The following are the main characters of FLARE's 2001 RPG, Romancing Walker, as translated into English by rm2kfanboy.
Ryle Laster alias Prince Ryle S. Factoria
- Dope!
Ryle is the designated hero and protagonist of Romancing Walker. An orphan, Ryle has been trained in combat by his mentor, Brad Burnfist. Aged 17, he lives in the small village of Lavas, and dreams of setting out on a life of adventure as a swordsman. As the game progresses, Ryle learns more about himself, meets a cast full of entertaining characters, and ends up saving his homeland from an increasingly worse series of dangers.
Ryle has no magic powers, except his Warp spell, but is good with a sword. Like most teenage boys, he can be rather awkward around girls, sometimes veering into Accidental Pervert territory. He also has a tendency to be hot-headed, and to rush into action without carefully considering the consequences. However, he is a loyal friend, a brave fighter, and is always willing to put the well-being of those he cares for ahead of his own.
- Animal Motifs: Tigers.
- Accidental Pervert: His reactions on having to share a room with Latyss (or Caris) are priceless.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: His entire dynamic with Caris. In one particularly moving scene, they begin fighting each other with swords, before almost confessing their feelings for each other.
- Book Dumb: Ryle just doesn't dig books. Caris has no hesitation in criticizing him for this.
- Butt-Monkey: Learned a skill by having a rock falling on his head.
- Cannot Spit It Out: With Caris, mainly because he's afraid of how her father would react.
- Catchphrase: "Dope!", used whenever he's annoyed with himself, or realizes he has made a faux pas.
- Chick Magnet: It's hard to find a girl in the game who doesn't like Ryle. Mariel even points it out:Mariel: Mr. Ryle is like a women-magnet, isn't he?
- Chivalrous Pervert: For all his bravery, he can be downright mean about the "punishments" he inflicts on Hayami: asking to rest on her lap, or getting a massage from her while she sits on him. This becomes funnier when we find out who Hayami really is.
- Fourth Wall Psych: Can change the screen tone and BGM.
- Heroes Prefer Swords: He does start the game with a knife, but gets his first sword quite early on.
- Heroic Bastard
- Hidden Backup Prince
- Manly Tears: Ryle cries only on two occasions: when he thinks Orubia is dead, and in the Mariel ending, after they acknowledge their feelings for each other.
- Master Swordsman: Ryle can pull off some devastating attacks, especially at higher levels.
- Oblivious to Love: He comes across as this particularly with Orubia, his childhood sweetheart.
- The Hero
- Traumatic Superpower Awakening: Played purely for comedy. After having a large number of rocks fall on his head, Ryle learns the Warp spell, one of his most useful powers.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: Not as much as Orubia, but he is very altruistic and has a strong self-sacrificing streak.
Caris Burnfist
- I am so awesome, even Mother Nature is on my side!
Caris is the daughter of Ryle's mentor and teacher, Brad Burnfist. A good fighter in her own right, Caris is attracted to Ryle, but is often annoyed by his over-confidence or attitude. She joins Ryle in his adventures from the beginning of the story.
Caris is a fire mage, and is also good with a sword. She can come across as narcissistic, short-tempered, and just a wee bit money-minded, but she's also a loyal friend and a brave fighter with a well-hidden gentle side.
- Badass Bookworm: As the epilogue suggests, Caris has quite a love of learning, and tries to motivate Ryle to pick up a book from time to time.
- Hot-Blooded
- Humanizing Tears: If Ryle chooses to team up with Caris early on, he gets to see her more tender side after completing the Danyon Mine dungeon; if he remains on her path, she cries again when Ryle survives a near-death experience. This is in sharp contrast to her general attitude and demeanor.
- Lady Looks Like a Dude: If Ryle and Caris are getting along well, there's a hilarious scene where a little girl in Taru Taru port asks them if they're a "love couple". When Caris says no, the girl asks Caris if she's a guy. This does not go down well with her.
- Like Father, Like Son: Like father, like daughter. She and Brad are both hot-tempered, brave and good fighters.
- Megaton Punch: "Dear Caris' Good Morning Call". She uses it to wake Ryle when he's unconscious, and also socks it to him in one of the Hilarious Outtakes.
