Characters introduced in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragons and the Blade of Light and Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Main and Playable Characters
Prince Marth of Altea (Mars)
The prince and heir of the kingdom of Altea, and the hero of most of the Akaneia games. Exiled to Talys in the beginning of the War of Shadows after his father was betrayed by former ally Gra, Marth united the forces of Altea, Aurelis and Akaneia to rise up against Dolhr and kill the revived Medeus. Three years later, he clashed head-on with the mad Emperor Hardin of Akaneia in the War of Heroes In time, Akaneia would come to be united under his rule as the War of Heroes took its toll on the rulers of other nations, and he would go down in history as the legendary Star Lord and Hero King; thousands of years later, his descendants are the royal family of Iris, including Krom, Emelina, Liz and Lucina.
Class: Lord (most appearances), Star Lord (Awakening DLC and Spot Pass)
Incorruptible Pure Pureness: In the original and Monshou no Nazo.Shadow Dragon changes this - it shows that the betrayal of Gra and the loss of his family and kingdom have, in fact, not been at all healthy for him psychologically.
Marth Debuted in Smash Bros.: The Trope Namer and current world record holder (nineteen years from FE1 to the international release of Shadow Dragon; seven years from international debut in Melee to international release of Shadow Dragon).
The Messiah: Is seen as this by pretty much everyone.
No Pronunciation Guide: A strange case - the English dub of the OVA translated his name as "Mars", traditionally pronounced "marz", but still pronounced it closer to "Marce" (which, if you ignore "Marth" for a moment, is actually pretty kana-accurate).
Pants Free: On the cover and in the gameplay of Dark Dragon and the Sword of Light Marth wore a toga-esque uniform with exposed legs. This has been subject to much Memetic Mutation. Curiously, Mystery Of the Emblem's' cover and artwork show Marth wearing a different uniform with pants but in gameplay Marth wears his old pantsless garb.
His book 1 portrait◊ on the SNES seems to be the toga and his book 2 portrait◊ is his modern uniform. It's likely Marth was originally intended to change clothes between books.
The Red Baron: Many: "Prince of Light", "Hero King", "Star Lord/Star and Savior"...
A knight of Altea. During Marth's escape, Frey volunteered himself as a decoy to lure the invading Gra/Grust army away from Marth and was seemingly killed. In New Mystery of the Emblem, it was revealed that he was left for dead by the invading army and, after recovering from amnesia, reunites with Marth after the War of Darkness.
A knight of Altea and close friend of Cain, known as the Black Panther. He was one of the retinue of Altean knights who aided Marth in escaping Altea and accompanied him in his Talys exile. He fell in love with Est after the War of Darkness, and retired early from the army to run a shop with Est. Unfortunately, Abel was later forced to fight against his prince and country in the second war, although he can be persuaded to rejoin again after speaking to either Marth or Est.
Fountain of Expies: With Cain, he started the archetype of a green cavalier partnered with a green cavalier with whom they have a Red Oni, Blue Oni dynamic, with the green one specializing in Skill and Speed.
A knight of Altea and close friend of Abel, known as the Great Bull. At the onset of the War of Shadows, he fought in the battle at Gra in which King Cornelius was killed, and was sent back to bring Marth the king's last words; he then accompanied the prince in his exile to Talys.
Fountain of Expies: With Abel, he started the archetype of a red cavalier partnered with a green cavalier with whom they have a Red Oni, Blue Oni dynamic, with the red one specializing in HP and Strength.
Name's the Same: With Kain before Shadow Dragon came stateside. Incidentally, Kain is the Abel archetype of Thracia 776, even though his name seems to suggest he is Cain archetype instead.
A veteran knight of Altea. He acts as Marth's guardian and is one of the people Marth turns to for guidance. After the War of Shadows, he retired from active service as a knight and instead took up the position of Marth's advisor.
Ascended Extra: In FE1/FE11 he was just a character who had a few lines (though the same goes for most characters in those games). In FE3/FE12, he's now an important NPC and Marth's tactician.
Badass Grandpa: Moreso in story than ingame, though he can have his uses early on.
Crutch Character: He was formerly the trope namer for this, and among the fandom continues to name, define and exemplify it as an archetype. A villager in Shadow Dragon lampshades it.
Demoted to Extra: Though he played a much more prominent role in the sequel's story as Marth's advisor, he's still one of a handful of characters from Dark Dragon/Shadow Dragon to not be playable at all in New Mystery. Oddly, he still wears full armour as if he would be.
Spell My Name with an S: His name was widely translated as Jeigan before the game officially made it out of Japan. This has led to an interesting quirk in the fandom - calling Jagen himself by the name Jagen is now near-universal, but the archetype he started is still generally called "Jeigan".
Spikes of Heroism: Seriously, you could kill several men at once on those shoulderspikes.
The Strategist: In Book 2, which he actually does very well at.
24-Hour Armor: For some reason, he still wears his full battle armour while serving as Marth's tactician, despite being unable to fight himself.
Gordin (Gohdon, Gorden)
An archer in the service of Altea and a friend of Draug's. During Marth's escape at the onset of the War of Shadows, he was captured by the enemy and disguised as one of their soldiers as a trap, but is saved by Marth and accompanies him in his exile to Talys. After the war, he moves to Akaneia to train under Jeorge, and later serves as an inspiration to his younger brother Raian.
Spell My Name with an S: The only thing anyone seems to agree on is to not spell his name the actual way: Gordon.
Draug (Dohga)
Draug is an armoured knight in the service of Altea. At the onset of the War of Shadows, he prepares a ship to allow Marth and his cohort to escape Altea, and is shown to be friendly towards the new recruit Norne.
Mighty Glacier: The first playable armour knight in the series.
Sdrawkcab Name: Guard spelled backwards. His parents must have known he would become an armour knight.
Fridge Brilliance: Apparently, his Japanese name "Dohga" is "guard" spelled backwards, so it turns out the same meaning made it through the translation. Similarly, in French, he was called "Edgar", an anagram of "garde".
Norne (Norn)
A volunteer soldier who joins Marth as he is fleeing Altea. She appears to befriend Draug and Gordin and is an old childhood friend of Chris.
Caeda is the pure-hearted princess of Talys, trained as a pegasus knight. She is a childhood friend of Marth, the two having grown up together. She joins Marth in his quest, staying by his side most of the time and is also responsible for recruiting various people, including Castor, Nabarl, Roger, Jake, and Lorenz. After the War of Shadows, she becomes Marth's fiancée, but the two don't get around to marrying until after the War of Heroes.
Crutch Weapon: The remake gives Caeda the Wing Spear, an expy of Marth's Rapier, to compensate for her rather weak start and her newfound inability (thanks to the introduction of weapon ranks) to grab Jagen's silver lance as compensation.
Femme Fatale: While generally an overall nice girl, there is a reason why she is required to recruit almost all of the units that start out as enemies, despite having absolutely no past connection with them and relying solely on her "feminine wiles." This is especially apparent in her recruit conversation with Roger; poor guy betrayed his country because he was led on to think he actually had a chance.
Spell My Name with an S: One of the worst cases, given she was stuck with multiple English-language name changes. Sheeda, Shiida, Caeda, Sheyda, or even Sheda have all seen use at some point or another.
The Messiah: She's capable of recruiting a large number of characters because of this.
Tsundere: The OVA interprets her as this with Marth.
Put on a Bus: Didn't appear in the second book of Mystery of the Emblem. This was remedied in Heroes of Light and Shadow.
Running Gag: New Mystery made one of his rather abrupt recruitment in Shadow Dragon. Specifically, he introduces himself with the exact same line.
What Could Have Been: He along with Roger, Beck, Darros, Jake, and to a lesser extent Gotoh were meant to return as playable characters in the SNES remake but were scrapped during development.
Ogma is a hard-edged mercenary who leads the mercenary trio Barst, Bord and Cord. He was a gladiator at first and was drafted to the Talysian army when Caeda stopped several people from punishing him after he aided in Samto's escape. Ogma then dedicated his life to being the princess's bodyguard and was eventually handpicked as the guard of both her and Marth during the latter's quest.
Fountain of Expies: The model for the "Ogma archetype", the bulkier, strength-oriented swordfighter build received early in the game with the potential to become one of the player's better units.
Gladiator Games: His former occupation before Caeda found him, and the basis of his fighting style.
Barst is one of the three axe fighters in the Talys mercenary group. Like the two of his fellow axe-wielding mercenaries, Bord and Cord, he is under the command of Ogma.
Heroic Neutral: In New Mystery of the Emblem. After the War of Darkness, he retired from being a mercenary and just wished to live peacefully as a lumberjack. During the War of Heroes, one of his fellow mercenaries (either Ogma, Cord, or Bord) convince him to fight alongside Marth once again.
Jack-of-All-Stats: Could be considered the axe wielding counterpart to Ogma, and has the most balanced growths and starting stats compared to Bord and Cord.
Art Evolution: He was slowly visually differentiated from Bord as more Akaneia games were released.
Put on a Bus: Didn't appear in the second book of Mystery of the Emblem. This was remedied in Heroes of Light and Shadow.
You All Look Familiar: Lampshaded in New Mystery. If you recruit Barst with Cord, the former mistakes him for Bord at first.
Castor (Kashim)
Castor is a hunter from Talys who was forced to leave his home and work with bandits and pirates to pay for the money needed to tend to both his sickly mother and many siblings. During the War of Shadows, Caeda convinces him to join Marth's army and promises to pay for his mother's medicine. By the time of Mystery of the Emblem, however, Castor has become a swindler, playing up his pitiful act and his mother's illness to gain more money.
All There in the Manual: The developer's notes revealed that after the War of Shadows, Castor returned home only to find that one of his younger sisters sold herself into slavery to pay for the family's needs, and thus Castor tracked her down to Port Warren, where he found her left dead in a back ally. After this, Castor vowed to make enough money to sure this never would happen to his siblings again, leading him to become the swindler he is during Mystery of the Emblem.
Pirate: A Type 2 that wanted to escape the Type 1 lifestyle.
Put on a Bus: Didn't appear in the second book of Mystery of the Emblem. This was remedied in Heroes of Light and Shadow.
What Could Have Been: He along with Wrys, Jake, Roger, Beck, and to a lesser extent Gotoh were meant to return as playable characters in the SNES remake but were scrapped during development.
Julian
A thief who was part of the Soothsires, but betrayed them to save Lena, and joins Marth's army alongside her. In Mystery of the Emblem, he and Lena are living together, but he is forced back into the fight after she is kidnapped.
A noblewoman and cleric from Medon who was raised in Grust and is an acquaintance of Camus. Originally chosen to wed Prince Michalis of Medon, she ran away from Medon and was eventually captured by the Soothsires. However, one of the Soothsires, Julian, freed her, and together they joined Marth's army. In Mystery of the Emblem, she starts an orphanage in Medon with Julian and her new apprentice Malliesia, but is kidnapped by Gharnef.....
A stoic swordfighter known as the Crimson Fencer who is often found fighting alongside bandits. He seems to hold himself to a moral code of never harming women or children. In Mystery of the Emblem, he appears protecting the dancer Feena. He appears to know Ogma, but how they met is currently unknown.
Blood Knight: Though My Unit in New Mystery believes he is a decent man deep down.
Fountain of Expies: An odd example: he was the progenitor of the archetype's trademark Fragile Speedster build and general circumstances of recruitment, and it's named for him, but depending on who you ask, either Ira or Rutger*
this is debatable in that the Swordfighters of Jugdral are a "middle ground" between the modern Mercenary and Myrmidon, with the player's available ones representing both sides of the coin; the class's outright distinct debut was in Sword of Seals
are the ones who implemented the archetype's associated class: the Myrmidon, which Nabarl himself later became in the remakes.
An Altean nobleman and childhood friend of Marth and Elice. He has spent years in Khadein training in magic under Wendell, and is the current holder of the Excalibur spell. In Mystery of the Emblem, he is cornered by his rival Ellerean, but is saved by Marth and Wendell.
Lena's brother, a lowly soldier of Medon forced to fight against Marth's army under penalty of death if he refuses. In Mystery of the Emblem, he pretty much serves the same role, only now as a soldier of the Medon rebel army.
Class: Cavalier
Artificial Stupidity: Is well known for being able to kill his beloved sister Lena as an enemy.
Fan Nickname: Fans label any other character who does something like this as having "Matthis Syndrome".
Identical Stranger: To Vyland in Dark Dragon, with the similarities also extending to gameplay; this was rectified in later appearances of the two.
Prince Hardin of Aurelis
The younger brother of the King of Aurelis, and leader of its resistance against Dolhr. Hardin is in love with Princess Nyna of Akaneia, but seems to be unaware of her feelings for Camus. After joining with Marth's army, Hardin quickly befriends the young lord.
Hardin's right hand man, and is fiercely loyal to him. After the war, Wolf becomes the captain of the newly formed Wolfguard and continues to serve Hardin even after his fall into madness.
Class: Horseman
Bishōnen: In general, but taken Up to Eleven with his BS Fire Emblem and DS remake designs.
Dude Looks Like a Lady: A little bit, but his access to male-only classes makes his gender obvious.
Crutch Character: Played straight with him and Sedgar in the original and Mystery, but averted in Shadow Dragon. They look like classic Crutch Characters, and even completely worthless if you look at their stats... however, they compensate for having much less levels by having some amazing stat growths, making both Wolf and Sedgar very viable late-game.
A Knight of Aurelis and the right hand man to Wolf. After the war, he joins the newly-formed Wolfguard, and after the events of Mystery of the Emblem, succeeds Wolf as leader.
Crutch Character: Played straight with him and Wolf in the original and Mystery, but averted in Shadow Dragon. They look like classic Crutch Characters, and even completely worthless if you look at their stats... however, they compensate for having much less levels by having some amazing stat growths, making both Wolf and Sedgar very viable late-game.
A Knight of Aurelis under Hardin. After the war, he joins the Wolfguard, but spends some time in Altea first. In Mystery of the Emblem, he is the first (and in the original, only) of the Wolfguard to defect and join Marth's army.
Crutch Character: Can be considered the magical version of the Jeigan archetype.
Fan Nick Name: Either "Windell" or "The Pope", the 2nd one for obvious reasons if you look at his portrait.
Gameplay and Story Segregation: Apparently, he has no love for war, but for some reason in FE 11 he will attack you by default until you talk to him with Marth or Merric. This was changed in FE 3 book 1, where he was found in a prison cell. In FE 1, he would go up to Marth and talk with him.
Martial Pacifist: Does not like war, as stated above. However, he will fight if he has to.
A woman who was saved from drowning by a group of Akaneian villagers. In order to repay their kindness, she vows to save the village's children from the pirates in the area. After working with Marth to defeat the pirates, she insists that he let her in his army. In New Mystery, she can appear in the prologue helping to train the new recruits, and later appears after being ambushed by Kleine.
Class: Myrmidon
Cutting Off The Branches: Athena likely didn't appear in the prologue otherwise she would have likely recongized Katarina from the DLC episodes.
Horrible Judge of Character: In one of New Mystery's DLC chapters, she happily helps Eremiya and her assassins, assuming that their reasons for rescuing the children from the Soothsires are as virtuous as hers.
The One Guy: Meta-example. He is the only recruitable male Manakete in the series.
Palette Swap: Of Gharnef of all people in the Famicom verison.
Caesar (Seazer)
A mercenary from Port Warren who joins Marth's army alongside Radd. He reappears in New Mystery, being forced to fight against Marth due to his sister being held hostage by the enemy.
Put on a Bus: Didn't appear in the second book of Mystery of the Emblem. This was remedied in Heroes of Light and Shadow.
Radd (Radei, Raddy)
A swordfighter from Port Warren who joins Marth's army alongside Caesar. After the war, he laid down his sword for a woman, implied in New Mystery to be Caesar's sister. Like Caesar, Radd is forced to fight against Marth after she is taken hostage.
A Akaneian nobleman and one of the finest archers in the land. He joins Marth's army after hearing of his alliance with Princess Nyna and later becomes a mentor to the Altean archer Gordin.
Spell My Name with an S: Like Gordin, it seems no-one's interested in Romanizing his name the logical way: George.
Princess Maria of Medon
The youngest princess of Medon, who was taken hostage at a young age by her own brother in order to get her sister Minerva to fight. She is later rescued by Marth, allowing Minerva and her Whitewings to safely defect from Medon. Mystery of the Emblem reveals that after Michalis was defeated by Minerva, Maria prayed for him and restored him back to life. In response, when she is captured by Gharnef, Michalis risked (and depending on the version, gave) his life to save her.
