u/PetalPal4Life

Before we begin, Sigurd, duke knights and gold knights/skoguls are also being counted here. Forrest Knights technically count too, but none are my favorites.

15. Perceval from Binding Blade (He’s debatably the strongest unit in the game and he‘s also a good reversal of the Camus archetype in that he actually sees reason and joins you)

16. Silas from Fates (Very wholesome character, always interpreted him as a true ride or die type person, plus he’s voiced by Pit)

17. Mathilda from Shadows of Valentia (Great design and voice, bad*[= personality, and a decently strong unit. What more can you ask for)

18. Sylvain from 3 Houses (I always found his antics somewhat hilarious, especially how he easily switches sides just because of your character’s gender. Plus I always interpreted him as having a somewhat tragic side because of his family situation. Always bring him to chapter 5)

19. Hardin from Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (It’s true that most of his character was initially that he was the prince of Aurelis and a fast friend of Marth because of their shared value, but when considering what he becomes in the sequel, I earnestly feel bad for him. Didn’t ask for a loveless marriage, the Dark Sphere and the destiny to die a villain)

20. Conrad from Shadows of Valentia (Always found him quite overhated. Always admired that he was willing to do so much for his sister, especially as a brother to a sister myself)

21. Seth from Sacred Stones (He carries the game in terms of gameplay, was there for the twins from the very beginning, and is a loyal bad^[=)

22. Titania from Tellius (Much like Seth, she’s one of the strongest characters in both games and I always loved her design and status as a mother figure to the core cast. Also liked her being a more idealistic/hopeful foil to Soren’s cold cynicism as the story went on)

23. Camus/Ezekiel/Sirius from the classic games (He was the original guy everyone wanted to recruit but couldn’t, and I feel the original game did a fairly excellent job of building up both his scary reputation and more humane side prior to the big showdown. Even after his return, he becomes one of the stronger units in both games in addition to having a fantastic voice in Shadows of Valentia)

24. Emperor Rudolf from Shadows of Valentia (he gave his reputation in life, role as a father and eventual life to mastermind the downfall of his own country’s patron saint and start a new age of man. Honestly can’t help but respect him in some way. Kind of wish there was a roundabout way of recruiting him like taking the castle without killing him)

25. Mycen from Shadows of Valentia (alway found him to have the most interesting roles in the whole game. He’s a mentor, a triple agent, and the reason everything turned out as well as it did. My favorite of the Jagen type characters despite not playing like one)

26. Oifaye from Genealogy of the Holy War (He initially just seems like a kid with a gift for tactics/battle strategy, but you actually get to see his growth from squire to adoptive co-father of his liege’s kid, mentor of the Liberation Army, and debatably positive mastermind of Celice’s journey. One of my favorite things about Genealogy’s story)

27. Ferdinand from 3 Houses (Surprisingly lovable and wholesome, and also has a good head on his shoulders and genuinely wants the best for everyone. he’s also unfortunately destined to be put in some very hard positions later in life)

28. Fin from Juggdral (We’ve gotten a ton of loyal knight type characters, but when push came to shove, Fin genuinely stood up to the plate and surpassed all expectation. The lengths he went and sacrifices he made for his liege’s kid when everything hit the fan are nothing short of admirable, and it’s thanks to him that Leaf and Nanna even made it this far at all. By far one of the all time great side characters)

29. Sigurd from Genealogy of the Holy War (an extremely rootable and tragic Everyman that did most everything “right” but still got screwed over by things beyond his control. He was a great knight and loving husband and father, and would have also made a great king/emperor if given the chance. One of the best main characters in the series)

Some honorable mentions are Stahl from Awakening and Sain from Blazing Sword as they’re both very entertaining characters. My most hated would definitely be Fernand from Shadows of Valentia since he would literally rather betray his country than answer to someone poorer than him (regardless of what happened to his estate and family).

For some reason, I always liked the Dark Warlords in this series. Felt like a sort of boss rush before the end. Here's my thoughts on the best and worst of them. Not including instances from romhacks like Project Ember.

8. The Dark Emblems from Engage (I'm earnestly not convinced they tried at all on this one. Real missed opportunity)

9. The witches or whatever you call the last minibosses in Echoes (The shared portraits with prior bosses raises some implications, but I highly doubt said implications were intentional)

10. The "original" Dark Warlords (honestly not much to chew on here, and they all kind of rush to their deaths on enemy phase anyway. Hope they get expanded upon in a hypothetical remake)

11. The Awakening Dark Warlords (If nothing else, you get the Genealogy holy weapons from them)

12. The revived fathers from Memories of Bubbles (A very fitting way to end that DLC pack and I low key wish this was how base Fates ended)

13. The Thracia Dark Warlords (I understand requiring 6 door keys or a living thief to face them and complete the game wasn't the best design, but I do love how they can become some of your party members if you fail to keep them alive or recruit/re recruit them)

14. The Ten Elites from Verdant Wind (They actually have a small bit of lore behind them, and I really love how their chapter is designed around them)

15. Nergal's Morphs from Blazing Sword (If only because the chapter surrounding them is so well done)

Back after the West Roman Empire fell in the late 5th century, a man named Theodoric established his own kingdom in the Italian peninsula and surrounding regions. Theodoric continued late Roman culture and supposedly had dealings with then East Emperor Zeno. So what if Zeno decided to go the extra mile and officially recognize Theodoric's kingdom as the new West Roman Empire with Theodoric as West Emperor? I personally doubt it would dramatically change much in the long run, but I could definitely see such a divergent point having a long-term impact on discussions of when and how the Roman Empire fell.

Hey. I'm very much into Mario 64 rom hacks, but over the years, I've developed an odd opinion. I much prefer the original Star Revenge to Super Mario 74, but I also much prefer Mario 74 Extreme Edition to Star Revenge 2: Night of Doom. I know base Mario 74 has a much better difficulty curve than the original Star Revenge, but I also feel like the original Star Revenge was a lot more creative with its stage concepts and did more with what you could do with Mario 64 at the time. As for the other comparison, I feel like 74 had more and more interesting ways of making everything much harder whereas much of Night of Doom's difficulty largely seemed to come from quicksand and lava everywhere. I don't see much Mario 64 hack discourse, so I'm not sure whether this is a popular or unpopular set of opinions. Forgive me if there's a more specific subreddit this would be more fitting under.

I know a lot of people tend to associate Square with Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, but I've always had an interest in some of the other games that they did in the 90s and early 2000s. I especially love Live a Live and Romancing SaGa 2 and seeing them both remade in the past couple of years was a real dream come true for me. Chrono Trigger is great too.