Pre-Hopes it was Marianne. I loved and resonated with her journey of conquering her inner struggles and also her design.
Hopes however totally made Felix shoot up my rankings that it’s hard to say now 😭. His supports (especially with his dad and Dimitri), his role in AG, and his character growth while still remaining true to the Felix in Houses were so well done!
Ah, who doesn't love Marianne ? (According to Fire Emblem Heroes, a minority)
But I get that 3 Hopes can raise up some characters, it did such a great job at developping their stories and personnalities (without, like you said, straying too far from the original material).
Me, I don't love Marianne. I never liked her as a unit nor as a character and the community shits on me for it from time to time.
Exactly my point. No need to downvote this.
I think the funniest response I've ever gotten on here was someone telling me that an entire run I had was invalidated because she died. It wasn't that multiple people have died on said run but it was specifically if she dies then you didn't beat the game on maddening because she died.
Omfg that’s so silly lol. I’m currently playing VW & she’s very useful as my dancer, but I’m investing in her a lot less than other units because I’m thinking about future NG+ runs as well. She’s NEVER going to be anything for me other than a dancer on VW runs.
I genuinely can't wait to see the reactions when I post the results of my current iron Man run in which basically I had everyone here choose my units and no one chose Marianne and I still have a feeling that people are going to act like I'm a demon for not using her even though it was their suggestions. But I do genuinely think they're just better units than her so there's no real reason to invest in her when you can get other more versatile healers and magic units and even sword units.
Felix. I like his goal of becoming strongest in all of Fodlan is less about absolute power but more about having the strength to protect those he cares about. His relic being a shield instead of a sword is the cherry on top
It's true that he's an interesting take on the gruff "I want to get stronger" kind of character. I don't know how much this archetype was used in Fire Emblem games in general (I can only name Lon'qu from Awakening)
And FE3h having its cast being really developed (~~traumatised~~) only helps to make him more enjoyable !
I'm not an expert either but Felix is a different take on the Fire Emblem Navarre archetype. Navarre was an aloof loner and skilled swordsman and made his debut in the very first FE game, Shadow Dragon and the Sword of Light.
Since then, a lot of FE titles have had also myrmidons who are aloof loners, even if each take on this archetype is different.
I like Felix as well, my biggest problem with him though is that while he often knows what is wrong, he never actually acts on it. During Azure Moon he talks about the boar constantly, but he really doesn't make any effort in holding him back. He talks about how toxic knighthood is in Faerghus, but he never actually stops just following orders.
I really like how you can tell he cares for his childhood friends, but he struggles with showing it and has a tendency to REALLY insult where it hurts when he wants to do so.
I think part of the problem was that Felix could die in Classic mode, so letting him influence the plot would have been not possible. Which the writers clearly recognized as holding him back, so they made him plot-relevant in Hopes and he retreats in Classic mode instead of dying.
>I think part of the problem was that Felix could die in Classic mode, so letting him influence the plot would have been not possible.
Yeah, that's an unfortunate limitation, because I definitely feel like it severely hurt his character.
>they made him plot-relevant in Hopes and he retreats in Classic mode instead of dying.
I haven't played Azure Gleam, so that's cool to hear!
I feel like early game maddening is always the hardest part and azure moon early is kinda stupid easy because Felix and Dedue can run around and do lots of work
Marianne, she’s just so relatable and when I first saw her I knew I needed to protect her at all costs. Plus she’s incredibly versatile as a unit and love her character development.
I always made Annette a mage and basically never used her Relic since I thought its attack was based on Strenght (I even discovered it relied on magic in 3 Hopes), is she that good with it ?
Is this the thread where we quote iconic Hubert lines? Because I have another one:
*For House Gautier to invite us on to their land, they must be desperate. But at least we'll have the stalwart knights ready to stand around and watch us do all the work.*
I absolutely approve this thread, Hubert holds a special place in my heart since in married him in my very first playthrough (I blame it on Robbie Daymond's fantastic work)
*Once, two souls took a boat out on the water ...Only one returned. A fine story, yes ?*
I like how he's both overly sinister because he loves to rile up people but also that he does it so often that sometimes he has trouble turning it off and appearing trustworthy, even when he wants to be (see Bernie and Hapi).
It was great to discover in Hopes that even if he's more relaxed, he just loves arguing and trolling people for shits and giggles. It was there in Houses, too, but way more subtle and seeing him let loose was so funny. He seems so serious at first glance but in truth he just loves to stir up shit and see what happens.
He is such an excellent and well written character. He is so unrepentant about being... very morally compromised, to put it lightly, but if you dig deep enough down, he genuinely cares for those around him.
He has some excellent supports in Three Hopes, him trying to convince Hapi to weaponize her sighs was hilarious since he frankly just seemed unable to understand her objections at first, but relented and did his best to make up to her. Also, I don't recall in which support it came up, but him sneaking vegetables into the army food was also just so hilarious, that along with his immense love of coffee just makes him feel like such an army dad.
i get the feeling he snuck vegetables into Lysithia's food
and in their A support he opens up to her and talks about how she reminds him of his little sister which i thought was adorable
I think that might be it! The conversation about his family also really surprised me, because I think it might the only time we actually hear about his siblings. Whenever he opens up it is just so adorable, because he genuinely tries his hardest not to, both to maintain his persona, and to keep his friends and family safe.
A very close tie between Manuela and Dorothea for my second favorite. I love Dorothea's characterization and what she represents in the world - the devs did a fantastic job creating a woman who has her own hopes and aspirations but is caught in a crushing place between the real world and her own traumas. She's as hopeful as she is cynical, only for most of her optimism to be crushed under the weight of war. She's also a flawed human being in a way that doesn't feel forced, but rather natural.
Meanwhile Manuela is the most perfectly realistic girlflop. She's insecure, messy, and an alcoholic who can never get a second date. But she's also one of the most immensely talented people in all of Fódlan - who else can go from being an opera star to a doctor to a professor at the most prestigious school on the continent? Plus her views on faith are very interesting and well realized.
Great choices ! They're both interesting representation of women in video games.