Distressed Damsel: Discussed between her and Minerva. Maria insists that she not be seen as a helpless damsel and tells Minerva that she wishes to fight alongside Marth's army. This trope gets played straight, however, in Mystery of the Emblem and its remake, where she and other girls (Elice, Lena, and Nyna) are captured and then Brainwashed and Crazy..
The elder princess of Medon and leader of the Whitewings. Reluctant to fight with Doluna, Minerva is forced to do so after her sister Maria is taken hostage. Minerva later sends Catria to Marth in order to persuade him to free Maria and later defects after learning of Maria's safety. According to Mystery of the Emblem, she is the one who fights against and defeats Michalis later in the war. During the events of Mystery itself, Minerva is crowned queen of Medon, but is overthrown by a group of knights led by Rucke, but is saved by Michalis and later reunites with Marth.
A noblewoman of Khadein and the daughter of Miloah, capable of using his Aura spell. After her father was killed by Gharnef, she disgused herself as a boy and escaped, but was later captured by slave traders. After being saved by Marth, she joins his army. After the war, she is made a noble of Akaneia by Nyna (who also takes her in as an apprentice), and is later entrusted to get the Fire Emblem to Marth during the events of Mystery of the Emblem.
Class: Mage
All Love Is Unrequited: Implied with Merric. He's not mentioned by name as her crush, though,
A Ballistician from Grust who is in love with Anna. He and Anna would later travel to distant lands like Jugdral and Elibe. In New Mystery, he replaces a lone enemy Berserker.
A Knight of Akaneia and the lover of Astram. She is taken prisoner by Dolhr in Akaneia castle, but is later saved by Marth. In Mystery of the Emblem, she tried to rebel against the corrupted Hardin, but is again captured and rejoins once she's freed.
Class: Paladin
Voiced by: ?? (Japanese, BS Fire Emblem)
Faux Action Girl: Got captured in the same place twice, though to be fair this IS Hardin we're talking of.
Lady of War: In the main games, at least character wise. However, in BS Fire Emblem, she acts much more crude.
Plucky Girl: During the fall of Pales, when the group was all but defeated, she attempted to strike down Camus. Just to be clear: after being defeated, she tried to kill Camus. Say what you will, but gal's got quite the guts.
A Knight of Akaneia who was imprisoned alongside Midia, Boah, Tomas, and his lookalike Macellan. After the war, he leaves the Akaneian Army as a rejection of Hardin becoming King. During the War of Heroes, he travelled to Altea to assist Marth in reclaiming the castle.
Put on a Bus: Didn't appear in the second book of Mystery of the Emblem. This was remedied in Heroes of Light and Shadow.
Macellan (Mishelan)
A Knight of Akaneia who was imprisoned alongside Midia, Boah, Tomas, and his lookalike Dolph. After the war, he forms a band of watchmen near the border. During the War of Heroes, he travelled to Altea to assist Marth in reclaiming the castle.
Put on a Bus: Didn't appear in the second book of Mystery of the Emblem. This was remedied in Heroes of Light and Shadow.
Tomas (Thormas)
A knight of Akaneia who was imprisoned alongside Midia, Boah, Dolph, and his lookalike Macellan. After the war, he leaves the Akaneian Army, but comes to Marth's assistance in Gra during the War of Heroes. He uses a bow.
Put on a Bus: Didn't appear in the second book of Mystery of the Emblem. This was remedied in Heroes of Light and Shadow.
Boah (Boha)
The Advisor to the Akaneian royal family, who was taken prisoner alongside the Akaneian Knights. In Mystery of the Emblem, he pressures Nyna into marrying Hardin, and is later killed defending Nyna from Hardin.
The Consigliere: To Nyna. But had he not told her to marry Hardin for the sake of Akaneia...
Demoted to Extra: Though he still played a role in the game's story, he's one of a handful of characters from Dark Dragon/Shadow Dragon to not be playable in the main story of New Mystery; he's still playable in one of the BS Fire Emblem chapters, though.
A Knight of Akaneia forced to fight for Doluna after the people of Akaneia were taken hostage. He is ultimately spared by Marth's army and pardoned by Nyna, to whom he swears devotion towards. He later appears in New Mystery fighting off Roro and his clones.
Heel Face Turn: Sort of. He fought Marth's army at Castle Deil and after his defeat, decided to join him during the battle with Grust's Wooden Cavalry.
Put on a Bus: Didn't appear in the second book of Mystery of the Emblem. This was remedied in Heroes of Light and Shadow.
What Could Have Been: He along with Jake, Darros, Wrys, Roger, and to a lesser extent Gotoh were meant to return as playable characters in the SNES remake but were scrapped during development.
Astram (Astria)
A Akaneian mercenary and Midia's lover. Originally hired to fight for Doluna, he is convinced to defect by his girlfriend. In Mystery of the Emblem, he serves as one of Hardin's generals and wields the Mercurius, but is later convinced to defect by Jeorge.
Palla is the oldest of the three Whitewing sisters, and is Minerva's second in command. Originally forced to fight for Doluna, Palla and her sisters are later able to defect after Maria was resuced. During the war, she develops a crush on Abel. After the war, she and Catria are forced to travel to the foreign continent of Barencia in order to save Est, getting involved with the war there and serving under Cellica. In Mystery of the Emblem, she joins Marth's army after Minerva is overthrown in Rucke's rebellion, and vows to help Julian and Minerva save Lena and Maria.
All Loveis Unrequited: Has a crush on Abel. Doesn't get anywhere, since he marries her little sister Est.
Ascended Extra: She is one of four characters to appear in all six of the Archanea/Barensia games, and the only time she's not playable is in BS Fire Emblem.
Disk One Nuke: In Mystery, she is your second character (the first being Arran) who can use the Silver Spear.
Fountain of Expies: She, Catria, and Est are the progenitors of the archetype of the Pegasus Knight trio who, when together, can initiate a Triangle Attack.
Catria is the middle child of the three Whitewing sisters. Like her sisters, she was forced to fight for Doluna prior to Maria's rescue, and later join's Marth's army. During the war, she appears to develop a crush on Marth. After the war, she and Palla travelled to the foreign continent of Barencia in order to save Est, getting involved with the war there and serving under Cellica. During the events of Mystery of the Emblem, she joins with Marth's army after rebellion breaks out in Medon.
Ascended Extra: In a way - in a game duology where precious few characters have (released) official artwork of them to the point where the final boss doesn't, she for some reason had a downloadable wallpaper all to herself from the Japanese New Mystery of the Emblem website.
Not to mention, she's one of the only characters to be playable in all six Archanea/Valencia Fire Emblem titles, if one counts the four BS Fire Emblem chapters as one game. Being that she's also available by way of SpotPass in Fire Emblem Awakening and Est isn't, she is playable in seven games, more than any other character!
Fountain of Expies: She, Catria, and Est are the progenitors of the archetype of the Pegasus Knight trio who, when together, can initiate a Triangle Attack.
A knight living in an Altean village which is opposed to Samson's village. It is revealed in New Mystery that he once served under a different kingdom, but became disillusioned when he was ordered to put down a peasant rebellion caused by a bad winter's harvest. He left his lord and wandered the land looking for the true meaning of Knighthood, eventually settling in the Altean army. During Mystery of the Emblem, he falls ill, but continues to fight in order to maintain his honor as a knight.
Determinator: Continues to fight on despite being deathly ill.
Fountain of Expies: He and Samson started the archtype of having the choose one character and overlooking the other in a playthrough.
My Greatest Failure: Supports in New Mystery reveal that he once slaughtered a band of hunger-striking peasants under orders from his lord. That decision weighs very heavily on him, causing him to wander the earth reflecting on what being a knight truly means.
Name's the Same: With two characters, no less, depending how you Romanise his name - with either Alan of Sword of Seals, or with Aran of Radiant Dawn.
An Altean mercenary living in a village that is opposed to Arran's village. After the events of Shadow Dragon, he was hired by Princess Sheema of Gra as a bodyguard and eventually fell in love with her.
Cutting Off The Branches: His willingness to attack Marth's army in the sequel, coupled with Arran being with said army, seem to indicate that he was passed up in Shadow Dragon.
Fountain of Expies: He and Arran started the archtype of having the choose one character and overlooking the other in a playthrough.
