[UpdatedRerelease Special Edition]]'' of ''3'' onwards. In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'', 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 ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'' where [[spoiler: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 ''[[VideoGame/MarvelVSCapcom3 Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3]]''. Fans consider him to be the second best character besides Dante, as well as becoming [[FountainOfMemes hugely memed in the Internet]]. |
| 40 | * ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'': 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. |
| 41 | * Mai Shiranui from ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' and ''Franchise/TheKingOfFighters'' franchise is one of the most popular if not the most popular SNK character. She first appeared in ''VideoGame/FatalFury2'' as the sole female fighter. She gained popularity largely due to her being the resident MsFanservice as well as filling in the role of the {{Ninja}} (which is mandatory in almost every fighting game). She's also been a GuestFighter in the ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' series. |
| 42 | * ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' has many, but three stand out leagues above the rest: |
| 43 | ** '''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 PromotedToPlayable 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 [[IJustWantToBeLoved 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 GameBreaker when she was first released, and although she has fallen victim to PowerCreep 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 [[{{Fanservice}} 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... |
| 44 | ** 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 ''VideoGame/FateExtra''), her CharacterDevelopment, 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 PromotedToPlayable roughly a year later, in the third Christmas event, and her name rocketed up to the #1 trend on Japanese Twitter. |
| 45 | ** 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 [[DarkAndTroubledPast absolutely HORRIFIC backstory]], which quickly turned her into one of the biggest {{Woobie}}s 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 CharacterDevelopment 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! |
| 46 | * ''VideoGame/FinalFantasy'' has lots of examples: |
| 47 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'' has Minwu the White Wizard. He's a GuestStarPartyMember for a short portion of the game and [[spoiler:[[PlotlineDeath dies mid-way through the story]] performing a HeroicSacrifice]]. 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 ''VideoGame/TheatrhythmFinalFantasy'' along with Firion. |
| 48 | ** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', Kain was merely TheLancer to TheHero Cecil, but proved to be an EnsembleDarkHorse. In the game's sequel ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears The After Years]]'', Cecil is DemotedToExtra while his son Ceodore is the protagonist. However, a sizeable part of the storyline focuses on Kain and [[spoiler:his battle with his EvilTwin EnemyWithout who is masquerading as him]]. He's also a playable character in ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Dissidia 012]]'' and ''VideoGame/TheatrhythmFinalFantasy''. |
| 49 | *** Rydia too, she almost rivals Kain in popularity. This resulted in her being arguably the main protagonist in ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears The After Years]]'', with her Eidolons are a strong plot point and the main villain is her EvilCounterpart. She has also appeared in ''VideoGame/TheatrhythmFinalFantasy'' and ''VideoGame/WorldOfFinalFantasy'', and was at one point planned to be a playable character in ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasyNT''. |
| 50 | ** [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyV Gilgamesh]], who was a ''villain'', has the most appearances in ''Final Fantasy'' games overall. ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Dissidia 012]]'' even confirms the longtime fan theory that, unlike most other recurring characters, it's the same Gilgamesh ''[[DimensionalTraveler in every single appearance]]''. |
| 51 | *** 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 [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyBraveExvius 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. |
| 52 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'': |
| 53 | *** Mog is easily the most popular moogle in the entire franchise. Which is funny considering he is a relatively minor character. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has multiple references to him, and they even named the real money store, Mogstation, after him. |
| 54 | *** [[BigBad 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 [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff quite popular in the west]] thanks to [[{{Woolseyism}} Ted Woolsey's]] [[PracticallyJoker interpretation of the character.]] However, following his inclusion in ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy 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 ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX'' as a part of the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyRecordKeeper'' special collab event of 2018. |
| 55 | ** As ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' is considered as one of (if not ''the'') most popular entry in the series, it has plenty of its own: |
| 56 | *** [[EmpoweredBadassNormal Cloud Strife]] and [[BigBad Sephiroth]] are, by far, its two most popular characters and have had the most cameo appearances outside the game, such as in ''VideoGame/{{Ehrgeiz}}'', ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' (''I'' and ''II''), and ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Dissidia]]''. Cloud even found his way into the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series as a downloadable playable character in [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU the fourth game]], which is surprising since ''FFVII'' was never released on a Nintendo console until ''[[Platform/NintendoSwitch 2019]]''! This was followed by ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', which not only has Cloud in the base game, but also added Sephiroth through DLC in 2020. |
| 57 | *** [[BareFistedMonk Tifa]] [[ActionGirlfriend 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 [[http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tifa_Lockhart "Reception"]]). Fan demand was great enough that she was eventually made playable in ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Dissidia 012]]''. (That said, the director [[http://thelifestream.net/news/general-final-fantasy-news/6575/dissidia-final-fantasy-duodecim-012-tetsuya-nomura-interview/ 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 ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake''. The crowd went wild with cheers and applause [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B0L_ahsbYSk&t=281s the moment she appeared onscreen.]] |
| 58 | *** Vincent Valentine gained enough of a fanbase to eventually warrant [[VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus his own game]], as did [[PosthumousCharacter Zack Fair]], who was retroactively given [[AscendedExtra a much bigger role]] as a result (in ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', ''Before Crisis'', and ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children Complete]]''). |
| 59 | *** Amusingly, ''Dirge of Cerberus'' led to its own breakout character: Shelke Rui (Shelke the Transparent). Since her appearance as a [[HeelFaceTurn antagonist-turned-ally]] and possible LoveInterest, she's become the token ''Dirge of Cerberus'' character transplanted into the greater ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' crossover metaverse: she appears as one of four ''Final Fantasy VII'' characters in ''VideoGame/WorldOfFinalFantasy'' (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 ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyRecordKeeper'' and ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasyOperaOmnia'' before several party members featured in their main game (Alma and Meliadoul from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'', Gogo and Umaro from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' among others, and specifically to ''Opera Omnia'', Red XIII from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and Rikku from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX''). |
| 60 | ** Laguna Loire from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' is a HeroOfAnotherStory (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 [[UnexpectedCharacter surprised many a fan]] by becoming the game's third representative in ''Dissidia 012'', over the likes of Rinoa or [[TheRival Seifer]]. He was also going to be in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'', (according to the Ultimania), but was cut when SE realized both games would be released at about the same time. |
| 61 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX''[='=]s Rikku went from a fairly minor member of the main cast to getting a major role in [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2 the sequel]]. |
| 62 | ** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'', 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 ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy''. Then she got her own storyline expansion centered just around her. With the added bonus that she's voiced by Music/MegumiHayashibara. |
| 63 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has similar representation with Y'shtola Rhul, the resident [[CatGirl 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 WhiteMage among ''Final Fantasy'''s designated lead characters. |
| 64 | *** From ''Shadowbringers'' onwards, this has happened to G'raha Tia (also ironically a miqo'te). Combined with a hearty helping of AscendedExtra, 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''. |
| 65 | * ''Franchise/FireEmblem'': |
| 66 | ** Lucina from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' 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 ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'' 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. |
| 67 | ** 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 ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' as a playable character from the game's second generation, and she also appeared as the mirage of Kiria in ''VideoGame/TokyoMirageSessionsFE'' and as DLC for ''VideoGame/FireEmblemWarriors''. |
| 68 | ** 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. |
| 69 | ** 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. |
| 70 | ** Owain, Inigo, and Severa were the three most popular second-generation characters in ''Awakening'' after Lucina. As a result, they returned in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' 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 ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU''. |
| 71 | ** Female Corrin from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' 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 ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'', while male Corrin crashed out of the top 20 altogether by the time it ended. |
| 72 | ** Camilla and Takumi, while having major roles in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', 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 BreakoutCharacter 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 Character}}s), 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 ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage''. |
| 73 | ** Robin, the playable Avatar of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', appeared alongside Lucina (see above) as playable fighters in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'' 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 Character}}s in ''Fire Emblem Heroes'', getting his own video when summoned, and remaining in the top 10 (8th place, beating out fellow BreakoutCharacter Takumi) in the official poll for the same game while female Robin was knocked out of the top 10 by the time it ended. |
| 74 | ** A particularly prominent example of a BreakoutCharacter from the ''Fire Emblem'' series is Ike, protagonist of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' and co-protagonist of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn''. When Ike was first announced for ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'', most of the Internet's reaction was "Who the hell is Ike?" But he would later prove to be so popular there [[ColbertBump 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, [[ComingOfAgeStory his character development]], and his [[LightningBruiser incredible power in battle]], and since ''Brawl'', he's appeared in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' (along with his descendant, Priam), ''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U'' and ''Ultimate'', got an amiibo made, and made further appearances in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', ''VideoGame/CodeNameSTEAM'', and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEchoesShadowsOfValentia''. In the first ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'' "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 ([[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Lyn]]) by ''1500 votes''. |
| 75 | ** From Ike's series, the most popular non-main character is far and away Nephenee, who not only appears in ''Heroes'', but has {{Exp|y}}ies in both ''Awakening'' and ''Fates'' - Donnel and Mozu, respectively. |
| 76 | ** Ike's popularity wouldn't soar as high if it wasn't for the character he's based on: ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'''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 HotBlooded 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. |
| 77 | ** 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 Breaker}}s 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 ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776'', 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. |
| 78 | %%Needs more context about how her role grew.** While also an example of PopularityPolynomial, [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Lyn]] was popular character back in the day as she was the first lord encountered by Western fans in the series. Her popularity would eventually wane in the ensuing years as Hector would eventually emerged as the most popular character in ''The Blazing Blade'' as well as later lords in the series being introduced. But ever since ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'', Lyn made a startling comeback in popularity, topping the polls for the female side of the "Choose Your Heroes" contest and would come second behind Ike himself when combining certain votes. Even [[WordOfGod Intelligent Systems]] [[http://toucharcade.com/2017/09/04/an-interview-with-the-directors-of-fire-emblem-heroes-on-events-design-challenges-and-the-possibility-of-advance-wars-on-mobile/ admitted being blindsided by Lyn's popularity]] and since then has given her the spotlight alongside the big names like Marth and Ike. |
| 79 | %%Needs more context about how her role grew.** As far as non-main characters go, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' gives us Lysithea, the ChildProdigy of the Golden Deer house. She has some of the closest ties to the plot of any non-lord due to her DarkAndTroubledPast, and has a big impact on the plot in the Verdant Wind route. Her past also has some ramifications regarding her present and future that earn her major [[TheWoobie Woobie]] points. To top it all off, she's an absolute GameBreaker in terms of gameplay -- she's a GlassCannon that, thanks to an item you receive from completing Lorenz's paralogue, doesn't have to worry about her defensive stats because her spells will all have ''absurd'' range, meaning that very few enemies will be able to counterattack her. She's also one of the few mages that gets a full list of [[CastingAShadow dark magic attacks]]. One of those, Dark Spikes T, has a powerful anti-cavalry effect that is famous for being able to one-shot ''[[ThatOneBoss the Death Knight]]'' well before the game requires you to defeat him (so much so that it became an AscendedMeme). Such is her popularity that she finished in second place among female characters in the fourth ''Choose Your Legends'' poll, only losing out to Edelgard, and thus receiving a unique alternate version in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'' alongside the three lords. |
| 80 | ** Possibly the humblest origins of any popular Fire Emblem character belongs to the Gatekeeper from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses''. 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 ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' where he observed the battle from the background. This culminated in not only his return as an NPC in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemWarriorsThreeHopes'', but also his promotion to the playable cast (albeit as a SecretCharacter). |
| 81 | ** 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 ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage''. |
| 82 | * The Indie game ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet'' has Milla, being the HeartwarmingOrphan of the team who had very cute moments with Lilac. Originally she wasn't intended to be playable, and [[spoiler: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 [[TheHero Sash Lilac]]. Being a favorite among speedrunners doesn't hurt her MemeticBadass 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 ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet2'', and she's been PromotedToPlayable as the fourth main character. |
| 83 | %%Needs more context about how his role grew.* The FTL mod ''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLightMultiverse'' has [[spoiler:Jerry, the rebel with a heart of gold. He started as a joke among developers, but quickly became one of the most memorable characters. Everyone loves Jerry!]] |
| 84 | * ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' has the Carmines. In the first game, there was Anthony Carmine, whose entire character was to show that HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic and to [[RedShirt 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 [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute 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 HeroicSacrifice. 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. |
| 85 | %%Needs more context about their popularity. * ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'''s "Barney" Security guards, not only did they get an expansion pack (''Blue Shift'') where the player takes the role of one, but they are personified in [[VideoGame/HalfLife2 the next game]] by one of the support cast (Barney, arguably only second to Alyx as a player companion). |
| 86 | * ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'': 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 [[SimultaneousArcs Another Story]], when in past games she tended to have more of a solo arc largely independent from most characters. |
| 87 | %% Needs more context about her increased presence in official media%% ** 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 UnsettlingGenderReveal. 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. |
| 88 | * Sergeant Johnson of ''Franchise/{{Halo}}: [[VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved Combat Evolved]]''. Originally intended to be a homage to the DrillSergeantNasty 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 {{retcon}}ned his death in the legendary bonus cutscene to add him into ''VideoGame/Halo2'' and ''VideoGame/Halo3''. He even got a starring role in the novel ''Literature/HaloContactHarvest'', penned by one of ''Halo'''s main writers. This is largely due to David Scully's hilariously stellar delivery as Johnson's voice actor. |
| 89 | * ''VideoGame/AHatInTime'''s Snatcher and Vanessa had no role outside of the Subcon Forest level (and Vanessa only appears in one chapter), but they quickly became some of the most memorable characters due to Snatcher's hilarious LargeHam personality and amazing boss battle, and Vanessa's level [[SurprisinglyCreepyMoment being pure horror in an otherwise lighthearted game]]. Snatcher became the host of the ''Seal the Deal'' expansion's Death Wish mode, while Vanessa has a prominent role in the ''Vanessa's Curse'' expansion. |
| 90 | * ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'': |
| 91 | ** Axel was an important villain in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories'' and was intended to carry over to ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' 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''. [[spoiler:To receive a Keyblade no less!]] |
| 92 | ** For that matter, Roxas. Fans like him for being a sympathetic TroubledButCute who is badass as hell ([[DualWield dual-wielding]] Keyblades? Sure is). It's basically an open secret that ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'' 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 ProlongedPrologue 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 OldShame. His popularity also rubbed off on Ventus. Though he is not without merit, Ven is well-liked mainly because he is a Roxas lookalike. |
| 93 | ** 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''. |
| 94 | * One of the Waddle Dees in the ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' series has turned into his own character. He originally appeared as a minor opponent in the MegatonPunch ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar'' minigame, but later went on to become the joke boss in ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheAmazingMirror''. He would end up being very popular with the fans after that, so the developers followed up by making him a major character in ''[[UpdatedRerelease Kirby Super Star Ultra]]'' in the ''Revenge of the King'' episode, and eventually [[PromotedToPlayable promoting him to playable]] in ''VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLand'', 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 UniformityException-inducing bandanna. Since then, Bandanna Waddle Dee has been a core part of the series. |
| 95 | %%* Due to the ''VideoGame/TrailsSeries'' being a LongRunner, this inevitably happens with characters who go from having a minor role in the previous game to becoming a very important character in the next game or arc. |
| 96 | %%Needs more context about his popularity.** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky Second Chapter'', Kevin Graham is a priest who first appears to lend a shoulder to [[TheHero Estelle]] [[spoiler:after Joshua leaves her at the end of ''First Chapter'' because it turns out that he's an [[AncientConspiracy Ouroboros Enforcer]]]]. He then disappears and then joins up again aboard the [[CoolShip Arseille]] as the SixthRanger with the heroes to stop the Liber Ark [[spoiler:and at the end of the game, players find out that [[ChurchMilitant he's anything but an ordinary priest]] and has been holding back a lot of his powers.]] ''Third'' goes out of its way to make Kevin the main protagonist while relegating Estelle as a supporting character (and to build up the lore for the succeeding games). |
| 97 | %%Needs more context about their popularity.** From the same game, Renne Hayworth and Alan Richard go from antagonists of the previous games to becoming playable characters in ''The Third''. Renne also becomes very important in the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZeroAndTrailsToAzure Crossbell arc]], though considering her arc, it was bound to happen to her. |
| 98 | %%Needs more context about their popularity.** Altina Orion in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'' is an even bigger BreakoutCharacter more than Kevin in that at the start of ''Cold Steel II'', she was an antagonist who kidnaps [[TheHero Rean's]] sister and the royal princess on his watch. Through a series of events, [[spoiler:she becomes an ally of sorts to Rean at the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZeroAndTrailsToAzure Divertissment chapter]] (though you don't get to play as Rean during that time; he's even the FinalBoss during that section)]] and can be rendered playable via the Phantasmal Mirrors at the Epilogue. Cue ''Cold Steel III'' and she gets top billing alongside [[BadassTeacher Rean]] and the new Class VII, rendering the old members of Class VII DemotedToExtra. |
| 99 | %%Needs more context about his popularity before his role grew.** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsIntoReverie'', [[spoiler:Rufus Albarea goes from a major antagonist throughout the ''Cold Steel'' arc into becoming the third protagonist of the game.]] His route is considered to be the best of the three routes in the game. |
| 100 | %%Needs more context about her popularity before her role grew.* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky'': The Angel of Slaughter was introduced as a sadistic ChildProdigy villain with "Tea party" schemes inspired by ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland'', with an arc starting about the protagonists redeeming her. Come ''The 3rd'', she's on the cover, and PromotedToPlayable (including a side-story Star Door 15 about her tragic backstory), as well as playing a major role in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZeroAndTrailsToAzure'' and beyond. Her popularity even sprung up an archetype inspiring similar characters in the franchise, like ''From Zero'''s Tio, and culminating in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'' and fan-favorite Altina who gained similar popularity to Renne (official polls show Altina is the second most popular Cold Steel character after Rean). |
| 101 | * ''VideoGame/LikeADragon'': Goro Majima was introduced as a borderline AxCrazy [[TheRival 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 [[PromotedToPlayable a playable character]] in ''VideoGame/Yakuza0'', along with a side-story campaign of his own in ''[[VideoGame/Yakuza2 Yakuza Kiwami 2]]''. |
| 102 | %%Needs more context about his popularity.* Dekar, the Crazy Awesome IdiotHero GuestStarPartyMember from ''VideoGame/LufiaIIRiseOfTheSinistrals''. He's had both an {{Expy}} in Deckard from ''VideoGame/LufiaTheLegendReturns'' and a returning role [[spoiler:as a party member even]] in the GaidenGame ''VideoGame/LufiaTheRuinsOfLore''. The remake ''VideoGame/LufiaCurseOfTheSinistrals'' gives him greater presence in the story, including [[spoiler:a PairTheSpares romance with fellow party member Tia]] and [[spoiler:returning to the party after his HeroicSacrifice]]. |
| 103 | * ''VideoGame/ManaSeries'' |
| 104 | ** While the orignial release of ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'' was a NoExportForYou for American gamers, the fandom immediately latched onto Riesz for being an ActionGirl 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! |
| 105 | ** ''VideoGame/LegendOfMana'' 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 RecurringCharacter 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''. |
| 106 | * ''Franchise/MassEffect'' |
| 107 | ** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'', 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 [[WrenchWench Tali]] and [[CowboyCop Garrus]]. In [[VideoGame/MassEffect2 the sequel]], Bioware took notice of their popularity and gave them larger roles in the story, while the surviving human is DemotedToExtra. Garrus and Tali returned as squadmates, gained a lot more character focus, and both [[PromotedToLoveInterest 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 [[VideoGame/MassEffect3 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. |
| 108 | ** [[TheBigGuy 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. |
| 109 | ** [[MadScientist Mordin]] and [[TokenHeroicOrc Legion]] were both insanely popular squadmates introduced in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' and this led to them gaining more significant story roles in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''. Since any of the [=ME2=] squadmates could've been killed during the suicide mission, the vast majority of them were DemotedToExtra. 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. |
| 110 | * ''Franchise/MegaMan'': |
| 111 | ** Tron Bonne from ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends'', the GadgeteerGenius {{tsundere}} member of the QuirkyMinibossSquad. Her popularity not only gave her the starring role of her own SpinOff game, ''The Misadventures of Tron Bonne'', but also led to her appearing in [[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom2 various]] [[VideoGame/NamcoXCapcom Capcom]] [[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3 cross]][[VideoGame/ProjectXZone overs]]. 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 [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and]] [[VideoGame/MegaManX Zero]]. |
| 112 | ** Zero of ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' 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 [[VideoGame/MegaManZero 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 [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic the original Mega Man]]. His positive reception led to him later becoming the main character after all. |
| 113 | ** From ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'', we have Bass.EXE. Bass is a moderately popular character in the classic series, and a simple OptionalBoss 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. |
| 114 | ** Aile from ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'' is the DistaffCounterpart 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 ''VideoGame/MegaManXDive'' 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 [[PlayerCharacter Grey or Ashe]]. |
| 115 | * ''VideoGame/MetalGear'': Originally, Big Boss is the BigBad of the [[VideoGame/MetalGear1 first]] [[VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake two games]]. After the release of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', he became an ultra-popular TragicHero-turned-AntiVillain and went on to star in his own prequel games to [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain show that transition]]. |
| 116 | %%Needs context about his popularity.** Johnny Sasaki was a originally a JokeCharacter who spent the first two ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' games as a ButtMonkey. First he's knocked out and stripped of his clothes as Meryl Silverburgh takes advantage of his crush on her to escape her cell. Later he's suffering from a cold and [[ToiletHumor diarrhea]] while he's guarding Solid Snake in his cell. Snake fools him into opening the cell, and Johnny gets his ass kicked again. He turns up in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' guarding one of the bridges and he pulls his gun on Emma Emmerich but [[PetTheDog lets her go when he sees she's an unarmed civilian]]; he then is struck by [[PottyEmergency another bout of diarrhea]]. In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' Naked Snake meets Johnny's grandfather who guarded Snake's cell when he was captured. Johnny turns up again in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' and his legendary [[RunningGag diarrhea]] strikes again, forcing him to blow his cover and nearly ruin the Middle Eastern mission. He later captures Snake (whom he didn't recognize) at gunpoint, but falls for NotWithTheSafetyOnYouWont. However, he did drag a wounded Snake to safety at the end of that mission. Then, in the European mission, he actually rescues Meryl from drowning and saves her life with CPR. Finally, as Snake and the Rat Patrol prepare to board ''Outer Heaven'' via slingshot mechanism, Johnny is shot over the ship, but he returns as everyone is pinned down and gets a {{Big Damn Hero|es}} moment, killing multiple [=FROGS=] and helping hold of endless waves of enemies to buy Snake time to stop Liquid Ocelot. After Liquid Ocelot is defeated Johnny [[spoiler:marries Meryl]]. |
| 117 | %%Needs context about his role grew after he became popular.** Raiden was very much the ReplacementScrappy when he first appeared in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' and the backlash to him was so great, Creator/HideoKojima created Raiden's Russian {{Expy}} [[ButtMonkey Ivan Raidenovitch Raikov]] in ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater Snake Eater]]'' just so the players and himself could [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential vent out their frustration]] on him. ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' made Raiden more popular by turning him into a [[TookALevelInBadass ninja cyborg]], but it was ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' which skyrocketed his popularity among the mainstream, to point where Raiden temporarily kicked [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry Dante]] off his throne as the white haired HackAndSlash MasterSwordsman of video games[[note]] mainly due to ''[=MGRR=]'' being released in the same year as the controversial reboot ''VideoGame/DMCDevilMayCry''[[/note]]. |
| 118 | %%* ''VideoGame/MonsterRancher'' has several examples. |
| 119 | %%Needs more context about his popularity.** Moo was a ??? species of Dragon in 2. After being used as the BigBad of the anime, he appeared in several other games, including Battle Card Episode II as a secret card and EVO and Lagoon as the final boss. |
| 120 | %%Needs more context about his popularity.** The Phoenix, while legendary and fairly easy to raise, was just another monster in 2. After being used as the BigGood of the anime, it reappeared in other games as a highly important figure, most notably Battle Card Episode II and 4. |
| 121 | %%Needs more context about her popularity and its effect on her role.** Holly, the assistant in 1, has appeared by far the most times. Besides her original appearance, she's been a main character in the anime, an NPC in 2 and the Battle Card games, your assistant in the Advance games, and an NPC and unlockable assistant in the DS games. In comparison, Colt shows up in 2, a single anime episode, the Battle Card games, and DS, Fleria is seen in 3 and mentioned in 1, and Rio, Nayuta and Cleo don't appear at all after their debuts. |
| 122 | * ''Franchise/MortalKombat'': |
| 123 | ** The early ''MK'' games featured Liu Kang as the lead character and the intro of [[VideoGame/MortalKombatII 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 VideoGame/MortalKombat3'' 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 ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' and ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX''. |
| 124 | ** [[SunGlassesAtNight Johnny Cage]] certainly wasn't the most popular character in the original ''MK'' and its sequels. But by the time of ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombat9 MK9]]'' and the start of ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombatX 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 TheHero of Earthrealm. |
| 125 | ** Quan Chi wasn't much more than a manipulating {{Necromancer}} in his early games, though his [[GrievousHarmWithABody fatality]] was admittedly pretty awesome. But in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'', where he is redesigned into a [[VideoGame/GodOfWar Kratos]]-looking badass, he immediately became way more popular, continuing into ''[=MKX=]'' where he is one of the most played characters. |
| 126 | ** Fair to say Mileena, despite being considered a AxCrazy ButterFace, is far more popular than the rest of the franchise's female characters and is on many top ten [[MsFanservice 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 [[TheBusCameBack long-awaited return]] in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' being lampshaded during her reveal trailer with Erron Black: |
| 127 | --->'''Mileena:''' A coin for your thoughts, Erron?\ |
| 128 | '''Erron Black:''' Just trying to reckon why the hell you're back.\ |
| 129 | '''Mileena:''' A ''[[LeaningOnTheFourthWall million souls]]'' cried out for my return. |
| 130 | ** Kotal Kahn became very popular after his debut and was especially given a lot of screen time in the ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' comic. |
| 131 | ** 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. |
| 132 | %%Needs more context about how her role grew.** Johnny Cage's daughter Cassie even outstrips him in popularity as the fans went nuts when she was introduced. |
| 133 | %%Needs more context about their roles growing.** Along with Kotal, D'Vorah, Erron Black and Ferra/Tor instantly became popular in ''X'', with fans praising their designs and playstyles compared to previous new characters introduced in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3'' and ''VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon''. |
| 134 | %%Needs more context about how his role grew.** Much like Kotal above, Geras from ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' has gained high popularity, even more so than the actual BigBad Kronika. Fans appreciated his NobleDemon attitude and his [[FlayingAlive particularly gruesome Fatality]]. |
| 135 | * While not more popular than the main characters, Murray the Mighty Demonic Skull was only intended to be in one scene of ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland''. 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 ''VideoGame/EscapeFromMonkeyIsland'' and locked up in a treasure chest inside a giant manatee in the third episode of ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland''). |
| 136 | -->'''Murray:''' "...and the forces of darkness will applaud me as I STRIDE through the gates of Hell carrying your head on a pike!"\ |
| 137 | '''Guybrush Threepwood:''' "Stride?"\ |
| 138 | '''Murray:''' "Alright then, ROLL! ROLL through the gates of Hell... Must you take the fun out of everything?" |
| 139 | * In ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'', Ryu Hayabusa's pretty [[TheApprentice apprentice]] Momiji won over a lot of fans through her interesting {{Miko}}-inspired design and [[YamatoNadeshiko gentle, polite]] NiceGirl 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 ''VideoGame/ForHonor''. 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. |
| 140 | * ''VideoGame/OfOrcsAndMen'' had Styx, a wily and [[DeadpanSnarker 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 [[VideoGame/StyxMasterOfShadows spin-off game]] to expand on his history before meeting Arkhail. That game ended up making him even more popular resulting in a [[VideoGame/StyxShardsOfDarkness sequel]], and it's now to the point that the original game has experienced SequelDisplacement and is remembered mostly for being Styx's debut. |
| 141 | * Originally, Sojourn was the poster character for ''[[{{VideoGame/Overwatch}} 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 [[{{Jerkass}} some]] [[ImprobableAge 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. |
| 142 | * Maeve from ''VideoGame/{{Paladins}}'' isn't important to the lore, being a neutral party who isn't part of the main conflict between the Resistance, Magistrate, and Darkness, but her cute design led to her being the most popular character by far, which in turn resulted in her getting [[RevenueEnhancingDevices new skins]] much more frequently than any other Champion. |
| 143 | * Naoto Shirogane from ''VideoGame/Persona4'' is the last of the main characters to join the team, but despite the reduced screentime that entails, she proved popular enough to get [[Literature/PersonaXDetectiveNaoto a spin-off novel, which was later adapted into a manga]]. |
| 144 | %%Needs more context about his popularity.** From the same game, Adachi got his own Social Link in the UpdatedRerelease, [[spoiler:a BadEnding where the main character chooses not to turn in Adachi]], and became a DLC character with his own storyline in ''VideoGame/Persona4ArenaUltimax''. |
| 145 | %%Needs more context about her popularity.** Aigis from ''VideoGame/Persona3'' also got her own Social Link in the UpdatedRerelease of her home game. She also becomes the main character of the new PlayableEpilogue ''The Answer'' and gains the Wild Card [[spoiler:since the PlayerCharacter of the main story is dead]]. Aigis was also one of the first characters from ''P3'' to appear in ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'', whereas most of the main cast of that game wouldn't appear until ''Ultimax''. |
| 146 | %%Needs more context about her popularity.** Elizabeth from the same as Aigis has her role extended in the UpdatedRerelease as she now can visit the protagonist's home world, and become romantically involved with them. She also became one of the few ''P3'' characters to show up in ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'' despite not being a party member for her game. Not to mention how her sister Margaret did not even become playable until ''Ultimax'' via DLC. |
| 147 | * ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': |
| 148 | ** It's hard to remember, but Pikachu wasn't the original mascot of the franchise. ''Clefairy'' was supposed to be. The AnimeOfTheGame 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. |
| 149 | ** Sinnoh Champion Cynthia becomes the most popular Champion in the series among fans, leading to her going on to appear in ''VideoGame/PokemonHeartGoldAndSoulSilver'', ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'', ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'', and ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon''. 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. |
| 150 | ** Dawn, the female player character from ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'', was initially just a DistaffCounterpart to Lucas, who was featured more prominently in the early trailers of the games. But she gained popularity with fans when ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesDiamondAndPearl'' 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 ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'', 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 ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus'', which doesn't feature Dawn, made sure to mention Akari ([[IdenticalGrandson an ancestral character who resembles Dawn]]) first before Rei (the ancestral Lucas). |
| 151 | ** 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 ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters''. 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 [[SpearCounterpart 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. |
| 152 | ** Gloria, the female player character from ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'', 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 ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'', months prior to other fan favorites such as Piers and Raihan. |
| 153 | ** Each generation of Pokémon has its share of species, however major or [[EnsembleDarkhorse minor]] that become this: |
| 154 | *** 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 [[AmericanKirbyIsHardcore in the]] [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff 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 ''Anime/PokemonOrigins'', the first animated Pokémon feature directly aimed at the PeripheryDemographic. 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.[[/note]] 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 RecursiveAdaptation, ''[[UpdatedRerelease Pokémon Yellow]]''.[[/note]] 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.[[/note]] 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''.[[/note]] 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.[[/note]] Mewtwo[[note]]Like Charizard, Mewtwo got two Mega Evolutions and ranks very high in popularity polls. Starting off as an OptionalBoss in the original game and being the star of ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie'' led to Mewtwo also becoming one of the most popular Pokémon in the franchise.[[/note]], 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 ''VideoGame/PokkenTournament''. Its popularity is, no doubt, why it was featured on Ash's team in ''Anime/PokemonJourneysTheSeries''.[[/note]], Magikarp/Gyarados[[note]]Magikarp became the franchise's poster child for the MagikarpPower trope (of which it is the TropeNamer), 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 ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' and garnering a lot of attention for its [[RedIsViolent deep red coloration]].[[/note]] |
