Hey! Listen!

Tiki is a mischievous fairy who finds herself imprisoned in a cage at the old temple ruins. After being rescued, she joins you during your adventures and acts as a guide. As you progress through the game, she’ll do her best to draw your attention to things that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. It’s a fitting role for Tiki, given her curious nature. After all, her curiosity is what motivated her to leave her forest home in the first place. Tiki is a heavy drinker and a bad drunk, and this is accentuated by her small stature. She’ll literally swim in goblets of wine when given the opportunity to do so. Despite her rampant alcoholism, Tiki cleans up well and is able to function at a high level. She even learns human language and gathers up enough money to hire adventurers to rescue her caged fairy sisters that are scattered throughout the land.

Tippi is a winged homunculus created by a sorceress for the purpose of watching over a man named Carmaine who was abandoned as a child and prophesied to either destroy the world or save it. Despite her youth and innocent appearance, Tippi is headstrong and outspoken. She accompanies Carmaine on his journeys and helps him solve problems, but she’s quick to anger and has no qualms in attacking him with her patented “Tippi Kicks” if he gets out of line or starts acting like a pervert. Although her violent outbursts might suggest otherwise, Tippi is kind-hearted and nurturing. Members of her species only live for a couple of years, so the fact that she spends so much of her time helping others speaks volumes. She takes her role as Caramine’s guide very seriously, so her assertive personality is appropriate.

In the world of Fairy Fencer F, fairies like Eryn reside in holy weapons that were created by the gods and scattered across the world. In addition to taking up residence in them, fairies are also able to manifest themselves out of these swords and can temporarily merge with the fencers that wield them. Eryn was accidentally released from the sword she resided in by an unassuming warrior named Fang. Her memories of the past were clouded, but this didn’t make her any less opinionated or strong-headed. Despite being an amnesiac with no frame of reference, Eryn has a pompous attitude and behaves with an air of greatness. Although her personality is similar to Fang’s, she thinks he’s an idiot and looks down on him. Eryn’s arrogant attitude and condescending tone is a perfect fit for Fang’s cynicism.

When her planet was invaded by dark forces, Ribbon fled from her home world in order to protect the great crystal that the forces were looking for. After the crystal was shattered during an ambush, Ribbon hooked up with Kirby and the two set off to find the crystal shards. Ribbon is carefree, courageous, and kind-hearted, so it was no surprise that she and Kirby quickly became the best of friends. Ribbon is a great companion for Kirby and extremely helpful to boot. She literally carries him during the game’s final boss battle, allowing him to focus his attention on other matters. Ribbon is one of the few characters in the entire Kirby series to be portrayed as a potential love interest for Kirby. After he finally gets a kiss from her during the ending of the game, Kirby is overcome with unadulterated joy to the point where he forgets how to stand.

Betilla is a benevolent and protective nymph who bestows Rayman and his friends with all sorts of incredible powers. Although her appearance has changed considerably throughout the course of the Rayman series, Betilla is always defined by her flowing red hair, a pointy hat, and her an ability to blow herself up like a balloon. She’s the oldest nymph in the Rayman universe and is also known as the Great Fairy. As though granting special powers to Rayman wasn’t enough, it’s eventually revealed that she and her sisters created Rayman in the Primordial Forest to be the protector of the world. Betilla also fights alongside him on occasion. Incidentally, the ability to hover and perform aerodynamic maneuvers makes her a force to be reckoned with in battle. Her background music from the original Rayman is all sorts of amazing.

Dragon Quest IX focuses on player-created characters and features a silent protagonist, so a character like Stella was crucial to drive the story forward. She’s an unusual choice for such a role, given her sarcastic sense of humor a propensity to curse like a flappin’ sailor. Once you look past her onslaughts of puns and botched expressions, you’ll see a character who is genuinely caring and extremely helpful. As the co-pilot of a celestial train, Stella promises to return the hero to his heavenly home. Stella also helps out by managing the battle records and providing useful tips throughout the game. She looks like she spends a little too much time in tanning salons and her Valley Girl accent can be grating at first, but Stella evolves as the story progresses and she starts to grow on you by the end of the game.

Airy is a “cryst-fairy” and a supposed tender to the world’s four elemental crystals. When the vestal of the wind became aware of an impending catastrophe, Airy helped her embark on a journey to reawaken the crystals. Airy has a tendency to act immature and childish when she doesn’t get her way, but her knowledge of the crystals is beyond compare and her guidance is invaluable. Incidentally, she only helped in awakening the crystals in order to ensure the coming of her demonic master. After her companions became aware of her true intentions, Airy let her former party members know how much she hated them before turning into a gross monster. I don’t know which was more hideous: her spiteful attitude or her monstrous form. The subtitle to Bravely Default was “Fairy Flies.” More like Airy Lies, amirte?

Mercedes was a spoiled child who lived a carefree existence as the princess of the fairy race. After the unexpected death of her mother, Mercedes was forced to grow up and was shouldered with the overwhelming responsibilities of being queen. Mercedes eventually came to terms with her new role and managed to retain a sense of nobility. Some mistook her purity for gullibility, but Mercedes developed exceptional leadership skills. The fairies rallied behind their queen, and she even befriended a totally rad talking frog. Unfortunately, not all fairy tales have happy endings. The fairies were completely destroyed by the armies of the Inferno King. Upon arriving on the scene, Mercedes entered a battle with the nigh-unstoppable annihilator. Both parties were mortally wounded in the fight, marking the end of both of their races. How sad.

Kyu is a love fairy and the star of an absurd dating puzzle RPG. As a humble servant to the great love goddess, it’s Kyu’s duty to spread love throughout the world. She does this by taking poor saps under her wings and helping them get laid. She scouts dating locations, assesses personalities, and makes herself invisible to others in order to provide ongoing advice from the sidelines. Love and sexuality are ways of life for her people, so it’s not surprising that Kyu’s mind is always focused on one thing. She likes wearing lingerie, she watches porn, and she proudly describes herself as a slut. Her actions are not unusual for a love fairy, but she’s a total nympho by human standards. She even offers herself as a potential partner and happily admits to sleeping with all of her past clients. If nothing else, you really have to admire her work ethic.

Tingle is a 35-year-old man who dresses up in a tight, green leotard and claims to be the reincarnation of a fairy. His bizarre behavior, unique speech patterns, and eccentric personality have made him one of the most iconic characters in the Zelda series. His affinity for fairies stems from a romantic attraction he had to a fairy princess name Pinkle. Tingle spends most of his time selling enchanted maps and floating around with the aid of a balloon. His ultimate goal is to save enough money to embark on a journey to find other fairies. Some might question if Tingle really belongs on this list, and his own father even views him as a fool. Ultimately, if Tingle identifies as a fairy, then it’s not my business to say otherwise. Navi from Ocarina of Time might have been a more obvious choice for this list, but Tingle is the definitive fairy of the Zelda universe.