Throughout theFire Emblemseries, player have had to fight against numerous empires and neighboring kingdoms across numerous games. While these games often possess countless cruel bandits and evil emperors,Fire Emblemgames are also known for possessing numerous sympathetic foes which a player doesn’t necessarily want to kill, bringing to light the ugly side of war. Whether it be due to their personality or motivations, these characters help to bring a dimensionality toFire Emblemin the form of a moral grey area.
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So today we’re going to examine the ten most tragic antagonists inFire Emblem.Due to the nature of this list involving the motivations of numerous villains, expect numerous spoilers ahead!
10Galle
Appearing inFire Emblem: The Binding Blade, Galle is wyvern lord who is the lover of the character Melady. Galle is shown to incredibly loyal, and could serve in a higher ranking position in Bern’s military had he not been foreign born. In Chapter 21, if Galle is spoken to with Both Melady and Zeiss, he will even refuse to fight the player, yet still remain unrecruitable.
9The Reed Brothers
The Black Fang ofFire Emblem: The Blazing Bladeare a once virtuous assassin organization that are manipulated and utilized by the game’s villain, Nergal. Two of the most memorable members of The Black Fang are the Reed Brothers.
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Lloyd and Linus Reed each possess numerous traits that parallel those of the protagonists, Eliwood and Hector. The Reed bothers each share more in common with members of a player’s army than they do with other bosses, showing morality as well as sincere kindness toward their adopted sister, Nino. Had it not been for the circumstances ofThe Blazing Blade’s plot they would surely serve more protagonistic roles.
8Bertram
The masked Bertram is one of the Four Riders of Daein inFire Emblem: Path of Radiance. Though Bertram’s dialogue is harsh and murderous, sounding like a man possessed, it is revealed though various subtle interactions (as well as directly explained inFire Emblem: Radiant Dawn) that Bertram is actually Renning, Brother of the former king of Crimea. After a defeat near the beginning ofPath of Radiance, Bertram is experimented on with “feral elixir,” being driven into insanity, and being forced to fight against his own people.
7Camus
Appearing in the very first entry in the series,Camusis one of the most iconic antagonists in all ofFire Emblem.Camus left such a lasting impact on the series that an entire character archetype has been named after him.
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the leader of the Sable Knights of Grust, Camus is a notably honorable Paladin who saves the life of Nyna, allowing her to escape from Dolhr’s custody and into the protection of Marth. While Camus possesses numerous traits one would expect from a playable character, his unshakable loyalty to his country prevents players from recruiting him, requiring players to strike him down.
6Shiharam
5Lyon
Lyon is the main antagonist ofFire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, and a childhood best friend of that game’s protagonists, Eirika and Ephraim.
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As players can see through flashbacks, Lyon was initially a rather soft-spoken royal who seeks peace and the best for the world. Unfortunately, Lyon is truly a victim of circumstance. Following the death of his father, Lyon created a dark stone, in turn becoming possessed by the entity known as Fomortiis, the Demon King. Once possessed by the Demon King, Lyon plunges the world into war, ultimately bringing upon the exact opposite outcome he’d have wished for.
4Berkut
ThoughFire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentiais a remake ofFire Emblem Gaiden, the character of Berkut was a new addition toEchoes.
A noble with everything he wants, player see the downfall of Berkut as he unraveled and becomes progressively obsessed with defeating the protagonist Alm at any cost. While he starts off an honorable knight, as his losses accumulate, he becomes more and more desperate to best Alm that he goes as far as to sacrifice his fiancé to gain power from the god, Duma.
3Eldigan
A notable character from the first generation ofFire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, Eldigan is a close personal friend of Sigurd and Quan.
Despite his friendship with the previously mentioned Sigurd and Quan, when war breaks out, he remains loyal to his kingdom in a similar manner to Camus. However, unlike Camus, Eldigan can actually be reasoned with, retreating when spoken to by his sister Lachesis.
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Tragically, while Eldigan is not killed by the player’s hand, after retreating, Eldigan is immediately executed due to claims of treason by Chagall.
2Edelgard (Azure Moon, Silver Snow, and Verdant Wind)
Edelgard is one of the potential protagonists ofFire Embelm Three Houses,and one of the primary antagonists as long as the player does not choose the Crimson Flower Route.
Edelgard is a victim of the flaws that come with Fódlan’s reliance of crest bearers, and is also the individual who uncovers a great deal of the shady inner machinations of the Church of Serios. While Edelgard’s intentions are just from her own perspective, her means and approach, throw the entire continent into turmoil.
1Dimitri (Crimson Flower)
Another of the potential protagonists ofThree Houses, Dimitri’s appearance in the game’s Crimson Flower route is one of the most tragic antagonists in theFire Emblemseries.
Though Dimiti’s demeanor makes a big shift following the time-skip in each other route, in the Crimson Flower Route, Dimitri maintains his goodhearted and noble personality, honestly believing that what he is doing is in the best interest of the world. As a player within the Crimson Flower route is attempting to forcefully bring about a continent-wide revolution, Dimitri could easily be viewed as a hero attempting to defend and fight against these encroaching forces.
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