- Military Brat: Her father, Brad Burnfist, was a knight in the Meldian army.
- Missing Mom: Caris' mother, Ellis, died when she was a young girl.
- Playing with Fire: All of her attacks are fire-based.
- The Lancer, but she can also be viewed as The Big Guy
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: More like "cross swords, fight, pause and realize one's true feelings..", which happens twice: once in a cutscene if your attraction is high enough, and once in the ending.
- Tsundere: She's the only one of the girls who dares to call Ryle "Baka", and fits well into the Type A (tsuntsun) description.
- Walking the Earth: If Ryle chooses Caris, they end up leading a life of adventure, working to unite the races of the world - humans, elves and dragons - while learning more about them. However, Brad Burnfist is lurking around the corner..
Orubia Aquary
- I just love my house so much..
Orubia has been Ryle's close friend since childhood. Her father, Zamus Aquary, is a merchant; according to the author's notes, her mother was a "mysterious dark-haired lady" named Tia. Orubia herself dreams of being accepted in the Mage Academy, and is training to be a priestess.
Orubia is the team's best healer, and can also use water- and "holy"-based attacks. She is in love with Ryle, though he doesn't quite register this, and tends to become tearful when there is a chance of Ryle's leaving her. She's the kindest and most well-mannered of the playable characters, tending to address all her women friends as "Sis" and Ryle as "Dear Ryle".
- Embarrassing Old Photo: If Ryle tries to examine Orubia's photo album, she angrily warns him not to look there, because it's personal. After he apologizes, she notes that it contains many pictures of "little Ryle" looking "so cute".
- Friend to All Children: Her ending involves setting up an orphanage with Ryle, and personally looking after the inmates. Ryle admiringly notes that she's "like a holy mother to them". This was because her closest childhood friend was Ryle, who was an orphan.
- Holy Hand Grenade
- Idol Singer: Struck by her innocence, a sleazy talent agent offers Orubia a chance to become one, and to ditch the "muscle-brained" Ryle. However, Orubia calmly replies that she has been Ryle's friend since childhood, and that she'd rather stay with him than be someone else.
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness
- Making a Splash: At higher levels, Orubia learns the "Aqualeader" attack, which can utterly wash away some enemies. If the heroes search around Mount Meldia enough, she can also learn "Aqua Pressure", which is even more powerful.
- Parental Substitute: If Ryle decides to stay with Orubia, he gives her monetary help in setting up a child-care centre, which they run together, and she becomes a second mother to the orphaned children of Lavas.
- Patient Childhood Love Interest
- The Heart: Orubia is the nicest of the playable characters. A particularly triumphant example is the way she befriended Latyss and Precious, who were elves and exiles from their hometown, when they sought refuge in Lavas. She also treats Mariel with much more consideration, compared to the other characters:Orubia: (calmly) "Now now, don't cry, Sis Mariel, there's a good girl."
- Tender Tears: As one would expect given her personality, she does have a tendency to weep at moments of great joy or sadness.
- The Ingenue: She can be quite naive, even compared to others of her own age.
- Verbal Tic: "Sis X" and "Dear Ryle".
- Yamato Nadeshiko: She's gentle, obedient, courteous, a friend to all, but by no means lacking in courage.
Latyss Grynwind
- Then let's get going.
Latyss is an elf maiden who has been living with her mother and little sister in Lavas, and who joins Ryle at the beginning of his adventures. She was exiled from her hometown, the village of Elzcrown, for rejecting the advances of Dierro, the elder's lecherous son. This has left her generally reserved and detached, but she learns to relax, to trust others, and grow closer to them over the course of the story.
Latyss is a wind mage, and can also use powerful ice-based attacks. Later on, she can unlock Elementals, small magical creatures who help her gain other forms of attack. As befits a mage, she is also a good healer. Because of her tragic past, she tends to keep to herself and avoid close friendships, though Orubia - and later Ryle - are able to get through to her.
- Adaptation Name Change: In the original game, her name was Rathis.
- Blow You Away: She begins with basic wind attacks, but becomes far more adept at them when she rescues Sylph, a wind elemental.
