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| Chrom | |
|---|---|
| Fire Emblem character | |
 Chrom, as seen inFire Emblem Awakening | |
| First appearance | Fire Emblem Awakening (2012) |
| Created by | Kouhei Maeda Genki Yokota |
| Designed by | Kouhei Maeda Yusuke Kozaki |
| Voiced by | EN:Matthew Mercer[1] JA:Tomokazu Sugita[1] |
| In-universe information | |
| Weapon | Falchion |
Chrom (Japanese:クロム,Hepburn:Kuromu) is a character in Nintendo'sFire Emblem franchise, first appearing as the main protagonist of the 2012 video gameFire Emblem Awakening. He is the prince of the Kingdom of Ylisse and the father ofLucina. He is in charge of the state-sponsored militia force known as The Shepherds investigating the actions of an enemy state, and wields the legendaryFalchion. He is voiced byTomokazu Sugita in Japanese and byMatthew Mercer in English.
Chrom has also appeared in other games in theFire Emblem series, includingFire Emblem Heroes,Fire Emblem Warriors,Fire Emblem Engage, and incrossover video games such asProject X Zone 2,Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE andSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate.
One of the most popular characters in theFire Emblem franchise, Chrom has received mostly positive reception from reviewers for his appearances inAwakening and related spin-off games, with praise focusing on his appearance and personality. His subsequent inclusion and appearance inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate was met with mixed reception.
Concept art and sketches for most characters inAwakening, including Chrom, were done by character designerYusuke Kozaki.[2] American actorMatthew Mercer, who is the English voice actor for Chrom, auditioned for the role; he claimed that while the project's title was "secret on the audition sides", he recognized theFire Emblem series' art and character references and was hopeful in securing the role.[3] He described his approach to playing Chrom as maintaining a "balance between casual, cool, stoic, and occasionally playful", and that he wanted players to be able to identify with the character and vicariously enjoy his heroics.[3] Mercer described Chrom as intelligent and capable of making good and sensible decisions, noting that he is prepared to face challenges despite his youth.[3]
In July 2014,Super Smash Bros. series directorMasahiro Sakurai explained that Chrom was not included as a playable character inSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U because he lacked unique characteristics and would be another sword-wielder likeMarth and Ike.[4] Chrom was later included inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate due to high demand from both Japanese and overseas fans.[5][6]
In an interview with two members of the development team forFire Emblem Warriors conducted by Japanese magazine Nintendo Dream, producer Yosuke Hayashi and director Hiroya Usuda revealed that Chrom was the first character created for the game, and was used as reference for how other characters inWarriors should be.[7] Usuda explained that the team wanted to improve the graphics forHeroes to a level of quality matching the pre-rendered cinematic scenes ofFire Emblem Awakening andFire Emblem Fates. SinceAwakening had existing character models for Chrom, the team was able to match his movements and actions during battle sequences as well as character poses in box art and other illustrations.[7] As Chrom is a sword-wielding Lord character, he also has a standard position action-wise, and many of the game's featured characters happened to wield swords. The team decided to prioritize development for Chrom, a process which was described as "hectic", and the finished character became the starting point for the team in deciding the direction and the skeletal frame of the cast of characters inWarriors.[7] The decision on which characters fromAwakening to choose for inclusion inWarriors is contingent on whether they have close ties with Chrom, which also applied to characters from other games in the series with their respective protagonists.[7]
Chrom is noted for his white cape and signature weapon, theFalchion sword.[8] He is described as "princely" and "noble", and as having his peoples' best interests at heart despite having "a bit of a temper".[9] His "fearsome nature in battle" is driven by his "steadfast sense of justice", which makes him a "powerful fighter, leader, and ally".[10] Within the series, Chrom has close ties with his daughterLucina and sister Lissa.[11][7] For his appearance inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, Chrom is described as an"Echo" character, but his move set is not a direct copy of another character, instead consisting of a mixture of moves fromIke andRoy, predominantly from the latter's move set inSmash 4.[11] His "Final Smash" is called Awakening Aether, which is based on his moveset inAwakening.[12]