A mysterious youth with the ability to transform and take the appearance of anyone he pleases. He joins Marth after being saved from the Doluna army, although it is implied he was actually sent by Gotoh to keep an eye on Marth and later Tiki. He is one of the few surviving Divine Dragons, who lost the ability to take dragon form following the battle with the Earth Dragons centuries ago. Unlike Gotoh, Xane grew to hate humanity due to how they were treating dragonkind, to the point that he sympathized with the dragons who formed the Doluna Empire. Despite this, he continues to serve Gotoh loyally, and seems to have taken a liking to Marth.
A sorcerer from Akaneia who lost his wife Ursula during the war with Doluna, and is forced to fight for them in exchange for her ring. After the ring is recieved, he happliy joins Marth's army. After the war, he travelled the world and appears to have settled in Khadein by the time of New Mystery of the Emblem.
The youngest of the Whitewing siblings. Like her sisters, she was forced to fight for Dolhr due to Maria being captive. After Maria was saved, Est manages to steal the legendary sword Mercurius from Dolhr and joins Marth's army. After the war, she is captured by pirates and ends up getting involved with a whole other war in Barensia, serving under Cellica with her sisters. In Mystery of the Emblem, she weds Abel, only for her to be taken hostage by Akaneia in order to get Abel to fight Marth.
Class: Pegasus Knight
Ascended Extra: She's one of the only two characters to be playable in all six Archanea/Valencia Fire Emblem titles, if one counts the four BS Fire Emblem chapters as one game; the other is Catria.
Fountain of Expies: She, Catria, and Est are the progenitors of the archetype of the Pegasus Knight trio who, when together, can initiate a Triangle Attack. Additionally, Est alone is the progenitor of the "Est Archetype" - a unit, often young and/or female, who joins the player at a very low level late in the game, but has fantastic growths and is capable of becoming an excellent unit if the player takes the time to do so.
A Divine Dragon girl who traveled the world with her "uncle" Bantu, but was captured and brainwashed by Gharnef. After being freed from the spell by Bantu, Tiki joins the Altean army and takes a liking to Marth. She is the daughter of Naga, the God-king of the Divine Dragons, who gave his life to seal her away due to her massive power. Eventually, Bantu took pity on her, and unsealed her and raised her. During the events of Mystery, she is put back to sleep by Gotoh, who is afraid she might go feral, but is allowed to be reawakened after Marth restores the Starsphere and claims the Lifesphere and Geosphere.
A respected general of Grust and a close friend of King Mostyn of Talys. Unlike Camus, Lorenz opposed Grust fighting alongside Dolhr, but complied due to his loyalty. When Marth's army does battle with him and Camus, Mostyn's daughter Caeda convinces him to fight alongside them. After the war, he is made regent to Prince Yubello and Princess Yumina; however, in Mystery of the Emblem, he is betrayed by Akaneia and starts a rebellion in order to protect the royal siblings from Lang. However, by the time Marth reaches him, he is too wounded to carry on and dies after entrusting Marth with the fate of the children.
Fountain of Expies: All generals loyal enough to serve his or her kingdom to the end, but end up being persuaded nonetheless, can be traced back to Lorenz.
A large man from Grust who is treated as a monster due to his size. Ymir eventually found a village who accepted him for who he is, but the villagers came under attack by the army of Grust. Ymir fights to protect the villagers, but is later convinced by Marth that they should work together.
Marth's older sister and the princess of Altea. When Doluna first invaded, Elice stayed behind so that Marth and his allies could escape. She survives, but is captured by Gharnef so that he could use her to use the Aum Staff. After Gharnef's defeat, Elice reunites with Marth and aides him with the power of the Aum. In Mystery of the Emblem, she is captured by Akaneia after they invade Altea to be used as a sacrifice for Medeus's resurrection alongside Lena, Maria, and Nyna, but is ultimately saved from Medeus by Merric.
Chronic Hero Syndrome: The reason she's the Distressed Damsel twice to begin with - she stays behind to buy Marth, and later Caeda, time to flee Altea, letting herself be captured by Gharnef.
A mysterious woman with amnesia who resembles Tiki, she's found sleeping in a coffin atop a tower in another dimension. She is awakened by Marth, who was sent there by Gotoh to make up for a lost Falchion and a dead Tiki, and gives a weaker version of the Falchion. She later joins his army in the final battle against Medeus, insisting that she has something she needs to finish. She disappears shortly after the war ends, only to reappear in New Mystery when Medeus threatens to revive again.
Class: Manakete
Cutting Off The Branches: When she appears in New Mystery, Marth doesn't recognise her, implying her recruitment in Shadow Dragon was non-canon.
Eleventh Hour Ranger: An alternative to Gotoh in Shadow Dragon, and the only one in New Mystery.
Reincarnation: Implied to be Naga, Tiki's parent and former leader of the Divine Dragons.
Gotoh (Gato)
A legendary magic user known as the White Sage, he was the founder of Khadein and the master of Gharnef and Linde's father Miloah. He became disillusioned with humanity after Gharnef betrayed him and killed Miloah. He eventually becomes a guide to Marth, whose actions restore his faith. He creates Starlight from the Starsphere and Lightsphere in order to defeat Gharnef and personally joins Marth's army in the final battle against Medeus.Gotoh is one of the surviving Divine Dragons, who lost the ability to take dragon form after the battle with the Earth Dragons centuries ago. Following Naga's dying wish, Gotoh watched over humanity during this time. During the events of Mystery, Gotoh orders Marth to recover the five spheres and reveals to him the truth about the Falchion and the Fire Emblem, originally known as the Shield of Seals.
Eleventh Hour Ranger: In the original game and Shadow Dragon, but not in Book 1 of Mystery.
What Could Have Been: He along with Jake, Darros, Wrys, Roger, and Beck were meant to return as playable characters in the SNES remake but the others were scrapped during development while Gotoh was reduced to an NPC in both books.
Marth's elderly tactician and advisor. Malledus was also the former confidant to Marth's late father, King Cornelius. During the game, he explains to Marth the events of the war where Marth's ancestor, Anri, fought Medeus.
Fountain of Expies: After FE 1 there's always been a tactician/advisor/strategist in the army or kingdom that gives advice to the main character. Only recently did they double as playable characters.
Put on a Bus: Is not seen at all in book II of Mystery of the Emblem due to being ill.
The Princess of Akaneia and last living member of the Akaneia royal family. Spared and protected from Doluna by Camus, Nyna fell in love with him and eventually convinced him to help her escape. Afterwards, she joined with Hardin and later Marth and guided them throughout the war.After the War of Shadows and upon succeeding the throne of Akaneia, she is pressured into marrying Hardin by Boah despite still loving Camus: Hardin's conflict over this indirectly led to his corruption by the Darksphere. Before she was captured by Gharnef, Nyna managed to send her apprentice Linde and the Fire Emblem to Marth and sent a letter to Hardin's brother detailing his "illness". She and three other girls are used as Barrier Maidens for Medeus, but Nyna is ultimately saved by the masked knight Sirius.
Love Triangle: The one between her, Hardin, and Camus is key to both games.
The Woman Wearing The Queenly Mask: Does everything she can for Akaneia, sacrificing her own happiness in the process. It horribly backfires, though.
King Mostyn of Talys
Mostyn is the first King of Talys, who united the island tribes. He is the father of Caeda and is friends with Lorenz of Grust. He hid Marth in Talys after his flight from Altea, and was rescued by him when pirates under Gazzak attacked the castle.
Voiced by: ?? (Japanese, OVA), Phil Ross (English, OVA)
No Name Given: He is just referred to as the King of Talys ingame; only developer notes confirm his name as Mostyn.
The older brother of Hardin, who has entrusted his younger brother with defending the nation due to his poor health. During Mystery of the Emblem, at first he trusted and supported Hardin until he received a letter from Nyna describing Hardin's condition. Afterwards, he personally traveled to the front lines to stop the Wolfguard from fighting with Altea.
The corrupted King of Gra who sided with Dolhr out of fear, then betrayed and personally invaded former closest-ally Altea. He is eventually killed by Marth's army. After the war, his daughter Sheema was instated as ruler.
