“The House in Fata Morgana” – Every Character Ranked

I waxed lyrical about “The House in Fata Morgana” when I ranked its Doors, and now I’m desperate to rank its characters. This story has done nothing but occupy my mind ever since I finished it.

I can’t rank every named character in the story as some of them are just “Man” and “Man 2”, so I’m setting the rule of only looking at characters with portraits / drawings. Don’t worry – that covers all the major players. And one extra, for some reason.

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Meh

14 – Javi

… Why did Javi get a portrait over so many other characters that deserved one? Like the man from the village that Giselle refused to marry in Door 5? Or the distant relative that came to Jacopo for aid in Door 3?

He’s a young boy who at first rejects Pauline’s friendliness but eventually helps her find her missing partner. He’s got an arc, I guess, and he’s in quite a few scenes … but he’s in easily one of the most boring and forgettable stretches of any Door.

OK

13 – Pauline

One of the problems ranking the “House in Fata Morgana” characters is that a lot of them have two variants – one from Morgana’s time and one from their main Door.

I thought this would’ve made ranking Pauline impossible as her two variants are so different … but when I think about it, both versions of Pauline we see are quite boring. The adventurous spirit in Door 2 is a distration from the Bestia action whereas the nun from Morgana’s time is timid and reserved.

Good

12 – Aimee

Aimee is easily the “main” character with the least screen time (apart from Javi, maybe), but she makes her few scenes count.

She starts off as the object of Michel’s illicit affection, then she’s the centre of an affair, but her final turn as an outright villain is what made her memorable. She’s possibly the most evil, vile human being in the game – which is saying something in the “House in Fata Morgana” universe.

11 – Nellie

I said in my Door Ranking that the first Door, focusing on Nellie and Mell, was my least favourite portion of the game. Part of that is to do with the characters themselves, but I can’t deny how compelling the characterization was.

Both versions of Nellie that we see have unnatural infatuations with their brother Mell – but in Door 1 she’s an older, more sheltered woman, so the worst thing that could possibly happen ends up happening.

Her motivations are much clearer and more appropriate in Morgana’s era. You can tell she cares deeply for her older brother, even lauding him as the most important thing in her life. Sweet on paper, nightmarish in execution.

10 – Didier

At first, Didier seemed like the most sensible and noble of the Bollinger brothers. I should’ve known that characters in this world are darker than they appear on the surface.

It came as quite a twist when Didier was the one to kill Michel. It made sense given his dedication to the church and how Michel was considered a “Demon”, but it was tragic to see play out.

Great

9 – Mell

If Mell’s story was limited to Door 1, he wouldn’t have made the “Great” tier. He’s a caring brother who makes poor choices, but that wasn’t enough to qualify him as truly compelling.

His character in Door 8, however, skyrocketed my esteem of him. Having him care for his sick sister adds a lot more depth to his motivations, and his turn from untrusting boy to Michel’s ally was great to see.

8 – Georges

Georges is my GOAT. He’s the only character in the game who was consistently an unproblematic king – even the rare times when he made mistakes were just him being an earnest and short-sighted goofball.

He always sought to protect Michel, and his stint as the cursed painting added some much needed levity to the Mansion. But yeah, Georges wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed and it led to him hurting Michel on a few occasions.

7 – Yukimasa / Bestia

At his core, Yukimasa is pure evil. There’s nothing good about him as a person. Normally, in storytelling rules, that level of unrelateability would make him a poorly rounded character … but for some reason I couldn’t look away from his savagery and violence.

The Bestia twist in Door 2 was a shock, and his repentant mindset in Door 8 turned him from an outright killer into a tortured soul.

6 – Maria

Maria is very different in both of her Doors. In Door 3 she’s a manipulative villain, while in Door 8 she’s a rough-around-the-edges gal with a heart of gold.

Her Door 8 character is certainly a handful, but it’s the double-crosser from Jacopo’s story that stuck with me more. The twist that she was playing both Jacopo and the White-Haired Girl floored me at first, and I was stunned by how sadistic she was.

5 – The White-Haired Girl, “Michelle”

It’s a little confusing to rank Michelle separately from Morgana, but since the White-Haired Girl is an important character in many Doors I thought she deserved her own place.

She’s the central mystery across the first four Doors, and her character was always the same even in multiple centuries – a well-meaning girl who gets swept up in someone else’s tragedy. It was fascinating to watch a third party having to deal with other characters’ traumas, and more often than not I thought the White-Haired Girl got dealt a rotten hand.

There’s a twist in Door 8 that the White-Haired Girl was a separate entity to Michel and even Morgana, acting as a detached, purest good form of the witch. It’s an unexpected development, but I have fonder memories of the girl from the first four Doors.

Amazing

4 – Jacopo

As a quick disclaimer – I’m ignoring Jacopo’s in-depth story in “Requiem For Innocence” (the same goes for Morgana and Maria), just focusing on his character in Doors 3 and 8 of this game. But know that “Requiem For Innocence” only served to strengthen an already phenomenal character.

I’ll start by talking about the Door 3 variant – Jacopo in this era is a man tainted by his false ideas of brevado and masculinity. He thrives to appear strong, and this artificial strength is what ends up driving his wife away. A really sad, tragic tale through and through.

Door 8, on the other hand, somehow turned a monster into a redeemable boy. I thought there was no chance I’d sympathise with the brutal lord who orchestrated Morgana’s abduction and torture, but the writers always knew how to flip a situation on its head with ingenuity. I know I said I wouldn’t factor in “Requiem For Innocence”, but it’s a great companion piece – it’s heart-breaking to see such a selfless young man be transformed into the very thing he swore to overthrow.

3 – Giselle / The Maid

How long would you wait for your soulmate, subjugating yourself for the mere chance of seeing them again? Decades? Centuries?

Giselle’s tale is that of an ultimate love. She goes from the amnesia-ridden Maid to the heart-felt and caring Giselle at the drop of a hat, and yet that turn is utterly earned. She’s half of one of the best depictions of romance and undying love I’ve ever seen, and the trials and tribulations her character was put through across nearly every Door made her happy ending all the sweeter.

All-Time Great

2 – Morgana

There are two characters in “The House in Fata Morgana” that became some of my favourite characters in any media ever, the first of which being this game’s antagonist – the witch Morgana. Like many villains in this story, I was staggered by how the writing made you relate and almost absolve their supposedly evil turmoils.

One of the most harrowing parts of the game was during Door 6 when we learned of Morgana’s past. I don’t think I’ve ever read such a graphic, horrifying backstory to a character. Immediately, I completely understood why this girl would vow eternal revenge on those who did her wrong – which made her redemeption at the end of the story hit that much harder.

1 – Michel

Michel doesn’t appear in the story until Door 4, and even then he’s not the true protagonist until Door 5. I’ve never played a game that withheld its protagonist for so long … and yet the maturity and restraint of the writing created one of the greatest fictional characters I’ve ever read.

Alongside Morgana, his tragic backstory of being cast aside by his own family and then enduring torment after torment really affected me. This is a man who’s been through so much – and yet he always chose the path of peace, deciding to trust his fellow man and bring good into the world.

Though he shows moments of anger or frustration, you could always tell his heart was pure. If anyone was deserving of the greatest love story ever penned in a visual novel, it was Michel.

Aaaaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: