Tropes Media Browse Indexes Forums Videos Ask The Tropers Trope Finder Media Finder Trope Launch Pad Tech Wishlist Reviews Tools
Cut List New Edits Edit Reasons Launches Images List Crowner Activity Un-typed Pages Recent Page Type Changes Changelog
Tips
Creating New Redirects Cross Wicking Tips for Editing Text Formatting Rules Glossary Edit Reasons Handling Spoilers Word Cruft Administrivia FAQ
Tropes HQ
About Us Contact Us Advertise DMCA Notice Privacy Policy Report Bug
Go Ad-Free Changelog
  • Show Spoilers
  • Night Vision
  • Sticky Header
  • Highlight Links
 

Follow TV Tropes

Following

Iconic Sequel Character / Video Games

Go To

  • Ellinor Waizen made her debut in Aleste 2 and eventually became the most iconic character of the series, later reappearing in M.U.S.H.A., GG Aleste, and the upcoming Aleste Branch.
  • Terence wasn't one of the original five birds (seven, if you count the Blues as three separate characters) in Angry Birds, first appearing in "The Big Setup" chapter, but he's come to be very popular among the fans. It's to the point that he becomes a recurring character in Angry Birds Toons, where as Bubbles only shows up once a season during Halloween episode while Hal and Stella are Put on the Bus.
  • Isabelle from the Animal Crossing series can be considered the most recognizable character of the series despite only being introduced in the fourth game, New Leaf. She's had several playable appearances in other games like Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. (first as an Assist Trophy in 4, and then as a playable character in Ultimate), an honor that not even series veterans like Tom Nook, Mr.Resetti and K.K Slider can claim.
  • Ezio Auditore of Assassin's Creed is the most famous and popular assassin of the franchise as evidenced by him appearing in five games, three short movies, and even making a cameo as a guest fighter in Soulcalibur V despite making his debut in the third game. On top of that, the most common attire he's represented with is his armor of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, the fifth game of the franchise. Outside the Animus, Desmond's fellow Assassins Shaun and Rebecca weren't introduced until Assassin's Creed II.
  • Bomberman:
    • Initially, White was the only color of Bomberman to appear. Alternate colors (including the series' first true antagonist, Black Bomberman) wouldn't appear until the TurboGrafx-16 Bomberman.
    • Louies and primary recurring villain Buggler were absent until Bomberman '94.
    • The Dastardly Bombers—Plasma Bomber, Magnet Bomber, Golem Bomber, Pretty Bomber, and Brain Bomber—first appeared in Super Bomberman 2.
  • Borderlands:
    • Mad Moxxi first showed up in "Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot", an arena DLC for the first game, as the owner and announcer of an underground fighting ring. The next DLC, "The Secret Armory of General Knoxx", saw her quit the fighting ring to run a bar, established her relationship to Scooter, and even got her involved in the plot, setting her up for her role in the rest of the series.
    • Charismatic, dastardly, and highly quotable, Handsome Jack is nearly as iconic as Series Mascot Claptrap, to the point where he got his own prequel and the Telltale spin-off is largely driven by the aftermath of his death. Because of all this, you might be surprised to hear that his involvement in the original game's plot was purely a Retcon; his first appearance wasn't until Borderlands 2.
    • The fan-favorite supremely macho, daffy, Psychopathic Manchild Mister Torgue is, like Moxxi, a DLC latecomer, first appearing in Mister Torgue's Campaign of Carnage for Borderlands 2. However, he's so popular outside the games that late arrivals will spend the entire first game and a good chunk of the second wondering where the lovable lunkhead is. Similarly, his self-named company, Torgue, was a fairly unremarkable manufacturer of firearms in the first game, apart from some bombastic ads and an above average firepower rating. In the second, they gained their now-iconic obsession with spraying high-explosive bullets everywhere and checkered racing stripe paintjobs.
  • Castlevania:
    • Alucard is one of its most popular and recognizable characters. Yet, he debuted in Dracula's Curse, and as a side character. It was only in Symphony of the Night that he became a main character.
    • Legion, the mass of human bodies covering a laser-emitting core, has been one of the most frequently recurring bosses in the series, having appeared in no fewer than six installments. Its first appearance was in Symphony of the Night, more than a decade after the franchise started.
  • City of Heroes:
    • The Arachnos organization was created for the City of Villains expansion, and immediately became one of the game's signature villain groups, even with their small role in hero content. The group's leaders, especially Lord Recluse and Ghost Widow, also stand out.
    • Praetorian Earth, which would take the spotlight with the game's Going Rogue expansion, was introduced with the game's first major update.
  • The Compati Hero series introduced its poster boy Fighter Roar in The Great Battle II: Last Fighter Twin.
  • Crash Bandicoot:
    • The series mainstay villains Tiny Tiger and N. Gin are introduced in the second game, while the other ones Dingodile, N. Tropy, and Uka Uka are introduced in the third one. Nina Cortex was introduced even later, in Crash Twinsanity.
    • On the other side, Crash's little sister Coco and pet polar bear Polar are introduced in the second game, Coco's pet tiger Pura and Crash's Oddball Doppelgänger Fake Crash were introduced in the third game and their third bandicoot member, Crunch, was introduced in the fourth platformer game.
