Fire Emblem Engage fans dub lead character 'Toothpaste-Chan' in honor of their minty-fresh hairdo

Fire Emblem Engage's protagonist Alear - known as Toothpaste-Chan within the community - stares at the screen
(Image credit: Nintendo)

Fire Emblem Engage has finally been officially unveiled after several leaks and rumours. While fans jumped on specific details, either new or freshly confirmed, the actual name of the protagonist was of little interest. You see, the Fire Emblem fandom has been referring to our pasty white, red-and-blue-haired hero by the moniker 'Toothpaste-Chan' for a while now.

Earlier this year, details of the new Fire Emblem game emerged that described a protagonist of red and blue hair. Not long after, images joined the bevy of leaks of that very same hero that confirmed the prior information. We got our dragon lord with red and blue hair, and Toothpaste-Chan was quickly born. 

Before the recent Nintendo Direct, Fire Emblem fans gathered on social media hoping to manifest their paste-based icon into existence, and they weren’t disappointed. It’s nice to meet you, Alear, but that won’t be a name you’ll be going by for quite some time.

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Anyway, Fire Emblem Engage releases next year, featuring an original story alongside a gameplay mechanic that allows you to summon heroes from other games into your party. Toothpaste-Chan is mighty, though still gets by with a little help from their friends. 

You’ll be playing as Toothpaste-Chan themselves – be it their masculine or feminine incarnation. Fret not, as they still look like a tube of Colgate regardless of which option you pick. Lesser known these days as the Divine Dragon, you awaken after a thousand years after a war with no memory of your past. There’s little time to brush up on what you’ve missed, as you need to answer a call to arms and fight alongside newly found allies to prevent the Fell Dragon’s resurrection. 

Fire Emblem Engage’s battles unfold in tactical, turn-based battles, which is a consistent feature of the series. Nintendo also revealed that Fire Emblem Engage is getting a Divine Edition that comes with goodies for the collectors among you. 

Fire Emblem Engage releases on the Nintendo Switch on January 20, 2023. 

Here are the 25 best Nintendo Switch games you can play right now to make the wait easier.

Deputy News Editor

Iain joins the GamesRadar team as Deputy News Editor following stints at PCGamesN and PocketGamer.Biz, with some freelance for Kotaku UK, RockPaperShotgun, and VG24/7 thrown in for good measure. When not helping Ali run the news team, he can be found digging into communities for stories – the sillier the better. When he isn’t pillaging the depths of Final Fantasy 14 for a swanky new hat, you’ll find him amassing an army of Pokemon plushies.