What does it mean to be "loyal" to a character?

[Bluekirby2]

I've herd it used in competitive play, but I don't quite know what it means.

If somebody here could answer my question, I'd appreciate that.

 

[GunGuts]

Character loyalty is when a player is dedicated to maining a certain character, and sticks to playing that character regardless of the character's viability. There are different motivations for character loyalty. A player might be loyal to a character because they want to be the best at that character or they just really like that character.

Here's a video by Trifroze who I think explains character loyalty pretty well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD68sGaDPrA

 

[RIP|Merrick]

Not dropping a character the day of they get nerfed. All you prior fraud Diddy and Luigi mains, raise your hands.

 

[Mikey Da Bawse]

Sticking with a character through thick and thin regardless of tier lists or public opinion of your character

I actually broke my character loyalty with Sm4sh.
I've played Pikachu in every game but just couldn't do it in 4.
- Never forget 1999 - 2014

 

[Diddy Kong]

Basing your username on the character who you are going to main 100% despite him not even being in the game just yet.

 

[Wintermelon43]

It can mean two things. These are:

1:Using a character even after they get nerfed

2:Constantly using them between games.

 

[ArikadoSD]

It can mean two things. These are:

1:Using a character even after they get nerfed

2:Constantly using them between games.

this pretty much. i find my case to be weird because I started with maining sheik in sm4sh /then/ maining her in previous games lol (at least in melee where it matters, doesn't matter as much with brawl), not the other way around. I just realized she's always been the smoothest character to play in each game for me.

 

[Mario & Sonic Guy]

Basically, being loyal to a character means that you use him/her a lot, regardless of his/her match-ups.

 

[Deleted member]

Character loyalty is pretty much maining a character between most or all of the Smash game. For example, I main or at least play Kirby or all the Kirby characters () in all the Smash games regardless of how good or bad they may be due to Kirby as a series meaning a ton to me. That, and I play the Ice Climbers in every Smash game they're in.

 

[SherrdreamZ]

Essentially i think Character loyalty in a competitive sense means you play this character in almost all Situation, and are known for doing so..Ex.. Esam~ Pika Nairo~ ZSS Zero~ Shiek

Even more prevalent is those who stick with the same character between Smash Games and Nerf's. As a lover of Fire Emblem I've always played Marth x Peach up until Lucina's inclusion. I think i play her now just for a change of pace from Marth, even if it's mostly just Aesthetic.

 

[ArikadoSD]

Essentially i think Character loyalty in a competitive sense means you play this character in almost all Situation, and are known for doing so..Ex.. Esam~ Pika Nairo~ ZSS Zero~ Shiek

no lol, those are just people and their mains. Esam might be loyal to pika/samus but nairo and zero wouldn't be considered loyal to their mains because they play them cu they're top tier; otherwise Zero would've stuck with Diddy and Nairo with Robin.

Not that it matters but yeah

 

[Babycowland]

this pretty much. i find my case to be weird because I started with maining sheik in sm4sh /then/ maining her in previous games lol (at least in melee where it matters, doesn't matter as much with brawl), not the other way around. I just realized she's always been the smoothest character to play in each game for me.

I actually had a similar experience with Ice Climbers in Melee after playing them a bunch in Brawl, though they weren't my #1 character(s) in either game. I think it's kind of neat to go back and play previous versions and apply what you've learned from the more recent ones and vice-versa.

It can mean two things. These are:

1:Using a character even after they get nerfed

2:Constantly using them between games.

Those seem like pretty good definitions to me.

I'm not much of a competitive player, so I haven't noticed buffs and nerfs between patches, but I definitely felt uncomfortable with Smash 4 Olimar when I first started playing him. That said, I haven't really ever thought about dropping him, mostly because my love for the Pikmin series and fond memories of Brawl sort of prevent me from ever wanting to do that. I think I tend to be more "loyal" to characters when I'm a fan of the games they come from, which makes some sense, I guess

 

[Kero the Invincible]

Blithely ignoring your character's flaws in relation to stronger characters, because you refuse to shake on your choice of main.

Otherwise, ******** and moaning about people ******** and moaning about your character, even if they're cheap/over-powered.

*SLAPS*

Be quiet Dark Kero, nobody wants to hear your pessimism. People have the right to like the characters they do, no matter what the reason.

*whimpers*

For some people, their enjoyment of the game comes from devoting themselves to a certain character, and figuring out everything they can about that character. High or low tier, they don't really care as long as they're playing as their favourite character, since that's what they play the game for.

