Me: ok my lord is attacked it's fine. the attack only does 2/5 of my hp with a 6% chance to hit and a 1% chance to crit. What's the worse that can happen... Game: In my professional opinion, Your dead!
I think that the Black Knight isn’t just one of the most popular villain characters, but also one of the FE series’ best written. He ties in really well to Ike’s story, acts as a measure of his progress throughout the game and finally beating him is not only a great moment that makes you feel good, but also marks the moment that Ike surpassed his father, by being able to defeat his killer.
He serves his purpose, but outside of having a good presence and iconic design, i wouldn't consider him at all well written or at least an intersting villain. But with a villain cast filled with dark gods worshippers, crazy kings and petty dragons searching for revenge against humanity, he's definitely a breath of fresh air.
The Black Knight is someone I widely consider my favorite archetype of villains. And he's pretty much like Toguro from Yu Yu Hakusho. He throughout the story has portrayed a very "Die or get stronger" but has some regrets about his overwhelming strength. And his final goal left is that he wants to push his strength to 100% even if it ultimately leads to his demise (Or in fact, it's argued dying to someone stronger than him was what he wanted in the end).
@@Bike-chantbf as a villain he is better written than edelgard. She has supports and her route where she gets better thanks to the main protagonist staring at her like a brick wall. But overall as a villain, she is not that great.
Before I started the video, I said the Black Knight so glad to see my hunch was correct. I think even Smash fans can vaguely recognize him as Ike's mortal enemy even if they don't know him as a character.
@shadowdragun Smash fans hate FE way more than Xenoblade. And Smash fans seem to like Final Fantasy. They reserve a special loathing for FE (cuz they think it's over represented, "all swordies," etc).
Definitely agree with Black Knight. I think the reason why Death Knight isn't regarded nearly as highly is because he is a lot easier to defeat. You really just need Lysithea and Dark Spikes to beat DK. On the other hand though BK is unbeatable for nearly all of both games he appears in. Not only that, but he will absolutely kill any of your units that get in his range in most cases as well. BK has a much more commanding presence. When he is on the map you know there is a level of tension that doesn't always exist otherwise.
The one who occupied two of the five top spots during the first CYL of course. Even splitting votes didn't stop Ike from just dominating that poll, and unlike later incarnations of CYL, where people voted more to get alts, the first edition actually was a pure popularity poll.
The Black Knight is the most iconic villain in the series, like it's not even a contest. Yes, Edelgard is a bit of a muddy topic here, but even then, Black Knight being an outright villain compared to Edelgard helps his case. Also, Warriors isn't a good measuring stick for the popularity of villains. That game was always gonna have a hard time with villains considering the three games they chose, but going out of their way to only pick the worst villains of those games really didn't help.
Just a few notes: I'm pretty sure Awakening and Shadow Dragon were used to represet FE in TMS#FE because Awakening was the latest game and SD was a remake of the first bridge. This should act as a bridge between the past and the present. However, I think they still dropped the ball on this since your Mirage companions are mixed between both games. I think it would've made more sense to have them all be from Awakening so that the last act where you get stronger by fighting the phantoms of the past makes more sense. Winning in CYL grants the character a Brave alt, not a Legendary alt. And I'm sure you meant to show it, but both Grimas do have a Halloween alt, with female Grima having one extra alt in the form of her Arcane weapon alt.
This has always been an interesting topic for me, because if we look back at the SNES era, it really feels like they were CONSIDERING having a consistently recurring villain for the series in Medeus. His last words in Mystery of the Emblem, talking about how he would always return as long as there was evil in the hearts of men, felt like they were setting him up to almost be a Ganon-like villain. The next two games feature Loptous, who does feel like he could have been substituted for Medeus - and then FE6 was a repeat of Shadow Dragon in a lot of ways, with the return of the dragons being a huge part of things. So it really feels like in another timeline, Medeus could have ended up showing up again and again and maybe even gotten some Ganondorf-level development. (which is funny, considering that if we look at Medeus's initial appearances vs. Ganon's initial appearances, Medeus actually has MORE characterization - but Ganondorf has since outstripped him by far) As it is, though, yeah, I'd say Black Knight is the most iconic. Maybe one day we'll get a remastered Tellius collection and people can properly experience peak FE villainy.
Huh, it is interesting to think how FE would look today if Medeus had turned into a recurring villain. To a certain extent he kind of is, because the Fell/Shadow Dragon is definitely something that has appeared more than once, but still.
I’m absolutely slightly biased in saying this being that PoR and RD are my favorite games in the franchise but BK is absolutely the most memorable FE villain. Not only is he arguably the most fleshed out pre-3H villain from the games released in North America/Europe, his representation in Smash Ultimate sells it. I wouldn’t be surprised if he appears as a playable character in the inevitable next smash game.
Well it's obviously not Edelgard since most of her supporters argue she isn't a villain. Saying she's a villain is like saying Xander is the villain. I could make an argument for Medeus or Grima, considering that Medeus appears in multiple games, and Grima has a lot more built up lore thanks to Echoes. But Black Knight is about as good as you're going to get. Has his own signature theme, on and off the field of battle, has two distinct identities, is a monster unit on the field, has a unique backstory, and is practically the only character to actually fight the main character one on one to determine a winner.
What BK, and Edelgard if you count her, have working in their favor is a good screen time to losses ratio. Many FE villains are either ancient sealed away evils that need to be whack a moled back down right after they popped up in the final map, or become Team Rocket blasting off or "I must retreat"-memes like Hubert, the Hounds or the Death knight once he hears "You're in my way!" Fates does have the evil king, but the poor writing keep him from being iconic. Grimma gets some screen time through Lucinia's flashbacks, but again, he's not the best written villain, although he has a cool design at least. Thales might have worked if he showed up a bit more in the story of 3H.
Somehow I just never get tired of Gharnef popping into various Fire Emblem media like the cockroach he is. Dude just doesn't stay dead, forgotten by the series, and I kind of love that for him. He's not anywhere near the coolest designed, or best written, or most intriguing, or even scariest "invincible" villain that you fight in the series, pretty much being trumped on every point by the Black Knight. But I just kind of... well, Like isn't the right word, but Appreciate Gharnef. He's an ugly, horrible little troll, but he's OUR ugly, horrible little troll.
I can't help but feel like BK kind of blends in with the many many other BKs in other franchises when you look outside of just FR. I'd honestly give it to Grima. By virtue of sharing a design with the protags, they receive a lot more fan-work and come from the most popular pre 3H game
Zephiel, Leon & Black Knight are my favorite villains/antagonists, Arvis is also pretty good. Antagonist is simply any character fighting against the MC, regardless of morality or importance to the story, that means Ignatz is an antagonist to Edelgard in CF but there's no way he's a villain lol, but a villain is a character who uses evil means to achieve their goals AND moves the story forward so that the heroes react to their evil. That is why in almost every story ever the villain is the aggressor while the heroes react, take Ashnard & how his acts cause our heroes to react.