The King of Medon. He killed his own father to gain the throne, due to continuing tension between them and a rumor spreaded by Gharnef that he was planning to choose Minerva over him. Michalis immedeately makes his little sister Maria a hostage so that Minerva would fight for him. Although he serves Dolhr, he secretly planned to betray them alongside Camus, but the plan never came to fruition and eventually Michalis was struck down by Minerva.In Mystery of the Emblem, it is revealed that he survived the battle, badly wounded, living only because Maria constantly prayed for him. After Maria was kidnapped by Gharnef, Michalis attempted to rescue her by aiding Minerva and stealing the Starlight tome from Gharnef, but was wounded in the process. In the original Mystery, he dies from his wounds after passing Starlight to Marth, but in New Mystery, it is possible for him to survive and join Marth's army.
Anticlimax Boss: Despite having an Iote Shield, he is disappointingly easy for a late-game boss. The Iote Shield is probably there just to prevent him from becoming a Zero-Effort Boss.
Beauty Equals Goodness: Bishōnen Michalis not only gets to come back from death twice, but also lose all his scars, become a king, then leave the continent and become the king of another continent! And this is after he killed his own father, was a Bad Boss to his soldiers, and an overall tyrant.
The weak king of Grust who sided with Dolhr out of fear. He is never directly seen and seems to have died by the time of Mystery of the Emblem. His children are the twins Yubello and Yumina, who become party members in Mystery of the Emblem after lots of misadventures.
The leader of Grust's Sable Knights, said to be the most able man alive. During the war, he fell in love with Nyna and helped her escape from Dolhr's grasp, at the cost of his own rank and freedom. Despite having to fight against his beloved Nyna and her allies, Camus served Grust loyally and to the end and was seemingly killed by Marth's army....
Blade on a Stick / Infinity+1 Sword: He was given the stolen Gradivus, one of Akaneia's Regalia, to wield following the conquering of Akaneia. He isn't kidding when he says he's all but invincible with it - it can be used to fully replenish one's HP. Best of luck killing him.
In FE 3, he got the boss portrait used for most bosses in the NES game. It was also used for Toras in Book 2.
Kannival
The boss of Chapter 8. He is an armoured knight guarding the eastern castle of Port Warren and is caught off guard as the Akaneian league tries to capture the castle.
Class: Knight
Anticlimax Boss: He has no ranged weapon, so you can take your time blasting him away with magic.
Punch Clock Villain: You can't help but pity him, he just happens to be guarding that castle at the wrong time.
Genre Savvy: Is aware that he'll probably die as soon as the player fights him.
Gonk: In FE 3 book 1, less so in Shadow Dragon. He still has a creepy look on his face though.
The boss of chapter 13. He is the leader of the feared Wooden Cavalry, an artillery regiment of Grust that launches powerful missiles from afar to destroy their enemies, but can't attack close which what kills him in the end.
Punch Clock Villain: He was one of Camus's Sable Knights, so he probably wasn't that bad a guy.
Larissa
The boss of chapter 20X. He is a General who, in an attempt to stay alive orders his men to take all of the residents of a nearby village hostage to keep Marth from striking.
Class: General
Anticlimax Boss: Is disappointingly easy for this late in the game.
An Earth Dragon and, if not the cause of it all, the primary foe and biggest threat of the game. He was once a prince of the Earth Dragon royal family, but when the dragons were forced to take Manakete form, he was the only Earth Dragon who complied and thus did not go wild. After the other Earth Dragons were sealed by Naga, Medeus was tasked with guarding the seal. Over time, he became furious on how humans looked down upon his race, so he formed up the Dolhr Empire and enslaved humanity. He was eventually killed by the hero Anri, and his kingdom was destroyed. Centuries later, the dark priest Gharnef brought his forces back and worked to resurrect him. Medeus was revived, but not completely, as he could not leave Dolhr Keep.
Back from the Dead: Twice, both times revived by Gharnef - once before the beginning of Shadow Dragon, sparking the War of Shadows, and again near the end of the War of Heroes in Mystery. As he dies for the second time, he swears that he can be revived again.
Non-indicative Name: Sort of an in-universe example - everyone calls him the "Shadow Dragon", but he's an Earth Dragon and he doesn't appear to be in possession of any sort of dark-based power which would give rise a name like "Shadow Dragon". That said, come Mystery, he does indeed become a full-fledged dark dragon.
Medeus On His Throne: This one's actually justified. As stated above, he has to stay within the walls of Dolhr Keep until his resurrection is complete; if he left it, he might be powerless.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Given that he started several wars against humanity because of how they treated the Manaketes...
Our Dragons Are Different: Moreso than the other Manakete characters, being an Earth Dragon and all.
Gharnef (Garnef)
Gharnef was a former pupil of Gotoh, but due to his lack of a caring heart, he was passed up for inheriting the Aura spell in favor of Miloah. Enraged by this, Gharnef stole the Darksphere and forged from it the spell Imhullu, which corrupted his soul. Gharnef then began his plans to take over the world: first by killing Miloah, then by reviving Medeus and the Dolhr Empire, and then manipulating the rulers of the other nations into betraying Akaneia and Altea and siding with Dolhr. Despite his power, however, Gharnef was eventually killed by a member of Marth's army wielding the Starlight spell.Years later, it is revealed that Gharnef survived by hiding his soul in the Darksphere, and later used that sphere to corrupt Emperor Hardin of Akaneia. Using the war between Akaneia and Altea as a distraction, Gharnef kidnapped four maidens (Nyna, Maria, Lena, and Elice) to be sacrificed for Medeus's revival.
Class: Bishop (FE1, FE3 Book 1), Dark Mage (FE3 Book 2), Sorcerer (FE11, FE12)
Big Bad / Big Bad Duumvirate: With Medeus; they're a duumvirate at the very least. Gharnef specifically revives Medeus from his century-long death for this purpose, but it's implied he has plans which transcend Medeus and will (try to) dispose of him once he's done; for his part, since he cannot leave his castle without losing his power or risking death, Medeus pretty much relies on Gharnef to actually execute their plans for dominating Akaneia.
The boss of chapter 11. He is one of the manaketes who serves Medeus. He helps Grust and Dolhr hold Akaneia, and only seems to care about incinerating his enemies. He is one of the only boss characters in the game that doesn't start on a throne or a gate, and actually moves on the map.
Class: Manakete
Ax Crazy: Really seems to be fighting just so he can incinerate humans (or anyone who gets in his way, at least).
The boss of chapter 12. He is a bishop leading the forces occupying Pales and a good example of a human holding authority in Dolhr.
Class: Bishop
Remake-Induced Plot Hole: A minor one. In Shadow Dragon, he is labelled as being with the Grust army even though he refers to the might of Dolhr while being fought. Later on, in chapter 15, Camus mentions him as being a general of Dolhr. In FE 1 and FE 3 Book 1, the chapter 12 enemy army was labeled as Durhua.
Kill It With27s hard to tell whether he's truly evil or just following orders, though.
Heimler
Introduced in Shadow Dragon, Heimler was originally an unused enemy character in the Famicom version before making his proper debut in the remake. He appears in chapter 12 and is likely working under Volzhin.
Filler Villain: About as much filler as you can get really.
Who Is This Guy Again?: Despite having a unique name and face among non-boss enemy units, he cannot be recruited, does not not have a background story, nor has any spoken lines when he is attacked or defeated.
A cruel Manakete left in charge of Altea Castle after Camus's demotion. He personally killed Queen Liza, Marth and Elice's mother, and executed captives for the smallest of reasons. He is killed by Marth's army as they retake Altea.
Faux Symbolism: A standout case among Fire Emblem, in which this is normally the case - his name in the Japanese version is Moses, but he's got nothing in common, either as a person or in role, as his namesake.
Kick the Dog: His killing of Liza, Marth and Elice's mom.
Palette Swap: Of Mannu/Morzas in the Famicom and Super Famicom versions.
Characters introduced in Fire Emblem Gaiden:
Main and Playable Characters
Alm (Arum)
A youth raised in Ram village by the legendary Sofian general Maisen alongside Cellica. After Dozeh kills the King of Sofia, Alm ends up joining the resistance in Maisen's place and eventually ends up as their leader, leading them against Dozeh and later the army of Rigel. Unbeknownst to him, his real name is Alpine Alm Rudolf, and he is actually the son of Rigel's King Rudolf. He was left with Maisen as part of a plan between the two to free humanity from Mila and Doma's influence.
You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Or maybe green hair; the game and the box art are highly inconsistent with each other, to say nothing of all the other artwork of him floating around. Oddly enough, in his Awakening art, he appears to have both.