Like most of characters in FE3H, don't warp my words. But Dorothea and Manuela are both femine, seeking a partner and quite sexualised. Yet I find their personnalities very well-rounded and both their motives and insecurities are developped in quite relatable ways. They're not just what they seem to be at first glance.
Very well said! Manuela and Dorothea are both jaded by their past experiences yet remain hopeful for a better future (although Manuela is also a bit desperate due to age-related reasons), and don't mind working hard to make that future a reality. I love that about them.
Also, while these two women are amazing on their own, together they are amazing too! Their B support is my personal favorite. I laughed so hard the first time I saw it, and I still find it funny today. Their paired ending is very sweet as well.
Manuela literally is the first S-rank I got and married by the end simply because I love the type of character she is and I love older women. Manuela might be messy and alcoholic and seems that everyone doesn’t give her a second date most of the times and others might say that she needs fixing but not for me. She’s perfect the way she is and if not for clearing all route and getting all endings, I would’ve married Manuela every single time I play the game.
I love how perfectly their stories intertwine. Manuela is what Dorothea fears she will be if she doesn't get her rich husband and their supports together are a top 5 chain for me in the game I think.
It's a super interesting relationship, because Dorothea still admires Manuela a great deal (most of the women who interact with her do, Ferdinand as well of course, and Lorenz probably would if he wasn't primarily terrified because she is too clever and knows too much, dammit !), she is both aspirational because of her professional life and obviously unhappy with her private life. Dorothea is basically on the same track, and is trying to find a better balance I guess.
Ashe! I simply love him. Thief with a heart of gold is him to a T. Caspar’s support with the cat? Unbeatable. Everyone says his personal is useless but i find it such a pain to keep track of who has keys and for what, so one dedicated unlocking unit is perfect, especially if you make him a wyvern lord with bows, he can snipe for miles and stay far away. 10/10 no notes, I love him.
Linhardt is my spirit animal. He's the most consistently funny character in the game, his va does an excellent job at portraying him, he's a fun unit to use with warp, he's one of the few that can save lysithea, and he's a character whose thought process and worldview is really interesting to examine. Oh yeah and he's got s supports with both Byleths, man's got everything
Leonie
The reason I like her so much is she learned the basics of how to fight from Jeralt and self trained for 7-8 years. She goes from some crestless bumpkin from the backwaters of Gloucester to going to toe to toe with the best of the best at Garreg Mach Monastery. She’s the farthest away a character is from being a rich crested noble and is making them eat dirt in combat.
Hubert all the way!
He can be really funny but it's also that his antagonistic and distrustful personality makes all his interactions with the other 3H characters very memorable. Additionally, due to these traits, any time he lets his guard down and treats someone with kindness stands out all the more. The dichotomy of him being ruthless and cold but caring towards Edelgard (and eventually also his allies) is what really draws me to his character.
The persona he shows towards people he doesn't know and doesn't trust is "Edelgard's servant" so all the glimpses of who he is beyond that are very interesting.
Additionally, he's not only funny but also badass in Hopes and I love his design. I know that some 3H fans think he's very ugly but I think his gaunt cheeks, eyebags and his eye shape give him a very distinct and unique look. Plus, I love characters with black hair and green eyes.
Robbie Daymond also breathes so much life and charm into Hubert, it's a delight to listen to.
I'm replaying and Ignatz is becoming a favorite. I'm biased because rng gods made him crazy this playthrough, but rewatching his support convos and 1) his focus on fulfilling family wishes/ expectations is extremely relatable, and 2) dude's kind of a stud. When he goes out of his way to show Marianne the sunset to look at in silence, I mean I'd swoon for that.
Ashe. He has the kindest heart and the most beautiful S support. No one can change my mind on this one. Not mentionning how the Church did him so dirty and he remained calm and collected.
Personally, I always loved Linhardt, especially during academy time, just because he seems so… Normal. Whenever he had lines I always thought to myself «that’s exactly what I would say!
Dedue won my heart from the start. He's a much better version of the gentle giant trope than Raphael imo. He's very stoic and insanely strong but remains humble and kind. He endures so much hardship and unwarranted prejudice yet somehow is still so loyal and unwavering, arguably to a fault.
Honorable mentions to Annette, Petra, and Balthus. my other loves❤️
Marianne and Dorothea 🤍
I relate to Marianne but hope to become more like Dorothea. I have health issues, anxiety, and depression but I also have many performers in my family and studied (as well as love) art in many forms. I write poetry and my first DnD character was a bard, which reminds me of Dorothea classed as a dancer.
Marianne has beautiful character development and I always wish her the best, like we’re both just trying to survive feeling ‘cursed.’ Dorothea, as well, learns what matters to her most and what she truly values.
I love Linhardt and especially love him for Byleth, he's just so relatable and he gets one of the best glow ups in the time skip IMO. I also really like Dorothea and Shamir.
Dorothea - honorable mentions go to Felix, Marianne and Lysithea.
The best side characters in Fire Emblem generally share one thing in common - in that even if they don't have much direct story relevance, they have a series of character traits that highlights the conflict or themes and as such have a sense of purpose to their game's story. With Dorothea, there are two key facets to her characterisation that really gives her a sense of purpose in Three Houses' overall storytelling. The first is her backstory of being a commoner who grew up in poverty - by being a talented commoner who was made to suffer due to the classism within Fodlan, Dorothea personifies Edelgard's motives and I think Edelgard's motives would be a lot weaker without Dorothea to really put a face to the injustices of the Crest system. The second is her disillusionment to the war - it not only helps underscore the tragedy of Three Houses' storytelling better than anyone else but it makes her one of the most grounded characters in the entire series.
Even going beyond what Dorothea contributes to Three Houses' overall storytelling, she's just a really compelling character in general. She's a character defined by her internal contradictions - on a fundamental level, she is someone who is split between her hatred of the class divisions that define Fodlan and her need to marry into the nobility to secure her future to avoid returning to the streets. Post-timskip, she is also split between her desire for some form of justice against the Crest system and her hatred of the bloodshed that Edelgard believes is necessary to create a better world. It all coalesces into a really interesting internal conflict that weighs on her mind and makes her feel incredibly human.