- Broken Bird: Almost ended up being one, after being exiled, but Orubia just managed to avert it.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Her romance with Ryle.
- Disappeared Dad: Latyss' father died when she was young, and she misses him very much. It's strongly hinted, but never confirmed, that he was murdered by elves who were fanatical about racial purity.
- Fantastic Racism: She and her family fall victim to it, until they find refuge in Lavas.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Her mother is elven, but her father is human. Which is part of the reason why the Elder and Dierro treat her like trash.
- Interspecies Romance: If Ryle chooses Latyss, then they end up together, working for unity between humans and elves. Though they face opposition from the Elder of Elzcrown, Ryle is hopeful that the elves will join him and Latyss on their "day of blessing".
- Older Than They Look: Latyss ages more slowly than humans, because of her elven bloodline. According to the author, she's actually "three to four times" older than Ryle, who is seventeen, though she has the appearance of a teenager.
- Puppy-Dog Eyes: Latyss' "Sugary" moments are cooped with a rather uncanny version of this trope, to the point it's hilarious since one time she shows such face, the developer was messing up the color code tag.
- The Smart Girl: She and Hayami share the role, just as Ryle and Fina share the role of The Hero.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality
Hayami Raienji alias Princess Esmeriah R. Gaiares
- Let Sessha aid your mission!
Hayami is a female ninja, or kunoichi, whom Ryle encounters on his first trip away from his home continent. A member of the famed White Shinobi guild of ninjas, Hayami is temporarily on her own because many of the White Shinobi have been subjected to a mind-control spell. On meeting Ryle, she initially has suspicions about his true identity, and teams up with him to free her fellow ninjas.
Hayami uses ninja daggers and swords, and is a good all-round fighter who can use fire, thunder, water or air-based attacks as well. Hayami tends to get confused when Ryle is affectionate to her, and has a tendency to have accidents at such moments. Initially, she is detached and professional, but as the story progresses, she grows closer to him.
- Cute Clumsy Girl: She transforms into one when she's embarrassed by her feelings for Ryle, having a tendency to bump into things.
- Easy Amnesia: If Ryle chooses Hayami, then he learns that she was actually Princess Esmeriah of Gaiares. She had lost her memory due to a head injury when Gaiares fell, was taken in by the White Shinobi and raised as one of them. However, she slowly regained her memory, recognized Ryle as a prince, and hence agreed to help him on his quest while keeping her cover. After the events of the game, Esmeriah's father finds her, and seals her memories with a magic spell, as he wants her to marry Prince Dyss of Factoria for political reasons. However, Prince Dyss is already in love with a commoner, Tina, and helps Esmeriah escape. Ryle rescues her, she remembers him, and they end up happily together...or, at least, as happily as is possible given Ryle's Accidental Pervert tendencies.
- Jack of All Trades: Hayami can use fire-, lightning-, water- and air-based attacks, as well as sword attacks, shurikens, and a useful heal spell.
- Legacy Character: She's the daughter of Catyss Delstar and Zeskar Excellize, from the "Dragon Valkyrie" prequel.
- Long-Lost Relative: She and Fina are first cousins.
- Ms. Fanservice: And doesn't Ryle take advantage of it.
- Rebellious Princess : Even after regaining her memory, she does not want to return to her "royal" life, and runs away to escape an arranged marriage.
- The Smart Guy: Along with Latyss.
- The Reveal: She is actually Princess Esmeriah of the now-lost kingdom of Gaiares.
- Verbal Tic: Introduced by the translator: Hayami always refers to herself as Sessha, which is Japanese for "I".
- You Can't Go Home Again: Even after she recalls her true identity, she prefers to remain who she is, and stay with Ryle.
Fina Delstar
- Just don't expect me to be as good as Mom was!
Fina is the daughter of Flare Delstar, the Sacred Dragoon who had saved the world from CHAOS twenty years earlier. Unwilling to let her follow the same path, Flare has raised her daughter to be a normal young girl, but You Can't Fight Fate, and events soon unfold that will force her to follow in her mother's footsteps.
