32 playable characters confirmed, & maybe more? (Leaks mentioned)

[martystarboy]

As of the official JP FE twitter dropping the Lyn trailer today, we have exactly 32 confirmed playable characters for Engage (not counting the Emblems). Two of these units are only confirmed via the leak (Mauve and “Jakoba”, with the latter being seen as a playable unit if you squint real hard in the Corrin trailer). Excluding Alear, I would say there’s a 16:15 female-male ratio, but I’m not entirely sure what gender Kagetsu and "Jakoba" are yet (I assumed they were both male just to balance the ratio more). We may have our full roster already!

If this is the case, then Seadall and either Panettone or Merrin are likely Timerra’s retainers, while Kagetsu and “Jakoba” could be Ivy’s, as Yunaka simply seems to be a thief you happen across, and Anna is...well, Anna.

However, there are likely more playable characters due to the more recent additions in the FE franchise having at minimum 33-40+ characters, and many having speculated that there will be around 40 in Engage due to the size of the scrollbar in the leaked roster screenshot.

We have yet to see Calney, the buff blacksmith lady in the reveal trailer, who is possibly playable due to Alfred also being seen manning some kind of shop. Additionally, there’s an unknown dark-skinned woman seen running another shop in Somniel. I fully expect the rest of the four hounds to be playable, but they are going to be more difficult to obtain than say, Mauve, and are either only available in, or lock you into a certain ending. It’s usually impossible to obtain most “full” FE rosters in a single playthrough, with characters being locked to certain routes or behind certain decisions, so it’s not an unreasonable guess.

So, what about you all? Do you think the four hounds and the other shopkeepers will be playable? Or do you think there are even more characters we haven’t seen yet?

[Azz]

I definitely think we'll have a few more than 32. For some reason, FE games nearly always have a roster that is divisible by 3 since some many of their menus have units lined in threes. I just hope we have a few more characters that are independent from the royals bar Anna and Yunaka. 

I feel like there is a high chance that Veyle will more than likely be a playable character. She just has too much importance not to. Also, she has a battle sprite on the website so... (I also can't imagine them just having Alear be a Dragon type). I can see the two queens of Firene and Solm possibly being playable since unlike Lumera, Morion and Hayacinth, they don't seem pegged to die (in fairness, we do know next to nothing about them bar their names). I don't know if I can see the other Four Hounds being playable. Zephia is definitely solely gonna be an enemy, and I can't see Griss and Marni being turncoats.

I feel like there could be chance they make the Emblems playable in some manner in some type of NG+ or as a special feature once you beat the game. We have seen what seems to be Micaiah as a stand alone enemy unit in what looks like a 3-13 recreation so who knows.

However, I would be quite content with a small roster tbh. Most of my fav FE games have smaller rosters (Sacred Stones, SoV) so I personally wouldn't be too upset with a cast of 33~

[ciphertul]

15 minutes ago, Azz said:

Zephia is definitely solely gonna be an enemy

I really wish they would get away from the hate towards mature dragon ladies. But this would suck as Zephia and Marni are units I would like (so far).

Edited December 8, 2022 by ciphertul

[King Marth 64]

I definitely do think we might possibly going to get more than 32 or 40 characters. (Maybe somewhere between 40 to 50 the least) I do think those Leak Screenshots were taken years ago sometime after Three Houses released and might be in the in-development progress versions before COVID started the pandemic. I definitely think the team might have added more new characters sometime after the Pandemic started since this was originally going to be a 20th Anniversary Launch Title. (I do think the Post-Pandemic made characters weren't shown off from any of the recent trailers yet till we see any of them in the Final Build trailer.)

Edited December 8, 2022 by King Marth 64

[martystarboy]

27 minutes ago, Azz said:

I definitely think we'll have a few more than 32. For some reason, FE games nearly always have a roster that is divisible by 3 since some many of their menus have units lined in threes. I just hope we have a few more characters that are independent from the royals bar Anna and Yunaka. 

I feel like there is a high chance that Veyle will more than likely be a playable character. She just has too much importance not to. Also, she has a battle sprite on the website so... (I also can't imagine them just having Alear be a Dragon type). I can see the two queens of Firene and Solm possibly being playable since unlike Lumera, Morion and Hayacinth, they don't seem pegged to die (in fairness, we do know next to nothing about them bar their names). I don't know if I can see the other Four Hounds being playable. Zephia is definitely solely gonna be an enemy, and I can't see Griss and Marni being turncoats.