| 155 | *** 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 [[LethalJokeCharacter deceptively useful in competitive play]]. Aside from becoming more prominent in merchandising, Wooper got a Poison/Ground Paldean variant in ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet''. Additionally, Wooper often appears in promotional media relating to the Johto region. The Pokémon Company has also [[MemeAcknowledgement acknowledged]] certain memes surrounding the line, namely the "[[https://twitter.com/Pokemon/status/1554855868469952512 This]]" meme shortly after Paldean Wooper's reveal.[[/note]] Tyranitar[[note]]Tyranitar became one of the most popular early Dark-types for its menacing NotZilla 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 ''VideoGame/PokemonUnite''. It even got its own Paradox Pokémon variant in Iron Thorns in Generation IX.[[/note]] |
| 156 | *** 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.[[/note]] 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.[[/note]] 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 UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga's strongest Pokémon in ''VideoGame/PokemonConquest''. It also got a Mega Evolution in ''Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire'', which is considered to be the biggest GameBreaker in the franchise since Mewtwo in Gen I (before the Special stat was split in two).[[/note]] |
| 157 | *** Generation IV: Piplup,[[note]]Piplup is extremely popular in Japan, moreso than its future evolutions. Part of it might have been due to the [[Film/MarchOfThePenguins penguin]] [[WesternAnimation/HappyFeet craze]] around at the time, but Piplup's popularity was solidified when it became Dawn's starter [[Anime/PokemonTheSeriesDiamondAndPearl 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 [[Manga/PokemonDiamondAndPearlAdventure Haerta]] and [[Manga/PokemonAdventures Platinum]], as well as the main hero in the ''Mystery Dungeon Explorer'' specials. Dawn's Piplup in particular has led to several {{Exp|y}}ies 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 [[Anime/PokemonIChooseYou twentieth movie]] despite being neither a Gen I or VII Pokémon.[[/note]] Bidoof,[[note]]Despite being a ComMon, Bidoof would get a lot of attention from official and unofficial sources, thanks to memes surrounding its derpy appearance and status as a BoringButPractical 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''.[[/note]] 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 [[Anime/PokemonLucarioAndTheMysteryOfMew the eighth movie]], a gift Pokémon in ''every'' subsequent game released after its introduction, became a fighter in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series, and even given an expy in the form of Zoroark. It's even set to be prominently featured in the [[Anime/PokemonIChooseYou 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.[[/note]], Garchomp,[[note]]Garchomp is commonly considered the most popular [[InfinityMinusOneSword pseudo-legendary]] Pokémon in the franchise, and often ranks second in popularity to Lucario as far as Generation IV goes. It is the SignatureMon of the aforementioned Champion Cynthia, and was made playable in ''VideoGame/PokkenTournament'' due to its popularity.[[/note]] Giratina,[[note]]Similar to Rayquaza, Giratina proved to be the most popular out of its Legendary Trio for its CreepyAwesome design and rebellious backstory befitting of the "Renegade Pokémon". Its turn as part of the BigBadDuumvirate in ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus'' made it even more popular, and it also boasts one of the most expensive cards in the modern Pokémon TCG.[[/note]] Darkrai[[note]]Despite being a Mythical Pokémon, which are usually treated as in-game secrets that get one anime movie in the limelight, its [[WhiteHairBlackHeart JRPG villain aesthetic]] made it popular enough to be an antagonist in several spinoff games along with its expected role in ''Anime/PokemonTheRiseOfDarkrai''. It had a memorable appearance as the TrueFinalBoss of ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers'', and was also the FinalBoss of ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRanger Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/PokeparkWii PokePark 2: Wonders Beyond]]''[[/note]], Arceus[[note]] Being the at the time absolute strongest Pokémon and InUniverse CreatorDeity 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 ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus''.[[/note]] |
| 158 | *** 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 ''VideoGame/PokemonConquest'', 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 [[{{Expy}} modeled]] after it.[[/note]] |
| 159 | *** 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 ''VideoGame/PokkenTournament''.[[/note]] 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 ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' and was also the starter given to Ash in the anime, complete with its own unique [[SuperMode transformation]] that [[CanonImmigrant eventually made its way into]] ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon''.[[/note]] Goomy[[note]]When first revealed at the start of Gen VI, it quickly reached memetic status due to the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent 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.[[/note]] |
| 160 | *** 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 ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus'', and as a side effect, its fully evolved form Decidueye was added to ''VideoGame/PokemonUnite'' (where it evolves from Rowlet) and the Platform/NintendoSwitch port of ''Pokken Tournament''.[[/note]] Mimikyu,[[note]]A cute Ghost/Fairy Pokémon that wears a shabby Pikachu costume because it wants to be as popular; this quickly became a SelfFulfillingProphecy in the real world. It was one of the most marketed 'mons and got a special ImageSong. 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.[[/note]] 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 [[TabletopGame/{{Pokemon}} TCG]], managing to feature in one even before SeriesMascot 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.[[/note]] 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.[[/note]], 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 ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''.[[/note]] |
| 161 | *** Generation VIII: Dracovish,[[note]]Dracovish would become a surprise fan-favourite due to its [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass 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 ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries''.[[/note]] Dragapult,[[note]]Like Garchomp, Dragapult became an instant fan-favorite among the pseudo-legendaries for its [[FragileSpeedster 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 ''VideoGame/PokemonUnite''.[[/note]] 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, [[WoobieSpecies tragic backstory]], and cute/CreepyAwesome designs respectively. A shiny Hisuian Zorua (later Zoroark) is featured heavily in ''WebAnimation/PokemonHisuianSnow'', while Hisuian Zoroark was among the first Pokémon to be confirmed to return in ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet''. Rather ironic seeing how the original Zoroark line was a failed attempt at recapturing Lucario's popularity.[[/note]] |
| 162 | *** Generation IX: Sprigatito,[[note]]Similar to Rowlet, Sprigatito became an instant hit with fans thanks to its CuteKitten design. While its final evolution Meowscarada is also quite popular, the first stage is most beloved. Sprigatito is the protagonist's main Pokémon in ''Anime/PokemonHorizonsTheSeries'', is a playable character in ''VideoGame/PokemonUnite'' 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.[[/note]] Ceruledge,[[note]]Ceruledge became an instant fan-favorite for its ghostly BlackKnight 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 ''Anime/PokemonHorizonsTheSeries''.[[/note]] Miraidon[[note]]Out of the two box legendaries, Miraidon became the more popular one ([[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff especially in the West]]) for being an [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot awesome robotic dragon]]. It often got the spotlight over Koraidon in various pieces of merchandise and even became a surprise playable character in ''VideoGame/PokemonUnite'' as the second representative from Generation IX.[[/note]] |
| 163 | *** Ten characters on this list (Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Pichu, Mewtwo, Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charizard, Lucario, Greninja, and Incineroar) are playable in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', while one other (Rayquaza) is a boss in a previous game, ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'', and a stage hazard in ''Wii U'' and ''Ultimate''. |
| 164 | ** The Hex Maniac, specifically her incarnation from the [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Sixth]] [[VideoGame/PokemonOmegaRubyAndAlphaSapphire Generation games]], is considered [[EnsembleDarkhorse one of the most popular NPC Trainers]] among the the fandom, so much so that for ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' 2022 Halloween event she was actually added as a playable Sync pair with Haunter, and even given a canon name, Helena. |
| 165 | * [=GLaDOS=] from ''VideoGame/{{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 [[spoiler:the final boss of the first game]]. |
| 166 | * ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'': 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 ''VideoGame/MadouMonogatari: Tower of the Magician''. Fans loudly complained when Sega [[PutOnABus put her on a bus]] and she was given a cameo in ''7'' and finally brought back for good in ''Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary''. |
| 167 | * The ''Rance'' series contains three major examples: |
| 168 | ** Rick [[MasterSwordsman Addison]] made his debut in ''Rance III'', where he was little more than a MauveShirt 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 OneManArmy and a dorky NiceGuy. 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 PlayerCharacter Rance himself with the screen time to match. |
| 169 | ** [[SleepyHead Cessna]] [[BunnyEarsLawyer Benville]] was introduced in ''Rance VI'' as just one in a trio of MauveShirt 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 [[GlassCannon 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 ''[[GrandFinale 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 [[DreamWeaver Warg]]) to make her play a prominent role in it. |
| 170 | ** 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. |
| 171 | * ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'': |