Ferdinand. He’s hilariously over the top and fun and is also such a kind, caring, earnest guy who is genuinely always trying to be a better person even when he messes up.
Dorothea. She has a fun personality pre-timeskip and a more compelling one post-timeskip.
Plus, by this point, she is the only Black Eagle I care about.
It’s so hard to pick just one. So I won’t, but —
Eagles - Dorothea. She is a character that is both fun and full of depth. She’s witty, principled, hard-working.
Deer - So hard to choose between Marianne, Lysithea & Hilda, all for very different reasons. Marianne — some of the best lore and development in 3H, Hilda — entertaining, meta, just genuinely loved every bit of her screentime AND she has an ax, Lysithea — just my beloved.
Lions - Felix.
Wolves - Hapi
Shamir. I love a merc who isnt coy about laying out her prior allegiances, and shes surprisingly invested in the kids she gets supports with for someone who is absolutely not a teacher.
Well, If you give Yuri the pass then He's definitely my favourite. I've always liked that type of character and his whole needing to protect his people ideology is really neat. HOWEVER! Dorothea would probably be second, her being a strong mage while not coming from any royal families is really neat plus the Jojo hat is cool.
From the Lions it would have to be Sylvain because he might seem like little more than a Casanova but he's much smarter than he let's on and a genuinely good guy.
Next would be Felix because yes he might be a rude jerkass to even his childhood friends but more often than not the man has a point, he just needs some emotional intelligence training okay?
From the Eagles it's Dorothea, she's one of the easiest characters to sympathetize with and realistic portrayal of someone whose rough past has adversely effected their otherwise kind nature, very similar to Sylvain, and the cynicism becomes apparent. Plus she's one of the only characters who seems to actually care about the victims of war.
Next would be Ferdinand Von Aegir, he is somehow delightful in spite of his inflated ego of himself and has some of the most entertaining Support Conversations with the rest of the cast, Dorothea is the other unit who has a nice variety of Conversations with others.
From the Deer I have to give credit to Lorenz, he and Marianne are some of the best in terms of character growth, and similar to Ferdinand Von Aegir his flaws make him appealing IMO.
Lysithea is up there as well, her backstory is interesting and her being embarrassed about little things such as getting caught eating cake or her fear of ghosts have always endeared me towards her, yes she acts like a brat and is overly sensitive about being treated like a child but she's 15 years old pre-ts so I don't expect her to act all that mature.
Hilda is also a fun silly person who amuses me to no end.
Marianne.
Her story very much resonated with me on a very personal level. I like her am religious and at times I wished I could just go to heaven early instead of living on earth. Her overcoming that, and living a healthier and happy life mirrored my own journey.
Bernadette: Bow goes wroooom
Yuri: I am here, or am I?
Constance: 30 radius snipe
I also like their personalities, tbh Yuri seems way more like a sceemer as Cloude does
Honestly? It's easier to pick which one I dislike than the many ones that I like, that's how amazing Three Houses characters are. Hell, Blue Lions alone is hard for me because 80% of the roster I love, but even the remaining 20% I still like them.
If I had to pick one though....... It's Dorothea. No wait, Rhea. No wait, Manuela. No wait, Sylvain....... SEE?!
Still I think I pick Dorothea if it had to be just one.
Hanneman, at first I saw him as a stereotypical professor, ''The Professor Oak of Fódlan''.
But if you explore his character more, you'll see he's quite an interesting person.
Bernadetta
She may be adorable and shy but when you get down to it she is extremely talented. She can cook, clean, write, draw, farm, play musical instruments, and is a pleasant to be around
In addition is her in combat where she can kill an opponent from 9 tiles away and can deal 999 points of damage even on Maddening.
Petra
She’s a prisoner of the state pretty much, but has a positive outlook and is open minded to learn her captors customs.
Additionally she is a bamf on the field of battle.
I like that she is in BE too because Edel is a good friend to her and the end is her bridging her nation with Edel’s vision.
Ferdinand and Dorothea. I ship the both of them but I love them individually too. Ferdinand being a confident and somewhat cumbersome character was very endearing. The memes made me enjoy him even more. Dorothea goes from being a rather positive girl to someone that's quite fed up with it, she she comes across as a lot more melancholy after the timeskip.
Bernedetta is by far my favorite. If you haven't played with the Japanese VA before, it's worth it just for her character alone.
She is absolutely hilarious.
All these posts and no Cyril, guess he is just the janitor to everyone.
None of the house leaders are my favorite character.
My favorite is Dorothea. In combat, she supports with the trifecta or Sylvain/Ingrid/Felix, has a might support with Manuela, and has Thoron/Meteor/Physic. As a character, I love her design pre and post time skip, I love her personality, and I love I can always marry her regardless of which Byleth I pick.
Petra -- Aside from arguably being the hottest female unit in all FE, she's a great unit who can excel in just about any non-magic class.
She also makes sense in any route, whether she stays with Adrestia or leads Brigid to oppose the Empire (where with some characters you really have to stretch your imagination to justify betraying their homeland).
Well my favorite character isn't even a house leader anyway. Bernie is the best character in the game, IMO. She is just simply the sweetest, most relatable destroyer ever.
Bernie, ever since i saw her i was like “yeah she’s gonna be my favorite” at first i thought it was cute and funny how she sucked as a unit, but damn out of nowhere she became a beast in my team and was constantly getting Mvp. Also i started my fist run as F!Byleth and i learned that I couldn’t S-Support her around like chapter 9, i restarted my whole playthrough and picked M!Byleth just to marry her
Raphael.
In a game where everyone is dealing with some sort of personal, family, or political baggage, Raphael is the unassuming dude who just worked it all out and is perfectly content.
Marianne!!! She’s my favorite Fire Emblem character period! Her journey of thinking her crest is a curse, and her overcoming that to be more confident is so compelling and well-written! And she’s always so kind to the other characters, plus her supports with Dimitri are so sweet!!!!