@@ishidamatsui8261 I honestly don't know why lol but maybe bc I played CF 1st & one of the first classmates I had to kill was Ignatz which made me really sad even though I don't really like him. It just felt wrong since he was fighting us the invading empire to protect his people 🥲 I don't recruit characters at all, it just doesn't make sense imo & I think it even works better from gameplay perspective as well as writing.
Being an assist trophy in Smash Ultimate is huge for the Black Knight’s popularity. I guessed that would be the answer before watching the video. Interesting video and I would love to see that follow up video on most popular characters.
It does feel like quite a lot of the time Fire Emblem just subs in "An Evil Wizard Did It" where the villain goes. (Sometimes the wizard is working for a dragon).
Its good to know I was right as soon as I saw the video. That said Im only slightly disappointed you didn't start playing his iconic music when you finally said it was him. His music when he appears in the games is so awesome and it definitely leaves you knowing this is one serious BAMF. Great video though!
I gave this a little thought before watching the video. And arrived at the same conclusion. The Black Knight is really the only real answer. He was highly relevant in 2 games initially released internationally where the plot was a substantial part of the game, and his role as a villain is not diminished based on what decision players made along the way. He's recurring throughout the stories he's in, which gives him a big advantage over a number of enemies you don't really encounter properly until the final boss battle. Being unbeatable in early encounters is also a hefty plus. But I think one of the most interesting things is that Radiant Dawn had an array of villains on different sides, and the Black Knight very much had his own agenda. He wasn't the big bad, but he wasn't a minion either. That was a cool thing that makes him quite distinct. Medeus is the most notable character from FE 1-5, as he occurred in multiple games, but this is before plot was really important to the series, and he's kind of forgettable. FE4 was split into 2 parts, which made it difficult for a real standout IMO. FE5 had nobody worth mentioning. In the GBA era, Zephiel in FE6 was a solid villain. Big scary, he's got the evil plotting thing going on. Nergal I feel was also solid, as you got to see him as the plot unfolded quite a bit. Lyon I feel easily has the best back story of any villain, but he felt more like the pawn of the demon lord which detracts from his value as an iconic villain. In Path of Radiance, Ashnard was fine, but he didn't have the staying power of the Black Knight, and he was mostly a villain for the sake of being a villain. Awakening's villains suffered from the game being fragmented, a lot like FE4. Fates has a hard time portraying most characters as villains, as the villains are either defined by the route you take, or just forgettable. Three Houses... The Death Knight is kind of neat, and seems like the successor to the Black Knight. I've got no love for any of the others. I really just don't understand what people see in this game. And Engage, Gris, Zephia and Mauvier actually work pretty well, but there are just too many villains on their level to make any of them feel special. Griss in particular I feel would have done really well if he was the only recurring villain. He could have been more like Zagi from Tales of Vesperia. But as he's relegated to being part of a recurring team, I just don't feel he has what it takes.
4:22 I hope illegally, GIGACHAD I still laugh at my copy of Radiant dawn the only FE I've obtained at a reasonable price bar modern entries. 10:50 yeah pretty much
Even from someone who has no experience with FE outside of Smash and the prologue of Path To Radiance because I sucked at games as a kid and lost the game disk in a move, I hear so much praise about the Black Knight as a side topic whenever I'm discussing jrpgs with others. The most iconic is not just a well-written villain, but one widely recognized outside of its community.
Warriors, as a measure of what IS thinks is popular? The roster in that game was so out of balance... Imagine being a huge fan of a game series, having played 80% of the games in said series, then said series gets a crossover Musou title (something you also really love) and yet you only really know about 28% of the featured pre-existing characters (base release, DLC ups it to an amazing 30%...), that's a big discrepancy.
Iconic can mean different things. If you're asking FE fans, they'll give you a different answer than, say, casual gamers who barely know FE. Many FE fans who have played FEH will know the majority of the villains by now, even from games they haven't played. A lot of fans haven't played PoR or RD cuz expensive, hard to access games. But they know the Black Knight from FEH cuz he was a free, early unit with DC and black luna. FEH just made him more "iconic and memorable" as such.
I get the distinction being made about villains vs antagonists but I don't think it's really that good of a definition to say someone's only a villain if they have malicious intent. You made the point about Edelgard and Rhea and I'd agree there but what about someone like Emperor Arvis, he has some very good intentions in his heart and he's actually a very benevolent ruler for a great number of years as well. He would definitely fall under the same description and only be deemed an antagonist. All three of the characters mentioned there have done serious harm to innocent people but feel it was justified or necessary for their cause. That's still understandable to define as an antagonist and say they're not a real villain but then it extends even further, Zephiel believes himself to be doing the same thing in fe6, he wants to literally wipe out humanity because in his mind that will better the world and will let the dragons live more peacefully. Is he just an antagonist who's cause justifies his means? It's obviously a very very morally subjective and debatable topic on who's causes are just and who's aren't and thereby who gets to just be a morally grey antagonist who has righteous intentions and does morally wrong things to get there versus who's genuinely just a mass murderer who's delusional and has gone too far with their insane ideology and there's no way a fan base like the fire emblem series or really most fanbases could really come to some kind of consensus over who does and doesn't classify as villain. I feel like it's important to agree that there's certain limits within which you can be an antagonist but after a certain point you're just a villain even if in your heart and mind you're doing right. All that said I do agree with your pick that the black knight is the most iconic villain in the series by a fair margin because Edelgard really doesn't fit the description of a villain even in the routes you're fully against her
I agree, this weird need to constantly make a distinction between villain and antagonist ends up muddying the conversation and devolves into people nitpicking for reasons why they're an "antagonist" but not a "villain", and all it ends up being is "Well they're not doing bad things because evil, so they're not a villain" and often gloss over actual heinous acts because "they want to do good for the land." While there is a distinction from villain and antagonist, most of the time its irrelevant to the topic, and the definition people use mostly applies to cartoon villains, once you start getting moral greys in, it becomes difficult to define villain, so why bend over backwards for it? Unless you're talking about characters being more evil than others it really has little bearing.
I think it is less about intent and more about how the end goal affects the people around them. Zephiel plans to wipe out all of humanity which obviously isn't beneficial to anybody so while he may think he is doing the right thing he is still a villain. On the other hand you have Edelgard who believes the Church of Seiros, and Rhea specifically is too controlling of the world and is leading it down a dark path. You can see strong examples of this reality everywhere in the game, especially on the BL route where almost all of the students with crests are cared about more for their crests then as an actual person. Yes she starts a war but the end result of skill deciding station and people having the freedom to choose how they live is obviously beneficial for everyone there. I feel that is the main difference between a villain and an antagonist
It'd be a lot easier to just say that he's only counting characters who are antagonists no matter which way you play the game. Cleanly excludes Edelgard and Rhea while keeping Arvis etc in the conversation.