| 172 | %%Needs more clarity regarding which came first, his popularity or the growth in his role.** Leon Scott Kennedy from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' was originally just a carbon copy of Chris Redfield from the first game, Capcom wisely decided to make him more distinct with a PrettyBoy haircut and unique police outfit and now he’s a staple of the series. Add his “[[TookALevelInBadass cooler]]“ depiction in the immensely popular ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' to the pot and it’s no wonder casual gamers assume he’s TheHero of ''Resident Evil'' and not Chris. In the debut trailer for the ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake'' the [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kOJBa4Sci-4&t=94s audience went nuts as soon as Leon was revealed]]. |
| 173 | %%Needs more context about his popularity.** Albert Wesker was just TheMole in the original ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'' who gets HoistByHisOwnPetard. He made a badass return for ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'' and immediately [[BreakoutVillain cemented himself]] as the series’s BigBad, making subsequent appearances in games and crossovers right up until ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' [[spoiler:where to fans’s dismay he is KilledOffForReal]]. Wesker has even appeared proudly alongside the [[Franchise/MarvelUniverse Marvel supervillains]] in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'' and is a main character in ''VideoGame/{{Teppen|2019}}''. |
| 174 | %%Needs more context about her popularity.** Jill Valentine originally just the [[GameFavoredGender easy gameplay option]] to Chris the MC, soon became the main ActionGirl and central female character of the franchise. Only three years after her debut in Jill would get her own game in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'' and subsequent appearances in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations'' and ''[=RE5=]''. Jill has also starred in the most crossover titles such as ''[[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom2 MVC2]]'', ''[[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3 MVC3]]'', ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone'' and ''VideoGame/{{Teppen|2019}}''. |
| 175 | ** Much her partner Leon, Claire Redfield rose to high popularity thanks to ''[=RE2=]'' as she quickly got a sequel in ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica Code Veronica]]''. She’s still remains one of the most celebrated female characters in the franchise and despite appearing [[PutOnABus in less games]] than fellow female protagonists Jill and Ada, only starring in one other game ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations2''. Claire still appears in heaps of other ''RE'' media such as ''Anime/ResidentEvilDegeneration'', ''Manga/ResidentEvilHeavenlyIsland'' and the upcoming ''Resident Evil Infinite Darkness'' series. |
| 176 | ** 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 ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0'' (where she's [[TookALevelInBadass much more badass]] compared to other titles). Since then Rebecca has made appearances in ''[=RE5=]'''s Mercenaries Mode, the live action ''Resident Evil [[ScreenToStageAdaptation Stage Show]]'' and ''Anime/ResidentEvilVendetta''. Rebecca's popularity is also highly ironic given her own creator Shinji Mikami actually [[CreatorsPest dislikes her]] and only put her in the original game due to his staff demanding it. |
| 177 | ** [[AxCrazy Jack Krauser]]. He originally appeared in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' as a RememberTheNewGuy before he dies, but his badassery led him to getting expanded on in a prequel mission in ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheDarksideChronicles The Darkside Chronicles]]''. |
| 178 | ** [[GasMaskMooks HUNK]] was just a masked goon from Umbrella in ''[=RE2=]'' who was killed by the mutated William Birkin, however thanks staring in a MiniGame 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. |
| 179 | ** Nemesis from ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis RE3]]'' originally was more of a MonsterOfTheWeek and simply called “Pursuer” and in Japan wasn’t even in the title of the game[[note]]which was called ''Resident Evil: Last Escape''[[/note]]. But Nemesis quickly became as synonymous with the franchise as the zombies thanks to his ImplacableMan behaviour and appeared frequently in other ''RE'' and Capcom media as well as a hotly anticipated [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Remake remake]]. |
| 180 | ** Nemesis' predecessor T-103 aka Tyrant wasn't particularly popular. But thanks to his [[AdaptationalBadass revamp]] in ''[=RE2make=]'', he became so popular that he found his way into ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'' (alongside Leon and Claire) as well as a playable appearance in ''Resident Evil Project Resistance''. |
| 181 | ** Jack Baker from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7'' was just one of the recurring antagonists in the game, but thanks to his LargeHam AxCrazy one-liners and being a particularly persistent foe, he soon eclipsed the rest of the Bakers in popularity and even overshadowed the game's BigBad 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''. |
| 182 | ** Ethan Winters ironically became this with ''VidoeGame/ResidentEvilVillage''. His first appearance in the previous installment, ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7'', 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 DullSurprise reactions to whatever he was going through. With ''Village'', he received a healthy helping of RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap 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 [[spoiler: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]]. |
| 183 | ** Lady Dimitrescu from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilVillage'' is probably the only ''RE'' character who became a BreakoutCharacter 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 StatuesqueStunner [[ImplacableMan who will be hunting the player down]] like Mr X and Nemesis, the Internet collectively exploded with excitement. FanArt and {{Cosplay}} of Lady Dimitrescu quickly ensued. |
| 184 | * Akira Kazama of ''VideoGame/RivalSchools'' was first introduced in the first game as a BadassBiker 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 ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'' making her the first character from her series to be playable there. |
| 185 | * In the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' series, several demons have become ''massively'' popular, chief amongst them [[AliceAllusion Alice]], [[GagPenis Mara]] and [[WakeUpCallBoss 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. |
| 186 | * When Creator/YachtClubGames was creating their first game, ''VideoGame/ShovelKnight'', 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 [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Order of No Quarter]] [[PromotedToPlayable 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 [[MadBomber Plague Knight]], [[TheGrimReaper Specter Knight]], and [[TheUsurper King Knight]], who each got their own campaigns; Plague of Shadows, Specter of Torment and King of Cards, respectively. |
| 187 | * ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' |
| 188 | ** [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Knuckles the Echidna]]. He initially showed up as an antagonist tricked by Eggman to oppose Sonic, but he proved popular enough that he [[VideoGame/KnucklesChaotix 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 [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics 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 OutOfFocus. His popularity seems to have revived in lieu his debut in the ''Film/{{Sonic the Hedgehog 2|2022}}'' 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. |
| 189 | ** [[AntiHero Shadow the Hedgehog]] is probably an even better example than Knuckles as he debuted after the Classic era. He was meant to be KilledOffForReal in his debut game ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', but [[SavedByTheFans was brought back due to his popularity]]. He's far from the only EvilTwin 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 [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog the last one in his story arc]] starred ''him'' and not Sonic. Even after the series started to [[DemotedToExtra downplay]] the secondary cast into smaller roles, he's still one of the most recognizable characters in the franchise. |
| 190 | ** The debut of the Wisps was in ''VideoGame/SonicColors'', 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 ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'', ''VideoGame/SonicLostWorld'', and ''VideoGame/SonicForces''. |
| 191 | * ''Franchise/{{Splatoon}}'': The Octolings started out as {{Elite Mook}}s, but the fandom became fascinated with their backstory, and they were PromotedToPlayable in ''VideoGame/Splatoon2: Octo Expansion''. |
| 192 | * Krystal from ''Franchise/StarFox'' started out as a hold-over from ''VideoGame/DinosaurPlanet'' before it became ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'' and while intended to be a playable deuteragonist as with the former, a ChristmasRushed production led to her being benched as a DamselInDistress for the game's majority. This didn’t stop Krystal from cultivating a following due to [[FoxyVixen her design]], and intriguing origins as a LastOfHerKind [[TheDrifter drifter]] whose prescence [[WizardsFromOuterSpace added fantasy tropes to a Sci-Fi setting]]. Krystal would go on to become a core member of the titular team in ''VideoGame/StarFoxAssault'', and much of the plot of ''VideoGame/StarFoxCommand'' focuses on her and her relationship with Fox, with a few story routes outright making her the protagonist. Her abscence in the reboot ''VideoGame/StarFoxZero'' was a surprise, but Krystal’s long-awaited debut in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' in ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate Ultimate]]'' (albeit as an [[AssistCharacter Assist Trophy]]) more or less confirmed she’s here to stay in the franchise. |
| 193 | * ''Franchise/StarWars'' has seen a couple. |
| 194 | ** In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', TokenEvilTeammate HK-47 proved to be one of the most popular characters in the game, so much so that in [[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords the sequel]], there were ''more'' HK-47s, who served as the villains. |
| 195 | ** Lana Beniko, in ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', 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 [[NobleDemon a Sith with Light Side qualities]]. |
| 196 | ** In ''VideoGame/StarWarsStarfighter'', 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 ''VideoGame/JediStarfighter''. |
| 197 | ** In ''VideoGame/StarWarsOutlaws'', 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. |
| 198 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'', two of the preset empires have come to eclipse the others: |