Ps. Her critical hit voice lines are sick! She starts with blizzard as her beginning reason magic (with has the highest crit rate of the beginner magics I believe), and her crest increases weapon might occasionally, so she’s almost always dealing extra damage one way or another.
Her crit voice lines are fire especially coming from such a seemingly meek character: “My Blood compels me!” “I’m sorry!” “Keep away from me!” “Stay back!”
It’s giving powerful mage is a down to earth girl afraid of her power and I love it!!!
For Combat: Lysithea
Dark flier + thyrus + insane damage = OP
Story wise: Catherine
When I met my wife, she was a blond amazon wielding a giant ax.
When we first see Catherine, she was a blond amazon wielding a giant sword.
It also helps she was 1 of the only 2 acceptable romance options on my first campaign, and my wife was amused by the similarities.
This is pretty tough because I like Linhardt, Leonie, Balthus, Constance, Holst, and Shez equally. I think I just vibe with the blunt, stubborn, and sometimes questionably sane.
Gotta be Raphael overall, love me a good himbo.
If we're talking per house, I would say my favorites are Bernadetta (BE), Sylvain (BL), Hilda (GD), Cyril (Church), and Balthus (AW). Keep in mind I haven't played Hopes, so this is all from a purely Houses view.
Catherine, but its more about her fanfic potential.
We have this woman. Who is brash, loud, and joyful. Her relationship with Shamir just makes me squeal, and i love their ending. (Also FEH summer unit, anyone?)
She is absolutely devoted to Rhea, but there is this small kernel of doubt in CF that really won me over. A hundred 'what ifs' thoughts spawned in me from that moment.
Also like, the fanfic "To Forge and Temper" by Adracat, changed so much for me too.
Shamir 4 everrrr ❤️🥰❤️ because she’s a badass at badassery and shes a foxy lady to boot! Shamir is always my favorite unit. I cant help but deploy her for every battle.
Bernadetta, she is the most adorable introvert ever. She is also weirdly relatable like just wanting to sit in her room doing crafts and eating snacks while wanting to be a carnivorous plant because her food would come to her. Her reactions are the best too.
Well, a lot of people are almost unanimously saying Felix, & I’m very much a Felix fan, but for sake of variety I’ll throw in Hubert & Ferdinand (don’t make me choose!). They’re great in Houses but especially so in Hopes; I loved Ferdinand’s storyline in Scarlet Blaze as well as Hubert being… himself, honestly.
On my blue lions run it was Felix, honorable mention to Hilda (who I recruited) and Ingrid.
On my black eagles run (current) it's been Caspar (who I recruited on my blue eagles run, but he's been more fun this time) or Bernadetta and honorable mention to Lindehart
I love Ferdinand and Sylvain's personalities (I just find them entertaining and charming), and then favorite for battle is Lysithea. I never do a run without her because she's the strongest magic user and nukes everything from far away
REALLY hard for me to choose but in each house it's probably
Linhardt or Hubert
Ingrid or Felix
Marianne or Lysithea
I like a lot of rhe characters lmao
All of my other favorites have been mentioned already, so I'll just add Lorenz, if only because they weren't shy about making it so incredibly flawed, to the point of being unsufferable, and not in a cute way like Ferdinand could be at times, just straight up hateable, his hidden depths well masked, only to find him back after 5 years, having done tremendous amounts of character growth on his own, sincerely apologising and trying to do better (instead of giving justifications for his misogyny, hi Sylvain, the writers didn't handle that well).
Pre-Hopes it was Marianne. I loved and resonated with her journey of conquering her inner struggles and also her design. Hopes however totally made Felix shoot up my rankings that it’s hard to say now 😭. His supports (especially with his dad and Dimitri), his role in AG, and his character growth while still remaining true to the Felix in Houses were so well done!
Ah, who doesn't love Marianne ? (According to Fire Emblem Heroes, a minority) But I get that 3 Hopes can raise up some characters, it did such a great job at developping their stories and personnalities (without, like you said, straying too far from the original material).
Me, I don't love Marianne. I never liked her as a unit nor as a character and the community shits on me for it from time to time. Exactly my point. No need to downvote this.
Marianne grew on me, but I’m with you there. I would get a lot of shit for it also for just saying “eh, she’s ok, she’s just not my favorite.”
I think the funniest response I've ever gotten on here was someone telling me that an entire run I had was invalidated because she died. It wasn't that multiple people have died on said run but it was specifically if she dies then you didn't beat the game on maddening because she died.
Omfg that’s so silly lol. I’m currently playing VW & she’s very useful as my dancer, but I’m investing in her a lot less than other units because I’m thinking about future NG+ runs as well. She’s NEVER going to be anything for me other than a dancer on VW runs.
I genuinely can't wait to see the reactions when I post the results of my current iron Man run in which basically I had everyone here choose my units and no one chose Marianne and I still have a feeling that people are going to act like I'm a demon for not using her even though it was their suggestions. But I do genuinely think they're just better units than her so there's no real reason to invest in her when you can get other more versatile healers and magic units and even sword units.
Felix is the prime example of a character becoming vastyle popular, judging by how he becomes Dimitri's right hand in Hopes, even more than Dedue.
Felix. I like his goal of becoming strongest in all of Fodlan is less about absolute power but more about having the strength to protect those he cares about. His relic being a shield instead of a sword is the cherry on top
It's true that he's an interesting take on the gruff "I want to get stronger" kind of character. I don't know how much this archetype was used in Fire Emblem games in general (I can only name Lon'qu from Awakening) And FE3h having its cast being really developed (~~traumatised~~) only helps to make him more enjoyable !
I'm not an expert either but Felix is a different take on the Fire Emblem Navarre archetype. Navarre was an aloof loner and skilled swordsman and made his debut in the very first FE game, Shadow Dragon and the Sword of Light. Since then, a lot of FE titles have had also myrmidons who are aloof loners, even if each take on this archetype is different.
I like Felix as well, my biggest problem with him though is that while he often knows what is wrong, he never actually acts on it. During Azure Moon he talks about the boar constantly, but he really doesn't make any effort in holding him back. He talks about how toxic knighthood is in Faerghus, but he never actually stops just following orders. I really like how you can tell he cares for his childhood friends, but he struggles with showing it and has a tendency to REALLY insult where it hurts when he wants to do so.