Black Knight outpaces the main antagonists for both games he’s in. His appearance on map instills fear even in experienced FE players. His theme song exudes a powerful aura befitting his status. IS was cooking gourmet with Tellius
I definitely agree with BK being the most iconic. Big evil dragon is very iconic for the franchise but that in and out of itself makes those characters more of a trope. Not that black knight isn't generic, but I think the BK just shows that trope done in Fire emblem which makes it stand out/iconic, I hope that makes sense lol.
I'm with the crowd that says Edelgard is a villain, even in her own route. Regardless of her intentions, she knowingly started a war that claimed the lives of who knows how many people. She works with the Agarthans despite knowing who they are and that they were the ones who caused her tragedy in the first place. And that's not even including what she did as the Flame Emperor, hiring bandits to assassinate Dimitri and Claude, sentencing those very same bandits to death after they fail, and leading an assault on the Holy Tomb and declaring anyone who gets in the way would die (including in the Black Eagles route). Is she a tragic villain? Yes, absolutely, but that still makes her a villain, albeit a well written one. As one final note, I also consider Rhea a villain, in case anyone thought I was a Rhea stan who defended her actions.
Black Knight got the drip, but his story is basically "couldn't get a climactic battle with his former master, so he's gonna torment his master's son until he's ready." Arvis kills Sigurd's group because he thinks he's the only one who can bring true peace and unification... by making a deal with a cult that practices children sacrifices. Nergal was so corrupted by his dark magic that he forgot his objective and just became hungry for power. Grima is just another "destruction for the sake of destruction" antagonist. Zephiel lost his faith in humanity because of one man he knew dispised him.
while we're mentioning Heroes villians, I think you have to add in the Heroes book 2 antagonists as well. While Veronica was obviously the clear standout as the OG antagonist, the Muspell cast also all have received alts within Heroes, while barely any OC units past book 2 have. IDK, probably because they were introduced when the game was at its most popular like Reinhart, or because they fit in better with typical FE nations, or because there's a monitizable part of the fanbase that shells out for darker-skinned characters.
Lif and Thrasir are also quite popular (how in the world did Lif get TWO villain songs and video clips). Same goes for Freyja and the Dark Elves (Book 7 features her family, she appears in several events and gets far more screetime during the Tempest Trials arc featuring the Book 4 cast than the other main antagonists of the two previous books).
I think the Black Knight might indeed be the most iconic and his name causes the most hype and enthusiasm. But the most impactful would have to be me. I am simply the first and most OG, with Duma, Loptous, Grima, Anankos, and Sombron all being my copycats. Formotis, Nemesis, and Umbral Beast also have some copycat characteristics despite not really being Dragons. Didn't include Idenn because she's not really a villain or Fire Dragon since he's just nameless.
Fire Emblem community, we might be able to get Black Knight as a full character next smash if he can get a big enough hype train. He looks like he has half complete move set already and would complete his evolution. Imagine... Black Knight showing up to challenge Ike once again... You know that's a trailer that will send a roar through out the world.
I'd like to know who are the most iconic Fire Emblem character and the most iconic non Lord in the series? I think that goes to either Ike or Robin at this point.
@@Caddance I meant characters without the class being Lord. Robin never gets that Lord class, and Ike was only a Lord after his first game but quickly relinquished it long before the events of the second game.
That seems kind of pointless then because the most popular non lord would still just be a protagonist. Non lords would include Celica, Micaiah, Robin, Corrin, Byleth and Alear. A protagonist will be popular whether they get the Lord class or not so why not just exclude all protagonists
@@hanzou1238 yeah what you said, which is why when someone asks, I always include MCs and the important characters that don't actually die too (Seth, Sothe) so that it's more challenging to name them
@@hanzou1238 There you go. There's protagonists that are Lords and retain the title for a long time like Chrom and Marth, and some who are just main characters like Micaiah, Tiki, Gerik, and Byleth. Just pick out the ones who are Lords and the ones who are not and all will be fine.
I had for a long time just GBA games since the Radiant ones where so rare and expensive, and the Black Knight (and Ike) where the only non GBA heroes i heard of for years before getting more into FE games. For me Black knight is easily the most iconic one. Second is Lyon, who does appear multiple times in the game, and had also a good story i think I also like Zephiel, especially that you must protect him in FE7 most notorious chapter just for him to become the main bad guy. Garon is just some cartoon villain, but he is so bad that he becomes funny and kinda iconic to me
I'd argue that for Awakening, Validar is always the prominent villain; Gangrel and Walhart steal the spotlight during their arcs, but Validar's present from the game's tutorial and is clearly being evil in all of his appearances before the Cult of Grima officially takes over near the end. And while Grima itself is responsible for Validar's motivations and Lucina's tragic past, Validar is the more present threat, while Grima doesn't take direct action against Chrom and Robin until Validar's been defeated. But with all of that said, he, Nergal, Thales, and so many other dark sorcerer villains throughout the series are based on how much of an impact Gharnef made in the original Fire Emblem; he may not be popular, but he deserves points for being influential.
Off the top of my head, I would think the Black Knight. Interesting character, imposing design, makes plenty of appearances that drive the plot along, and a perfect rival for the best lord. Even gets to be an assist in Smash. Though yeah, Edelgard may have been the most successful villain by convincing people that she isn't one while single handedly causing the main story's conflict. It's amazing what you can get away with when you're a pretty anime girl with a sob story.
Good video. The Black Knight, Lyon & Grima are interesting iconic villains but i think Idunn from FE 6 should be included as well. Her tragic backstory, her themes, her design and ending with Fae makes me like Idunn as a villain & as a character.
No he isn't. He's not even present during the main game, it's the Demon King the entire time. That's like calling Vigarde a villain when the first half of the game is painted as his doing. Both of them are functionally dead
@@Rabidconscience I am playing Ephraim route. Literally doing a playthrough of both routes. Fomortiis already consumed his soul by the start of the game
@ you didn’t read the dialogue then. He tells you point blank when he takes the stone from Epheraim “oh yeah I’m in control by the way. I was just pretending to be possessed”
@Rabidconscience and you're choosing to use Ephraim route as canon when the game has a branched timeline. There's more evidence to support Lyon did nothing wrong than there is to show he was genuinely evil and villainous
I kinda disagree. The Black Knight imo get lost in a sea of, well, Black Knights. Like, if i imagine a videogame black knight i am more likely to imagine the Dark Soul armor set, not Zelgius.