Luka
A member of Cleve's resistance movement, who comes to Ram in order to recruit Maisen, although he seems okay with Alm going in his place.
One of Alm's friends from Ram, who joins alongside him in the liberation army. He seems to have feelings for Clea, but loses her to Grey.
Class: Villager
"Blind Idiot" Translation: The original fan translation had his name "Bird" for some reason. While obviously there's some connection in that robins are indeed birds, given that "Bird" sounds nothing like "Robin" and isn't even a name, it's a pretty absurd leap nonetheless.
A Sofian Pegasus Knight and the sister of Cleve. She was captured by Dozeh's men, but was later saved by Alm. She marries Grey after the war, but only after he and Robin fought over her.
Class: Pegasus Knight
Love Triangle: The center of a minor one with Grey and Robin.
A Knight of Sofia who rebelled against Dozeh after the latter killed the king and queen. He and his men were forced to flee into a cursed shrine to avoid Dozeh's forces. After meeting with Alm, he makes Alm the leader of the resistance and joins his army. After the war, he marries Matilda and becomes the leader of the Barensian Knights.
Class: Knight
Force (Fols)
A Knight of Sofia serving under Cleve in the liberation army.
A priestess of Sofia living in Nova Monastery under the watchful eye of Norma, although she was raised in Ram by Maisen alongside Alm. Unbeknownst to most people, she is actually Anteze, the lost princess of Sofia who was taken from the capital as an infant by Maisen in order to save her from Dozeh. After the disappearance of Mila, she sets off on a journey to discover just what happened to her and why.
A Sister of Mila working at the Nova Monastery. When Cellica begins her quest, Jenny accompanies her. After the war, she marries an unknown man, loosely implied to be Savor.
A sailor hired by Cellica to protect her group as they sail across the pirate infested waters. After the war, he joins Jesi's newly founded desert kingdom alongside his wife, who is implied to be Jenny.
An Armor Knight who fights against pirates alongside his sworn brother Leo and sellsword Kamui after they killed his family. After the death of pirate leader Dahha, he joins Cellica's army. After the war, he trains young soldiers at Alm's request.
Class: Armor
Ascended Extra: Extra is an exaggeration, but he does get an uncharacteristically big position on the game's cover art.
A sellsword hired by Valbo to aid him in his revenge against the pirates. He joins Cellica's army alongside Valbo and Leo. After the war, he joins Jesi's desert kingdom.*
If Jesi is dead, he creates the kingdom in his place.
Class: Mercenary
Ryuto
A mage from the forest village who requests Alm's aid in saving his sister from the sorcerer Tatara. After the war, he leaves the country, fearing that his magic was still too inexperianced.
Class: Mage
Blow You Away: Starts with the powerful wind magic Excalibur.
A legendary Knight of Sofia, who was captured by Dozeh and planned to be executed, but was saved by Alm. After the war, she retired from active service and married Cleve.
Ryuto's younger sister, a mage who was bewitched into fighting for the sorcerer Tatara. After Tatara's death, she is freed from her trance and joins Alm's army.
A mercenary who was captured by Geyse's men while trying to save Est. After the war, he would go on to create his own kingdom in Geyse's former territories.
A mage unwillingly serving under Geyse, but is held in check by Deen. She joins Cellica's army after Geyse's death. It is later revealed that she is the daughter of Judah, and ran from him to avoid being sacrificed to Doma.
A swordfighter who wields the Hero Sword. Like Sonia, he serves under Geyse and is being held in check by Sonia. He joins Cellica's party after Geyse's death. After the war, he leaves to a continent in the south in search of more conflict.
The head of the Nova Monastery, and the man who taught May, Boey, and Jenny magic. He has been watching over Cellica for years, and after she left on her journey, he secretly followed her, joining her army after she found him fallen through a hidden passage. After the war, he unifies the churches of Mila and Doma.
Overrated And Underleveled: Despite being a powerful sage in-story, he is a subpar prepromote in battle.
Teeta
A saint from the Church of Rigel. Before the war, she found an amnesiac knight and nursed him back to health, falling in love with him. When the war started, she was taken captive in order to force that knight, Zeke, to fight against Sofia. She is saved by Alm, which allows Zeke to turn on corrupted knight Jerome.
An amnesiac Knight who was nursed back to health by Teeta and adopted by King Rudolf, becoming one of his most trusted vassals. Before the war started, Rudolf told Zeke to look for a boy with a mark on his arm, and if he finds that person, he should fight alongside him. Despite his objections, he was forced to fight against Sofia after Teeta was taken captive. After Alm saves Teeta, Zeke joins him, noticing a certain mark on his arm. Unbeknownst to Teeta, during the war, he recovers his memories and afterwords briefly leaves Barensia...
The veteran knight of Sofia who raised Alm and Cellica. Originally one of the Sofian King's most trusted knights, he was framed of Dozeh's crimes and forced to flee from the capital, but not before saving the infant princess Anteze from Dozeh. Around this time, Maisen was visited by King Rudolf of Rigel. Rudolf left his own son to the knight, explaining that if Barencia is to be saved from the whims of the gods, Rudolf would have to become a destroyer so that the chosen heroes, of which his son is one, could rise up and stop him. After Rudolf's death, he explains the true reasons behind the war to Alm and finally joins his army.
Doma's sister, the Goddess of the Earth who watches over Sofia. Her blessings make the crops grow, at the cost of having the people know no sense of toil from having grown them themselves. Her disappearance sets off Cellica on her quest.
The Prime Minister of Sofia, who killed the king and tried to seize control of the nation for himself. Building up to this, he proceeded to kill each heir to the Sofian throne as they were born, but was discovered by Maisen. He was able to pin his crimes on Maisen, forcing him to flee, but not before saving princess Anteze. In the present day, his army is defeated by the resistance lead by Alm, forcing him to flee to his fortress. Despite holding the knight Matilda hostage and the reinforcement of the Rigel army, Dozeh is killed by Alm's forces.
A Sofian general serving under Dozeh. During Alm's retaking of the capital, Slayder set up a double of Dozeh so that he could escape, but is killed in battle in the process.
Class: Paladin
Rigel
Doma
Mila's brother, the God of Power who watches over Rigel. Under Doma's guidance, the people of Rigel have become militant and ruthless. It was Doma who supplied the Falchion which sealed Mila, and Doma serves as the final adversary in Alm and Cellica's journey.
The King of Rigel, the man who sealed away Mila, allowed the cruel pratices of Judah and his men, and allied his nation with the traitorous Dozeh. Only not quite. In reality, Rudolf was a just man who noticed the corruption of the Sofian people due to Mila's babying and the cruelty of the Rigelian people due to Doma's savage teachings, and saw that humanity was doomed to ruin. In order to prevent this, he smuggled his only son into Sofia and gave him to Maisen, explaining that in order to save humanity, Rudolf would have to become a destroyer so that the chosen heroes would rise to stop him and free humanity from the chains of the Gods. Several years later, he adopted the amnesic knight Zeke and instructed him to follow the person with a certain mark on his arm, as that person would be Rigel's savior. He would ultimately die fighting against Alm's army, revealing Alm's heritage in his dying breath.
The cruel head priest of the Church of Doma, who gained the position by ousting the benevolent sage Hark. He lures Cellica into being set up to sacrifice to Doma by targeting her concern for Alm; however, he is thwarted when Alm's army arrives at the Doma Alter, and is killed in the resulting battle. He is the father of Sonia, Mara, and Heste, and intended to kill them as sacrifices to Doma.
A cruel general of Rigel. Known for how he terrorizes the people, he is enemies with Zeke, but forced him to fight alongside him by having Nuibaba kidnap Teeta.
Class: Gold Knight
Tatara
A Rigelian sorcerer who guards the floodgate between Sofia and Rigel. He brainwashed Dyute into serving him.
Class: Sorcerer
Nuibaba
A Rigelian necromancer stationed on Terror Mountain, who is said to have sold his soul for his Medusa magic. In order to get Zeke to fight against Sofia, he and Jerome kidnapped Teeta.
One of Judah's daughters, set to be sacrificed to Doma. She attacks Alm's army, but is defeated. She later joins her father alongside Doma, but is killed in battle.
Class: Witch
Heste
Another of Judah's daughters, set to be sacrificed to Doma. Like her sister, she attacks Alm, and later dies defending her father and Doma.