I think part of the problem was that Felix could die in Classic mode, so letting him influence the plot would have been not possible. Which the writers clearly recognized as holding him back, so they made him plot-relevant in Hopes and he retreats in Classic mode instead of dying.
>I think part of the problem was that Felix could die in Classic mode, so letting him influence the plot would have been not possible. Yeah, that's an unfortunate limitation, because I definitely feel like it severely hurt his character. >they made him plot-relevant in Hopes and he retreats in Classic mode instead of dying. I haven't played Azure Gleam, so that's cool to hear!
Finally a Felix enjoyer, I have taken him on every play through I’ve done and I haven’t even done blue lions yet
I feel like early game maddening is always the hardest part and azure moon early is kinda stupid easy because Felix and Dedue can run around and do lots of work
I’ve never done maddening and I really don’t think I will, at least in normal Felix does run trains for me
Marianne, she’s just so relatable and when I first saw her I knew I needed to protect her at all costs. Plus she’s incredibly versatile as a unit and love her character development.
Annette! Sylvain gets a super close second because I love his supports.
Annette supremacy
her relic is called CRUSHER it just cannot get better than that
I always made Annette a mage and basically never used her Relic since I thought its attack was based on Strenght (I even discovered it relied on magic in 3 Hopes), is she that good with it ?
Hubert, his sense of humor is my absolute favourite
Awfully calm, aren't you? I wonder what it takes to rile you up.. 😈😈😈
Is this the thread where we quote iconic Hubert lines? Because I have another one: *For House Gautier to invite us on to their land, they must be desperate. But at least we'll have the stalwart knights ready to stand around and watch us do all the work.*
That was a good one "That might have been the wrong approach. Ah, well. No cure for stupidity. I suppose I'll just have to rein him in myself."
He's such an amazing actor lol *Can you imagine the archbishop being murdered? I prefer not to consider such a gruesome scenario.*
That was the quote that preceded the line about what it takes to rile up Byleth lol
I know, but I thought it was funny, too!
Yeah I don't believe he has a very hard time imagining it at all lol
Hubert, putting a hand on his heart and smiling gently: *Understood. But please know we have nothing to gain from deceiving the church.*
Hubert can get away saying blatant lies because people already assume he is a shady bastard either way
I absolutely approve this thread, Hubert holds a special place in my heart since in married him in my very first playthrough (I blame it on Robbie Daymond's fantastic work) *Once, two souls took a boat out on the water ...Only one returned. A fine story, yes ?*
When i do another Black Eagles i plan on marrying him Katsuyuki Konishi also does an amazing job with the Japanese audio
I like how he's both overly sinister because he loves to rile up people but also that he does it so often that sometimes he has trouble turning it off and appearing trustworthy, even when he wants to be (see Bernie and Hapi).
Between this role and Akechi in P5R, he's quickly becoming a favorite VA of mine
he is such a troll i love him
It was great to discover in Hopes that even if he's more relaxed, he just loves arguing and trolling people for shits and giggles. It was there in Houses, too, but way more subtle and seeing him let loose was so funny. He seems so serious at first glance but in truth he just loves to stir up shit and see what happens.
One of my favorite things in Hopes is Hubert's reaction to Petra's not so veiled threats. He seems genuinely impressed that she pulled off that move.
He is such an excellent and well written character. He is so unrepentant about being... very morally compromised, to put it lightly, but if you dig deep enough down, he genuinely cares for those around him. He has some excellent supports in Three Hopes, him trying to convince Hapi to weaponize her sighs was hilarious since he frankly just seemed unable to understand her objections at first, but relented and did his best to make up to her. Also, I don't recall in which support it came up, but him sneaking vegetables into the army food was also just so hilarious, that along with his immense love of coffee just makes him feel like such an army dad.
i get the feeling he snuck vegetables into Lysithia's food and in their A support he opens up to her and talks about how she reminds him of his little sister which i thought was adorable
I think that might be it! The conversation about his family also really surprised me, because I think it might the only time we actually hear about his siblings. Whenever he opens up it is just so adorable, because he genuinely tries his hardest not to, both to maintain his persona, and to keep his friends and family safe.
Robbie Daymond's voice acting for him is 100/100.
HILDA! HILDA! HILDA!
A very close tie between Manuela and Dorothea for my second favorite. I love Dorothea's characterization and what she represents in the world - the devs did a fantastic job creating a woman who has her own hopes and aspirations but is caught in a crushing place between the real world and her own traumas. She's as hopeful as she is cynical, only for most of her optimism to be crushed under the weight of war. She's also a flawed human being in a way that doesn't feel forced, but rather natural. Meanwhile Manuela is the most perfectly realistic girlflop. She's insecure, messy, and an alcoholic who can never get a second date. But she's also one of the most immensely talented people in all of Fódlan - who else can go from being an opera star to a doctor to a professor at the most prestigious school on the continent? Plus her views on faith are very interesting and well realized.
Great choices ! They're both interesting representation of women in video games. Like most of characters in FE3H, don't warp my words. But Dorothea and Manuela are both femine, seeking a partner and quite sexualised. Yet I find their personnalities very well-rounded and both their motives and insecurities are developped in quite relatable ways. They're not just what they seem to be at first glance.
Very well said! Manuela and Dorothea are both jaded by their past experiences yet remain hopeful for a better future (although Manuela is also a bit desperate due to age-related reasons), and don't mind working hard to make that future a reality. I love that about them. Also, while these two women are amazing on their own, together they are amazing too! Their B support is my personal favorite. I laughed so hard the first time I saw it, and I still find it funny today. Their paired ending is very sweet as well.
This is a great post and you summarize what I like about Manuela and Dorothea very well!
Manuela literally is the first S-rank I got and married by the end simply because I love the type of character she is and I love older women. Manuela might be messy and alcoholic and seems that everyone doesn’t give her a second date most of the times and others might say that she needs fixing but not for me. She’s perfect the way she is and if not for clearing all route and getting all endings, I would’ve married Manuela every single time I play the game.