 

[SherrdreamZ]

no lol, those are just people and their mains. Esam might be loyal to pika/samus but nairo and zero wouldn't be considered loyal to their mains because they play them cu they're top tier; otherwise Zero would've stuck with Diddy and Nairo with Robin.

Not that it matters but yeah

At the top level, or competitively in general its foolish to not Main/Secondary a Top 10. But yeah those examples don't tell the whole story..

 

[Rinku リンク]

It's basically sticking with a character through thick and thin despite their competitive viability. This also means playing against characters that may be unfavorable match ups.

Anyone can switch characters and call it a day so I personally have a lot of respect for people who are loyal to their characters.

 

[Deleted member]

Character loyalty is basically sticking with one or more characters no matter what happens to them in patches or how viable the character is. For example, you would be a character loyalist if you main Captain Falcon in every Smash game, even though he is one of the worst characters in Brawl.
Character loyalists stick with their mains in every game or patch because they either like the character or want to be the best with them.

I am a character loyalist towards Luigi. I don't care how terrible he is in 64 or the fact that he got nerfed in 4; I still main him because he is my favorite character.

 

[Deleted member]

Character loyalty is basically sticking with one or more characters no matter what happens to them in patches or how viable the character is. For example, you would be a character loyalist if you main Captain Falcon in every Smash game, even though he is one of the worst characters in Brawl.
Character loyalists stick with their mains in every game or patch because they either like the character or want to be the best with them.

I am a character loyalist towards Luigi. I don't care how terrible he is in 64 or the fact that he got nerfed in 4; I still main him because he is my favorite character.

That, or with how difficult he is to play in Melee... perfect button-mashing his down-B makes me shudder everytime.

But yeah, this is pretty much what being a character loyalist is. I still main Dedede in this game despite the fact that he's bottom tier, because I love the characer and what he has to offer. It's nice to push yourself to do your best with a character and potentially advance their meta especially when so little people believe in what they're capable of. Makes it all the more satisfactory as time goes on and you improve with them.

 

[ChikoLad]

It's just playing as your favourite characters no matter what happens to them, be it nerfs, consistently poor performance between games (i.e Link & Zelda), little tournament presence, or even if the community has a poor opinion on the character.

For me, I mained Sonic since Brawl and he's my second main in Smash 4. People whine about Sonic being annoying to fight in Smash 4 and don't like how viable he is, but he wasn't considered that viable in Brawl and I mained him there, so people can just git gud if they are going to whine when I pick him. I've been playing as him since Brawl and I'm not changing that.

Rosalina only debuted in this game and is probably the most hated character in the game competitively, yet also the most misconceived and misinterpreted (both by her players and her haters). But, I have wanted her since Brawl was coming out and she is easily my favourite Nintendo character (and Lumas have always been my favourite little side characters). She also has a completely unique playstyle in Smash and no other character really plays quite like her, so I'm not gonna drop her just because people whine that she's OP, people whine she's "not all that good" (seriously there is THAT much of a back and forth on her), because other people think she has some "soooper bad MUs meng" (which I disagree with, though I do play Rosalina in a somewhat unique way), people whine she shouldn't have been in Smash to begin with, etc. Once again, people can just git gud. That goes both for her haters and the people who whine she's OP, and all of the players that really undersell her.

Really stuff like this turns me off the competitive community itself. I know I am capable of competing in tournaments and probably winning some, but I'm not sure I want to if these are the kind of people I will be facing.

 

[Tino]

Being "loyal" to a character means playing as your favorite characters no matter what happens.

I don't main Rosalina because she's "top tier" or whatever the hell they call it, I main Rosalina because she is my favorite Mario character ever for who she is. Seeing her for the first time when playing Super Mario Galaxy has changed my life forever and since then, she's been my holy grail. I don't give a **** if she gets buffed, nerfed or whatever, I will always main her.

Furthermore, I don't give a **** what the haters say about her, Rosalina will always be my all time favorite Mario character ever...and perhaps even my all time favorite female video game character ever. **** all them haters out there!

P.S. When I said to **** all them haters, that means "**** you, mariotehplumber!"

 

[Purin a.k.a. José]

I see loyalty as growing with the character... when it clicks to you and you can't stop with it. I just began playing competitive on this year, but my main and my secondaries are the same from circa 2012 when I played Brawl (I don't like Yoshi anymore, my main from 2010)... Kirby, Jiggs, Ness, Marth, Falcon (Falcon and Marth being pockets).

 

[randomguy1235]

Being "loyal" to a character means playing as your favorite characters no matter what happens.

