Fire Emblem Warriors is now available for both the Nintendo Switch and the New Nintendo 3DS and I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy! I’ve played so many Fire Emblem games in my lifetime and I’m excited to play a game wherein I can fight hack and slash battles using some of my favorite characters from all of the games that I’ve played.

Except I can’t really do that, at least not for all of my favorites – understandably, Fire Emblem Warriors only has a limited roster. And because of storyline/plot reasons, most of the game’s twenty two characters (thirty one if you include the DLC packs) are from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, Fire Emblem Awakening and Fire Emblem Fates so there are a lot of popular characters that were omitted. Not all characters are from the aforementioned games though – Celica from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia and Lyn from Fire Emblem – so the game could have included other characters from other games too.

Here’s a list of five Fire Emblem characters that I think should have been in Fire Emblem Warriors, selected either because they’re very popular, they can add something to the game, or simply because the character is a favorite of mine.

Alm (Fire Emblem: Shadows of Valentia)

I know that Fire Emblem Warriors already has a lot of sword-wielding infantry-type male heroes (Marth, Chrom, Ryoma, Corrin, to name a few) but it really feels off to see a game with Celica but without her co-protagonist. His omission is also glaring given that he’s from the most recent entry in the franchise. I have yet to play Shadows of Valentia though, so I can’t say much about the character other than he belongs in any game that also has Celica. I mean, there’s even a two-pack of Alm and Celica amiibo figures that’s being sold in stores – that’s proof that Celica and Alm are meant to be together at all times.

Ephraim (Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones)

Now we have a character who can add something to Fire Emblem Warriors. One of the main protagonists of Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, Ephraim is unique in that he is the only main character that wields a lance instead of a sword. He’s also an infantry unit – most lance wielders in the world of Fire Emblem are on horseback. Fire Emblem Warriors only has one other character who is similar – Oboro, a female character who uses a naginata.

I guess one problem with including Ephraim is that fans will probably expect his sister and co-protagonist Eirika to be included and that means one more slot taken for an already crowded character type – Eirika uses a sword and the game already has Lyn and Lucina, plus all the other male sword users. Then again, if Celica made it into the game without Alm, then Ephraim could have been included without Eirika.

Kagero (Fire Emblem: Fates)

I know that the game already has ten characters – thirteen if you include DLC – from Fire Emblem Fates but that title is technically three games in one so adding another one from that trio of games shouldn’t be too bad. Especially if you’re adding a character who uses a weapon type that’s only been recently introduced to the franchise (daggers/shuriken). There are three ninja characters in Fire Emblem Fates so I’m choosing Kagero to represent their character class, simply because she’s one of my favorite female Fire Emblem characters.

Daggers/shuriken were added to Fates as a way to implement the Weapon Triangle concept on ranged weapons (daggers beat magic tomes, tomes beat bows, bows beat daggers). I’m not sure why there aren’t any dagger users in Fire Emblem Warriors; Kagero would have been a great candidate for such a character to be added in the game.

Hector (Fire Emblem)

Similar to Ephraim, Hector is a character that is quite unique – a primary character who wields an axe rather than a sword. He’s quite popular because of this and because he appeared together with Lyn in the very first Fire Emblem game that was released outside of Japan. I have to mention that he’s also one of the top tier characters in Fire Emblem Heroes on Android/iOS, so his stock is very high when it comes to the Fire Emblem fanbase.

I think his inclusion will bring about a problem similar to including Ephraim – with Hector and Lyn in Fire Emblem Warriors, fans may expect the third and final main protagonist, Eliwood, to be included as well. Maybe we can have a DLC set with both Hector and Eliwood some time in the near future?

Ike (Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn)

And finally, I get to talk about THE character that I was really expecting to be in Fire Emblem Warriors. I still can’t believe he didn’t make the cut but if there’s anyone who should be in Fire Emblem Warriors, it’s Ike. He is one of the most popular Fire Emblem characters thanks to being the main character of the two pairs of console-only Fire Emblem games that were released outside of Japan. That’s right, Ike headlined two different Fire Emblem games, something that no other Fire Emblem character can lay claim to.

Ike is also famous for his appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series and if you consider the original roster of Nintendo’s latest Smash Bros. entry, Ike is the only Fire Emblem character in Smash Bros. that didn’t make it into Fire Emblem Warriors. Within the Fire Emblem canon, Ike is the only main character who isn’t of noble birth – he’s just the son of a former knight turned mercenary, making him the most relatable character out of all the other Fire Emblem characters that I know of. I still can’t believe that Ike isn’t in Fire Emblem Warriors or in the first wave of DLCs to be honest. I’m hoping that he’ll be added to the game in the future via new DLC sets – which I’m going to gladly pay for.

And there you have it, my personal picks of characters that should have been in Fire Emblem Warriors but aren’t (yet). I’m sure every other Fire Emblem fan would have different favorites – who would you have included if you had the choice? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment or two below!