Chrom originates from theNintendo andIntelligent Systems video gameFire Emblem Awakening, an entry in theFire Emblem series.[13] Chrom is the leader of his personal army and the Shepherds.[14] In the beginning of the game, he finds an amnesiac Avatar in a field and takes them in, and over the course of the story helps defend Ylisse from enemy forces. He later learns that the "Marth" that had been aiding him is actually a future version of his daughter Lucina. She hails from a future where Grima, aDragon previously fought by Chrom's ancestor, destroyed the world, and traveled back in time to save the future.[13] To fight Grima, Chrom empowers the Falchion.[15] Although he now has the power to stop Grima, it takes Avatar's sacrifice themself to truly kill Grima.[16] Depending on the player's final choice, the game will reach one of two different endings. If Chrom deals the final blow, Grima is put back to sleep, but if the Avatar deals the final blow, Grima dies but the Avatar survives.[17]Matthew Mercer stated that for inspiration of Chrom's voice, he wanted his voice to be cool and stoic, but also casual and a bit playful.[18]
Chrom appears as a unit in the mobile tactical role-playing gameFire Emblem Heroes,[19] and as one of the main characters inFire Emblem Warriors.[20][21] For his appearance inFire Emblem Heroes' monthly Legendary Hero Banner in February 2020, Chrom has a redesigned appearance and is armed with a bow and arrow instead of the Falchion, along with a different set of abilities and skills.[22][23] He also appears as a DLC Emblem inFire Emblem Engage along witha Male Robin.[24]
Chrom has appeared in severalcrossover video games as a representative character of theFire Emblem franchise, includingProject X Zone 2 andTokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE.[25][26] InTokyo Mirage Sessions, Chrom is depicted as an otherworldly being, a prince from another dimension, who is bonded with the game's lead character Itsuki Aoi after being "purified" by Itsuki's Performa ability.[8] A costume based on Chrom'sAwakening outfit was also available as part of a cross-promotion inCapcom'sMonster Hunter Frontier G.[27] Chrom is a playable character in 2018'sSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate[28] as an "echo fighter" to Roy, with a similar set of moves.[29] As part of theDragalia LostFire Emblem Kindred Ties event which ran from April 30, 2020, to May 11, 2020, Chrom was featured in the summoning banner.[30]
Nintendo initially released anAmiibo figure of Chrom in October 2017, and later a second figure with his redesigned appearance fromUltimate in November 2019.[31]Fire Emblem developersIntelligent Systems intended to release a pair of limited edition collectible keychains in September 2019, one of which resembled a miniature replica of Chrom's signature weapon.[32]
According to a questionnaire which focused onAwakening hosted by Japanese anime news websiteDengeki Online in August 2012, Chrom was voted favorite male character with a tally of 11.2% by readers.[33] Several of the character's lines were voted as among the game's most memorable phrases; his "Anything can change!" quote in particular received the most votes and is considered to be "iconic".[34] In a North AmericanFire Emblem character popularity poll called "Choose Your Legends" leading up to the release ofHeroes in February 2017, Chrom placed fourth place among the series' male characters.[35] The character has inspired cosplay activities,[36] as well as a number of works driven byfan labor, such as a mousepad depicting Chrom in a provocative and suggestive pose,[37] and afan mod ofSuper Smash Bros. Brawl created in response to Chrom's exclusion fromSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, which replaces Marth's character model with assets for the character.[38] Swordsmith Tony Swatton, who maintains an ongoingYouTube channel called Man at Arms, uploaded a video to his channel in December 2013 where he recreated Chrom's Falchion sword, which he noted to be the result of numerous requests from fans. The video received substantial attention from video game journalists.[39][40][41][42][43]