I don't main Rosalina because she's "top tier" or whatever the hell they call it, I main Rosalina because she is my favorite Mario character ever for who she is. Seeing her for the first time when playing Super Mario Galaxy has changed my life forever and since then, she's been my holy grail. I don't give a **** if she gets buffed, nerfed or whatever, I will always main her.

Furthermore, I don't give a **** what the haters say about her, Rosalina will always be my all time favorite Mario character ever...and perhaps even my all time favorite female video game character ever. **** all them haters out there!

P.S. When I said to **** all them haters, that means "**** you, mariotehplumber!"

Out of curiosity, could you elaborate?

 

[TheFlyingCule]

I think of character loyalty simply as staying with a character regardless of anything against the character whether it be nerfs, being low tier, or being unpopular in the community for whatever reason. It can also be playing a certain character in every game.

For me I use a lot of the same characters in every game, tho I prefer some characters in some games over others. I like to use Yoshi,Kirby, Peach, ZSS, and Zelda in all the games they have been in, but I don't like them equally across all games, but I still use them. Palutena will join them if she is in more Smash games.

 

[Tino]

Out of curiosity, could you elaborate?

What do you mean by elaborate? There's nothing to elaborate about when it's already done.

 

[randomguy1235]

What do you mean by elaborate? There's nothing to elaborate about when it's already done.

How could a character wth minimal interaction have that profound of an effect on your life?

 

[Tino]

How could a character wth minimal interaction have that profound of an effect on your life?

There's no explanation for that. It just did.

 

[ForteX]

"Character loyalty" is the complicated, politically correct phrase for "good". It is a rare description applied only to people who believe that a human's determination, love, and skill outweigh anything else.

These people are typically right all the time about everything they say.

 

[LunarWingCloud]

Using the character because you LIKE them, not because they're good, and continuing to use them regardless of if they are good, not good, were good and then made not good, etc.

I've stuck with Pika since 64 and even with Cloud coming up, Pika will ALWAYS be my main. Cloud might take a high slot on my list, but my best character will always be him because he's just so fun for me to play as, and playing as the face of my favorite franchise is amazing.

I love ya, buddy. Never stop being so adorably lethal.

 

[Foxus]

My definition of being loyal to a character is choosing no one else, but that character.

No matter how many times you lose, you don't switch the character to another. You hold that character close to heart.

And lastly, its having a personal affection for that character out of the entire roster. As I heard in a YouTube video, the main should be a character you would trust to save your life.

That's the definition of being loyal.

 

[iDaire]

My definition of being loyal to a character is choosing no one else, but that character.

No matter how many times you lose, you don't switch the character to another. You hold that character close to heart.

And lastly, its having a personal affection for that character out of the entire roster. As I heard in a YouTube video, the main should be a character you would trust to save your life.

That's the definition of being loyal.

Must feel bad for those people who main Dark Pit and Ganandorf.
Loyalty to a character is using a character despite how low your win to loss ratio gets with that character. Helping build that character up from the lowest of its ranking to the highest of its tier, similar to what Zero did with Sheik. There was a point in Sm4sh when we didn't have tier lists and Little Mac looked pretty beefy. Then we saw Zero start dishing out some mighty Sheik damage and because of this loyalty, we have now learned that Sheik is probably the best character in this game. Still waiting for the next nerf in balance patch.

 

[Foxus]

Must feel bad for those people who main Dark Pit and Ganandorf.
Loyalty to a character is using a character despite how low your win to loss ratio gets with that character. Helping build that character up from the lowest of its ranking to the highest of its tier, similar to what Zero did with Sheik. There was a point in Sm4sh when we didn't have tier lists and Little Mac looked pretty beefy. Then we saw Zero start dishing out some mighty Sheik damage and because of this loyalty, we have now learned that Sheik is probably the best character in this game. Still waiting for the next nerf in balance patch.

Eh, saying "best character in the game" is probably a bit of a stretch. I still wish Shiek would've stayed a part of Zelda, over her own character.

 

[Splebel]

My definition of being loyal to a character is choosing no one else, but that character.

No matter how many times you lose, you don't switch the character to another. You hold that character close to heart.

And lastly, its having a personal affection for that character out of the entire roster. As I heard in a YouTube video, the main should be a character you would trust to save your life.

That's the definition of being loyal.

I wouldn't trust Pac-Man to save my life. He smiles while he drowns! Would you trust a guy like that? I wouldn't. He's still fun to play though.