I always disagree with the take that Edelgard is a Villain because it a very shallow reading take that goes "Edelgard declares war, she works with TWSITD, thus she is bad", this take often ignore a lot of nuance with 3House, Hopes and specifically Edelgard character but lack the basic self-awareness and critical thinking. The best way to describe someone not understanding Edelgard is them unlocking "The World's Most Laughable Centrist" in Disco Elysium and not understand why and getting offended. Because most of the time it people going "How dare she start a revolution against a corrupt system that upholds Classism, Racism, Sexism beliefs. How dare she change the Feudalistic system into something that isn't based of luck but instead a person own skill and what they are good at. How dare she follow the previous FE protagonist belief in people and their potential and having positive outlook on humanity". Like if people are calling Edelgard a villain just because she follow in Ike footstep in Radiant Dawn a start a war and in this case because Fire Emblem first proper proactive lord while also trying to keep the casualties low. Which in CF doesn't happen because her opponents are willing to fight to the death against her or force her hand like Dimitri which the Jp version implies he is out for genocide against the Empire. All of this is a good thing because it doubles down on CF themes and ideas. Then the second people get off their sexist horse and stop bitching about Edelgard and start seeing no quarter lines from Claude and Seteth, how Dimitri made it clear he torture innocent civilian to death and much much more. People will start calling these character super villain. While still calling Edelgard a Villain probably.
Edelgard is a villain... in the opposing routes. The four routes of Three Houses aren't really about who's right or wrong but the central characters, their struggles and their growth. I wish people weren't so caught up about "who's right or wrong" because the game specifically avoids that point for the reason it doesn't matter in the grand scheme. Edelgard is a villain in 3/4 routes because she's the direct antagonistic force that directly opposes the characters of those stories while she's the hero in her story because... it's her story. But in the grand scheme of 3h... no she's not the villain.
@@lolmuffins1I know. I aint know nothing about Disco Elysium but all the cursing tells me the fella is at least passionate about the topic. That's kinda where I'm confused, because they bring up good points so why the needless sexism card? Why assume folks against Edelgard are sexist? Jusr makes it hard for folks not agreeing with Edelgard willing to listen to someone explain her to then be slandered for such a dumb reason. It's obviously nothing to do with Edelgard being a woman and more to do with you fight her in every route except her's as well as starting the war that makes folks think of her as a villain. Plus, I still ain't blame Claude for fighting someone who literally started a war, as for Dimitri well, everything past my first playthrough (which was Golden Deer) is a blur as seeing a lot of repeating story made it hard for me to pay attention until something different happens. So i ain't so qualified as to Dimitri being just or not and quite frankly is where I expect a Dimitri stan to fill in this part on his whole journey with insanity. Aint matter anyway when it comes to fighting him, because he still has two eyes and more sanity so even as an opponent folks won't feel him out to be as villainous as the person who starts a war until they play Blue Lions. Just my take on it. First time throwing my hat into the ring about Edelgard v. Dimitri discussions. How'd i do?
"Dimitri made it clear he tortures innocent civilian to death" Wait when did he do this? Randolph was not an innocent civilian neither were the other Empire battalions who were invading Dimitri's kingdom. The empire was collaborating with Cornelia who had made Dimitri and his people's lives hell and invaded his home, Randolph himself showed up to kill Byleth and Dimitri's entire group while being a general for the empire causing them pain. You can make the argument that Dimitri was still cruel for torturing Randolph and gruesomely killing empire soldiers, even the game notes this, but Dimitri never really touches an innocent civilian.
I agree for the most part, but I would put forth Rhea is a villain in all routes. She actively goes out of her way to kill heretics of the church, and she IS the church, the founder, the leader, etc. She controls information to control the country in all paths. She may be an ally in some paths, but her actions still make her a villain. Considering she restricts the knowledge of medicine for a millennia, she may have THE highest body count of the entire series.
Claude is a main villain in three hopes. He kills rhea despite Edelgard telling him don't do it and not to mention he betrays edelgard if he don't recruit Byleth. In azure gleam he defiantly he is planning another war if you look at his face in ending scene. I wouldn't say he's the most iconic but he a villain like Thales.
The moment I saw this video's thumbnail I knew in my heart of hearts that Black Knight was the only right answer, and yet the vid certainly took me through quite the roller coaster of emotions thinking that perhaps I had overlooked someone else, but as the dust settles it became clear.... whenever "Iconic FE villain" is brought up, one can't help but think of the Black Knight. It's either that or Edelgard, but we all know Edelgard stans don't see her as a villain so she is out.
Edelgard is absolutely an evil and malevolent character who do bad deeds no matter which route you pick but good on you for excluding her, she's a bad character and a bad villain anyways.
Black Knight outpaces the main antagonists for both games he’s in. His appearance on map instills fear even in experienced FE players. His theme song exudes a powerful aura befitting his status. IS was cooking gourmet with Tellius
You know what.... Anna is the ultimate Fire Emblem villain, she profits from all the wars!
But in engage she is clearly with us
She IS the War Economy
The real villian in Fire Emblem is the Rng.
95% chance to hit my foot!
Me: ok my lord is attacked it's fine. the attack only does 2/5 of my hp with a 6% chance to hit and a 1% chance to crit. What's the worse that can happen...
Game: In my professional opinion, Your dead!
@@thunderknight4149 Haha Definitely an X-com moment about to happen where they are one hit from death.. you miss then die instead =D
It even made its way into smash bros brawl with the tripping mechanic
I think that the Black Knight isn’t just one of the most popular villain characters, but also one of the FE series’ best written. He ties in really well to Ike’s story, acts as a measure of his progress throughout the game and finally beating him is not only a great moment that makes you feel good, but also marks the moment that Ike surpassed his father, by being able to defeat his killer.
He serves his purpose, but outside of having a good presence and iconic design, i wouldn't consider him at all well written or at least an intersting villain. But with a villain cast filled with dark gods worshippers, crazy kings and petty dragons searching for revenge against humanity, he's definitely a breath of fresh air.
The Black Knight is someone I widely consider my favorite archetype of villains. And he's pretty much like Toguro from Yu Yu Hakusho. He throughout the story has portrayed a very "Die or get stronger" but has some regrets about his overwhelming strength. And his final goal left is that he wants to push his strength to 100% even if it ultimately leads to his demise (Or in fact, it's argued dying to someone stronger than him was what he wanted in the end).
@@Bike-chantbf as a villain he is better written than edelgard. She has supports and her route where she gets better thanks to the main protagonist staring at her like a brick wall. But overall as a villain, she is not that great.
Before I started the video, I said the Black Knight so glad to see my hunch was correct. I think even Smash fans can vaguely recognize him as Ike's mortal enemy even if they don't know him as a character.
He's an assist trophy in smash but most smash fans dislike the FE community. I doubt they really know who Black Knight is.
He also consistently does very well on CYL
The Smash community only vaguely knows him as "Ike's enemy, I guess. Potential future addition maybe."
@@l.n.3372 the smash fanbase consistently hates most other game communities. Specially if they are from rpgs
@shadowdragun
Smash fans hate FE way more than Xenoblade. And Smash fans seem to like Final Fantasy. They reserve a special loathing for FE (cuz they think it's over represented, "all swordies," etc).
Definitely agree with Black Knight. I think the reason why Death Knight isn't regarded nearly as highly is because he is a lot easier to defeat. You really just need Lysithea and Dark Spikes to beat DK. On the other hand though BK is unbeatable for nearly all of both games he appears in. Not only that, but he will absolutely kill any of your units that get in his range in most cases as well. BK has a much more commanding presence. When he is on the map you know there is a level of tension that doesn't always exist otherwise.
