If FE1 had less playable characters, who would you keep?

[Perkilator]

I was inspired by this topic but I didn’t want to reply since it’s over five years old now. I basically wanted to ask a similar question in the NES / SNES era sub-forum: If FE1 had less playable characters overall, who would you keep and why? For me:

• Marth
• Caeda
• Jagen
• Cain & Abel
• Draug
• Gordin
• Wrys
• Ogma
• Barst
• Darros
• Julian
• Lena
• Navarre
• Merric
• Hardin
• Wendell
• Bantu
• Jeorge
• Maria
• Minerva
• Linde
• Whitewings
• Arran & Samson
• Xane
• Tiki
• Lorenz
• Gotoh
• Elice

And as far as characters who weren’t playable before, Nyna joins the battle as a Curate when you first recruit her in Chapter 12 (also, Elice joins you much sooner, in Chapter 6). For this roster, I wanted to focus on the characters who would solidify the archetypes for playable characters in future games, as well as characters important to the story. For Darros and Barst, it was for the sake of having at least one playable Pirate and Fighter, respectively. For Arran and Samson, it was for the sake of the “choose one to recruit” mechanic. For Wrys, it’s because of his memetic ensemble dark horse nature.

Edited July 23, 2023 by Perkilator

[AnonymousSpeed]

My boy Barst,

My boy @JimmyBeans's boy Bord.

My other boy @Shaky Jones's boy Cord.

We triangle attack in this household.

I also really like Castor and I want him and his mother to be happy, so he stays.

[Aedan7479]

Let's face it, the only reason we want to keep wyrs is because of modern memes, but since the question is " who do we want to keep in FE1, I see no reason to keeps Wyrs. I'd want to keep every character who is recruited by someone other than Marth, because that’s more dialogue for them. Roger may also a meme, but he's always been a meme. I think Boah, Astram, and Midia should also stay, since they're all somewhat important characters. Also Jack, because Ballisti and Anna. Everyone else who should stay really speak for themselves; I don't need to explain why Miverva should stay

[Jotari]

Funny that the existence of Old Mystery gives us some kind of official answer to this question.

2 hours ago, Aedan7479 said:

Let's face it, the only reason we want to keep wyrs is because of modern memes, but since the question is " who do we want to keep in FE1, I see no reason to keeps Wyrs. I'd want to keep every character who is recruited by someone other than Marth, because that’s more dialogue for them. Roger may also a meme, but he's always been a meme. I think Boah, Astram, and Midia should also stay, since they're all somewhat important characters. Also Jack, because Ballisti and Anna. Everyone else who should stay really speak for themselves; I don't need to explain why Miverva should stay

Wrys does provide healing from the first map which is pretty nice.

Edited July 23, 2023 by Jotari

[Zapp Branniglenn]

FE3 Book 1 will get you missing Wrys. No healing staves until you get the mend staff off of Chapter 3's boss. 

[Shaky Jones]

How could you even suggest something like this? Every character in this classic title is worthy of recognition in their own right, and the amount of fun I've had with lesser known characters makes them some of my fa-

Oh you're talking FE1. Yeah, scrap everyone. Like, everyone. Even Marth. Then you have no choice but to play a different game. Or scrap the inventory system.  

 

Here's my list of who I'd scrap if it was necessary to execute units in the alternative world where Excelblem killed Kaga and became the new dev. It's easier to explain units I'd not keep over defending 95% of the cast.

1. Samson: His gimmick in the village is cool, but not really needed. Arran seems to be canon anyways, and Samson doesn't really provide anything in FE3, as Sheema could just be recruited on her own and move on.
2. Caesar: I love using Caesar in DSFE, but out of all the units in FE1, Caesar and Radd together are very boring to use, as mercs and myrms are one and the same, giving you a lot of sword units to work with. With how good Julian's growths are, even just Marth and Julian alone are sufficient swordies. If I recall, Kaga literally just made them as replacement units for killed Ogmas and Navarres, but even armors and fliers can use swords in FE1, so the merc class doesn't feel nearly as special in this game. Besides, you don't have to wait too long for Astram. Look, if you lost all your swordies by then, you can't be trusted with them. On the bright side, no FE1 C&R means no ch6x 20 years later.
3. Radd: Refer to 2
4. Beck: You can't reclass Beck into a sage in this game. What's even the point? Other reason is that I think making ballistician an exclusive class for Jake is a cool idea. It's a class that already stands out on its own, and as Jake himself would then become a reoccurring character throughout the series, this can reinforce the idea that there's something unique about him.
5. Tomas: Being one of 6 Tomas fans in the world, it pains me to shoot the back of his head, but for FE1 standards, it's hard to pick anyone else I see myself never using. While archers can promote unlike hunters and horseman, I have either Gordin as my archer to train, or Jeorge as the prepromote sniper who can use strong bows to swiftly remove dracos. There's a bunch of other bow users to choose from should they both die, and Nyna already has all the guarding she needs with the world's most handsome duo, Macellan and Dolph. Really, I'm only picking him because I'm forcing myself to choose 5 Archanea characters total. How Kaga axed the ones he did for Fe3 is something I will never understand. I have a heart.

8 hours ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

My boy Barst,

My boy @JimmyBeans's boy Bord.

My other boy @Shaky Jones's boy Cord.

We triangle attack in this household.

I also really like Castor and I want him and his mother to be happy, so he stays.

Add Axe Boy TA to FE1, and I might actually play the game again one day.

If anyone removes Castor, the mother will die from grief. Think about that.

2 hours ago, Jotari said:

Funny that the existence of Old Mystery gives us some kind of official answer to this question.