  • Dead or Alive:
    • Ayane was not part of the original roster that debuted in 1996 with the Arcade release for the first game in the series; she debuted in 1998 on the PlayStation home release as a secret character. In 1998 Tecmo had already unveiled to the public that Dead or Alive 2 was in the works with a scheduled release for the following year in Arcades; Ayane was there to promote DOA2 and it worked wonders. As Ayane became an extremely popular character and one of the faces in the franchise, one cannot imagine Dead or Alive without Ayane now.
    • Several other DOA characters were absent until later installments. Like Ayane, Bass had to wait to appear until the PlayStation port of the original. Hayate (although in his Ein identity; his true identity was absent until 3), Helena, and Leon were all introduced in Part 2. Hitomi, Christie, and Brad Wong made their debut in Part 3. Lisa was absent until spin-off game Xtreme Beach Volleyball. Kokoro, Eliott and Alpha-152 didn't arrive until Part 4, and most recently Mila and Rig didn't show up until Part 5 with Marie Rose and Honoka not being introduced until an Updated Re-release of the fifth game, not unlike Ayane in the first. Honoka's case may be that of History Repeats, given Part 6 reveals she and Ayane are half-sisters with the same father (Raidou, the brother of the man who had a major role in the conception of Ayane's other half-siblings in mainstay Kasumi and the aforementioned Hayate).
  • Devil May Cry series:
    • Vergil is a possible inversion of the trope: an Iconic Prequel Character. Though he technically debuted in the first game as Nelo Angelo, his incarnation from the third game is his most famous, appearing in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and serving as the basis for his appearance in the reboot, in which he is an important character. Heck, he was even brought Back from the Dead in the fifth game as the Final Boss!
    • Lady and Nero are more straightforward examples, having debuted in the third game and fourth games respectively. They have been mainstays within the franchise ever since.
  • Varric Tethras, perhaps the most recognizable and universally-liked companion in Dragon Age, didn't show up until Dragon Age II. Since then, he's reappeared in multiple other media and is, to date, the only full-time companion to star in more then one core installment (returning as playable in Dragon Age: Inquisition)note . Notably, he's also since become the series narrator in subsequent games and in the Dragon Age Keep.
  • Doom: Some of the most iconic enemies didn't join the roster until Doom II: Hell on Earth, but they quickly became popular.
    • The skeletal rocket-launching Revenant enemy didn't join the roster until the second installment, at which point it became one of the most iconic enemies in the series, so much that it's featured heavily in the art for Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal.
    • The feared Hell Knight didn't appear before this same game, but it was featured in every sequel. The most notables examples are Doom³, where it's the poster monster of the BFG rerelease, and Doom (2016), where it's one of the most dangerous enemies because of its incredible strength, speed and durability.
    • The Mancubus also first appeared in the second game, but it was featured in all the following installments. With the exception of Doom (2016), the same can be said about the Arachnotrons.
    • The fire-casting, enemy-reviving Arch-Vile was also not introduced until Doom II.
    • The Icon of Sin is one of the most iconic villains in the series, but it wasn't introduced until the second game.
    • Samuel Hayden and VEGA, two popular supporting characters, did not appear until the 2016 game, the fifth overall release.
    • The Makyrs, an angelic-styled faction, were not introduced until Eternal, but are some of the most notable additions to the franchise. Similarly, the infamous Marauder enemy also debuted here.
  • In The Elder Scrolls series, the Daedric Princes are an iconic part of the franchise. Despite this, it's pretty easy to forget that they were first introduced in Daggerfall, the second game in the franchise (technically Boethiah was introduced in the first game, but only in texts describing them as a Dark Elven goddess). (And even then, there is plenty of Early-Installment Weirdness with many of their appearances and personalities.) The same applies to the Eight Divines (Kynareth was mentioned in Arena — as a dead heroine goddess), while the Ninth Divine, Talos, wasn't introduced until Morrowind, the third game in the series.
  • In Fallout, the Enclave and the New California Republic are absent from the first game. The Enclave is still buttoned up at this point, and the New California Republic is only founded in the ending slides. These factions would become defining elements of the franchise starting with Fallout 2.
  • Fatal Fury:
    • The series waited until its second game to introduce the female lead, Mai Shiranui. Kim Kaphwan debuted in the same game.
    • Blue Mary received this treatment twice. She was first introduced in Fatal Fury 3, and remained in the cast through the Real Bout era. Second, she was added to the King of Fighters series in '97, and continued to appear in every game in the main series through XI, far more consistently than her fellow Fatal Fury teammates Ryuji Yamazaki and Billy Kane. Speaking of Yamazaki, he too debuted in the third game.
  • Final Fantasy:
  • Lyn is the only protagonist of Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade to not appear in the previous title, The Binding Blade. Despite this, she's not only one of the most popular characters from this arc, but remains one of the most well-known characters in the entire Fire Emblem franchise.
  • While William Afton is a character integral to the Five Nights at Freddy's series, he doesn't actually make a physical appearance (albeit as an old Atari-esque sprite) until the second game, with the original only alluding to him via hidden easter eggs.
  • Jody Summer, Blood Falcon and Black Shadow made their debut in the second F-Zero installment, F-Zero X.
  • Ebisumaru didn't appear in the Ganbare Goemon series until the second game, let alone Goemon's other allies.
  • God of War: Atreus, Kratos' son, and arguably the most recognizable character besides his father (especially if only counting characters that aren't from existing mythology) did not appear until God of War (PS4), the eighth game in the series, releasing a whole 13 years after the original.