| 199 | ** The [[MemeticMutation memetic]], UglyCute, [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} eccentric]] and [[{{Yandere}} dementedly]] [[IJustWantToHaveFriends friendly]] Blorg are generally pulled up as a representation of the sillier, more tongue-in-cheek aspects of the game. |
| 200 | ** Combining MostWritersAreHuman with EvilIsCool, the [[TheEmpire ruthless and imperialistic]] [[HumansAreBastards Commonwealth of Man]] are frequently used as a stand-in for the game's more [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential gleefully diabolical]] fans, or simply when an instantly-recognizable and intimidating antagonist is needed. Their appearance in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmvGlBFaFEU Paths to Ascension]] trailer for the ''Utopia'' expansion just cemented it. |
| 201 | * ''Franchise/StreetFighter'': |
| 202 | ** Chun-Li was one of the original twelve in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII''. She became very popular due to being percieved as [[TheSmurfettePrinciple the only playable female character at the time]] due [[OlderThanTheyThink 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 ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII: New Generation'' and ''[=2nd=] Impact'' being her only absences). However, if [[VideoGame/CapcomVs crossovers]] are taken into account, then Chun-Li has appeared in more games than Ken. [[WolverinePublicity She and Ryu are the only ones to appear in each of the Vs. games.]] |
| 203 | ** People loved Guile. They loved his [[AllAmericanFace all-Americanness]] so much that both [[Film/StreetFighter the film]] and [[WesternAnimation/StreetFighter the cartoon]] shunted Ryu to the sidelines and made Guile the protagonist. |
| 204 | ** Akuma is one of the most popular characters in the game for being an epically difficult {{Superboss}} and has made appearances in ''Videogame/{{Cyberbots}}'' and ''VideoGame/Tekken7''. |
| 205 | ** Not many people were that hyped for Rashid in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'' 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 [[CharacterDevelopment character development]], saves the world and pretty much overshadows almost every other character, even [[TheHero Ryu]]. |
| 206 | %%Needs more context about her popularity.** Cammy, by virtue of being the second female fighter in the series, had more return appearances than the other new characters introduced in New Challengers. |
| 207 | %%Needs more context about popularity.** ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'' has its two female newcomers, Crimson Viper and Juri. Viper joined the cast of ''Marvel vs. Capcom 3'', being the first of the new Street Fighter characters to be in a Vs. game. This meant she achieved in three years what several Capcom characters have failed to do in many: appear in a Vs. game. Juri made it to the next Vs. game, ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'' as well as VideoGame/ProjectXZone, and also was the first newcomer to be announced for ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV''. |
| 208 | * Georg Prime from ''VideoGame/SuikodenII'' 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 ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'', set a few years before ''VideoGame/SuikodenI'', 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. [[MemeticBadass The rest is history.]] |
| 209 | * ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'': |
| 210 | ** [[TheLancer Luigi]] started off as a simple PaletteSwap of Mario, and became perhaps the biggest fan-favorite of the entire franchise. He got [[VideoGame/LuigisMansion 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 ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'', earning bigger roles in the main series as it went on. 2013 was even made Advertising/TheYearOfLuigi to celebrate his 30th anniversary. |
| 211 | ** [[DamselInDistress Princess Peach]] broke out on the sheer success of her [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 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 PromotedToPlayable in the [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2 American sequel]], and getting [[VideoGame/SuperPrincessPeach 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. |
| 212 | ** [[PowerUpMount Yoshi]] was popular enough after his debut in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' for [[VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld2YoshisIsland 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 ''VideoGame/YoshisStory'' and ''Yoshi's Cookie''. He even receives a cameo in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'' which lampshades his then-new popularity. |
| 213 | ** [[EvilCounterpart Wario]] was created for ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand2SixGoldenCoins'' 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 SpinOff series, ''VideoGame/WarioLand''. And if that wasn't enough, ''that'' series became so popular, Wario received ''another'' spin-off series called ''VideoGame/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 EvilCounterpart[=/=][[TheRival Rival]] born of a WriterRevolt. |
| 214 | ** Within the ''VideoGame/WarioWare'' series is Ashley, the [[CuteWitch young witch]] introduced in ''VideoGame/WarioWareTouched''. Quite popular in Japan (and well-liked outside of Japan), Nintendo started to catch on her popularity after the release of ''VideoGame/GameAndWario'' and started to heavily promote her: she was made into an Assist Trophy in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'' and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', had a reward themed after her on the Japanese Club Nintendo, had three UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS themes before any ''Wario'' games were released for the system, was used in Japan to [[WolverinePublicity promote games she doesn't appear in]], has a ridiculous number of badges in ''VideoGame/NintendoBadgeArcade'' and was even the subject of a 2017 AprilFools 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 ''VideoGame/WarioWareGold'', and is an unlockable costume in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker''. This makes her the first and so far only ''[=WarioWare=]'' character to appear in a ''Mario'' game in any form. |
| 215 | ** [[KidAppealCharacter 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 [[VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry2DiddysKongQuest next game in the series]], and went on to appear in virtually every game in the series with the exception of ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongJungleBeat''. 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 ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'' or its UpdatedReRelease. |
| 216 | ** 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 [[BadassAdorable cute design]] and [[ActionGirl usefulness in gameplay]]. She headlined [[VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry3DixieKongsDoubleTrouble the third game in the series]] and after her absence in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' was met with disappointment by fans, she made occasional appearances in ''Mario'' spinoffs until her return in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryTropicalFreeze'' was met with great fanfare and cemented her as the series' third main character. |
| 217 | ** [[TheHighQueen Rosalina]] was introduced as a main character in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy''; quickly becoming an fan-favorite amongst the fandom. Six years after her debut, after being DemotedToExtra in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' and becoming a regular character in the ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' series, she suddenly took a spotlight in the main series by being PromotedToPlayable as a SecretCharacter in ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'', and later being featured as a playable fighter in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'', probably the biggest honor for any Nintendo character. |
| 218 | ** Even ''[[SatelliteCharacter Waluigi]]'' has received this in a way (mostly through MemeticMutation). Despite mainly appearing exclusively in spinoff titles, Waluigi was one of many characters to be playable in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker'', appearing in the game from the start before other more prominent characters like Daisy or Toadette. He also starred as the BigBad [[HijackedByGanon (for the first level of the game, anyhow)]] of ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolutionMarioMix'', 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. |
| 219 | %%Needs more context about his popularity.** [[TheHero Mario]] ''himself'' is one. In his [[VideoGame/DonkeyKong debut appearance]], his name wasn't even in the title. He didn't have a real name and just went by the moniker of "Jumpman," and he was a villain in the game's sequel. Come ''VideoGame/MarioBros'' in 1983, he finally got his name, but then came ''[[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 Super Mario Bros.]]'' in 1985, and the rest is history. |
| 220 | %%Needs more context about popularity.** Donkey Kong can also be considered one. After debuting in his [[VideoGame/DonkeyKong self-titled game]] and its two sequels, DK more or less dropped off the radar for the next eleven years before returning in full force with a new, heroic personality in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry''. Speaking of which... |
| 221 | %%Needs more context about popularity.** Pauline was the DamselInDistress in the original ''Donkey Kong'' arcade game, but effectively dropped off the face of the earth for many years afterwards, with Princess Peach more or less replacing her as the heroine of the series. The ''VideoGame/MarioVsDonkeyKong'' games brought her back into the limelight to an extent, before she returned in a big way in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'' as a major [=NPC=] and the Mayor of New Donk City, who even sings the game's theme song. |
| 222 | %%Needs more context about popularity.** [[TomboyPrincess Princess Daisy]] has recently become this. Originally introduced as a Princess Peach {{Expy}} in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand'', Daisy disappeared from the series for many years afterward. She returned in Mario Tennis in 2000, but despite a [[DivergentCharacterEvolution new revamped design]] to seperate herself further from her roots, Daisy held no significance beyond multiplayer spin-off titles as an AffirmativeActionGirl, and spent many years [[DemotedToExtra relegated to the sidelines]] or OutOfFocus entirely while newer characters like Rosalina (mentioned above) overshadowed her. Then came a major update for ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRun'', and Daisy finally got her big breakthrough. Daisy is a SecretCharacter in the game, making it her debut as a playable character in a ''Super Mario'' platformer. Daisy also played a significant role in the story mode of ''VideoGame/MarioTennis Aces'', and eventually became PromotedToPlayable in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', which as mentioned earlier is perhaps the highest honor any Nintendo character can achieve. It's safe to say that things are [[ThrowTheDogABone finally looking up]] for the Princess of Sarasaland. |