 

[Foxus]

I wouldn't trust Pac-Man to save my life. He smiles while he drowns! Would you trust a guy like that? I wouldn't. He's still fun to play though.

Pacman takes death with stride.

 

[TheFlyingCule]

Must feel bad for those people who main Dark Pit and Ganandorf.
Loyalty to a character is using a character despite how low your win to loss ratio gets with that character. Helping build that character up from the lowest of its ranking to the highest of its tier, similar to what Zero did with Sheik. There was a point in Sm4sh when we didn't have tier lists and Little Mac looked pretty beefy. Then we saw Zero start dishing out some mighty Sheik damage and because of this loyalty, we have now learned that Sheik is probably the best character in this game. Still waiting for the next nerf in balance patch.

Uhhh I thought Sheik was topping most tier lists back in the 3DS days. I cant remember there ever being a time Sheik was not considered top tier

 

[Kulty]

For me, being loyal is to play a character that you really like in all his Smash appearances and make this character as part of your mains and secondaries. I`m not a strict guy when it comes to be loyal, because I don't want to love just one character and stick only to him. I'm someone who enjoys a lot of characters in the Smash series.

In my case, there could only be one character (technically 2 if you count ) in the entire series that deserves to be loyal to me, which is . I have him as part of my mains since the original Smash 64. While he may not be my true main in all Smash games, I always keep him as part of my mains list, because he's my favorite Smash character of all time. I solo main him in Smash 64, have him as my secondary in Melee (technically, but they feel relatively the same in Melee, so I picked him up instead) and Brawl (was my main in both games) and have him as a main in Smash 4. I was really close to be loyal to, but Smash 4 just screwed him up so hard.

 

[Zink Imp]

In every fighting game I play, I tend to stay loyal to characters. Meaning any Smash game Marth is in, I play Marth. I do so because I have a fondness to the character that isn't just the play style. I've had a long history with Marth, so whether or not he's good or bad in a game is meaningless to me because I'll always like him as a character.

I do switch my secondaries in games. For example, I played a lot of Falco in Brawl but dropped him in Smash 4. I don't have a particular fondness to Falco other than that he was really good.

 

[CrazyPerson]

It is something people take pride in... they are committed to sticking with a character regardless of tier lists, buffs, nerfs, etc.

Also tends to be a way of saying "We are better than you!!!"... part of our pack instinct... find like minded people that we are the same as... in this case bonded by which smash character is mained. Those who believe one should be loyal regardless, feel betrayed when somebody leaves the group for greener pastures after a nerf or something.

If you really like a character, and don't have any ambitious objectives... be loyal and have fun with him/her. If you are sick of losing to your friends who use better characters... nothing wrong with changing. If you are skilled enough to make money at this game (not me) then you probably should throw the character loyalty thing out the window... as you are lowering your earning potential if they aren't good.

 

[GunGuts]

For me, character loyalty isn't very important, and it shouldn't be something to praise a player for as opposed to another player who has switched mains for whatever reason. The most important factor when choosing a character, in my opinion, is if you enjoy playing that character, and that character fits your play style. So, I couldn't care less if you've mained the same character since 64 or if you one who dropped Diddy Kong right when the nerfs came out, as long as you genuinely like that character.

 

[Cylent]

Playing the character because you actually enjoy them, not because they are high tier, and still playing them even if they get nerfed.

 

[Quarium]

I see loyalty as growing with the character... when it clicks to you and you can't stop with it. I just began playing competitive on this year, but my main and my secondaries are the same from circa 2012 when I played Brawl (I don't like Yoshi anymore, my main from 2010)... Kirby, Jiggs, Ness, Marth, Falcon (Falcon and Marth being pockets).

Same thing for me.
I used to love Jiggs in all games but only started using her a lot in Sm4sh until I suddenly realized that she's by far my favourite character to play as regardless of her viability or my proficiency using her. I see that whole situation as me growing with her along the years.

Kirby is the same, I used him in ALL smash games wether as main or secondary. In fact, smash 4 is the first smash game where I don't get destroyed while using him! In all other games I was always destroyed while using him haha but I can never stop using him because I adore him.(I'm so glad I'm actually a good Kirby player now lol)

 

[Kneutronic]

Basically what everyone is saying pretty much sums it up; despite the nerfs a character received, you still have that want to play as him or her, either in tournaments or just casually.

I'm a Dedede player in both Brawl and Smash 4, and while Dedede did become much worse in Smash 4, it didn't stop me from picking him back up and using him, and I actually have a lot of fun using the King.