Ryoma

Character Summary

Early Life

Ryoma is High Prince for the Kingdom of Hoshido, the eldest child of King Sumeragi and Queen Ikona. While a natural talent in a plethora of fields, he decided to follow in his father's footsteps to become a samurai. He excelled in his training as a master swordsman and eventually found himself wielding the legendary Raijinto, a katana passed down from his father and across several generations of Hoshidan kings. The blade allows its wielder to shoot out bolts of lightning and attack enemies from afar. For these reasons, he is the most formidable warrior in all of Hoshido.

As the oldest of four children, Ryoma often found himself acting as the responsible authority figure who provided sage advice and direction to his siblings and subordinates. He was aware of the inferiority complexes exhibited by Prince Takumi and Princess Sakura, who compared themselves unfavorably to his stature, so he often encouraged them to think more highly of themselves. When his father remarried to Mikoto after Queen Ikona's death, Ryoma made an explicit point to quickly accept his new stepmother as an example for his kingdom's subjects to follow. He also treated Corrin, Queen Mikoto's biological child from another relationship, like his own sibling and an equal member of the royal family. The Hoshidan soldiers who serve under him are incredibly confident in his skills as a charismatic tactician, strategist, and leader. Thus, Ryoma spends most of his available time meditating to prepare himself for these vast responsibilities he placed on himself. But he can also be an unlikely jokester towards his surprised siblings and subordinates in order to relax from his princely duties.

When Corrin (who became a hostage to the rival Kingdom of Nohr since childhood and therefore forgot their early life) found a way back to Hoshido, Ryoma expresses his relief that his sibling is alive and well. He tries to jog the player character's foggy memory of their past and successfully reminds them that Mikoto and Sumeragi are their real parents. The High Prince also tries to convince Corrin that their adopted home of Nohr is a warmongering polity, as evidenced by it sending hordes of Faceless monsters to attack defenseless Hoshidan villages, to get the player character on his side of the inevitable conflict between the two kingdoms.

Birthright and Conquest

Ryoma's significance in the rest of the Fire Emblem: Fates story depends on the player's chosen path.

In Birthright he leaves his homeland to fight the Nohrians alongside Princess Hinoka and Prince Takumi, only to find himself alone in enemy territory after the battle. He decides to join the ranks of the anti-Nohrian resistance in the neutral country of Cheve without revealing his status as Hoshidan royalty, hoping to make a proper evaluation of some potential allies for his kingdom. He only reveals himself as the High Prince when Corrin and their Hoshidan siblings make their way to Cheve and fight off a Nohrian regiment stationed there. Before then he forges a close relationship with Scarlet, the leader of the Cheve resistance who personally joins Corrin's forces after the battle.

Despite his stature as a trusted authority figure, Ryoma eventually cedes his leadership position to Corrin. He finds his sibling's charisma and ability to inspire others to be superior to his own, and so he serves more as an adviser who reminds the player character to be a confident yet comforting presence in front of their subordinates. After defeating King Garon and ending the war between Nohr and Hoshido, Ryoma succeeds Mikoto to become the new king for Hoshido. His monarchy signals the start of a golden age for his homeland, and his subjects agree that he surpassed even his father as a ruler.

In Conquest, Ryoma becomes a major antagonist when Corrin sides with the Kingdom of Nohr. He believes that his sibling is under the influence of Nohrian brainwashing, and he resolves to bring back the player character to his side by whatever means necessary.

Hoshido’s High Prince fights directly against Corrin on two separate occasions. In Chapter 12, he forms a blockade within Palace Macarath to prevent the player character from accessing its medicine stock - which contains the materials required to cure a deadly illness recently suffered by the Nohrian Princess Elise. Ryoma offers to withdraw his forces in exchange for Corrin’s defection back to Hoshido. But with the help of Laslow and Peri, the retainers of the eldest Nohrian Prince Xander, the player character manages to break past the blockade with the necessary medicine in hand.

Ryoma is also the last line of defence for his kingdom during the Nohrian invasion of Hoshido. He challenges Corrin to a personal duel upon learning that the player character killed one of his sisters, the Hoshidan Princess Hinoka, only to lose the fight and suffer the most grievous of wounds. But before he fully succumbs to despair, Corrin tells the High Prince that Hinoka is merely in hiding after the battle; her ‘death’ was a lie merely to maintain appearances in front of the cruel Nohrian King Garon. Learning that the rest of his siblings are either alive or missing, Ryoma becomes more confident in Corrin’s ability and desire to bring the invasion to a peaceful conclusion. To further illustrate the point, he fulfils the samurai’s ‘final duty’ - committing seppeku to spare the player character from having to kill him themselves by the order of King Garon. Away from their superiors and allies, Corrin breaks down in tears after seeing his Hoshidan sibling’s sacrifice. But the player character resolves to push through the despair and carry out the original mission - of reforming the Kingdom of Nohr from within and deposing King Garon.

Ryoma appears one final time in a vision experienced by Corrin, upon the latter's near-death experience in the hands of a demonically revived Prince Takumi. He, alongside the spirits of Queen Mikoto and the real Takumi, reiterates his faith that the player character can bring the war to a close and restore peace across the land. Buoyed by the parting words of their mother and their deceased Hoshidan siblings, Corrin reawakens to the land of the living and defeats the evil Takumi doppelgänger.