I feel like there could be chance they make the Emblems playable in some manner in some type of NG+ or as a special feature once you beat the game. We have seen what seems to be Micaiah as a stand alone enemy unit in what looks like a 3-13 recreation so who knows.

However, I would be quite content with a small roster tbh. Most of my fav FE games have smaller rosters (Sacred Stones, SoV) so I personally wouldn't be too upset with a cast of 33~

I totally forgot about Veyle! I remember being a bit sad that her sprite was holding a tome, thinking that there wouldn't be any actual transforming manaketes in this game, but I'd be very happy to have her playable none-the-less. Still, they could be hiding the dragonstones from us. I'm excited to see the queens but as you said, that would be a LOT of playable royals for one game.

As for the hounds, I guess I was just assuming they'd be playable because of how much they've been marketed? Hyacinth and the dark summoner-lookalike seem pretty important but have next to no marketing (probably for spoiler reasons). Then again, I'm not familiar with how FE games have been marketed besides FE3H and Fates. Jeritza/Death Knight was shown off early, wasn't playable initially, but then was added in free DLC so it's very hard to predict what IntSys intends.

[Azz]

25 minutes ago, ciphertul said:

I really wish they would get away from the hate towards mature dragon ladies. But this would suck as Zephia and Marni are units I would like (so far).

Same... like let me play as an older dragon lady instead of killing her off or making her evil. Pretty sure Nagi and Adult Tiki in FEA the only older dragon ladies we've ever gotten...

Quote

I totally forgot about Veyle! I remember being a bit sad that her sprite was holding a tome, thinking that there wouldn't be any actual transforming manaketes in this game, but I'd be very happy to have her playable none-the-less. Still, they could be hiding the dragonstones from us. I'm excited to see the queens but as you said, that would be a LOT of playable royals for one game.

As for the hounds, I guess I was just assuming they'd be playable because of how much they've been marketed? Hyacinth and the dark summoner-lookalike seem pretty important but have next to no marketing (probably for spoiler reasons). Then again, I'm not familiar with how FE games have been marketed besides FE3H and Fates. Jeritza/Death Knight was shown off early, wasn't playable initially, but then was added in free DLC so it's very hard to predict what IntSys intends.

I do hope we have some kind of transformation mechanic with Alear and possibly Veyle provided she is playable but I dunno if we'll get it tbh. Engaging I think will be the closest thing we'll get to transformations...

You can't trust FE marketing imo lol. I mean Mikoto was super promoted and is shown in the opening BR cutscene despite dying before the route split lol. The slithers were also super promoted, especially Kronya who I believe got into Heroes before the game launched/was a unit added to commerorate the launch, despite again, barely being present in TH, so I wouldn't personally trust the game marketing the Four Hounds a lot as a guarantee that they will all be playable. They definitely could be as a NG+ feature or like the SpotPass characters of FEA, but I'm doubtful that if they are playable, it will be story related

Edited December 8, 2022 by Azz

[ciphertul]

1 minute ago, Azz said:

Same... like let me play as an older dragon lady instead of killing her off or making her evil. Pretty sure Nagi and Adult Tiki in FEA the only older dragon ladies we've ever gotten...

I honestly wouldn't even count Awakening Tiki she is no Nagi. Tiki really feels like (at least to me) a young adult par for FE. 

[Fabulously Olivier]

23 minutes ago, Azz said:

Same... like let me play as an older dragon lady instead of killing her off or making her evil. Pretty sure Nagi and Adult Tiki in FEA the only older dragon ladies we've ever gotten...

Ena says hi.

[Saint Rubenio]

I honestly would love to have a roster of 40. I prefer bigger rosters. I feel it adds greatly to replayability, and I just enjoy having a lot of faces to choose from.

Anyway, I'd love to put the buff blacksmith in my team, to be sure. I'm not sure how plausible it is, but I did think the fact that she's named was pretty interesting. Of course, same happened with the Tellius shopkeeps, but still. It's the only other time this has happened. I think there's a decent chance.

On the other hand, I'm not sure about the rest of the Four Hounds. Mauve, even without the leak, stands out like a sore thumb and just screams "hi I'm the playable one." Marni I can perhaps see. Not on her own, I don't think, but Mauve might be able to persuade her to defect, she doesn't seem that antagonistic. However, Griss seems like a pretty obvious mad dog enemy and Zephia gives me "true villain" vibes. I think she'll be the real Gharnef while Hyacinth will be a red herring. Either way, I can't see Griss and Zephia joining.

