Listmas 2013: My Favorite “Fire Emblem: Awakening” Characters

Happy Listmas, everybody! If you don’t know about Listmas already, it’s a new celebration of something bloggers do best: make a bunch of lists. From December 20 through December 25, Listmas participators will be publishing lists about whatever topics we fancy — and of course we’ll share the love of other Listmas lists as much as we can. Anybody can join in! For more info, you can read up about it from the people who started and supported it all here (Murf vs Internet) and here (Healing the Masses).

For my first list of the week, I’ll be posting my personal favorite characters from Fire Emblem: Awakening, a game which I am still playing and was, for a time, quite obsessed with. These are the characters from that world I loved the mostest.

Henry

Henry is the most cheerful little killer you’ll ever meet. He’s always smiling and making the corniest jokes — but then he dreams about bloodbaths. It’s disturbing in the best sort of way, as only Fire Emblem can be. Fortunately, his bloody rampaging can turn sweet when he says he’ll kill enemies out of loyalty to his friends. I’ll be honest: I kind of want my character to marry him in the next game…

Ricken

Ricken is by far the cutest little mage I’ve ever seen in my life. He wears a cloak and a rather large hat and always has his spell book clutched close to his chest. He doesn’t like being called a kid, and he’s one of the most useful characters to have on the battlefield with his powerful magic. In my game, he married Nowi, because she turns into a dragon in battle, and I just loved the idea of a little boy practicing spells who has a girlfriend that turns into a dragon. I’d adopt this one if I could.

Tharja

Tharja is weird. That’s why I love her. She’s always trying to put hexes on people, and at times she can come across as a bit of a stalker concocting her love potions. But those are the best kind of stalkers, right? She’s awkward, self-conscious, and has a strangely dark side to her. She’s also a very useful dark mage to have around in battle, especially if you take the time to have her practice on the field so she doesn’t die as fast from enemy hits.

Frederick

Everyone who’s played Fire Emblem: Awakening must have had their ass saved by Frederick several (dozen?) times during the first half of the game. That’s just what Frederick does. Riding his horse into battle, he delivers critical hits like nobody’s business and typically one-hits enemies to their deaths. Sure, he’s a little serious, but then so am I — and he’s incredibly loyal and hard-working. In battles, I’d just set him up in doorways blocking enemies from the rest of my party and let him kill everybody off one by one, rarely taking a scratch to himself.

Nowi

Nowi is super old (like, 1000 years old) and shapeshifts into a dragon in battle. Having her fall in love with the little boy mage Ricken in my game felt so right in spite of how old she is, because she has all the energy of a child. She likes to play. She likes to experience new things. And even though she’s sad that she continues living while those around her die much younger, she takes each day as it comes. Plus, dragon.

Gaius

Gaius is my favorite, guys. My character married him in the game. Basically, he’s a thief you meet in an early mission — an enemy that you can kill — but if you have Chrom chat with him, he’ll join your side because a.) he’s on board with the stealing but not with the killing, and b.) he’ll do it for candy. (This seems to shock and disturb Chrom to no end.) He always has a lollipop with him and seems a little candy-obsessed, but that’s his charm. He’s also silly and cocky and easily embarrassed and adorable. If I’m being honest, I’m going to have a hard time not marrying him in my next game.

— Ashley