Ike


 * For fighter info, see Ike (SSBB).

Ike (アイク, Aiku) is the main playable hero in the ninth installment of the Fire Emblem series of tactical role-playing games, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, and also appears in a main role in its sequel, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. Ike is one of the more "recent" Fire Emblem protagonists and was the first one to appear in a Fire Emblem console game that was released outside of Japan, so he has attained more familiarity with players than most other characters in the series have, and he has been confirmed to appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a playable character.

Character description
By 2005, the Fire Emblem series of tactical role-playing fantasy video games had fully been established as an internationally famous and successful franchise, thanks in no small part to the inclusion of previous Fire Emblem protagonists Marth and Roy in 2001's immensely successful Super Smash Bros. Melee as playable characters. Following Melee's release, subsequent Fire Emblem titles were released internationally, including the seventh installment for Game Boy Advance set on the same continent of Elibe as the sixth (the one starring Roy), the eighth installmant on GBA (The Sacred Stones) set on a stand-alone universe/continent named Magvel, and the ninth game for GameCube (Path of Radiance) set on another new continent/universe named Tellius. PoR is the first console Fire Emblem to be released internationally, and it stars Ike as the protagonist, and the tenth installment for Wii (Radiant Dawn) is a storyline sequel set in Tellius, where a slightly older Ike plays a major role.

In PoR, Ike serves the traditional role of the Fire Emblem main protagonist in that the epic story revolves around him and his efforts of heroism, and that in terms of gameplay he is the game's one Lord-class playable unit; he starts out at a unique class level called Ranger with initially shaky battle statistics, but he grows into a top-quality Lord-class unit by the end of the game, on average maxing out most of his stats. Unlike most other playable characters, Ike is a character that absolutely must not die in battle. He is skilled with the sword, and by the end of Path of Radiance he gains two invaluable assets that separate him from other characters to become a truly powerful fighter: The Aether character skill, the most powerful of the skills in the game's newly introduced character skill mechanic, gives Ike a chance to perform a powerful two-hit combo, the first of which restores his Hit Points by the amount he damages, and the second of which attacks with the only half of the target's defense applied; and the game's ultimate weapon, Ragnell, an indestructible gold sword with high power and accuracy. The main lord character receiving the ultimate weapon through story developments late in the game is another consistent Fire Emblem series tradition.

In the actual story of Path of Radiance, however, Ike is the second to break the tradition of a Fire Emblem protagonist being a noble or prince (the first being Arum from Fire Emblem Gaiden); he is a mercenary along with several others in a group under the command of his father, Greil. Ike and the Greil Mercenaries must protect and escort the princess of the soon-to-be-beseiged country of Crimea, Elincia, as the continent of Tellius, previously wracked by conflict and animosity between humans ("Beorc") and transformable demi-humans ("Laguz"), bears witness to the uprising of another war incited by the country of Daein. During the quest, Ike becomes archenemies with an enigmatic Daein general known as the Black Knight for murdering Greil, and Ike and his younger sister Mist learn terrible truths about their pasts later on even as their expanding group must attempt to heal scars and gain the trust of the various Laguz kingdoms. Eventually, Elincia formally bestows the Lord rank to Ike so that he can lead the armies of Crimea into battle against Daein, and after finding the willpower to wield the sacred blade Ragnell he takes the fight to Daein's officers in their homeland, and clashes against the Black Knight wielding the dark sword Alondite; whether Ike can kill the Black Knight or must flee with his life is up to the player. The finale sees Ike finally battling and defeating Daein's megalomaniacal wyvern-riding king, Ashnard; with this accomplished, the continent is saved from utter destruction and Beorc-Laguz relations become more positive, and Ike is content with reverting back to the life of a mercenary.

The game's sequel, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, extends the story and brings the overall story full-circle. Everyone is several years older, and war engulfs Tellius once again as the various contries attempt to reestablish themselves. The strings behind this conflict are being pulled by the machinations of the senators at the empire of Begnion, and the various Laguz tribes ally amongst themselves to declare war against the country's corrupt senate. Ike and the Greil Mercenaries initially fight for Crimea once again, as well as assist the armies of the Laguz in confronting Begnion, but this eventually puts him in direct combat with some of his former allies, including Sothe of Daein. The war comes close to awakening a Dark God sealed within the medallion called the Fire Emblem, and as the game thunders to its conclusion, Ike and over a dozen of the game's other central characters and their respective allies and armies unite to effectively play the role of the world's remaining saviors, and Ike, after battling the Black Knight again (as well as discovering the Black Knight's true identity), will eventually come to battle one of the dieties responsible for the world's creation.

Ike, for being the second Fire Emblem protagonist to star in more than one game in the series after Marth and the first to appear on two subsequent games released internationally on consoles, is one of the better-known Fire Emblem heroes, and he will likely become as famous as Marth and Roy before him for his role as a brand new playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. His appearance is based on his younger Path of Radiance incarnation rather than his older, more muscular Radiant Dawn incarnation, and his attire is what he wears while in his initial Ranger character class. It is interesting to note that he is able to use both the Ragnell sword and the Aether skill in his playable fighting appearance, even though in PoR he only gained the ability to use these when graduating into the Lord character class.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

 * Main article: Ike (SSBB)

Ike is the first Fire Emblem character to be revealed as a playable character in the Wii edition of the Super Smash Bros. series, wearing his battle-worn Ranger-class outfit. He clearly adheres to the human-swordsman aesthetic upheld by Marth and Roy in Melee, and his sword, Ragnell, appears especially hefty and long-range, but Ike is strong enough to hold it with only one hand. Ike's attacks have long range and has one of the slowest, but most powerful attacks, surpassing even Bowser in terms of raw power. Ike also comes with his trademark Aether skill as a technique, which gives him hyper armor for the duration of the attack.