As soon as I saw the title and thumbnail the black knight theme started playing in my head, I knew where this was going
Certainly the guy who manages to trap your army like a chad (in America!)
most iconic character would be a cool topic, honestly off the top of my head I can't decide if it'd be Marth, Roy, Ike or Byleth, at least in the west
I think it's definitely Marth. Maybe not the most popular overall but for sure the most iconic. I think only Lucina really comes close.
The one who occupied two of the five top spots during the first CYL of course. Even splitting votes didn't stop Ike from just dominating that poll, and unlike later incarnations of CYL, where people voted more to get alts, the first edition actually was a pure popularity poll.
Lyn probebly
I think Lucina is a contender for the title too.
Top contenders are Marth, Lyn, Robin/Lucina, Byleth/Edelgard, and MAYBE Anna
The Black Knight is the most iconic villain in the series, like it's not even a contest. Yes, Edelgard is a bit of a muddy topic here, but even then, Black Knight being an outright villain compared to Edelgard helps his case.
Also, Warriors isn't a good measuring stick for the popularity of villains. That game was always gonna have a hard time with villains considering the three games they chose, but going out of their way to only pick the worst villains of those games really didn't help.
If lyon and ishtar can count as villains, i honestly can't see why edelgard can't. She's like a foe in 3/4 of the routes in the game.
@@Bike-chan Fair. I still standby what I say about Black Knight though
Just a few notes:
I'm pretty sure Awakening and Shadow Dragon were used to represet FE in TMS#FE because Awakening was the latest game and SD was a remake of the first bridge. This should act as a bridge between the past and the present. However, I think they still dropped the ball on this since your Mirage companions are mixed between both games. I think it would've made more sense to have them all be from Awakening so that the last act where you get stronger by fighting the phantoms of the past makes more sense.
Winning in CYL grants the character a Brave alt, not a Legendary alt. And I'm sure you meant to show it, but both Grimas do have a Halloween alt, with female Grima having one extra alt in the form of her Arcane weapon alt.
When someone mentions villains in fire emblem my head always pictures Zephiel.
agreed
This has always been an interesting topic for me, because if we look back at the SNES era, it really feels like they were CONSIDERING having a consistently recurring villain for the series in Medeus. His last words in Mystery of the Emblem, talking about how he would always return as long as there was evil in the hearts of men, felt like they were setting him up to almost be a Ganon-like villain. The next two games feature Loptous, who does feel like he could have been substituted for Medeus - and then FE6 was a repeat of Shadow Dragon in a lot of ways, with the return of the dragons being a huge part of things. So it really feels like in another timeline, Medeus could have ended up showing up again and again and maybe even gotten some Ganondorf-level development. (which is funny, considering that if we look at Medeus's initial appearances vs. Ganon's initial appearances, Medeus actually has MORE characterization - but Ganondorf has since outstripped him by far)
As it is, though, yeah, I'd say Black Knight is the most iconic. Maybe one day we'll get a remastered Tellius collection and people can properly experience peak FE villainy.
Huh, it is interesting to think how FE would look today if Medeus had turned into a recurring villain. To a certain extent he kind of is, because the Fell/Shadow Dragon is definitely something that has appeared more than once, but still.
I’m absolutely slightly biased in saying this being that PoR and RD are my favorite games in the franchise but BK is absolutely the most memorable FE villain. Not only is he arguably the most fleshed out pre-3H villain from the games released in North America/Europe, his representation in Smash Ultimate sells it. I wouldn’t be surprised if he appears as a playable character in the inevitable next smash game.
Well it's obviously not Edelgard since most of her supporters argue she isn't a villain. Saying she's a villain is like saying Xander is the villain.
I could make an argument for Medeus or Grima, considering that Medeus appears in multiple games, and Grima has a lot more built up lore thanks to Echoes.
But Black Knight is about as good as you're going to get. Has his own signature theme, on and off the field of battle, has two distinct identities, is a monster unit on the field, has a unique backstory, and is practically the only character to actually fight the main character one on one to determine a winner.
This is a well-reasoned argument with many salient points. However, you're missing an immutable truth.
You can't win against Gharnef.
i dont view edelgard as a villain, but it would be awesome to see her work alongside bowser and ganondorf in a subspace 2 tbh thatd be so cool
Make Edelgard a plottwist hero.
@@NinjaananasOH HECK YEA THATD BE AWESOME
@@username64397
And it would be accurate to her character.
@@NinjaananasA hero? Edelgard? Accurate? Nonsense
@@ioneoval7668
Cope harder.
What BK, and Edelgard if you count her, have working in their favor is a good screen time to losses ratio. Many FE villains are either ancient sealed away evils that need to be whack a moled back down right after they popped up in the final map, or become Team Rocket blasting off or "I must retreat"-memes like Hubert, the Hounds or the Death knight once he hears "You're in my way!"
Fates does have the evil king, but the poor writing keep him from being iconic. Grimma gets some screen time through Lucinia's flashbacks, but again, he's not the best written villain, although he has a cool design at least. Thales might have worked if he showed up a bit more in the story of 3H.
Somehow I just never get tired of Gharnef popping into various Fire Emblem media like the cockroach he is. Dude just doesn't stay dead, forgotten by the series, and I kind of love that for him. He's not anywhere near the coolest designed, or best written, or most intriguing, or even scariest "invincible" villain that you fight in the series, pretty much being trumped on every point by the Black Knight.
But I just kind of... well, Like isn't the right word, but Appreciate Gharnef. He's an ugly, horrible little troll, but he's OUR ugly, horrible little troll.
It's definitely Peri, she is the embodiment of evil that not even Grima, Anankos, Thales, and Black Knight can compare to.
Power so great she can unintentionally butcher other characters brain cells in their supports
I can't help but feel like BK kind of blends in with the many many other BKs in other franchises when you look outside of just FR. I'd honestly give it to Grima. By virtue of sharing a design with the protags, they receive a lot more fan-work and come from the most popular pre 3H game
Zephiel, Leon & Black Knight are my favorite villains/antagonists, Arvis is also pretty good.
Antagonist is simply any character fighting against the MC, regardless of morality or importance to the story, that means Ignatz is an antagonist to Edelgard in CF but there's no way he's a villain lol, but a villain is a character who uses evil means to achieve their goals AND moves the story forward so that the heroes react to their evil. That is why in almost every story ever the villain is the aggressor while the heroes react, take Ashnard & how his acts cause our heroes to react.
...why Ignatz?
That's such a weird example.
@@ishidamatsui8261 I honestly don't know why lol but maybe bc I played CF 1st & one of the first classmates I had to kill was Ignatz which made me really sad even though I don't really like him. It just felt wrong since he was fighting us the invading empire to protect his people 🥲
I don't recruit characters at all, it just doesn't make sense imo & I think it even works better from gameplay perspective as well as writing.
@@shadowsquid1351 you used major names like Black Knight and Leon, and then use one of the optional character like Ignatz.