As for my dream picks that I seriously doubt will happen, those would be the pirate boss lady from the preparations menu showcase, Hyacinth, the king of Brodia whose name I forgot and Lumera. Pirate boss lady is likely not happening unless there's Fates capture in this game. King of Brodia is 100% not happening, I mean, they cut two seconds before his death in the trailer lol. Likely going to die to showcase the evil emblems. Lumera goes even further because she's confirmed dead by the bit of Vander's dialogue that got leaked, so... Oof.

I'd say of these, Hyacinth stands the best chance. By which I mean, he stands a tiny, very tiny chance if they really want to subvert expectations. He's as generic as they come and they even did the same thing with him as the king of Brodia where they showed a clip of what looks like his death scene in the trailer. On the other hand, he was described as "seeking knowledge and wisdom" - wisdom usually doesn't come in the package for these "evil guy who seeks power" types. It's a flimsy little tidbit to latch on to, I know, but it's just rather odd for a character that otherwise ticks all the "generic evil guy that dies" boxes. Probably won't happen, but he looks like the bastard child of Manfred Von Karma and Barlowe from Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, which makes me really wish he'll join haha.

1 hour ago, Azz said:

I can see the two queens of Firene and Solm possibly being playable since unlike Lumera, Morion and Hayacinth, they don't seem pegged to die (in fairness, we do know next to nothing about them bar their names).

That's an interesting suggestion that would never have crossed my mind. I expect they'll either appear in two scenes and then die, or be a Hayden/Eliwood type and appear in two scenes and then just... not appear again. But personally, I'd take some playable queens, thank you very much. We have enough princelings.

[martystarboy]

When all the new info after the Game Awards dropped, I was pretty sure that we were getting the smaller 32 character roster because of all the new intro pages added to the Japanese FE Engage Website. The Somniel trailer definitely debunked the idea that the shopkeepers were going to be playable units (sorry, Calney u-u) for me, so I was fully prepared to accept the characters we already have. However, there's the whole thing about "Jan" being Merrin's closest ally in the Japanese Somniel trailer (as opposed to Celine in the Hong Kong version and now Louis in the English version) that was mentioned in Vincent's analysis of the Somniel trailers. So I guess that ~40 character roster isn't off the table? (Not to mention we'll be getting new characters in the final wave of DLC.)

[Saint Rubenio]

17 minutes ago, martystarboy said:

When all the new info after the Game Awards dropped, I was pretty sure that we were getting the smaller 32 character roster because of all the new intro pages added to the Japanese FE Engage Website. The Somniel trailer definitely debunked the idea that the shopkeepers were going to be playable units (sorry, Calney u-u) for me, so I was fully prepared to accept the characters we already have. However, there's the whole thing about "Jan" being Merrin's closest ally in the Japanese Somniel trailer (as opposed to Celine in the Hong Kong version and now Louis in the English version) that was mentioned in Vincent's analysis of the Somniel trailers. So I guess that ~40 character roster isn't off the table? (Not to mention we'll be getting new characters in the final wave of DLC.)

I didn't know the thing about Jan. That's very, very interesting. I'm assuming Vincent cross-referenced it with the known Japanese names and didn't find it? If so, that confirms a completely unknown character. Not in the revealed cast, not one of the mentioned country leaders, not in the leaks... a mystery. I like the sound of that! Inb4 they just renamed Alear for the trailer just to troll

Also, when eating food at the cafeteria, the pop-up says "allies gain" with the bonuses below. It also says "if divine dragon, also gain". The only divine dragon in the 32 character roster is Alear. It's not impossible, of course, but I find it really odd that they'd use such nondescript wording if it's just an Alear bonus. It seems to indicate there are going to be multiple divine dragons that are playable. I believe the divine dragons that have been revealed to exist, aside from Alear, are Veyle and Zephia? Correct me if there's more.

And on top of all that (LEAKS SPOILERS AHEAD, if you don't want to see these)

Spoiler

Mauvier is shown to be playable in the old leaks. He stands out like a sore thumb and just screams "I'm the member of the bad guys that joins" to begin with, but the leaks just flat out confirm it. He's not among the 32 characters, so that's just undeniable proof that there's more. How many more remains to be seen, but I feel the ~40 character cast is looking more and more likely.