Class: Witch
Hark
A wise and benevolent Great Sage of Doma who was exiled by Judah as the exorcist came to power. He and his followers hid in the Sage Hamlet and aids Cellica's party when they come through. He promotes Alm to Hero on Cellica's request.
Dark Is Not Evil: A priest of Doma, though he happily aids Cellica.
The Bandit King who commands all the pirates and bandits terrorizing Sofia from his desert fortress. He and his men kidnapped Est, causing Palla and Catria to chase them to Barensia, as well as a priestess of Mila. Deen and Sonia serve under him, but both of them hate him.
Characters introduced in Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem and Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem ~Heroes of Light and Shadow~
Main and Playable Characters
My Unit (default: Chris)
An Altean recruit who joins the Altean army alongside Katarina, Rody, Luke, and Raian, and is eventually made Marth's right hand man/woman.
Class: Variable (Mercenary [M] and Myrmidon [F] are the defaults)
AFGNCAAP: An odd example, actually. While his/her appearance and class are dependent on the player, his/her actual character and personality is preset and unchangeable.
* Back-to-Back Badasses: With Marth in New Mystery of the Emblem ~Heroes of Light and Shadow~ boxart.
Expy: The default male My Unit strongly resembles Ike, and the female one similarly resembles Mia. They even have very similar default classes, given that Ike's promotion tree is one long Mercenary expy.
The Ishmael: In reality, they're this to Katarina in the sidestory chapter subplot.
A Altean recruit who is training alongside My Unit and the others to become a tactician. This is actually a ruse to get close to Marth. In reality, she is Eine, one of Eremiya's assassins sent to infiltrate the Altean army and kill Marth before he can interfere with their plans. She fails and retreats with Roro's help, and afterwords she begins to gradually see Eremiya's cruel nature as she watches her "siblings" die one by one, and can be eventually recruited into the group.
Class: Mage (in the prologue as a boss), Sage (when recruited later)
An Altean knight of the 7th Platoon, although she was originally part of the 9th Platoon. Doesn't like to lose, and often gets into fights with her fellow knights.
Spell My Name with an S: Fan translation calls him "Ryan" as that's the obvious, logical Romanization, but Japanese material officially has it as "Raian".
Malliesia (Marisa, Melissa)
A young Grustian priestess who was training under Lena. After Lang was assigned control of Grust, her grandmother hid her to protect her. After Marth visits her village, she joins Marth's army and develops a crush on him.
A hunter from Medon who joined with the rebel army to earn gold. He is informed by Catria of the reasons behind Rucke's coup against Minerva and he offers to join Marth's army. When the war is won, he returns to Medon and continues living as a hunter.
The young Prince of Grust who was put under Lorenz's care after the War of Shadows. Once Lang begins his oppression of Grust and Lorenz begins his rebellion, Yubello is sent away with his older twin sister Yumina under the protection of Ogma. Before they can reach Wendell, they are attacked by Medon rebels but are saved by Sirius.
The Princess of Grust and Yubello's twin sister. Like her brother, she was sent away with Ogma to be protected by Wendell in Medon, but was attacked by Medon rebels and saved by Sirius.
A mysterious knight who appears to protect Yumina and Yubello, and later saves Nyna from Medeus before disappearing as suddenly as he came. It's almost certain that he is Camus of the Sable Order, despite his protestations to the contrary; Belf is the only one to suspect so, but is asked by Sirius to not pursue his suspicions.
But Now I Must Go: He disappears after rescuing Nyna and Medeus's defeat. It's thought that he travelled back to Barensia to resume his Zeke identity and be with Teeta.
He even insists he's not Camus after saving Nyna, who instantly recognizes him, and he does the same after former fellow Sable Knight Belf recognises him.
Samto
A former gladiator who managed to escape from his slavery with the help of Ogma. In the War of Heroes, he is hired as a mercenary by Lang, who confuses him for Nabarl due to his impersonation, but is later convinced by Ogma or Caeda, who both initially confuse him for Nabarl as well, to join Marth's army.
Class: Mercenary (FE3), Myrmidon (FE12)
Chivalrous Pervert: If his support conversations with female My Unit are anything to go by.
Royal Rapier: The only unit other than Marth able to use them, which is the main hint at her potential royal descent.
Spoony Bard: Though she can use swords and is said to actually be a decent fighter if given stat-boosting items.
Ellerean (Elrean)
The current leader of Khadein's mage army and Wendell's first pupil. He is jealous of his fellow pupil Merric due to his inheritance of the Excalibur spell and attempts to kill him once the war reaches Khadein, but is stopped by Wendell. After the war, he succeeds Wendell and works to restore the nation.
Not so Different: Wendell comparing his selfish jealously to Gharnef causes him to think over what he's been doing and have a Heel Face Turn.
My God, What Have I Done?: When Wendell calls him out with a Not so Different, and he indeed chooses him to be his successor in time, because Merric is going back to Pales.
A gambling mercenary who travels with his daughter Malice. Before the events of Shadow Dragon, he and Malice were recruited by Rickard to help him steal from Dolhr. During a later revolt in Talys, as recorded in New Mystery's DLC, the two were hired by the rebels, but were later convinced to side with Caeda, in part due to a debt that Dice owed Ogma. During New Mystery itself, Dice and Malice force their way into Marth's army, hoping to get paid greatly.
Stealth Pun: He has a gambling problem and has a Devil Axe in his inventory. In other words, he is quite literally gambling with his life.
Malice (Maris)
A female swordfighter who travels the land with her father, taking jobs mostly to pay off his gambling debts. Prior to Shadow Dragon, she and Dice found themselves amongst a group of bandits, but were later bribed by Rickard to help him steal from Dolhr in the name of justice. Malice and Dice would later be hired to fight in a rebellion in Talys, but she was convinced to defect by Ogma, and told Dice to follow suit. During New Mystery, Malice forces herself into Marth's army, hoping to be paid greatly for her service.
A Sable Knight under Camus during the War of Darkness, who aided Camus in helping Nyna escape from Dolhr's clutches. During New Mystery, he and his comrades join Marth's army.
A Sable Knight under Camus during the War of Darkness, who aided Camus in helping Nyna escape from Doluna's clutches. During New Mystery, he and his comrades join Marth's army. He suspects thatSirius is Camus, but is later convinced by Sirius not to reveal his suspicions.
Unfortunate Names: That "Belf" sounds like some sort of bodily expulsion prompted his Dub Name Change to "Vergil" in the upcoming fan translation.
Leiden (Raiden)
A Sable Knight under Camus during the War of Darkness, who aided Camus in helping Nyna escape from Doluna's clutches. During New Mystery, he and his comrades join Marth's army.
Class: Cavalier
Not Quite Dead: It's shocking to believe that Dolhr didn't kill him for helping Nyna escape from them.
The princess of Gra, and the daughter of Jiol from his second wife. During Mystery of the Emblem, she hires Samson as a bodyguard and is ordered by Akaneia to face Marth's army. If Marth spares the weak Gra soldiers, Sheema and Samson will gladly join his forces. After the war, she settles in Pales with Samson.
Class: General
A Mother to Her Men: So much so that attacking the weak Gra soldiers will make her and Samson unrecruitable enemies.
Blade on a Stick: Her preferred weapon of choice, though her artwork shows her using an axe for some reason.
An elderly bishop who was acquaintances with the rogue Dragon Knight Ruben, but later joined Minerva during her battle against Ruben's forces. He later appears in New Mystery, having apparently been following Marth since he liberated Medon.
The former prince of Aurelis and ally of Marth, now the Emperor of Akaneia through Arranged Marriage to Nyna. His feeling that Nyna did not truly reciprocate his love for her drove him to despair, cutting himself off from others and paving the way for Gharnef, disguised as a merchant, to corrupt him through the Darksphere, twisting his once noble and just heart into one of hatred and rage. Under its influence, he turns Akaneia into a brutal empire, subjugating and destroying other countries, and he handed Nyna over to Gharnef without a second thought.
Anticlimax Boss: For some reason, the dev's mistake or otherwise, he is much worse than his mooks, who also have the advantage of being able to move around.
A noble of Akaneia who sided with Dolhr during the War of Darkness and had his men raid towns and steal from the people. After Hardin's descent into madness, he restores Lang to power and places him in control of Grust, and his resulting reign of tyranny provokes Lorenz into rebelling in order to protect Yumina and Yubello. However, it is later revealed that Hardin placed Lang in charge of Grust (and subsequently sent Marth as Lang's reinforcements against Lorenz) to provoke Marth into entering battle against Akaneia, so that Akaneia could justify invading Altea.
The head of a group of assassins commanded by Gharnef to kill Marth. Eremiya is a cold hearted and manipulative woman who treats her minions as puppets simply to be used and discarded after they have served their purpose. It is implied that she and her assassins were also assigned to kidnap the maidens needed for Medeus's revival. After her defeat, Gharnef reveals to her that she was once a virtuous caretaker of an orphanage, but after the orphans there were killed during a war, she broke down, allowing Gharnef to wipe her memory and bewitch her into brutally training other orphans into being his assassins. After realizing what she had done, Gharnef leaves her to die in despair.
You Have Failed Me: While Katarina claimed that Kleine could be saved from her wounds, she said to just leave her to die after failing to kill Marth.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: She thinks Roro's clones are useless after the death of the "real" Roro, and thus must be put down. Ironically, this happens to her as well from Gharnef.
Kleine (Claine)
One of Eremiya's assassins. Kleine is a cruel and sadistic woman who lives to kill and seems to have absolute loyalty to Eremiya. Despite this, Katarina sees her as an older sister.
Name's the Same: With a certain Sword of Seals character who hilariously enough is also a Sniper, but is otherwise her opposite - a male one who joins the player's party.
One of Eremiya's assassins, Roro is a savage masked Berserker. It is later revealed that he is in fact not one person, but a whole group of them commanded by a "head Roro".
Verbal Tic: He ends his sentences with 'Yokiki' and refers to himself as 'we', which makes sense since he has a lot of clones.
BS Fire Emblem Bosses
Gouber
The boss of the first Akaneia War Chronicles chapter, "Fall of the Palace". He is a general of Dolhr who leads the initial assault against Pales. He is killed by Nyna's party before reinforcments arrive.
The boss of the second Akaneia War Chronicles chapter, "The Red Dragon Knight". He is a cruel deserter from Medon who had his men kidnap the women of Aurelis and kill the men, and has no respect to his superior's, making fun of Minerva's enthrallment by her brother and the death of her father.
Class: Dracoknight
Blade on a Stick: More so in the original as that was all he could use.
Kick the Dog: Did this to Minerva when he makes fun of Minerva's enthrallment by her brother and the death of her father.
Barm (Varm)
The so-called boss of the third Akaneia War Chronicles chapter, "Thieves' Gang of Justice,". He is the leader of a thief gang trying to steal as much as they can from the palace of Akaneia.
Class: Thief
Anticlimax Boss: Let's see here, low HP, bad defence, best way to beat the chapter requires him to go down in two turns... Yep sounds like a easy win.
The boss of the last Akaneia War Chronicles chapter, "The Beginnning". A powerful Manakete serving under Medeus, he is tasked with pursuing Camus as he tries to escort Nyna safety to Hardin in Aurelis. It's likely that he was killed by Camus's group, as he was never seen again afterwards.
Characters in the backstory and supporting material
Recent History
King Cornelius of Altea
The late King of Altea, and father to Marth and Elice. When the Grust/Khadein army invaded Altea on behalf of Doluna, Cornelius personally led the Altean army, backed by their allies in Gra, to battle, wielding the Falchion. However, the king of Gra, Jiol, betrayed Altea in the middle of the battle and Cornelius was killed. It is unknown who actually took his life, although it's attributed to Gharnef, Camus, and Jiol in at least one version of the story each.
Abusive Parents: As interpreted by the OVA - Cornelius slaps Marth for refusing to follow through in killing a deer he shot. Neither the games themselves nor any other adaptation support this interpretation, though.
Adaptation Dye Job: Brunette in the OVA, white haired in the manga, and finally blue in his "blink and you'll miss it" Shadow Dragon appearance.
The Pontifex of Khadein, Linde's father, and one of the pupils of the White Sage Gotoh. Due to his virtuous heart, he was chosen to wield the light magic Aura by Gotoh. However, Gharnef would later betray Miloah and Gotoh out of jealousy. At the beginning of the War of Shadows, Gharnef, backed by the Doluna Empire, invaded Khadein and used his dark magic Imhullu to kill Miloah. Before his death, however, Miloah had entrusted Aura to his daughter and sent her to safety.
Badass Moustache: His only depiction ever, a Mystery guidebook illustration, gives him one.
Known to humans as the God of Light, Naga was actually the leader of the Divine Dragon tribe. Eons ago, the nature of the world changed, forcing dragons to take humanoid Manakete form to survive. The Earth Dragons, aside from Prince Medeus, refused to take Manakete form and gradually began to go insane. In order to protect the fledgling human race from the raging Earth Dragons, Naga led her tribe to battle against them, eventually sealing them away with the Shield of Seals, forged from her own fang. Tasking Medeus to guard the seal, Naga forged from another of her fangs the holy sword Falchion. Some time after this, she and a few of his allies moved to give power to humans on another continent in their time of greatest need, but that is a tale for another time...Shortly after the birth of her daughter Tiki, Naga was forced to seal her away, as her great power would drive the infant child insane, leading to the destruction of the world. Afterwards, Naga passed away, entrusting fellow Divine Dragon tribesman Gotoh to watch over the world in her place. While the exact details are unknown, she has seemingly reincarnated as the Manakete Nagi in an alternate dimension.For Naga's tropes, see her section here.
Emperor Ardah of Akaneia
The Founder of the Kingdom of Akaneia. Originally a lowly thief, sometime after the death of Naga he managed to loot the Fane of Raman and steal the Shield of Seals, removing the spheres from it to sell for cash, unknowingly weakening the seal on the Earth Dragons in the process. He also stole what would eventually be known as Akaneia's Three Regalia (the Gradivus, the Mercurius, and the Parthia) and used these weapons as well as the money he gained from the spheres to raise an army that would sweep across the continent. Believing it the cause of his good fortune, he renamed the now weakened Shield of Seals "Fire Emblem" and made it the crest of his new kingdom.
The founder of the Kingdom of Altea. Originally a peasant living on the Altean islands with his brother Marcelus, Anri became involved with the war against the Doluna Empire after meeting with Princess Artemis of Akaneia. Falling in love with her and vowing to protect her, Anri journeyed to the Temple of the Ice Dragons, led by Gotoh, and claimed the Falchion, allowing him to slay Medeus. Despite their love, Artemis and Anri could not marry for political reasons, and because of this, Anri died without an heir. After his death, his kingdom was divided into Altea, ruled by Marcelus, and Gra, founded by nobles who opposed Marcelus coming to power.
The Princess of Akaneia during the time of Anri. When Doluna invaded Akaneia, Artemis was forced to flee the country, but not before giving the Fire Emblem to General Cartas. To ensure Cartas's victory in battle, she placed a curse on the Emblem. She ended up in the Altean Islands, where she met and fell in love with Anri. After Anri left to claim the Falchion, Artemis and Cartas formed a liberation army against Doluna and with Anri's aid, were able to win the war. Artemis and Anri were unable to marry, however, due to Anri's status as peasant-born, forcing her to marry Cartas. She died giving birth to Cartas's child.
History Repeats: The Love Triangle between Anri, Artemis, and Cartas is repeated with Camus, Nyna, and Hardin, with Nyna paralleling Artemis.
Hoist by His Own Petard: The tragic end of her tale is blamed on the curse she placed on the Emblem during the war.
Emperor Cartas of Akaneia
The leader of the Akaneian army during Anri's time, who was given the Fire Emblem by Princess Artemis and led the war effort against Doluna. With the aid of the Emblem, Cartas was able to turn the tide until Medeus personally entered the battle. After the war, he married Artemis on request of the people, either oblivious to or simply ignoring her feelings for Anri. Their relationship would end in tragedy, however, as Artemis would die giving birth to his child.
History Repeats: The Love Triangle between Anri, Artemis, and Cartas is repeated with Camus, Nyna, and Hardin, with Cartas paralleling Hardin.
King Iote of Medon
The Founder of the Kingdom of Macedon. Originally a slave of Doluna, Iote and his men taught themselves how to ride the wild wyverns and took up arms against the Empire, eventually joining Cartas's liberation army. After the war, Iote and his men returned to the lands where they once served as slaves and bulit a kingdom there, with Iote chosen as their king.