Weird example.
Being an assist trophy in Smash Ultimate is huge for the Black Knight’s popularity. I guessed that would be the answer before watching the video. Interesting video and I would love to see that follow up video on most popular characters.
I agree with this. I love Berkut a ton as a character. Also Edelgard did nothing wrong.
I disagree with the last statement.
@@commbruce edelgard simps, try to show some brain
It does feel like quite a lot of the time Fire Emblem just subs in "An Evil Wizard Did It" where the villain goes. (Sometimes the wizard is working for a dragon).
Its good to know I was right as soon as I saw the video. That said Im only slightly disappointed you didn't start playing his iconic music when you finally said it was him. His music when he appears in the games is so awesome and it definitely leaves you knowing this is one serious BAMF. Great video though!
I gave this a little thought before watching the video. And arrived at the same conclusion. The Black Knight is really the only real answer.
He was highly relevant in 2 games initially released internationally where the plot was a substantial part of the game, and his role as a villain is not diminished based on what decision players made along the way.
He's recurring throughout the stories he's in, which gives him a big advantage over a number of enemies you don't really encounter properly until the final boss battle. Being unbeatable in early encounters is also a hefty plus. But I think one of the most interesting things is that Radiant Dawn had an array of villains on different sides, and the Black Knight very much had his own agenda. He wasn't the big bad, but he wasn't a minion either. That was a cool thing that makes him quite distinct.
Medeus is the most notable character from FE 1-5, as he occurred in multiple games, but this is before plot was really important to the series, and he's kind of forgettable.
FE4 was split into 2 parts, which made it difficult for a real standout IMO.
FE5 had nobody worth mentioning.
In the GBA era, Zephiel in FE6 was a solid villain. Big scary, he's got the evil plotting thing going on. Nergal I feel was also solid, as you got to see him as the plot unfolded quite a bit. Lyon I feel easily has the best back story of any villain, but he felt more like the pawn of the demon lord which detracts from his value as an iconic villain.
In Path of Radiance, Ashnard was fine, but he didn't have the staying power of the Black Knight, and he was mostly a villain for the sake of being a villain.
Awakening's villains suffered from the game being fragmented, a lot like FE4.
Fates has a hard time portraying most characters as villains, as the villains are either defined by the route you take, or just forgettable.
Three Houses... The Death Knight is kind of neat, and seems like the successor to the Black Knight. I've got no love for any of the others. I really just don't understand what people see in this game.
And Engage, Gris, Zephia and Mauvier actually work pretty well, but there are just too many villains on their level to make any of them feel special. Griss in particular I feel would have done really well if he was the only recurring villain. He could have been more like Zagi from Tales of Vesperia. But as he's relegated to being part of a recurring team, I just don't feel he has what it takes.
4:22 I hope illegally, GIGACHAD
I still laugh at my copy of Radiant dawn the only FE I've obtained at a reasonable price bar modern entries.
10:50 yeah pretty much
Even from someone who has no experience with FE outside of Smash and the prologue of Path To Radiance because I sucked at games as a kid and lost the game disk in a move, I hear so much praise about the Black Knight as a side topic whenever I'm discussing jrpgs with others. The most iconic is not just a well-written villain, but one widely recognized outside of its community.
Warriors, as a measure of what IS thinks is popular? The roster in that game was so out of balance...
Imagine being a huge fan of a game series, having played 80% of the games in said series, then said series gets a crossover Musou title (something you also really love) and yet you only really know about 28% of the featured pre-existing characters (base release, DLC ups it to an amazing 30%...), that's a big discrepancy.
You make a lot of sense and some good points. But you're forgetting an immutable truth.
You can't win against Gharnef.
Iconic can mean different things. If you're asking FE fans, they'll give you a different answer than, say, casual gamers who barely know FE. Many FE fans who have played FEH will know the majority of the villains by now, even from games they haven't played.
A lot of fans haven't played PoR or RD cuz expensive, hard to access games. But they know the Black Knight from FEH cuz he was a free, early unit with DC and black luna. FEH just made him more "iconic and memorable" as such.
I get the distinction being made about villains vs antagonists but I don't think it's really that good of a definition to say someone's only a villain if they have malicious intent. You made the point about Edelgard and Rhea and I'd agree there but what about someone like Emperor Arvis, he has some very good intentions in his heart and he's actually a very benevolent ruler for a great number of years as well. He would definitely fall under the same description and only be deemed an antagonist. All three of the characters mentioned there have done serious harm to innocent people but feel it was justified or necessary for their cause. That's still understandable to define as an antagonist and say they're not a real villain but then it extends even further, Zephiel believes himself to be doing the same thing in fe6, he wants to literally wipe out humanity because in his mind that will better the world and will let the dragons live more peacefully. Is he just an antagonist who's cause justifies his means? It's obviously a very very morally subjective and debatable topic on who's causes are just and who's aren't and thereby who gets to just be a morally grey antagonist who has righteous intentions and does morally wrong things to get there versus who's genuinely just a mass murderer who's delusional and has gone too far with their insane ideology and there's no way a fan base like the fire emblem series or really most fanbases could really come to some kind of consensus over who does and doesn't classify as villain. I feel like it's important to agree that there's certain limits within which you can be an antagonist but after a certain point you're just a villain even if in your heart and mind you're doing right. All that said I do agree with your pick that the black knight is the most iconic villain in the series by a fair margin because Edelgard really doesn't fit the description of a villain even in the routes you're fully against her
I agree, this weird need to constantly make a distinction between villain and antagonist ends up muddying the conversation and devolves into people nitpicking for reasons why they're an "antagonist" but not a "villain", and all it ends up being is "Well they're not doing bad things because evil, so they're not a villain" and often gloss over actual heinous acts because "they want to do good for the land."
While there is a distinction from villain and antagonist, most of the time its irrelevant to the topic, and the definition people use mostly applies to cartoon villains, once you start getting moral greys in, it becomes difficult to define villain, so why bend over backwards for it? Unless you're talking about characters being more evil than others it really has little bearing.
I think it is less about intent and more about how the end goal affects the people around them. Zephiel plans to wipe out all of humanity which obviously isn't beneficial to anybody so while he may think he is doing the right thing he is still a villain.
On the other hand you have Edelgard who believes the Church of Seiros, and Rhea specifically is too controlling of the world and is leading it down a dark path. You can see strong examples of this reality everywhere in the game, especially on the BL route where almost all of the students with crests are cared about more for their crests then as an actual person. Yes she starts a war but the end result of skill deciding station and people having the freedom to choose how they live is obviously beneficial for everyone there. I feel that is the main difference between a villain and an antagonist
It'd be a lot easier to just say that he's only counting characters who are antagonists no matter which way you play the game. Cleanly excludes Edelgard and Rhea while keeping Arvis etc in the conversation.