 

Edited December 15, 2022 by Saint Rubenio

[Azz]

Considering we seem to have everyone shown thus far by chapter 17, unless the game is like 22 chapters long, I can't not see there being more than the 32 we already know there are. Considering Veyle is a very likely 33rd (unless they pull one on us and she's a villain) and we now have this Jan, I feel like we could get close to 40 but I do feel like we'll still have a smaller than average cast tbh which again, I wouldn't mind since I do prefer smaller casts and with all the emblems and reclassing seemingly being a thing, we'll have lots of customisation to work with.

[Cysx]

Worth noting, considering this is Merrin we're talking about, Jean/Jan could be her wolf. Assuming the japanese/chinese doesn't specifically refer to a person...

[Saint Rubenio]

14 minutes ago, Cysx said:

Worth noting, considering this is Merrin we're talking about, Jean/Jan could be her wolf. Assuming the japanese/chinese doesn't specifically refer to a person...

Ohh... Dang, that's a good point. Oh well, it was beautiful while it lasted.

Honestly, I wouldn't be too sad if it's just the 32 + 1 or 2. Vandad exists. Who else do I need?

[Azz]

14 minutes ago, Cysx said:

Worth noting, considering this is Merrin we're talking about, Jean/Jan could be her wolf. Assuming the japanese/chinese doesn't specifically refer to a person...

I was also thinking this tbh, however, we'll have to wait and see if the fortune telling can refer to NPCs or if it just refers to playable units since the only other two characters we see mentioned are Céline and Louis in the 'thinking of' place

[martystarboy]

1 hour ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Also, when eating food at the cafeteria, the pop-up says "allies gain" with the bonuses below. It also says "if divine dragon, also gain". The only divine dragon in the 32 character roster is Alear. It's not impossible, of course, but I find it really odd that they'd use such nondescript wording if it's just an Alear bonus. It seems to indicate there are going to be multiple divine dragons that are playable. I believe the divine dragons that have been revealed to exist, aside from Alear, are Veyle and Zephia? Correct me if there's more.

Nope! You're right, only Alear, Veyle, and Zephia are "dragons" so far. I think Veyle as a playable unit is likely, however I'm pretty sure they just generically call Alear "divine dragon" since you can rename them. Also, [redacted character] is actually a part of my original 32 playable count! We have 31 confirmed officially + 1 leaked character.

36 minutes ago, Cysx said:

Worth noting, considering this is Merrin we're talking about, Jean/Jan could be her wolf. Assuming the japanese/chinese doesn't specifically refer to a person...

This would be really funny honestly I'd love that. But yeah, not sure if that category is allowed to be anything other than people characters can support with, as Azz said.

[Saint Rubenio]

33 minutes ago, martystarboy said:

Nope! You're right, only Alear, Veyle, and Zephia are "dragons" so far. I think Veyle as a playable unit is likely, however I'm pretty sure they just generically call Alear "divine dragon" since you can rename them. Also, [redacted character] is actually a part of my original 32 playable count! We have 31 confirmed officially + 1 leaked character.

Oh, there's 31 confirmed and you were counting the leaked character. My bad, I never did stop to count them haha.

I still think it's weird wording for an Alear boost, though. They have a title, Divine One. If could say "if Divine One," or just have the box change depending on Alear's name. It wouldn't be that hard, I don't think. "If divine dragon" is just strangely vague. It's not even just "divine dragon", which could be interpreted as referring to the divine dragon - it's phrased as if it's not a specific character, but rather a state of being, so to speak. Super weird for just one character that's there from the start.

Still, anything could be. Who knows, maybe like, Hyacinth is a playable divine dragon too or something. Now that would be absolutely hilarious. Actually I've been hoping for a playable Hyacinth since I first laid eyes on him but I digress

Edited December 15, 2022 by Saint Rubenio

[Seazas]

Wasn't there an unknown staff/fist unit in the talk to recruit screenshot from the twitter account? That might be a new character not accounted for. 

[martystarboy]

8 minutes ago, Seazas said:

Wasn't there an unknown staff/fist unit in the talk to recruit screenshot from the twitter account? That might be a new character not accounted for. 

You're right! I totally forgot about that. Can't tell if they have a hood or a hat, but they definitely don't look like anyone we know yet. Framme and Seadall are the only Qi Adept characters so far, so I'm glad we'll have one more available to us. Also their health bar is green and not red, so they'll be an ally in this map. 