Fina uses "Ancient" magic attacks, which are generally the most powerful in the game, thanks to her sword, the "Rune Disaster". Fina has three pet peeves in life: her "flat" chest, sea travel, and ghosts. - the latter two of which can reduce her to utter helplessness. She's also surprisingly good at abstracting the contents of chests, even when these do not belong to her. However, Fina, like Ryle, is brave, loyal, and is always willing to sacrifice herself for others.
- A-Cup Angst: Played for laughs.
- Berserk Button: Make an unfavourable comment about her bust, and you're dead.
- Childhood Friends: With Romelia and Mina. Justified, as their parents were friends in the "Dragon Valkyrie" prequel.
- Chosen One: And a rather reluctant one, at first.
- De-power: If Ryle chooses Fina, she surrenders her powers after defeating CHAOS, returns to her culinary endeavours, and she and Ryle plan their future together. Ryle does a Spit Take when she asks him how many children he wants, leading Flare to jokingly label them "the worst couple she's ever seen".
- Disappeared Dad: Fina's dad, Rain Excellize, died making a Heroic Sacrifice to ensure his wife could defeat CHAOS, and she still grieves for him.
- Disproportionate Retribution: When she tries to enter Factoria Castle for the first time, the guards mock her and call her a "flat chest". In return, she kills both of them.
- Generation Xerox: She resembles Flare in looks and personality, back from the "Dragon Valkyrie" prequel.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: Her reason for avoiding the role of a Chosen One, until she is forced to.
- Legacy Character: She's the daughter of Flare Delstar and Rain Excellize, from the "Dragon Valkyrie" prequel.
- Leotard of Power: Fina changes into one when she becomes the Sacred Dragoon.
- Loveable Rogue: Has a disconcerting tendency to loot chests, and on one occasion, even her mother's savings.
- Supreme Chef: Fina loves cooking, and is very good at it.
- Traumatic Superpower Awakening: Played straight, unlike Ryle's comic acquisition of the warp spell. When she meets the Mahzok Raymah, responsible for the death of two innocent dragons, and hears him calling them "useless trash", she transforms from a normal girl to a High Valkyrie.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Has ghost phobia and seasickness, which carry over in the battles, and retained even after power ups.
Mariel Shells
- Mr. Ryle! Would you go on a date with me?
Mariel is an inventor whom Ryle and company meet in the town of Cellen. Though she's initially frightened by Ryle's questioning, she later joins them in a zombie-haunted cave, and attaches herself to their party. Despite her innocuous appearance, she ends up being a valuable ally.
Mariel's weapon of choice is the gun, and she can use laser- and shell-based attacks. Compared to the other characters, she often has little idea what's going on, and can say some remarkably silly things, but has occasional remarkable moments of clarity. Though confused by what's happening at first, she eventually falls in love with Ryle, and describes herself as "his number one fan".
- Adaptation Name Change: In the original game, her name was Mariel Shotshell.
- Butt-Monkey
- Chew Toy: Toward Preshes's fortune telling.
- Cloudcuckoolander
- Cute Clumsy Girl: Played with. In her notes, the author says that Mariel was originally planned as a conventional Dojikko, but she later decided to make her emotionally rather than physically awkward.
- Dark and Troubled Past: In the epilogue, we learn that Mariel was often bullied in school for her "nerdiness", that she lost her mother when she was four, that her father was killed in a war, and that she had contemplated suicide before she met Ryle and his friends. This implies that her cheerful demeanor may be just a brave front.
- Everything Sounds Sexier in French: Mariel is the only character who consistently speaks in French.
- Genius Ditz
- Genki Girl: Has the tendency to burst out with a "Yay!" at the slightest provocation.
- Happily Married: If Ryle ends up with Mariel, they end up admitting their love for each other, and living in cozy domesticity, though Mariel is still as absent-minded as ever.
- Inelegant Blubbering: Mariel tends to flood her large spectacles with tears for a variety of reasons - joy, sadness, fear or even physical pain. This is initially played for comedy, but done more for sentiment in her ending.
- Jack of All Trades: She and Hayami are the most versatile characters. To wit, Mariel can use revive spells, earth-based and lightning-based attacks, and can also equip different gun modules, including a bazooka and a laser cannon.
