| Ike | |
|---|---|
| Fire Emblem character | |
 Ike as he appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (based on his appearance in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance) | |
| First game | Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (2005) |
| Designed by | Senri Kita |
| Character played by | English Jason Adkins[1] Greg Chun (Fire Emblem Heroes and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)[1] Japanese Michihiko Hagi[1] |
Ike (アイク, Aiku) is a character from the Fire Emblem series of video games. He is the central protagonist and Lord-class character of the ninth game in the series, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and one of the central characters in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. Ike is one of the most popular characters in the Fire Emblem series, and has appeared in other media, most notably the Super Smash Bros. fighting game series.
Development[]
The character designs were done by Senri Kita in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, an artist new to the series.[2] In contrast to previous Fire Emblem games, where the protagonist was of royal blood, the main character Ike was intended to be of lower social rank, a mercenary who becomes involved in royal politics and conflict rather than being born into it. Ike was born from the many ideas for new directions being suggested for the new 3D game, with many people wanting the protagonist everyone could empathize with. His status as a mercenary was a highly requested character trait by male staff. A character that returned from previous games was Jeigan, who was this time designed as a female character named Titania.[3]
In Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, the character movements in cutscenes were mapped using motion capture, with between 100 and 150 animations per character to implement.[4] The dialogue for characters was also made slightly rougher based on feedback from Path of Radiance.[4]
Ike's personality and blue hair is derived from Hector, the protagonist of Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade; the game's release in Europe and North America led Ike's creators to discover that he was one of the most popular characters in the series.[5]
Appearances[]
Ike is the primary protagonist of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, the plot of which centers around his efforts to repel an invasion and avenge the murder of his father.[6] He also serves as one of the two main protagonists of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, where he battles the forces of a corrupt goddess.[7] He is also featured as a bonus character in Fire Emblem Fates and Code Name S.T.E.A.M., both of which make him playable upon the player linking their Amiibo with the game.[8] He is also a playable character in Fire Emblem Heroes, being available in five variations based on his appearances in Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn.[9][10][11][12][13] Outside of the Fire Emblem series, Ike was also included in a number of other Nintendo related games, including the Super Smash Bros. series. Ike was a playable character in Nintendo's 2008 cross-over fighting game Super Smash Bros. Brawl as part of the game's core fighting cast. One of his special moves in the game is "Aether", which is a unique skill in Path of Radiance that only he can learn. He uses the weapon Ragnell, a two handed-sword which he wields with one hand. He later appeared in the follow up title, 2014's Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.[14] Coinciding with the game's release, Ike received an amiibo figure.[15] He once again appeared in 2018's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, where players can choose between his appearances from Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn.[16] In January 2020, Fire Emblem Heroes made its Feh Pass service with new art and voices then revealed a next resplendent hero as Ike.[17]
Reception[]
Ike has generally been a well-received character, and is known as one of the more popular Fire Emblem characters. In Nintendo's character polls for Fire Emblem Heroes, Ike was voted most popular male character and had received the most overall votes in total, split between his incarnations.[18] Polygon noted that Ike was one of the most famous Fire Emblem characters, something they cited as being due to his inclusion in the Smash Bros games.[10] Series producer Toru Narihiro attributed an increase in popularity for both Ike and fellow Fire Emblem character Marth to their appearances in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, adding that it grew beyond the staff's expectations.[19] As a fighter in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and WiiU specifically, his inclusion was generally well-received, although Kotaku reported that Japanese fans mocked and criticized his more muscular redesign, with some alleging that he looked more gorilla-like than before.[20] The top four characters in the polls received new in-game costumes; Heather Alexandra of Kotaku has praised Ike's original costume by stating that "Ike’s always been a bit blunt and rugged, and this costume really gets to the heart of that. He trades the heavy blue and red tones of his original outfit to trade them in for some earthier colors."[21] There are seven total Fire Emblem characters appearing in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, complaints again arose that he played too similar to other characters.[22] Masahiro Sakurai noted to everyone that people don't need to blame him for the addition of sword fighters and saying "Well even if it is another sword fighter, it will be fine as long as we balance them properly."[23] Jeremy Parish of Polygon ranked 73 fighters from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate "from garbage to glorious", placing Ike at 66th, and stated that "A cloned version of fan-favorite Marth, Ike has no reason to exist in Smash."[24] Gavin Jasper of Den of Geek ranked the Ike 44th on his list of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate characters, stating "After Marth and Roy introduced the sword-swinging style of Fire Emblem to Smash, Ike spruced it up with some snazzier animations and attacks."[25]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Ike Voices (Fire Emblem)". Behind The Voice Actors. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of the title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ↑ ファイアーエムブレム メモリアルブック アカネイア・クロニクル. Dengeki Online. Archived from the original on April 14, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "ファイアーエムブレム 蒼炎の軌跡 プレイレポート".