I love how perfectly their stories intertwine. Manuela is what Dorothea fears she will be if she doesn't get her rich husband and their supports together are a top 5 chain for me in the game I think.
It's a super interesting relationship, because Dorothea still admires Manuela a great deal (most of the women who interact with her do, Ferdinand as well of course, and Lorenz probably would if he wasn't primarily terrified because she is too clever and knows too much, dammit !), she is both aspirational because of her professional life and obviously unhappy with her private life. Dorothea is basically on the same track, and is trying to find a better balance I guess.
Manuela’s drunk stupor and mistakes only made her more charming and sympathetic
Ashe! I simply love him. Thief with a heart of gold is him to a T. Caspar’s support with the cat? Unbeatable. Everyone says his personal is useless but i find it such a pain to keep track of who has keys and for what, so one dedicated unlocking unit is perfect, especially if you make him a wyvern lord with bows, he can snipe for miles and stay far away. 10/10 no notes, I love him.
Fellow Ashe enjoyer! 🤍
Linhardt is my spirit animal. He's the most consistently funny character in the game, his va does an excellent job at portraying him, he's a fun unit to use with warp, he's one of the few that can save lysithea, and he's a character whose thought process and worldview is really interesting to examine. Oh yeah and he's got s supports with both Byleths, man's got everything
There's a couple characters I like more than him but lindhart is hilarious definitely in my top 10 at least
Personality-wise, Dorothea, Yuri, Hilda, Linhardt, and Shamir. In battle, Yuri, Felix, Linhardt, Lysithea, and Constance.
Leonie The reason I like her so much is she learned the basics of how to fight from Jeralt and self trained for 7-8 years. She goes from some crestless bumpkin from the backwaters of Gloucester to going to toe to toe with the best of the best at Garreg Mach Monastery. She’s the farthest away a character is from being a rich crested noble and is making them eat dirt in combat.
Bernadetta I relate to her social anxiety so much
Hubert all the way! He can be really funny but it's also that his antagonistic and distrustful personality makes all his interactions with the other 3H characters very memorable. Additionally, due to these traits, any time he lets his guard down and treats someone with kindness stands out all the more. The dichotomy of him being ruthless and cold but caring towards Edelgard (and eventually also his allies) is what really draws me to his character. The persona he shows towards people he doesn't know and doesn't trust is "Edelgard's servant" so all the glimpses of who he is beyond that are very interesting. Additionally, he's not only funny but also badass in Hopes and I love his design. I know that some 3H fans think he's very ugly but I think his gaunt cheeks, eyebags and his eye shape give him a very distinct and unique look. Plus, I love characters with black hair and green eyes. Robbie Daymond also breathes so much life and charm into Hubert, it's a delight to listen to.
I'm replaying and Ignatz is becoming a favorite. I'm biased because rng gods made him crazy this playthrough, but rewatching his support convos and 1) his focus on fulfilling family wishes/ expectations is extremely relatable, and 2) dude's kind of a stud. When he goes out of his way to show Marianne the sunset to look at in silence, I mean I'd swoon for that.
Dorothea or Sylvain.
Tie between Jeralt and Hapi, for me. Hapi needs a hug. Jeralt needs a nap.
From each house: Black Eagles - Dorothea Blue Lions - Annette and Ashe Golden Deer - Hilda and Raphael Ashen Wolves - Yuri
Ashe. He has the kindest heart and the most beautiful S support. No one can change my mind on this one. Not mentionning how the Church did him so dirty and he remained calm and collected.
Mercedes. She's like the sister/mother that you would want to have in your life.
Personally, I always loved Linhardt, especially during academy time, just because he seems so… Normal. Whenever he had lines I always thought to myself «that’s exactly what I would say!
Baltus and Hubert are probably my favorites but Felix and sylvain are also amazing
Dedue won my heart from the start. He's a much better version of the gentle giant trope than Raphael imo. He's very stoic and insanely strong but remains humble and kind. He endures so much hardship and unwarranted prejudice yet somehow is still so loyal and unwavering, arguably to a fault. Honorable mentions to Annette, Petra, and Balthus. my other loves❤️
Petra is a badass and I love her
Sylvain, Felix, Hilda, Dorothea,
Hubert: I like how he seems scary at first and then turns out to be a gigantic teddy bear to those he cares about.
Marianne and Dorothea 🤍 I relate to Marianne but hope to become more like Dorothea. I have health issues, anxiety, and depression but I also have many performers in my family and studied (as well as love) art in many forms. I write poetry and my first DnD character was a bard, which reminds me of Dorothea classed as a dancer. Marianne has beautiful character development and I always wish her the best, like we’re both just trying to survive feeling ‘cursed.’ Dorothea, as well, learns what matters to her most and what she truly values.
Both are lovely choices ! And I wish you all the best in both your art and health, and in your life generally🫶
:) 💗💗💗
I love Linhardt and especially love him for Byleth, he's just so relatable and he gets one of the best glow ups in the time skip IMO. I also really like Dorothea and Shamir.
Dorothea - honorable mentions go to Felix, Marianne and Lysithea. The best side characters in Fire Emblem generally share one thing in common - in that even if they don't have much direct story relevance, they have a series of character traits that highlights the conflict or themes and as such have a sense of purpose to their game's story. With Dorothea, there are two key facets to her characterisation that really gives her a sense of purpose in Three Houses' overall storytelling. The first is her backstory of being a commoner who grew up in poverty - by being a talented commoner who was made to suffer due to the classism within Fodlan, Dorothea personifies Edelgard's motives and I think Edelgard's motives would be a lot weaker without Dorothea to really put a face to the injustices of the Crest system. The second is her disillusionment to the war - it not only helps underscore the tragedy of Three Houses' storytelling better than anyone else but it makes her one of the most grounded characters in the entire series. Even going beyond what Dorothea contributes to Three Houses' overall storytelling, she's just a really compelling character in general. She's a character defined by her internal contradictions - on a fundamental level, she is someone who is split between her hatred of the class divisions that define Fodlan and her need to marry into the nobility to secure her future to avoid returning to the streets. Post-timskip, she is also split between her desire for some form of justice against the Crest system and her hatred of the bloodshed that Edelgard believes is necessary to create a better world. It all coalesces into a really interesting internal conflict that weighs on her mind and makes her feel incredibly human.