- Lethal Chef: It's hinted that she is one in the ending, though more because of her absent-mindedness than anything else.
- Legacy Character: She's the daughter of Gazel Shells, from the "Dragon Valkyrie" prequel.
- Nerd Glasses: She wears quite an unflattering pair, and has a tendency to misplace them. She only takes them off if Ryle decides to stay with her at the end.
- Sixth Ranger: Joins the party late, and her reasons for doing so are never made clear - unless Ryle chooses her in the ending, when she says that she wants to fight with him because she admires him and what he stands for.
- Small Girl, Big Gun
Lucitta
We first meet Lucitta at the start of the game; she gives the player a few questions to answer and choices about viewing the game's intro sequence. If Ryle completes his trading quest, Lucitta is accessible as a player character in the final level.
Lucitta is a Mahzok - a demonic creature that lives in the Astral Realm. Unlike many of her compatriots, she does not want CHAOS to return, as his resurrection would require the sacrifice of several Mahzoks. To this end, she joins the heroes at the end, and Ryle even has the option of ending up with her.
- Adaptation Name Change: In the original game, her name was Ruthita.
- Dark Is Not Evil: She's a Mahzok, but she is on the side of the heroes, and sees no good in CHAOS and his followers.
- Humans Are Bastards: Invoked semi-seriously; she states that as long as humans exist, they will experience misery and pain, and hence she will never run out of her food source.
- Interspecies Romance: If Ryle chooses to stay with Lucitta, they move away from Ryle's home town of Lavas, as it is difficult for most humans to accept a Mahzok; she spends her time slowly getting accustomed to the human world, but it's hinted that she does makes the transition quite well, in the end.
- Leotard of Power
- Magical Girlfriend: To Ryle, if he chooses her. Lampshaded when Ryle teaches her how to walk in the ending - something she finds painful - because using her magical powers among the humans would blow her cover and invite hostility.
- Ms. Fanservice: Her combat attire is a cross between a leotard and a corset, and her ending picture continues the trend.
Flare Delstar
- Fina darling, come here a moment...
Flare Delstar, the Sacred Dragoon, saved the world from the attack of CHAOS twenty years before the events in Romancing Walker. Though she was offered a chance to reign after this, she turned it down, and lives in semi-retirement with her daughter, Fina, while trying out her cooking skills. However, when it becomes clear that the danger is far from gone, Flare welcomes Ryle and his allies into her home, and guides them as they grow stronger and take on a demonic invasion.
Flare is widowed: her husband, Rain Excellize, died of leukaemia and "silence disease", which meant that any attempt to speak would actually harm him. When Flare was having a tough time in her battle with CHAOS, Rain used The Power of Love to send his voice across dimensions, giving Flare hope and allowing her to finish off CHAOS, but shortening his own life. Despite being past her prime, she is still a remarkably strong fighter who can teach the younger generation a trick or two.
Flare is briefly playable when the heroes have to save the Kingdom of Factoria for a second time.
- Action Mom
- Happily Married: To Rain, though she lost him far too soon.
- Hero of Another Story: She is the main protagonist of "Dragon Valkyrie", the game prequel. It focuses on her teenage years and how she became the Sacred Dragoon.
- Leotard of Power: She wore one as the Sacred Dragoon, and briefly changes back into it when she helps Ryle and his friends.
- Supreme Chef
- Team Mom: Her home serves as the heroes' base of operations for the second half of the game, except the very last quest.
Rain Excellize
- I'm a man of the past.
Rain Excellize is Flare Delstar's husband and Fina's father. A hero in his own right, Rain died while making sure that his wife could defeat CHAOS the first time. Near the end of the game, when Ryle is warped to the afterlife by CHAOS' first wave of attack, he meets Rain, who helps him return in time to join Fina for the final battle.
- Guest-Star Party Member: He becomes a player character for a short while, assisting Ryle while he's trapped in the CHAOS afterlife.
- Heroic Sacrifice
- Hero of Another Story: He and his (back then girlfriend) Flare were the main protagonists of "Dragon Valkyrie", the game prequel.