  • Guilty Gear: Bridget, who is one of the the most recognizable characters in the series due to being trans representation, didn't make her debut until Guilty Gear XX, roughly 5 years into the franchise. She also did not make her return or identify as trans until 2022, as downloadable content for Guilty Gear -STRIVE-.
  • The Arbiter in Halo is the most iconic alien character, eventually becoming a key ally of the player, but he doesn't appear until Halo 2. The Brutes, who are one of the more popular Covenant races, also only debuted in the second game.
  • While the Henry Stickmin Series always revolved around the titular character, the other main characters (Charles Calvin, Reginald Copperbottom, the Right Hand Man, Dmitri Petrov and Ellie Rose) didn't exist until late in the series, having debuted in Infiltrating the Airship and Fleeing the Complex, the respective fourth and fifth games of the six-installment series.
  • The King of Fighters:
    • The King of Fighters '95 introduced Iori Yagami, The Rival to the game's protagonist, Kyo. His popularity, which was spurred by his appearance and personality, managed to make him so popular that he not only kept being used as an icon for the series in later iterations, but also became a major Breakout Character.
    • In most minds, the ever-popular Ikari Warriors team consists primarily of Ralf, Clark and Leona. Leona was not added to the series until '96, replacing her commander (and adoptive father) Heidern.
    • K' and Maxima first appeared in '99, with Kula Diamond following suit in 2000.
    • Ash Crimson debuted in 2003, with the launch of the series' third arc.
  • Of the multitude of Original Generation characters to populate the Kingdom Hearts series, only four appeared in the first game (Sora, Kairi, Riku, and Ansem), so the majority of the cast is this. Of particular note:
    • Half of Organization XIII debuted in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, including the iconic Axel, and the other half debuted afterward in Kingdom Hearts II, most notably Roxas and Xemnas. The group as a whole proved so iconic that the next game, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, was a midquel centered around them.
    • The Wayfinder trio made a cameo in the secret endings of II but didn't fully appear until Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. Aqua, especially, since she has her own game, is sort of a genderflipped proto-Sora, is an unquestionably kickass Action Girl in a series that was long infamous for its poor treatment of (original) female characters, and becomes an important mentor figure, on par with Riku and Mickey.
    • Master Xehanort is the Big Bad. Every game released so far is part of a story arc formerly known as the Xehanort Saga, focused on all the trouble he's caused. And yet, he only made his proper appearance in fifth game in the series, the prequel Birth by Sleep (like the Wayfinder trio, he had a cameo in II). Granted, his body-surfed self appeared in II, while one of the body-surfed self's aspects was the Big Bad of the fist game, but the actual Master Xehanort himself, in the flesh, is actually one of the most recent additions to the cast.
    • On the Disney side of things is Pete. He is The Dragon to Maleficent and is the only other Disney villain to have a role outside their home world. He did not make an appearance until Kingdom Hearts II but shows up in every game since.
  • Kirby:
    • While the very first game has the eponymous main character and his on-again off-again arch-enemy King Dedede, Kirby's mysterious rival Meta Knight first appeared in the second game, Kirby's Adventure. His appearances were also pretty sporadic; he's absent from the entire "Dark Matter Trilogy"note , and it took Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land (the remake of Kirby's Adventure) for him to become a consistent main character.
    • Bandana Waddle Dee was a one-off opponent in Kirby Super Star's Megaton Punch. He had a slightly more prominent role in Kirby Super Star Ultra, rose to playable status starting with Kirby's Return to Dream Land, and has become a major supporting player ever since.
  • Hibiki Takane from The Last Blade 2 has become one of the faces of her series, making just as many cameo appearances as main characters like Kaede, as well as being the chosen representative from the series in Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium and Samurai Shodown (2019).
  • Legacy of Kain: Raziel was introduced in the second game, Soul Reaver, and quickly became a central character in the games, with his conflict with Kain driving most of the franchise's plot.
  • The Legend of Zelda:
    • Zelda II: The Adventure of Link: Dark Link is one of the series' most recognizable bosses, and the straightest example of this list as it was introduced here, the direct sequel for the first game.
    • The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past:
      • Hylia has become an important part of Zelda lore and religion, but the name wasn't referenced until this game introduced Lake Hylia. Even then, she only debuted as a character in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, twenty years later.
      • Cuccos marked their debut here, becoming a popular species due to their ability to punish Link with surprisingly efficient success for his unjustified violence on them.
    • The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time marked the debut of many staple characters of the series who weren't otherwise introduced, twelve years after the first game:
      • Ganondorf was introduced as the original human form of Ganon, but eventually became the most prominent and recognizable form of the character, largely eclipsing the original boar demon.
      • Link's horse Epona, who would feature as his steed in several later games.
      • Most of the non-Hylian races, including the Gorons, Gerudo, Sheikah, and Deku and Zora as sapient cultures (also known as "Sea Zora") debuted here, and would later remain primary fixtures in the rest of the series. Gorons, notably, have been in every single major Zelda game since Ocarina, except maybe A Link Between Worlds (as Rosso is Ambiguously Human).
      • Skull Kid has his first appearance here, although he had a spiritual predecessor in the ocarina-playing ghost in A Link to the Past. He would only appear in two later games, but remains a very popular character in the fandom.
      • Gerudo witches Koume and Kotake, as well as their combined form Twinrova first show up here as well.