Chrom has received a mostly positive reception for his appearance and characterization inAwakening.GamesRadar said that Chrom "looks and feels like a main protagonist" and is a "perfect complement" to the player's avatar character; Chrom is also noted as instrumental in the successful recruitment of several other characters due to his persuasive nature.[44] Nadia Oxford fromUSGamer described the first face to face meeting between Chrom and a time-traveling Lucina as "a heart-wrenching bit of video game cinema".[13] Heather Alexandra fromKotaku foundAwakening's narrative to be "magical and inspiring"; they argued that while it is tempting to view the story of Chrom and Lucina in a reductive way and dismiss their "faith filled, positive philosophies" as "childish", "foolish naïveté", the straightforward tale of their defeat of the fell dragon is thematically important from a moral perspective.[45] Kirk Hamilton, also fromKotaku, praised the ending sequence ofAwakening as one of the most "cathartic conclusions" he has experienced in video games, emphasizing the heartfelt interactions between Chrom and several other characters from the game's cast in particular.[46] Hamilton also found the depiction of romantic content inAwakening to be "adorable", and highlighted an intimate conversation between Chrom and comrade Sumia as an example.[47]Polygon staff ranked him as one of their "69 biggest crushes of the last decade" and described him to be very appealing, physically and emotionally.[9] Commenting on the ongoing standings of "Choose Your Legends", Mike Fahey also fromKotaku was of the view that Chrom and Lucina should have topped the poll instead of the eventual winners, Ike and Lyn.[48]
In her review ofFire Emblem Warriors, Meghan Sullivan fromIGN praised the references which are incorporated into interactions between characters who originated from the same game, such as Chrom's reunion with Robin, the player's avatar fromAwakening.[49] Mike Sounders fromDestructoid observed that Chrom's importance toWarriors is comparable toLink's role inHyrule Warriors.[7] Chris Moyse, also fromDestructoid, was surprised that Chrom's Legendary Hero incarnation inHeroes is presented as an archer instead of a swordsman and without his signature Falchion sword.[10] On the other hand, Steven Hansen fromDestructoid expressed a dislike for the character. He criticized Chrom's inclusion as a DLC character forFates in 2015, calling him a "stalwart bore" while expressing a preference for some of the series' lesser known characters, and emphasized that he is not a worthwhile romance option.[50][51]
Chrom has also received coverage for his appearances in media outside of theFire Emblem series, most notably theSuper Smash Bros. series.Jason Schreier commented in a post published byKotaku in July 2014 that while Chrom did appear in a promotional trailer forSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, "sadly, he appears to be an assist trophy or Final Smash forRobin, not a playable character".[52] Cody Perez fromVGR.com questioned the rationale behind Lucina's inclusion in theSmash series being prioritized over Chrom, and argued that he played a more prominent role within the narrative ofAwakening.[53]
While the decision to include Chrom inUltimate was attributed by Sakurai to recurring demand from the series' fanbase,Cecilia D'Anastasio complained in a 2018 article written forKotaku that he is too similar to other sword-wieldingFire Emblem characters who have already appeared in theSuper Smash Bros. series, and that the character "is the straw that broke the camel's back", a metaphor she used to describe her exasperation at the perceived overrepresentation ofFire Emblem characters and alleged that the series is being turned into a "Fire Emblemfan game".[54] In an edition ofWeekly Famitsu published in the first week of February 2020, Sakurai admitted that there are too manyFire Emblem characters inUltimate, and in particular too many swordsmen types.[55] Jeremy Parish ofPolygon ranked 73 fighters fromSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate "from garbage to glorious", placing Chrom at 69th,[56] while Gavin Jasper ofDen of Geek ranked the Chrom as 71st on his list ofSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate characters.[57] Both Parish and Jasper criticized the lack of originality behind Chrom's inclusion inUltimate as well as his overt similarity to otherFire Emblem characters.[9][57] According toZeRo, a seasonedSuper Smash Bros. player and top streamer forSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate in December 2018, following the 1.20Smash patch Chrom improved from being one of the worst characters in the game to second-best in a tier list he proposed, which presented the first comprehensive and analytical ranking for playable characters inUltimate.[58]
Avatar:[to a distraught Chrom] May we meet again…in a better life.
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