Black Knight outpaces the main antagonists for both games he’s in. His appearance on map instills fear even in experienced FE players. His theme song exudes a powerful aura befitting his status. IS was cooking gourmet with Tellius
I definitely agree with BK being the most iconic. Big evil dragon is very iconic for the franchise but that in and out of itself makes those characters more of a trope. Not that black knight isn't generic, but I think the BK just shows that trope done in Fire emblem which makes it stand out/iconic, I hope that makes sense lol.
I'm with the crowd that says Edelgard is a villain, even in her own route. Regardless of her intentions, she knowingly started a war that claimed the lives of who knows how many people. She works with the Agarthans despite knowing who they are and that they were the ones who caused her tragedy in the first place.
And that's not even including what she did as the Flame Emperor, hiring bandits to assassinate Dimitri and Claude, sentencing those very same bandits to death after they fail, and leading an assault on the Holy Tomb and declaring anyone who gets in the way would die (including in the Black Eagles route).
Is she a tragic villain? Yes, absolutely, but that still makes her a villain, albeit a well written one.
As one final note, I also consider Rhea a villain, in case anyone thought I was a Rhea stan who defended her actions.
Black Knight got the drip, but his story is basically "couldn't get a climactic battle with his former master, so he's gonna torment his master's son until he's ready."
Arvis kills Sigurd's group because he thinks he's the only one who can bring true peace and unification... by making a deal with a cult that practices children sacrifices.
Nergal was so corrupted by his dark magic that he forgot his objective and just became hungry for power.
Grima is just another "destruction for the sake of destruction" antagonist.
Zephiel lost his faith in humanity because of one man he knew dispised him.
while we're mentioning Heroes villians, I think you have to add in the Heroes book 2 antagonists as well. While Veronica was obviously the clear standout as the OG antagonist, the Muspell cast also all have received alts within Heroes, while barely any OC units past book 2 have.
IDK, probably because they were introduced when the game was at its most popular like Reinhart, or because they fit in better with typical FE nations, or because there's a monitizable part of the fanbase that shells out for darker-skinned characters.
Lif and Thrasir are also quite popular (how in the world did Lif get TWO villain songs and video clips).
Same goes for Freyja and the Dark Elves (Book 7 features her family, she appears in several events and gets far more screetime during the Tempest Trials arc featuring the Book 4 cast than the other main antagonists of the two previous books).
I think the Black Knight might indeed be the most iconic and his name causes the most hype and enthusiasm. But the most impactful would have to be me. I am simply the first and most OG, with Duma, Loptous, Grima, Anankos, and Sombron all being my copycats. Formotis, Nemesis, and Umbral Beast also have some copycat characteristics despite not really being Dragons. Didn't include Idenn because she's not really a villain or Fire Dragon since he's just nameless.
Fire Emblem community, we might be able to get Black Knight as a full character next smash if he can get a big enough hype train. He looks like he has half complete move set already and would complete his evolution. Imagine... Black Knight showing up to challenge Ike once again... You know that's a trailer that will send a roar through out the world.
What are you doing!? You're gonna spark another three years of _Three Houses_ Discourse!
Edelgard is not a villain, she is a queen.
No.
Cringe simps
She and Ike are my ongoing nemesis in Heroes tho. They are so constant in being a Menace, they have to be villains :D
Black Knight all day.
Why it isnt Edelgard? Cuz she aint a villian
She is.
She absolutely is
I'd like to know who are the most iconic Fire Emblem character and the most iconic non Lord in the series? I think that goes to either Ike or Robin at this point.
Ike is a lord, he may not be nobility, but in FE, lord basically means main character (and Robin is one too, as you get a game over if they die)
@@Caddance I meant characters without the class being Lord. Robin never gets that Lord class, and Ike was only a Lord after his first game but quickly relinquished it long before the events of the second game.
That seems kind of pointless then because the most popular non lord would still just be a protagonist. Non lords would include Celica, Micaiah, Robin, Corrin, Byleth and Alear. A protagonist will be popular whether they get the Lord class or not so why not just exclude all protagonists
@@hanzou1238 yeah what you said, which is why when someone asks, I always include MCs and the important characters that don't actually die too (Seth, Sothe) so that it's more challenging to name them
@@hanzou1238 There you go. There's protagonists that are Lords and retain the title for a long time like Chrom and Marth, and some who are just main characters like Micaiah, Tiki, Gerik, and Byleth. Just pick out the ones who are Lords and the ones who are not and all will be fine.
I had for a long time just GBA games since the Radiant ones where so rare and expensive, and the Black Knight (and Ike) where the only non GBA heroes i heard of for years before getting more into FE games.
For me Black knight is easily the most iconic one.
Second is Lyon, who does appear multiple times in the game, and had also a good story i think
I also like Zephiel, especially that you must protect him in FE7 most notorious chapter just for him to become the main bad guy.
Garon is just some cartoon villain, but he is so bad that he becomes funny and kinda iconic to me
I'd argue that for Awakening, Validar is always the prominent villain; Gangrel and Walhart steal the spotlight during their arcs, but Validar's present from the game's tutorial and is clearly being evil in all of his appearances before the Cult of Grima officially takes over near the end. And while Grima itself is responsible for Validar's motivations and Lucina's tragic past, Validar is the more present threat, while Grima doesn't take direct action against Chrom and Robin until Validar's been defeated. But with all of that said, he, Nergal, Thales, and so many other dark sorcerer villains throughout the series are based on how much of an impact Gharnef made in the original Fire Emblem; he may not be popular, but he deserves points for being influential.
Off the top of my head, I would think the Black Knight. Interesting character, imposing design, makes plenty of appearances that drive the plot along, and a perfect rival for the best lord. Even gets to be an assist in Smash.
Though yeah, Edelgard may have been the most successful villain by convincing people that she isn't one while single handedly causing the main story's conflict. It's amazing what you can get away with when you're a pretty anime girl with a sob story.
Good video. The Black Knight, Lyon & Grima are interesting iconic villains but i think Idunn from FE 6 should be included as well. Her tragic backstory, her themes, her design and ending with Fae makes me like Idunn as a villain & as a character.
0:57 no. He’s the villain. Just because he has a tragic backstory doesn’t mean he’s not the villain.
No he isn't. He's not even present during the main game, it's the Demon King the entire time. That's like calling Vigarde a villain when the first half of the game is painted as his doing. Both of them are functionally dead
@ that’s a lie. He’s just pretending. Play Epheraims route.
@@Rabidconscience I am playing Ephraim route. Literally doing a playthrough of both routes. Fomortiis already consumed his soul by the start of the game
@ you didn’t read the dialogue then. He tells you point blank when he takes the stone from Epheraim “oh yeah I’m in control by the way. I was just pretending to be possessed”
@Rabidconscience and you're choosing to use Ephraim route as canon when the game has a branched timeline. There's more evidence to support Lyon did nothing wrong than there is to show he was genuinely evil and villainous
I stopped playing heroes. I literally only log in to use my free pulls
1:04 200 damage against final boss with skill help? wow, and people blamed Radiant Dawn bosses for nihil's effect.