    • The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask saw Tingle, one of the most recognizable characters in the series, albeit one of the most polarizing as well, show up for the first time.
    • The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker introduces Beedle, who went on to become a recurring shopkeeper in many modern Zelda games.
  • Mass Effect: While several of the more notable characters of the series debut in the first game, Mass Effect 2 brings us a number of important ones as well. Perhaps the biggest are the Illusive Man, EDI, Miranda, Mordin, and Thane.
  • Mega Man:
  • Metal Gear: Any character that is not Solid Snake or Big Boss is this. Even Gray Fox, who was in the first game, didn't have his iconic Cyber Ninja look yet. More examples include:
    • Colonel Roy Campbell and Master Miller do not appear until the second game. This game also marks the real Big Boss' first appearance, as the one you fought in the previous game is later revealed to be a decoy.
    • Ocelot, Naomi Hunter, Mei-Ling, Meryl Silverburgh, Johnny Sasaki, Psycho Mantis, Liquid Snake, and Otacon do not appear until the third game. While not necessarily a character, the eponymous Metal Gear REX was also introduced here.
    • Raiden, Vamp, and Rose do not appear until the fourth game. While not necessarily a character, the eponymous Metal Gear RAY was also introduced here.
    • The Boss, EVA, Major Zero, and Volgin do not appear until the fifth (chronologically the first) game.
  • Metal Slug: While Marco and Tarma are both present in the series from the very beginning, the series' resident Action Girls Fio and Eri wouldn't appear until the second title in the series.
  • Metroid:
    • One of the most iconic antagonists in the series, alongside Ridley and Mother Brain, is Dark Samus; she wouldn't be introduced until Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (the first Metroid Prime only features her precursory incarnation, the eponymous Metroid Prime), which is the seventh game in the series (and chronologically the fourth).
    • Prior to the events of the first game, Samus served in the Galactic Federation under a commander named Adam Malkovich. He is first mentioned in Metroid Fusion, but he and the Federation ship AI that she names after him in the same game remain prominent in nearly all subsequent non-Prime installments.
    • Despite Ridley, Kraid and Mother Brain appearing in the first game, depictions of rank-and-file Space Pirates didn't exist in the series until Super Metroid.
  • Monkey Island: Murray, the talking skull, is one of the most iconic, and popular, characters from the series. He first showed up in the third game, The Curse of Monkey Island.
  • Monster Hunter has several monsters that have become iconic staples, but some of them appeared long after the first game's release: Kushala Daora and Rajang in Monster Hunter 2 (dos), Tigrex in Monster Hunter Freedom 2, Lagiacrus and Deviljho in Monster Hunter 3 (Tri) and Zinogre in Monster Hunter Portable 3rd, to name a few.
  • Monster Rancher: Mocchis are one of the "main 6" monster breeds, and are often one of the species shown at the forefront in the series. This is possibly due to Mocchi's involvement as the mascot of the anime series. However, Mocchis didn't appear until Monster Rancher 2.
  • Mortal Kombat has had many of these through its history:
    • Shao Kahn, Kuai Liang and Kitana might be among the most notable; Kahn became the main villain of the entire franchise; Kitana later ended up appearing in the first film (based on the first game's events), even though she debuted in II note ; and not only did Kuai Liang debut in the second game but he isn't even the original Sub-Zero yet has become the main holder of that moniker for most of the games. note 
    • Cassie Cage, Jacqui Briggs, and Takeda Takahashi do not appear until Mortal Kombat X.
  • Mother: The Mr. Saturn are the mascots of the trilogy, but they first appeared in Mother 2/ EarthBound.
  • Neptunia:
  • Kyle Magdigan and Eve do not appear until Parasite Eve 2.
  • Pico: Pico himself doesn't make an appearance until the third game, Pico's School. The first two entries, Darnell Plays with Fire and Nene's Interactive Suicide, were solo-focused one-shots.
  • Pokémon:
    • While future gens are hit and miss depending on the person, mons introduced in Pokémon Gold and Silver are often cited interchangeably with the original Pokémon Red and Blue mons. Part of this reason is that a majority of them were suppose to be in the original game but were left out due to hardware limits at the time. This can be shown by the index number of the mon.
    • Cynthia. A highly popular character who appeared first in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl and went on to appear in every game in the main series until Gen VI (and even then, she came back for Gen VII).
    • Lucario has become one of the faces of the franchise alongside original-generation characters, but they too debuted in Diamond and Pearl.
    • Looker was introduced in Platinum, where he quickly became a fan favorite. He subsequently appeared in every game until Gen VIII.
    • Two of the most iconic NPCs, N and Lillie, are from the fifth and seventh generation games respectively.
  • Wheatley from the Portal series is beloved by players for his iconic voice, wit, bumbling nature and unexpected yet fitting turn to villainy, making him among the closest candidates for series mascot (his popularity only being matched by GLaDOS). However, he only made his debut in the first sequel.
  • Ratchet & Clank:
  • Globox, Murfy, and the Teensies weren't introduced until the second game of the Rayman series, but since then they've been mainstays almost as important as Rayman himself. Barbara debuted even later in Rayman Legends, but has appeared in every game since.