'

[Azz]

Ngl, they do seem kinda generic imo but would also be cool to have more qi adept characters

[Saint Rubenio]

40 minutes ago, Seazas said:

Wasn't there an unknown staff/fist unit in the talk to recruit screenshot from the twitter account? That might be a new character not accounted for. 

24 minutes ago, martystarboy said:

You're right! I totally forgot about that. Can't tell if they have a hood or a hat, but they definitely don't look like anyone we know yet. Framme and Seadall are the only Qi Adept characters so far, so I'm glad we'll have one more available to us. Also their health bar is green and not red, so they'll be an ally in this map. 

'

That's a good point. Then again, talk hasn't always been used to recruit. It's not guaranteed that this is a recruitment. What did the twit say? I believe I recall it specifically saying how it is used to recruit, but I could be mistaken.

Either way, as @Azz says, they look a bit too generic to be recruitable. But I'm the guy still holding on to the slim hope that Fates capture is a thing so I can put generics in my team, so I wouldn't complain. Still, it's true, we've only seen two qi adepts. A third would be pretty nice. Maybe this is Jan lol

[Fabulously Olivier]

15 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

That's a good point. Then again, talk hasn't always been used to recruit. It's not guaranteed that this is a recruitment. What did the twit say? I believe I recall it specifically saying how it is used to recruit, but I could be mistaken.

Either way, as @Azz says, they look a bit too generic to be recruitable. But I'm the guy still holding on to the slim hope that Fates capture is a thing so I can put generics in my team, so I wouldn't complain. Still, it's true, we've only seen two qi adepts. A third would be pretty nice. Maybe this is Jan lol

Trying to wrap my head around someone in a green and blue patterned hooded cloak and shorts being considered "generic."

Edited December 15, 2022 by Fabulously Olivier

[Azz]

IDK, to me they just seem a tad bit generic. Based on these screenshots here from the engaging with emblems trailer, generic martial monks all seem to wear hats like this Elusian one and overall, the design just feels generic to me rather than being unique.

Spoiler

Its not like we haven't been able to talk to NPCs before and I also feel like, with how non-secretive the promos have been, they wouldn't give us the character we would be recruiting via talking to them at the same time as them introducing the mechanic

[Saint Rubenio]

23 minutes ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

Trying to wrap my head around someone in a green and blue patterned hooded cloak and shorts being considered "generic."

We've seen some generics before, this looks a lot like the generic archer. That helmet in particular screams "generic headgear that obscures the face for further genericity" to me.

That being said...

5 minutes ago, Azz said:

IDK, to me they just seem a tad bit generic. Based on these screenshots here from the engaging with emblems trailer, generic martial monks all seem to wear hats like this Elusian one and overall, the design just feels generic to me rather than being unique.

  Hide contents

Its not like we haven't been able to talk to NPCs before and I also feel like, with how non-secretive the promos have been, they wouldn't give us the character we would be recruiting via talking to them at the same time as them introducing the mechanic

Looking at the generic adepts here... That helmet is a bit different, lacks the blue stripe, plus the shorts. Hmmmm...

[martystarboy]

1 hour ago, Saint Rubenio said:

That's a good point. Then again, talk hasn't always been used to recruit. It's not guaranteed that this is a recruitment. What did the twit say? I believe I recall it specifically saying how it is used to recruit, but I could be mistaken.

Either way, as @Azz says, they look a bit too generic to be recruitable. But I'm the guy still holding on to the slim hope that Fates capture is a thing so I can put generics in my team, so I wouldn't complain. Still, it's true, we've only seen two qi adepts. A third would be pretty nice. Maybe this is Jan lol

 

1 hour ago, Azz said:

IDK, to me they just seem a tad bit generic. Based on these screenshots here from the engaging with emblems trailer, generic martial monks all seem to wear hats like this Elusian one and overall, the design just feels generic to me rather than being unique.

The image was specifically from the tweet saying you could recruit via talking. It's normal to be able to talk to ally NPCs without recruiting them, however that would be a bit deceitful on the official twitter's part. It could be a mistake of some kind, but I doubt it. Tbf a lot of the NPCs in this game are pretty "unique" by FE standards (that blue-haired hooded guy shown in the chain challenge really stood out), and the hat is kind of similar to Framme's, who has the same class. Maybe there's a connection between Framme and this character, or maybe they're a Donnel type where they're a bit generic on purpose? I've totally almost missed recruiting characters in older FE games bc they were hard to distinguish from NPCs before.