Black Knight. Who really should be a boss in Smash Bros...
-besides, Edelgard is a hero...-
She isn't. Just a selfish kid who thinks she can solve things by causing more problems
@@mihaimercenarul7467 I thought of her more as an anti-hero. Rhea really needed to be killed.
Well with guys like garnaf,ashnard and black knight it's stiff competition
A good question that I will watch your video tomorrow because am that sea right now and can’t
i knew it was the black knight, smash said it all
The answer is fell dragon, there is always a fell dragon
Based tumbnail.
My favorite is nergal. I hated him so much when I played FE7 for the first time
9:26 That's a weird way to say Advance Wars.
I kinda disagree. The Black Knight imo get lost in a sea of, well, Black Knights.
Like, if i imagine a videogame black knight i am more likely to imagine the Dark Soul armor set, not Zelgius.
Demitri and rhea are some very good villians
Nah rhea sucks post time skip
I haven't even watched the video but i have to say it's the Black Knight. I will not be elaborating or hearing an counterargument. Thank you.
I always disagree with the take that Edelgard is a Villain because it a very shallow reading take that goes "Edelgard declares war, she works with TWSITD, thus she is bad", this take often ignore a lot of nuance with 3House, Hopes and specifically Edelgard character but lack the basic self-awareness and critical thinking.
The best way to describe someone not understanding Edelgard is them unlocking "The World's Most Laughable Centrist" in Disco Elysium and not understand why and getting offended.
Because most of the time it people going "How dare she start a revolution against a corrupt system that upholds Classism, Racism, Sexism beliefs. How dare she change the Feudalistic system into something that isn't based of luck but instead a person own skill and what they are good at. How dare she follow the previous FE protagonist belief in people and their potential and having positive outlook on humanity".
Like if people are calling Edelgard a villain just because she follow in Ike footstep in Radiant Dawn a start a war and in this case because Fire Emblem first proper proactive lord while also trying to keep the casualties low. Which in CF doesn't happen because her opponents are willing to fight to the death against her or force her hand like Dimitri which the Jp version implies he is out for genocide against the Empire. All of this is a good thing because it doubles down on CF themes and ideas.
Then the second people get off their sexist horse and stop bitching about Edelgard and start seeing no quarter lines from Claude and Seteth, how Dimitri made it clear he torture innocent civilian to death and much much more. People will start calling these character super villain. While still calling Edelgard a Villain probably.
I can tell that you are very experienced in Edelgard discourse.
And you are completely right.
Edelgard is a villain... in the opposing routes. The four routes of Three Houses aren't really about who's right or wrong but the central characters, their struggles and their growth. I wish people weren't so caught up about "who's right or wrong" because the game specifically avoids that point for the reason it doesn't matter in the grand scheme. Edelgard is a villain in 3/4 routes because she's the direct antagonistic force that directly opposes the characters of those stories while she's the hero in her story because... it's her story. But in the grand scheme of 3h... no she's not the villain.
playing the sexism card to defend Edelgard in 2024, 5 years after the game released, is fcking crazy lmao.
@@lolmuffins1I know. I aint know nothing about Disco Elysium but all the cursing tells me the fella is at least passionate about the topic.
That's kinda where I'm confused, because they bring up good points so why the needless sexism card? Why assume folks against Edelgard are sexist? Jusr makes it hard for folks not agreeing with Edelgard willing to listen to someone explain her to then be slandered for such a dumb reason. It's obviously nothing to do with Edelgard being a woman and more to do with you fight her in every route except her's as well as starting the war that makes folks think of her as a villain. Plus, I still ain't blame Claude for fighting someone who literally started a war, as for Dimitri well, everything past my first playthrough (which was Golden Deer) is a blur as seeing a lot of repeating story made it hard for me to pay attention until something different happens. So i ain't so qualified as to Dimitri being just or not and quite frankly is where I expect a Dimitri stan to fill in this part on his whole journey with insanity. Aint matter anyway when it comes to fighting him, because he still has two eyes and more sanity so even as an opponent folks won't feel him out to be as villainous as the person who starts a war until they play Blue Lions.
Just my take on it. First time throwing my hat into the ring about Edelgard v. Dimitri discussions. How'd i do?
"Dimitri made it clear he tortures innocent civilian to death" Wait when did he do this? Randolph was not an innocent civilian neither were the other Empire battalions who were invading Dimitri's kingdom. The empire was collaborating with Cornelia who had made Dimitri and his people's lives hell and invaded his home, Randolph himself showed up to kill Byleth and Dimitri's entire group while being a general for the empire causing them pain. You can make the argument that Dimitri was still cruel for torturing Randolph and gruesomely killing empire soldiers, even the game notes this, but Dimitri never really touches an innocent civilian.
Because she's the good guy🤓☝️
I agree for the most part, but I would put forth Rhea is a villain in all routes. She actively goes out of her way to kill heretics of the church, and she IS the church, the founder, the leader, etc. She controls information to control the country in all paths. She may be an ally in some paths, but her actions still make her a villain. Considering she restricts the knowledge of medicine for a millennia, she may have THE highest body count of the entire series.
BK is the most iconic but Berkut is the best.
It’s the black knight
It’s definitely Alvis.
RD hurt Ike in personality. That's why he wasn't in warriors.
Claude is a main villain in three hopes. He kills rhea despite Edelgard telling him don't do it and not to mention he betrays edelgard if he don't recruit Byleth. In azure gleam he defiantly he is planning another war if you look at his face in ending scene. I wouldn't say he's the most iconic but he a villain like Thales.
The moment I saw this video's thumbnail I knew in my heart of hearts that Black Knight was the only right answer, and yet the vid certainly took me through quite the roller coaster of emotions thinking that perhaps I had overlooked someone else, but as the dust settles it became clear.... whenever "Iconic FE villain" is brought up, one can't help but think of the Black Knight. It's either that or Edelgard, but we all know Edelgard stans don't see her as a villain so she is out.
I don't even see Edelgard as a villain anyway (Don't rage at me, Dimitri fanboys.)
Based.
I think that she is an anti-villain or an anti-heroe depending on the route
She is a villain tho.
@@ioneoval7668 it’s meant to be a matter of opinion whether she’s right or wrong.
Me before the vid: If it's not BK, I'm gonna eat my crocs!
Vid: It's BK!
Me: Good~
Also, most iconic FE-character period is Anna...... I rest my case.
It is Edelgard because she's the most popular and if that isn't "iconic" than what is? Simple as.
Edelgard is a villain, just a really bad one
Edelgard is absolutely an evil and malevolent character who do bad deeds no matter which route you pick but good on you for excluding her, she's a bad character and a bad villain anyways.
What's wrong with you Edelgard is not a villain like at all
She is
Its actually Gullveig
Reads title. Oh a video about the black knight. Clicks.
Black Knight outpaces the main antagonists for both games he’s in. His appearance on map instills fear even in experienced FE players. His theme song exudes a powerful aura befitting his status. IS was cooking gourmet with Tellius