  • Resident Evil:
  • Saints Row 2 and Saints Row: The Third added a quite a few new major characters to the series, but there are a few standouts:
    • Shaundi, the lieutenant assigned to the Sons of Samedi in 2, was an instant fan-favorite due to her eternally laid-back attitude and hedonistic stoner lifestyle, not to mention her surprising competence at intelligence-gathering (helped by the fact that she's slept with half the population of Stillwater). She underwent a drastic redesign in The Thrid, turning into an intense, no-nonsense Action Girl, but both iterations of the character proved popular, to the point that they both appear in Saints Row 4 as separate entities in a computer simulation.
    • Pierce Washington, the lieutenant assigned to the Ronin in 2, firmly established himself as the Butt-Monkey of the franchise, being an extremely talented but insecure No-Respect Guy who is constantly overshadowed by the Boss and Johnny Gat (the latter of whom outright steals his spotlight as the focus of the Ronin arc). Unlike Shaundi, his character remained consistent through all subsequent games, giving him a satisfying character arc as he tries (and often fails) to earn some well-deserved respect from his homies.
    • Kinzie Kenzington, the lieutenant assigned to the Deckers in The Third, is perhaps the biggest example after 2. An FBI whistleblower turned criminal hacker, fans were shocked and thrilled by the revelation that her cute, mousy nerd exterior hides her true nature as a horny, sadomasochistic nutcase who gives the Boss a run for their money in the psychopathy department. She was the only one of the game's new lieutenants to return in 4 as a major character, where her hacking expertise makes her one of the most valuable members of the Saints (what with the game taking place almost entirely in a computer simulation).
  • In another SNK series, Genjuro Kibagami debuts in Samurai Shodown 2 as a more directly involved rival to Haohmaru compared to historically-inspired rival Ukyo Tachibana; since then they have been the series' traditional fighting game Shotoclone-rivals.
  • The Gessen and second batch of Hebijo girls in the Senran Kagura series didn't appear until the first PS Vita title, Shinovi Versus, most notably Yumi from the former group, who has gone on to be the second flagship character of the series after main protagonist Asuka.
  • Jack Frost, the Series Mascot of Shin Megami Tensei and Atlus as a whole, first appeared in Megami Tensei II. Even then, his appearance was wildly different, looking more like a snowman than the imp-like design Shin Megami Tensei I gave him.
  • Pyramid Head was introduced in the second Silent Hill game and has since become an iconic part of the series, appearing in both Silent Hill movies.
  • Sly Cooper: Dimitri was introduced in the second game, but proved popular enough to return in both the third and fourth games. In Sly 3, he joined the Cooper Gang and became a playable character.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog: Many of the series' most well-known characters fall here.
    • Sonic and Dr. Eggman were the only characters introduced in the first game. Sonic's best friend Miles "Tails" Prower was introduced in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, his groupie Amy Rose and his first rival Metal Sonic debuted in Sonic the Hedgehog CD, and his Friendly Rival Knuckles the Echidna's first appearance was in Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
    • Big the Cat debuted in Sonic Adventure.
    • Shadow the Hedgehog and Rouge the Bat, two new rival characters for Sonic and Knuckles respectively, debuted in Sonic Adventure 2, almost an entire decade into the series` lifespan and have become mainstays ever since.
    • Cream the Rabbit debuted in Sonic Advance 2 and has similarly become a series mainstay.
    • The Chaotix (Espio the Chameleon, Charmy Bee, and Vector the Crocodile) and E-123-Omega all debuted in Sonic Heroes. Notably, the former group actually had their first appearance in an old spin off title, Knuckles Chaotix, but their appearance in Heroes ignored it and all of their characters were effectively retooled, playing this trope straight.
    • Blaze the Cat debuted in Sonic Rush and would go on to have a major role in the franchise's 15th anniversary title.
    • Silver the Hedgehog also debuted in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). Because of the game's ending, however, it technically never happened and he would be reintroduced a year later in Sonic Rivals.
    • Eggman's robot henchmen, Orbot and Cubot, debuted in Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Colors respectively.
    • Wisps, the tiny alien creatures that grant Sonic power-ups in many later games, first appeared in Sonic Colors.
  • In the Soul series:
    • Nightmare debuted in the second game, Soulcalibur, and became the main villain of the franchise, appearing in all following games and even becoming the mascot for Project Soul. This is something of a zig-zag, however, as Nightmare is the Brainwashed and Crazy alter ego of Siegfried, one of the main characters in Soul Edge. Starting in Soulcalibur III (the game where the SCII design of Nightmare was used as the series logo), the two became completely separate characters, with the popularity of both of Siegfried's identities influencing subsequent entries — two other characters would assume the mantle of Nightmare (Soul Edge in III and IV, Graf Dumas in V) and Siegfried himself was firmly positioned as The Hero for III and IV in addition to being one of the few longstanding veteran characters to appear after the Time Skip that led to V.
    • Ivy, who also made her debut in Calibur, became to the franchise what Chun-Li is to Street Fighter. Notably, she was the only female character from the first three games (Edge, Calibur, and Calibur II) to not be Put on a Bus for Soulcalibur V.
    • Maxi and Astaroth were introduced as replacements for Li Long and Rock, respectively, and are both far better known than their predecessors. While Rock continued to appear as an unlockable character, Li Long never came back after the original game except as a bonus character in Soulcalibur III (later upgraded to a full-fledged fighter in III: Arcade Edition).