| 223 | %%Needs more context about popularity.** [[DistaffCounterpart Toadette]] was first introduced as a partner for Toad in ''VideoGame/MarioKartDoubleDash'', and made several appearances in other games, usually as an option in large character rosters or as a minor character. Then for a time she [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome quietly dropped off the radar for several years]] before resurfacing in ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'' and co-staring alongside Captain Toad in ''Treasure Tracker''. Since then she's been playable in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRun'', made her mainline debut in ''Odyssey'', and is playable in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker2'' alongside Mario, Luigi, and Toad. She's certainly come a long way since making her debut. |
| 224 | %%Needs more context about popularity.** Captain Toad, also introduced in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'', started off as a side character, being the leader of the Toad Brigade despite being a coward according to his partners. After taking a similar role in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'', he then started making solo appearances, including [[PromotedToPlayable as a playable character]] in ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld's'' puzzle levels, and then as the star in ''VideoGame/CaptainToadTreasureTracker''. |
| 225 | * ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration'': Kyosuke Nanbu proved to be so popular that he and his girlfriend Excellen Browning are promoted into main characters by the second game. |
| 226 | %%Needs more context about popularity.** Sanger Zonvolt is this. In his debut, he was [[CoDragons one of the Dragons]] to the BigBad that just appeared near the end of the game. In the next game, he's the protagonist of the SuperRobot route. In the next game, he's an important character. In ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration'', he becomes the StealthMentor to the group, and then the second game has his EvilTwin and an exclusive route for his story. And he represents mainline ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration'' in ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone''. |
| 227 | ** Axel Almer, in context of the ''Original Generation'' series (in his debut at ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsAdvance'', he was always one of the protagonists). When he was introduced, he was designated as TheRival 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 AdaptationalJerkass (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 NobleDemon and proved to be really well received, which made him survive the events of ''Original Generations'' to appear in ''Gaiden'', definitely pulled a HeelFaceTurn there, and his more 'lone wolf' personality means he's more eligible to appear in other spin-offs like ''VideoGame/EndlessFrontier'' (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''. |
| 228 | * ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'': |
| 229 | ** While ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'' 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 PrettyBoy looks, his tragic story, and the built-in fandom of his [[Creator/HikaruMidorikawa 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 [[spoiler:only returning playable character in ''Tales of Destiny 2'', though he [[CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown goes by a different name]].]]\ |
| 230 | 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 [[AudienceSurrogate player surrogate]], Stahn. This, coupled with the fact that [[spoiler:he ultimately betrays the heroes and dies in infamy, generates impressions of CharacterShilling.]] Series writers seem to acknowledge he is divisive and mellow out his personality in the [=PS2=] remake so he is a [[DefrostingIceQueen Defrosting Ice King]] who goes through a long TraumaCongaLine. |
| 231 | ** ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'' has Celsius, the [[AnIcePerson 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 ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfEternia Eternia]]'' design. |
| 232 | ** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' introduced one of the most popular chracters of the entire ''Tales'' Series, [[ColonelBadass Jade Curtiss]]. Jade the Necromancer is the oldest playable character whose actions have significant impact on the world he lived and [[SociopathicHero his]] [[{{Troll}} 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. |
| 233 | ** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'': And that character in question, the protagonist [[VigilanteMan Yuri]] [[SmallStepsHero 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. |
| 234 | * Emilie "Lili" De Rochefort from the ''Franchise/{{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 ''Anime/QueensBlade'' franchise and ''VideoGame/DigimonWorldReDigitize''. |
| 235 | * Kabuki from ''[[VideoGame/TengaiMakyouIIManjimaru Tengai Makyou II: Manjimaru]]'' overshadowed the title character in popularity, and got his own GaidenGame besides starring in both of the FightingGame spin-offs. |
| 236 | * ''Franchise/TouhouProject'': |
| 237 | ** 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: ''VideoGame/YouseiDaisensouTouhouSangetsusei''. |
| 238 | ** 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 PromotedToPlayable 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 PlayerCharacter, such as ''VideoGame/MegaMari'' and ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarisaLand''. |
| 239 | * Sans is a supporting character in ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' [[spoiler:outside of the Genocide route]], but his FountainOfMemes status both in and outside of the fandom made him by far the most popular character, leading to him and being the go-to representative for crossovers such as ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' (as a Mii Fighter costume) or ''VideoGame/GrooveCoaster'' (where his boss battle's music, Megalovania, is a playable song). |
| 240 | * ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'': 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 Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling went so far as to hire wrestler Jim Steele to ''[[{{Defictionalization}} be Wolf in real life]]''. |
| 241 | * In most games, the child that the protagonist is saddled with protecting is despised. The developers of ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadTelltale'' played their cards right with [[TheHeart Clementine]], however. She's one of the most popular characters in the game. |
| 242 | * ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'': |
| 243 | ** Illidan Stormrage appears in only one level and one cutscene in ''Warcraft III''. The Addon ''Frozen Throne'' and the ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' expansion ''Burning Crusade'' are all about him being badass. The latter, by turning him from an AntiHero to an OmnicidalManiac, 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. |
| 244 | ** Highlord Mograine, AKA The Ashbringer, from ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' got so popular among fans that now he has [[ComicBook/{{Ashbringer}} his own comic series]]. |
| 245 | ** Saurfang was just a quest-giving NPC among thousands in ''World of Warcraft'', until the fanbase made him a MemeticBadass. 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, [[{{Retcon}} retroactively]] right-hand to the ''former'' warchief, second in command in the Northrend campaign, and if he hadn't [[spoiler:lost his son]], he'd probably be Warchief now. Heck, in ''Legion'' he [[spoiler: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 [[spoiler: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.]] |
| 246 | %%Needs more context about popularity.** In ''Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne'', Vol'jin was a witch-doctor (a very weak, support-only unit) who gave quests to the real heroes of the campaign (Rexxar, Rokhan and Chen) so they could save his people. In ''World of Warcraft'' he doesn't do much more at first, besides asking for help to deal with a level 10 mob. Several expansions later, he's leading the rebellion against [[TyrantTakesTheHelm Garrosh Hellscream]], had a novel written about him, and finally [[spoiler:becomes the new Warchief of the Horde (and the first non-orc to do so) after Garrosh is deposed]]. |
| 247 | %%Needs more context about role growth, and a sentence seems to be incomplete.** Lord Jaraxxus is just a minor boss in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', so it's questionable why the Warlock Legendary in ''VideoGame/{{Hearthstone|HeroesOfWarcraft}}'' However, the combination of [[LargeHam glorious voice acting]] by Creator/JamiesonPrice and unique effect of replacing the hero summoning him makes him stand out, and he's usually considered as one of the most memorable cards amongst the Warlock deck and well-remembered amongst other Burning Legion demons, a lot of them that rank WAY higher than him. |
| 248 | %%Needs more context about popularity.* ''[[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1 Xenoblade Chronicles]]'': Melia was simply one of the party members and while she does have a larger role then some other party members, she still fades into the background. Come ''Future Connected'', she takes the starring role with all of the plot's events centered on her and the High Entia along with being the default player controlled character. Shulk was quite literally just along for the ride since she can't fly the ship, and his only large contribution to the plot is that defeating the Fog King requires his new invention. |
| 249 | * ''VideoGame/YandereSimulator'': 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. |
| 250 | %%Needs more context about how her role in canon has grown.** Oka Ruto. In the finished game, your fourth rival. In the debug builds, a club leader who tests out unique character features (like her 'shy' walk cycle and spiderweb stockings). In all versions, decided to be so cute that she's on her way to being the fan-favorite rival. |
| 251 | %%Needs more context about how her role in canon has grown.** Midori Gurin. Initially just a vehicle for the dev to vent his frustration at his well-meaning fanbase that was distracting him with too many e-mails, she has become a popular fandom meme and is used as a more reasonable AudienceSurrogate at times. |
| 252 | %%Needs more context about popularity.* ''VideoGame/YouHaveToBurnTheRope'': The Grinning Colossus also appears as a boss in other web games; ''Death vs Monsters 2'', ''Anti-Idle: The Game'', and ''VideoGame/{{Pickory}}''. |
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| 255 | %% NOTE TO EDITORS: If you're adding an example here at the end of the page, it should be last alphabetically by title. If it isn't, please put it in the correct place in the list. |
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