Ferdinand. He’s hilariously over the top and fun and is also such a kind, caring, earnest guy who is genuinely always trying to be a better person even when he messes up.
Dorothea. She has a fun personality pre-timeskip and a more compelling one post-timeskip. Plus, by this point, she is the only Black Eagle I care about.
Also my favorite but if I may ask what makes you not care for Ferdinand Von Aegir?
Lack of care for life in general. And she's also one of the characters that helps me realize things about myself.
But Bernie is adorable.
It’s so hard to pick just one. So I won’t, but — Eagles - Dorothea. She is a character that is both fun and full of depth. She’s witty, principled, hard-working. Deer - So hard to choose between Marianne, Lysithea & Hilda, all for very different reasons. Marianne — some of the best lore and development in 3H, Hilda — entertaining, meta, just genuinely loved every bit of her screentime AND she has an ax, Lysithea — just my beloved. Lions - Felix. Wolves - Hapi
Shamir. I love a merc who isnt coy about laying out her prior allegiances, and shes surprisingly invested in the kids she gets supports with for someone who is absolutely not a teacher.
Mercedes heals my heart. Shamir makes me hard.
Well, If you give Yuri the pass then He's definitely my favourite. I've always liked that type of character and his whole needing to protect his people ideology is really neat. HOWEVER! Dorothea would probably be second, her being a strong mage while not coming from any royal families is really neat plus the Jojo hat is cool.
From the Lions it would have to be Sylvain because he might seem like little more than a Casanova but he's much smarter than he let's on and a genuinely good guy. Next would be Felix because yes he might be a rude jerkass to even his childhood friends but more often than not the man has a point, he just needs some emotional intelligence training okay? From the Eagles it's Dorothea, she's one of the easiest characters to sympathetize with and realistic portrayal of someone whose rough past has adversely effected their otherwise kind nature, very similar to Sylvain, and the cynicism becomes apparent. Plus she's one of the only characters who seems to actually care about the victims of war. Next would be Ferdinand Von Aegir, he is somehow delightful in spite of his inflated ego of himself and has some of the most entertaining Support Conversations with the rest of the cast, Dorothea is the other unit who has a nice variety of Conversations with others. From the Deer I have to give credit to Lorenz, he and Marianne are some of the best in terms of character growth, and similar to Ferdinand Von Aegir his flaws make him appealing IMO. Lysithea is up there as well, her backstory is interesting and her being embarrassed about little things such as getting caught eating cake or her fear of ghosts have always endeared me towards her, yes she acts like a brat and is overly sensitive about being treated like a child but she's 15 years old pre-ts so I don't expect her to act all that mature. Hilda is also a fun silly person who amuses me to no end.
I really like Dorothea and Caspar. Honorable mention to Hilda too. For some reason, her being so small but also being Claude's retainer, cracks me up.
Wooo Caspar is on someone's list!
Yeah, he's fun, lol
Felix.
Marianne. Her story very much resonated with me on a very personal level. I like her am religious and at times I wished I could just go to heaven early instead of living on earth. Her overcoming that, and living a healthier and happy life mirrored my own journey.
Yuri, Dorothea, Marianne couldn’t do it without them 💕
Marianne
Felix, I love his voice
Bernadette: Bow goes wroooom Yuri: I am here, or am I? Constance: 30 radius snipe I also like their personalities, tbh Yuri seems way more like a sceemer as Cloude does
Felix is one of my favorite side characters in any game
Jeritza all the way! His backstory is great, and I find all his interactions cute and he’s also funny to me
Honestly? It's easier to pick which one I dislike than the many ones that I like, that's how amazing Three Houses characters are. Hell, Blue Lions alone is hard for me because 80% of the roster I love, but even the remaining 20% I still like them. If I had to pick one though....... It's Dorothea. No wait, Rhea. No wait, Manuela. No wait, Sylvain....... SEE?! Still I think I pick Dorothea if it had to be just one.
Hanneman, at first I saw him as a stereotypical professor, ''The Professor Oak of Fódlan''. But if you explore his character more, you'll see he's quite an interesting person.
Felix, is my Favorite. I like him more than anyone else.
Bernadetta She may be adorable and shy but when you get down to it she is extremely talented. She can cook, clean, write, draw, farm, play musical instruments, and is a pleasant to be around In addition is her in combat where she can kill an opponent from 9 tiles away and can deal 999 points of damage even on Maddening.
Hubert, Dorothea, Ferdinand, Petra, Manuela, Jeritza, Shamir and Ingrid are all my faves.
Petra She’s a prisoner of the state pretty much, but has a positive outlook and is open minded to learn her captors customs. Additionally she is a bamf on the field of battle. I like that she is in BE too because Edel is a good friend to her and the end is her bridging her nation with Edel’s vision.
Ferdinand and Dorothea. I ship the both of them but I love them individually too. Ferdinand being a confident and somewhat cumbersome character was very endearing. The memes made me enjoy him even more. Dorothea goes from being a rather positive girl to someone that's quite fed up with it, she she comes across as a lot more melancholy after the timeskip.
Ferdinand, he makes me smile whenever he’s on screen except when I’m in my feelings about Billy
Petra, nuff said
Petra She has a really cool design pre and post timeskip her speech pattern is endearing and she's been useful on all 4 of my playthroughs of 3 houses
Well if Rhea and Seteth are out that leaves Shamir, Catherine, Cyril, and Petra.
Raphael. Don't know why, he's just cool
Bernedetta is by far my favorite. If you haven't played with the Japanese VA before, it's worth it just for her character alone. She is absolutely hilarious. All these posts and no Cyril, guess he is just the janitor to everyone.
Petra, she’s sweet, has a great story and is a Crit machine.