    • Kilik and Xianghua were also introduced in the second installment and quickly became two of the best-known characters in the series. In fact, Soulcalibur VI (set in a new timeline covering the events of Soul Edge and Soulcalibur) even features them (and Maxi) as the protagonists of the main story mode ("Soul Chronicle"). [[note]]That said, Kilik and Xianghua were positioned as major characters in their debut as well (the cursors for P1 and P2 on the character select screen default to them) and Soulcalibur II states that they were jointly responsible for defeating Nightmare, with Xianghua going on to defeat Inferno (the spirit of Soul Edge). Because of this, Word of God in the SCV era designated Xianghua as the protagonist of Calibur.
    • Yoshimitsu didn't arrive until the second game either (though his descendant has been in his series from the beginning).
    • Sophitia's been around since the beginning, but her sister Cassandra debuted in II. However, some may consider this a case of the waters being muddied. Cassandra was Promoted to Playable in II, but was already mentioned in Sophitia's biography in Soul Edge.
    • Characters such as Raphael (introduced in II) and Tira (introduced in III) fit the trope to a lesser extent, as they become quite relevant to the series' story in later installments. Notably, they and a few others introduced in II and III (Talim, Zasalamel, and Amy) were introduced in the new timeline of VI earlier than they had been in the original one.
    • A case can be made that Hildegard von Krone (introduced in IV) also qualifies as she has managed to remain playable in every future installment (either on the default roster or as DLC) and retain importance in the storyline to one degree or another. She is also the latest introduced character from the old timeline (as of this writing) to appear in VI.
  • Sludge Vohaul didn't show up until the second game in the Space Quest series (and indeed was in only two out of the six official games overall), yet he's treated as Roger Wilco's major iconic arch-nemesis by the fans.
  • Spyro the Dragon:
    • Ripto was the Big Bad of Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!. He later became the main antagonist for the original series.
    • Ripto's Rage also introduced Hunter, who'd go on to appear in every subsequent game in the classic series and was the only classic character besides Spyro and Sparx to reappear in the Legend games.
    • Bianca did not appear until Spyro: Year of the Dragon but ended up the main female character of the series (not that she does much).
    • Ember and Flame only ever appeared in one console game (though Ember reappeared in a handheld title), but are very popular characters in the fandom.
    • For some fans it can be hard to remember that Cynder isn't a "classic" continuity character. She was introduced nearly ten years into the franchise in The Legend of Spyro games, but has since become a mainstay in the fandom and was brought back in Skylanders (unlike everyone else but Spyro and Sparx).
    • An amusing case for an Iconic Sequel Enemy: the Rhynocs first appeared under the leadership of the Sorceress in Year of the Dragon, but every iteration afterwards has them as common minions led by Ripto.
  • Starcraft:
    • Despite being one of the most important Protoss, Artanis isn't introduced until the Brood Wars expansion. A later Retcon would establish him as the Non-Entity General of the original Protoss campaign, but he only appeared as a character in the expansion.
    • Many important Terran characters, such as Raynor's Number Two Matt Horner or Mengsk's son Valerian weren't introduced until Wings of Liberty.
  • Star Fox:
    • Fox's love interest Krystal was a Damsel in Distress for most of Star Fox Adventures, but proved to be very popular. She'd join the team at the end of game and continue to serve as a member of Star Fox in the next installment, Star Fox: Assault.
    • Double subverted with Star Wolf, Star Fox's rival mercenary team. They were meant to debut in Star Fox 2, but when that got shelved (for twenty years) in favor of the Continuity Reboot that was Star Fox 64, Wolf and his team were one of the few elements from the aforementioned game to be utilized for the title.
  • Lana Beniko of Star Wars: The Old Republic first appeared in the storyline leading up to the second expansion. That storyline also introduced her Republic counterpart, Theron Shan, to the game, although he had previously appeared in tie-in comics.
  • Story of Seasons:
  • Street Fighter:
    • Chun-Li, Guile, Zangief, Vega, Blanka, and M. Bison? They weren't introduced until Street Fighter II. Due to Sequel Displacement, the entire SFII cast is better known than the non-holdovers from the first game. And Cammy didn't join until the fourth iteration (Super Street Fighter II).
    • Though Akuma was present in Super Street Fighter II Turbo (the fifth and final iteration of SFII), he was a secret-only character until Alpha 2.
    • Other examples: Dan, Rose, and Sakura in the Alpha series; Alex, Ibuki, Yun, Yang and Dudley in III; and C. Viper and Abel in IV, with Juri joining them in SSFIV.
  • Super Mario Bros.:
    • The original Donkey Kong game only had the titular gorilla, Pauline, and Mario (there known as Jumpman). Luigi first appeared in Mario Bros. while Bowser, Toad, Goombas, and Princess Peach weren't introduced until Super Mario Bros..
    • Super Mario Bros. 3 is the first game where the Koopalings appear.
    • Yoshi has become such a recognizable character in the Mario series that it's easy to forget he didn't show up until Super Mario World. An early version of him was created for the original game but he was too much for the console to handle.
    • As for classic enemy types, Shy Guys, Snifits, Ninjis, Pokeys, Birdo and Bob-ombs (specifically a subspecies thereof, retroactively derived from the more famous specimens which debuted in Super Mario Bros. 3) didn't appear until Super Mario Bros. 2, and weren't originally designed for the Mario series at all. Boos, Chain Chomps, Dry Bones, Boss Bass and Thwomps didn't show up until 3, and World was the first game to propose the very concept of the Magikoopa (let alone Kamek's debut in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island) as well as Wigglers.