Mina La Meldia
Mina is the crown princess of the Kingdom of Meldia, which is the neighbour of Ryle's home kingdom, Factoria. Ryle and his friends meet her when they're on a quest to deliver a couple of letters to her father, and rescue her from a group of thugs led by a monster in disguise. In return, Mina helps them to get an audience with her father.
Mina becomes a player character for a short while, while crossing the bridge to Meldia Castle.
- Chinese Girl
- Childhood Friends: With Fina and Romelia. Justified, as their parents were friends in the "Dragon Valkyrie" prequel.
- Guest-Star Party Member
- Ki Manipulation: Her special move (the aforementioned Kusen Ha!) is a series of martial arts kicks, followed by a Ki blast.
- Ojou
- Lady of War: Despite her gentle manners, Mina is no slouch when it comes to martial arts.
- Legacy Character: She's the daughter of Zestrum and Meldyss, from the "Dragon Valkyrie" prequel.
Romelia Festa
- Here's my shiny Materia! Enjoy!
Romelia is a "bunny girl" who leads a dance troupe at an inn in Landers Market. She is an old friend-cum-rival of Fina's. Her mother, Mimi Festa, is a friend of Flare Delstar's who was a heroine of the first Demonic War, and is now an Idol Singer. Ryle and friends rescue her from a cave, into which she was chased by a slime creature, and have her join their party for a little while.
- Buxom Beauty Standard: Her well-endowed figure makes her very popular and triggers Fina's A-Cup Angst which is part of the reason why Fina and she can't get along.
- Childhood Friends: With Fina and Mina. Justified, as their parents were friends in the "Dragon Valkyrie" prequel.
- Legacy Character: She's the daughter of Mimi Festa, from the "Dragon Valkyrie" prequel.
- Ms. Fanservice: The customers at the inn love Romelia.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Fina. They get on each others' nerves, but they do care.
Brad Burnfist
Brad, a martial arts teacher and trainer, is Ryle's mentor and Caris' father. He is a seasoned fighter, who has seen action in the first Demonic War, and who tries to instill the value of prudence into Ryle, without much success. When the Kingdom of Factoria, led by the evil chancellor Xaktor, attacks Lavas, Brad leads the fightback. He is reluctant to let Caris get involved in dangerous situations, but at the end, realizes that he has to let her be free to do what is right.
- Boyfriend-Blocking Dad: After his wife died, he vowed to protect Caris, which is why he does not want her to get involved in Ryle's conflicts and adventures. In the Caris ending, just as Ryle is about to tell Caris that he loves her, Brad bursts on the scene, tells Caris that she will not marry without his consent, and chases the couple for quite a distance.
- Old Master: Brad was a knight in the Meldian army before becoming a martial arts trainer.
- Porn Stash: Rooting through his bookshelf, Ryle comes across a copy of "HBoy Limited Edition", a Playboy-type magazine that is part of Brad's private collection.
Precious
Precious (actually "Preshes") is Latyss' little sister. She lives with her sister and mother in Lavas, after they were exiled from Elzcrown. Like Latyss, Precious is a "halfling": her mother is an elf, but her father was human.
Though not playable, Precious does play an important part in the plot; she helps the residents of Lavas to find shelter underground when the Mahzoks return.
- Berserk Button: She doesn't like being treated like a little kid, as Mariel finds out the hard way.
- Big Brother Worship: Ryle gets a bit of it from her. If Ryle's attraction points with Latyss are high enough, he can gain more by buying her souvenirs from Taru Taru Port.
- Cheerful Child: Has a tendency to greet Ryle with "Dear Brother's home! Wai!!" or "Big Brother!"
- Disproportionate Retribution: Mariel gets her goat by calling her a "cute little child". In revenge, Precious fries her with a lightning bolt, and then - under the pretext of telling her fortune - hits her with one elemental attack after another. Though it's played for slapstick, it's still rather unfair to poor Mariel, who was just trying to be friendly.
- Not Blood Siblings: Precious was abandoned by her parents (a human and an elf) and was taken in by Latyss' mother, Lesinna.
- Older Than They Look: Precious is actually fifteen, but looks like a little girl because elves age more slowly than humans.