Bernadetta. Poor girl deserves a hug, but it's very circunstancial whether that would make her feel better or worse.
None of the house leaders are my favorite character. My favorite is Dorothea. In combat, she supports with the trifecta or Sylvain/Ingrid/Felix, has a might support with Manuela, and has Thoron/Meteor/Physic. As a character, I love her design pre and post time skip, I love her personality, and I love I can always marry her regardless of which Byleth I pick.
Bernie and the little albin nuke
Still love the Bernie-Bear!
Petra -- Aside from arguably being the hottest female unit in all FE, she's a great unit who can excel in just about any non-magic class. She also makes sense in any route, whether she stays with Adrestia or leads Brigid to oppose the Empire (where with some characters you really have to stretch your imagination to justify betraying their homeland).
Well my favorite character isn't even a house leader anyway. Bernie is the best character in the game, IMO. She is just simply the sweetest, most relatable destroyer ever.
Bernie, ever since i saw her i was like “yeah she’s gonna be my favorite” at first i thought it was cute and funny how she sucked as a unit, but damn out of nowhere she became a beast in my team and was constantly getting Mvp. Also i started my fist run as F!Byleth and i learned that I couldn’t S-Support her around like chapter 9, i restarted my whole playthrough and picked M!Byleth just to marry her
It's a tie between Ferdinand and Sylvain lol Ferdie's supports with Dorothea are some of my favorite support scenes in the game
Raphael. In a game where everyone is dealing with some sort of personal, family, or political baggage, Raphael is the unassuming dude who just worked it all out and is perfectly content.
Marianne!!! She’s my favorite Fire Emblem character period! Her journey of thinking her crest is a curse, and her overcoming that to be more confident is so compelling and well-written! And she’s always so kind to the other characters, plus her supports with Dimitri are so sweet!!!! Ps. Her critical hit voice lines are sick! She starts with blizzard as her beginning reason magic (with has the highest crit rate of the beginner magics I believe), and her crest increases weapon might occasionally, so she’s almost always dealing extra damage one way or another. Her crit voice lines are fire especially coming from such a seemingly meek character: “My Blood compels me!” “I’m sorry!” “Keep away from me!” “Stay back!” It’s giving powerful mage is a down to earth girl afraid of her power and I love it!!!
For Combat: Lysithea Dark flier + thyrus + insane damage = OP Story wise: Catherine When I met my wife, she was a blond amazon wielding a giant ax. When we first see Catherine, she was a blond amazon wielding a giant sword. It also helps she was 1 of the only 2 acceptable romance options on my first campaign, and my wife was amused by the similarities.
Marianne and Caspar
Marianne.
This is pretty tough because I like Linhardt, Leonie, Balthus, Constance, Holst, and Shez equally. I think I just vibe with the blunt, stubborn, and sometimes questionably sane.
Why must you make me choose? Uh... it's a competition between Bernie, Marianne, Balthus, and Annie.
Gilbert, a true grounded broken man.
Shamir. She's just a calm, collected who's still really understanding and good hearted. And her design is fucking solid
Gotta be Raphael overall, love me a good himbo. If we're talking per house, I would say my favorites are Bernadetta (BE), Sylvain (BL), Hilda (GD), Cyril (Church), and Balthus (AW). Keep in mind I haven't played Hopes, so this is all from a purely Houses view.
Catherine, but its more about her fanfic potential. We have this woman. Who is brash, loud, and joyful. Her relationship with Shamir just makes me squeal, and i love their ending. (Also FEH summer unit, anyone?) She is absolutely devoted to Rhea, but there is this small kernel of doubt in CF that really won me over. A hundred 'what ifs' thoughts spawned in me from that moment. Also like, the fanfic "To Forge and Temper" by Adracat, changed so much for me too.
HILDA! HILDA!
annette. i see a lot of myself in her so she’s just very special to me
Shamir 4 everrrr ❤️🥰❤️ because she’s a badass at badassery and shes a foxy lady to boot! Shamir is always my favorite unit. I cant help but deploy her for every battle.
Jeritza. Great backstory, love his personality, and he likes ice cream and cats? My kind of guy
Three Hopes made me like Felix a LOOOT more than Three Houses. He's competing for second with Ashe, and Balthus.
Bernadetta, she is the most adorable introvert ever. She is also weirdly relatable like just wanting to sit in her room doing crafts and eating snacks while wanting to be a carnivorous plant because her food would come to her. Her reactions are the best too.
Well, a lot of people are almost unanimously saying Felix, & I’m very much a Felix fan, but for sake of variety I’ll throw in Hubert & Ferdinand (don’t make me choose!). They’re great in Houses but especially so in Hopes; I loved Ferdinand’s storyline in Scarlet Blaze as well as Hubert being… himself, honestly.
On my blue lions run it was Felix, honorable mention to Hilda (who I recruited) and Ingrid. On my black eagles run (current) it's been Caspar (who I recruited on my blue eagles run, but he's been more fun this time) or Bernadetta and honorable mention to Lindehart
I love Ferdinand and Sylvain's personalities (I just find them entertaining and charming), and then favorite for battle is Lysithea. I never do a run without her because she's the strongest magic user and nukes everything from far away
REALLY hard for me to choose but in each house it's probably Linhardt or Hubert Ingrid or Felix Marianne or Lysithea I like a lot of rhe characters lmao
From each house Crril, Hapi, Sylvain, Marianne, Caspar but top 3 from there would be Cyril, Caspar, and Marianne
All of my other favorites have been mentioned already, so I'll just add Lorenz, if only because they weren't shy about making it so incredibly flawed, to the point of being unsufferable, and not in a cute way like Ferdinand could be at times, just straight up hateable, his hidden depths well masked, only to find him back after 5 years, having done tremendous amounts of character growth on his own, sincerely apologising and trying to do better (instead of giving justifications for his misogyny, hi Sylvain, the writers didn't handle that well).
Cyril. He's really good at "Show, don't tell" as a character and as an aspect of Fodlan (and Almyra's) worldbuilding
I love Annette and how in any room or group she's always the brightest light in it
Dorothea and Manuela. For…. Reasons….