    • Daisy and Waluigi have become ubiquitous characters in Mario spinoffs, but Daisy didn't appear until Super Mario Land and wouldn't pop up in a spinoff until NES Open Tournament Golf, while Waluigi debuted in Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64.
    • While most of Donkey Kong's supporting cast would apply given that they debuted in the Donkey Kong Country series a decade after the original arcade game, within the series itself, the prominent character Dixie Kong, seen as part of the main trio along with Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, didn't appear until Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.
    • Wario made his debut in the Mario franchise as the Final Boss of Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, and then managed to supplant Mario's role as a protagonist in Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, turning it into the start of the Wario Land series. He later gained a second sub-series (WarioWare), and became a regular character in Mario spinoffs.
    • Wario's Ensemble Cast in the WarioWare series has steadily increased as more games have released - emphasis on "steadily", as many notable members weren't there from the start.
      • 18-Volt, best friend of WarioWare veteran 9-Volt, wasn't introduced until WarioWare: Twisted!, the third game.
      • Young witch-in-training Ashley, her imp-like familiar Red, and Dr. Crygor's robotic companion Mike were all introduced in WarioWare: Touched!, the fourth game in the series.
      • Martial artists Young Cricket and Master Mantis, as well as Dr. Crygor's granddaughter Penny Crygor, were introduced in the fifth game, the Wii title WarioWare: Smooth Moves.
      • 5-Volt, the mother of 9-Volt, downplays this, as she was first mentioned on the first game's website in Japan (though not by her current name), and made minor cameos as a background character in Twisted! and Touched!. Her first appearance as more than just set-dressing was in Game & Wario, a Wii U title released just over a decade after the series began, as the catalyst for 9-Volt's minigame (Gamer) and as a threat during the mode itself.
    • Bowser Jr. was not introduced until Super Mario Sunshine.
    • Rosalina and Captain Toad have become major series characters, but they didn't debut until Super Mario Galaxy.
    • E. Gadd is a reoccurring character who is referenced in various Mario games, from Super Mario Sunshine to Mario Kart, but he only first appeared in Luigi's Mansion.
    • Starlow first appeared as an Exposition Fairy in the third Mario & Luigi game, but she has consistently appeared in every one since, including the remake of the original title.
    • Toadette made her debut as Toad's counterpart in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, and has since made appearances in not only a variety of spinoff titles, but also the core games.
  • Happens frequently with the Original Generation characters in Super Robot Wars, especially considering they were introduced until Super Robot Wars 2. Most tellingly with Masaki Andoh and the Cybuster in particular, to the point that he factors into the first three multi-game storylines while the fourth prominently features an Evil Counterpart.
  • Tales Series:
    • Tales of Destiny: Leon Magnus who's consistencely among the most popular characters, to the point that he was retired from the popularity poll.
    • Tales of Eternia: Celsius, the summon spirit of ice. Even though she debuted later than the other summon spirits, she's become the most popular among them that she was made playable in several of the crossover games.
    • Tales of Destiny 2: Barbatos Goetia was The Dragon to Elraine and was the one responsible for the death of the protagonist's father Stahn. He's one of the most popular villains in the fandom for his Large Ham tendencys and Fountain of Memes status. He was even was one of the cameo bosses in Vesperia.
    • Tales of Symphonia: Kratos Aurionnote  and Zelos Wilder.
    • Tales of the Abyss: Jade Curtiss; his Deadpan Snarker personality and usefulness in battle made him very well loved among fans.
    • Tales of Vesperia: Yuri Lowell is probably the king of this trope for this series. He ranked 1st place in the official popularity polls every time since his debut until he was retired from it alongside the above mentioned Leon. There's also Rita Mordio who's gained infamy for possibly being the most broken mage of the series.
  • Team Fortress 2:
    • The game's nine classes are significantly more recognisable and iconic than their equivalents in the original Team Fortress and its subsequent port, owing to their more varied appearances, characterisations and backgrounds. However, even though most of the classes look and sound completely different to the originals, they weren't confirmed to be distinct characters until the Team Fortress webcomics formally reintroduced the classic versions, so for a solid chunk of their history the newer mercs were seen as either alternate versions or examples of characterisation marching on.
    • The secondary characters (who mostly appear in supplementary materials), with The Administrator, Ms Pauling and Saxton Hale being particularly popular among the fanbase.
  • Tekken certainly does this. The only regularly recurring characters present since the first game are Heihachi and Kazuya Mishima, Paul Phoenix, Marshall Law, Lee Chaolan, Nina and Anna Williams, and Yoshimitsu. The Jack, King, and Kuma lines all started here, but were not always the same character in every installment.
    • Lei Wulong and Jun Kazama were both introduced in Tekken 2. Kazuya's devil form was also introduced in this game.
    • Jin Kazama, Ling Xiaoyu, Hwoarang, Eddy Gordo, Julia Chang, Mokujin, King II, Kuma II, Panda, and Bryan Fury were all introduced in Tekken 3.
    • Steve Fox, Craig Marduk, and Christie Monteiro were all introduced in Tekken 4. Lee's "Violet" Secret Identity was also introduced in this game.
    • Asuka Kazama, Feng Wei, and Raven were all introduced in Tekken 5, while Lili de Rochefort and Sergei Dragunov were both introduced in the game's re-release titled Dark Resurrection.