{{cite web}}: - ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Archived copy". www.nindori.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ↑ "ファイアーエムブレム 蒼炎の軌跡 開発スタッフインタビュー". Nintendo.co.jp.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Schneider, Peer (September 30, 2005). "Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance". Ign.com.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Destructoid review: Fire Emblem – Radiant Dawn". November 26, 2007.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Code Name: S.T.E.A.M Gets European Release Date and Fire Emblem Cross-Over amiibo Support". Nintendolife.com. January 14, 2015.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Fire Emblem Heroes adds 'Brave Heroes' Lucina, Roy, Lyn, and Ike – Gematsu". Gematsu.com. August 29, 2017.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Fire Emblem Heroes finally adds the series' biggest star". Polygon.com. April 25, 2017.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Fire Emblem Heroes turns one with a major anniversary event". Polygon.com. January 30, 2018.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Fire Emblem Heroes adds Radiant Dawn version of Ike as game's third Legendary Hero – Nintendo Wire". Nintendowire.com. January 30, 2018.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Fire Emblem Heroes just played its fanbase with its best event yet". Polygon. April 28, 2017.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Tach, Dave (May 23, 2014). "Fire Emblem's Ike joins the Super Smash Bros. roster on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS". Polygon. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "amiibo by Nintendo – Ike". Nintendo.com.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Every Character That Will Appear in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate". screenrant.com. July 7, 2018.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Wong, Alistair (February 25, 2020). "Fire Emblem Heroes' Next Resplendent Hero Will Be Ike: Young Mercenary". Siliconera. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Frank, Allegra (February 9, 2017). "Fire Emblem Heroes' most popular legends have been crowned". Polygon.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Shirow, Masamune (March 4, 2014). "Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon". Intron Depot 5 – Battalion. Udon Entertainment. pp. 10–16. ISBN 978-1616552732.
- ↑ Ashcraft, Brian. "Ike Joins Super Smash Bros., Gets Compared to a Gorilla in Japan". Kotaku.com.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Fan-Voted Favorites Get Stylish New Armor Sets in Fire Emblem Heroes".
{{cite web}}: - ↑ D'Anastasio, Cecilia. "Breaking: Too Many Fire Emblem Characters In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate".
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Tired of sword users in Smash Ultimate? Sakurai says don't blame him". March 5, 2021.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Parish, Jeremy (2018-12-03). "We rank the Smash Bros. (and friends)". Polygon. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Super Smash Bros. Characters Ranked". March 7, 2019.
{{cite web}}:
External links[]
| Fire Emblem | ||
|---|---|---|
| Games | Main series | Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light • Gaiden • Mystery of the Emblem • Genealogy of the Holy War • Thracia 776 • The Binding Blade • Rekka no Ken • The Sacred Stones • Path of Radiance • Radiant Dawn • Awakening • Fates • Three Houses |
| Remakes | Shadow Dragon • New Mystery of the Emblem • Echoes: Shadows of Valentia | |
| Crossovers and spin-offs | Super Smash Bros. series • Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE • Project X Zone 2 • Heroes • Warriors | |
| Other media | Anime • Manga | |
| Characters | Marth • Roy • Lyn • Ike • Chrom • Robin • Lucina • Corrin | |
| Races | Human • Manakete • Wolfskin • Taguel • Morph • Kitsune • Beorc • Laguz • Branded | |
| Related topics | BS Fire Emblem • Tear Ring Saga | |