    • Leo Kliesen, Miguel Caballero Rojo, and Bob Richards were introduced in Tekken 6, while Lars Alexandersson and Alisa Bosconovitch were added for the re-release Bloodline Rebellion.
    • The Fated Retribution re-release of Tekken 7 introduced Leroy Smith.
  • Touhou Project has incredible amounts of this, particularly if one ignores the fact that the sixth game was essentially a reboot. A full list:
    • Characters that appeared before the reboot:
      • Marisa Kirisame first appeared as a boss in the second game (and was a redhead) and has been a playable character in every main series game since.
      • Alice Margatroid, one of the few other characters from before the reboot to become prominent after it, debuted in the last game before the reboot, Mystic Square.
    • Post-reboot:
      • The seventh game introduced both Youmu Konpaku, who has appeared as a playable character in multiple subsequent games, and Yukari Yakumo, who is probably one of the most important characters to the world as a whole. It also marked the first post-reboot appearance for Alice, which sort of makes her qualify twice over.
      • The eighth game, Imperishable Night, introduces Reisen Udongein Inaba.
      • The ninth game marked the debut of Aya Shamameiru, who since got two spin-offs as a main character and appeared in each of the next two main series games. Though technically she actually debuted in one of the side materials by a few days.
      • Sanae Kotiya debuted in the tenth game and has been either a playable character or a boss in almost every game since (as of the 15th main line game, she's only missed one main game and has been in over half the side games); furthermore, the rest of the Moriya Shrine Cast Herd was the major driving story force for the next few games. Nitori Kawashirosawa, unrelated to that cast herd, also made a number of appearances after debuting in this game.
      • Byakuren Hijiri debuted in the 12th game and took over from the Moriya Shrine group as a major driving force.
  • With over ten games in the Trails Series, it's not surprising that some of its most well-known characters appeared in the later titles:
    • Given their popularity with fans, and their significance to the greater Trails universe, it's baffling to imagine that Kevin Graham and Renne weren't introduced until the Second Chapter of Trails in the Sky.
    • Altina Orion doesn't show up until the second game in the Erebonia arc, and isn't playable by default until the game after that, yet is still one of the franchise's most well-received characters, getting second place (just behind Rean) in the popularity poll for Cold Steel III, and ranking on third place in Cold Steel IV's.
    • It's also easy to forget that Rean himself wasn't introduced until the sixth Trails game, given just how many players usually think of him whenever somebody mentions the franchise, likely due to him being a protagonist in more games than any of his counterparts at five. And it really says something when, even in a game where he has to share the protagonist label with two other people, he's the most recognizable one.
  • The Unreal franchise has Malcolm, the leader of Thunder Crash, eventual 9-time canonical winner of the Liandri Grand Tournament and Series Mascot. He debuted in Unreal Tournament, which itself is a spinoff of the eponymous first game, which didn't really have much in the field of a protagonist. UT itself neither had a main character, however, thanks to him being the default selectable player and Unreal Tournament 2003 giving him a major role as well as having him return as the overall Final Boss (as well as Unreal Tournament 2004 having him as one of the three possible end-game bosses) cemented him as this.
  • Almost every iconic character from the Warcraft universe debuted in Warcraft II or later. The rare exceptions are Medivh and Garona. Even then, most Warcraft II characters were Put on a Bus, and the really iconic ones (including but not limited to; Prince Arthas/The Lich King, Thrall, Jaina Proudmore, Vol'jin, Illidan Stormrage, Kel'Thuzad, Sylvanas Windrunner, Rexxar, Kael'thas Sunstrider, Chen Stormstout, and the entire Night Elf, Draenei, and Naga races) come from Warcraft III.
    • This even extends to the series' Mascot Mook: Murlocs first appeared in Warcraft III but didn't have their iconic look until The Frozen Throne, looking more like generic Fish Men originally.
    • World of Warcraft originally released with only nine character classes. Death Knights (who appeared in their Orcish necromancy form in Warcraft II the Scourge form in Warcraft III, as RTS units in both cases) were added with the second Expansion Pack, Wrath of the Lich King, and are basically inseparable from the game nowadays. Two other classes, Monks and Demon Hunters, also appeared later, but haven't earned the same level of popularity.
    • High (and Blood) Elves were in the lore from the start (the Blood Elves appeared in Warcraft III), but weren't actually playable until The Burning Crusade (unless you count elven archers from Warcraft II, which were technically High Elves). Before then, they didn't even have a unique model, and instead used an infamously ugly Night Elf retexture for their few appearances.
    • Garrosh Hellscream appeared with The Burning Crusade, although he didn't have his well known shirtless design with Mannoroth's tusks as shoulder armor until Cataclysm.
    • Worgen didn't appear until WoW (even though RetCons say they were around in the Third War and much earlier), but were just mooks at that point. It wasn't until Catacylsm that the Worgen of Gilneas became a playable race (with a redesign to boot).
  • The Mana Spirits in the World of Mana series are totally absent in the first Seiken Densetsu (released as Final Fantasy Adventure in the West), and make their debut in the second game, Secret of Mana.
  • Yuke's WWE Games:

Previous

Index

Next

  • Show Spoilers
  • Night Vision
  • Sticky Header
  • Wide Load

Important Links

Ask The Tropers Trope Finder Media Finder Trope Launch Pad Tech Wishlist Reviews Go Ad Free!
Crucial Browsing
Resources
Top