Kaga was off his meds, don't trust his takes.

23 minutes ago, Zapp Branniglenn said:

FE3 Book 1 will get you missing Wrys. No healing staves until you get the mend staff off of Chapter 3's boss.

I don't want vulnerary. I just want "Take me with you, and you'll be very glad you did".

2 hours ago, Jotari said:

Wrys does provide healing from the first map which is pretty nice.

I don't know if the main question would remove these guys just from 1, or all iterations out of continuity, but imagine doing FE11 early game with no heal until the end of chapter 3. It's over. I do find no ch1-2 heal annoying. You either waste what little vulns you possess, or you spend all day on a fort. I'll admit there was a bit of fun planning out how many hits each unit can afford to take before falling back, but I'm not a fan of limiting Cord's ability to solo the entire map.

[Fire Emblem Fan]

If there was no choice and characters were going to be removed, then the ones I'd pick to keep in the game are:

• Marth
• Caeda
• Elice
• Jagen
• Abel
• Cain
• Gordin
• Draug
• Merric
• Linde
• Ogma
• Navarre
• Minerva
• Maria
• Palla
• Catria
• Est
• Lena
• Matthis
• Julian
• Rickard
• Hardin
• Wolf
• Roshea
• Jeorge
• Astram
• Midia
• Tomas
• Aran
• Samson
• Castor
• Jake
• Darros
• Barst
• Wrys
• Lorenz
• Tiki
• Gotoh
• Bantu
• Xane

That cuts out 12 characters and leaves the roster at a nice, even 40. Some of these 40 are pretty self-explanatory, so I won't bother saying why they're being kept (Marth, Marth's starting crew of Jagen/Abel/Cain/Gordin/Draug, Caeda, Minerva, the Whitewing sisters, Hardin, etc.). Castor, Jake, Darros, and Barst are being kept so we still have their respective classes of Hunter, Ballistician, Pirate, and Fighter. Jake also has his relationship with Anna going for him. Wrys is kept because even though Lena is definitely the preferred healer, you still need one prior to getting her, plus he became a bit of a meme and would you really wanna discard him? Roshea and Wolf are being kept because part of what makes Hardin is his command of his unit, so you gotta have a couple in there, and Roshea and Wolf are the most prominent/important ones. Tomas is purely bias on my part, there's something about that dude I like. Matthis is being kept because he actually has some semblance of a character, and his relationship to Lena is good. Rickard is there as a backup thief just in case something happens to Julian, plus he keeps the roster up at that nice even 40, he seemed like a better option than any of the other 12 I cut.

As for the 12 cut characters, Roger is a meme and I kinda like him but between Draug and Lorenz, we have armored units covered, and Roger unfortunately doesn't have much to do with anyone else in the game. Wendell and Boah can serve the same roles they have just as NPCs, and Dolph and Macellan can still be NPCs as part of Nyna's group you break from jail. Same with Sedgar and Vyland for Hardin's group, they aren't as prominent as Roshea or Wolf. Bord, Cord, Caesar, Radd, and Beck are all completely expendable, sadly.

Assuming that we also still get FE 3, then Nyna, Camus/Sirius, Sheena, Yuliya, Jubelo, Arlen, Samuel, Phina, and Marth's other starting crew (Roderick/Luke/Cecil/Ryan/Marisha) can still join the roster.

Edited July 26, 2023 by Fire Emblem Fan

[Jotari]

1 hour ago, Shaky Jones said:

How could you even suggest something like this? Every character in this classic title is worthy of recognition in their own right, and the amount of fun I've had with lesser known characters makes them some of my fa-

Oh you're talking FE1. Yeah, scrap everyone. Like, everyone. Even Marth. Then you have no choice but to play a different game. Or scrap the inventory system.  

 

Here's my list of who I'd scrap if it was necessary to execute units in the alternative world where Excelblem killed Kaga and became the new dev. It's easier to explain units I'd not keep over defending 95% of the cast.

1. Samson: His gimmick in the village is cool, but not really needed. Arran seems to be canon anyways, and Samson doesn't really provide anything in FE3, as Sheema could just be recruited on her own and move on.
2. Caesar: I love using Caesar in DSFE, but out of all the units in FE1, Caesar and Radd together are very boring to use, as mercs and myrms are one and the same, giving you a lot of sword units to work with. With how good Julian's growths are, even just Marth and Julian alone are sufficient swordies. If I recall, Kaga literally just made them as replacement units for killed Ogmas and Navarres, but even armors and fliers can use swords in FE1, so the merc class doesn't feel nearly as special in this game. Besides, you don't have to wait too long for Astram. Look, if you lost all your swordies by then, you can't be trusted with them. On the bright side, no FE1 C&R means no ch6x 20 years later.
3. Radd: Refer to 2
4. Beck: You can't reclass Beck into a sage in this game. What's even the point? Other reason is that I think making ballistician an exclusive class for Jake is a cool idea. It's a class that already stands out on its own, and as Jake himself would then become a reoccurring character throughout the series, this can reinforce the idea that there's something unique about him.
5. Tomas: Being one of 6 Tomas fans in the world, it pains me to shoot the back of his head, but for FE1 standards, it's hard to pick anyone else I see myself never using. While archers can promote unlike hunters and horseman, I have either Gordin as my archer to train, or Jeorge as the prepromote sniper who can use strong bows to swiftly remove dracos. There's a bunch of other bow users to choose from should they both die, and Nyna already has all the guarding she needs with the world's most handsome duo, Macellan and Dolph. Really, I'm only picking him because I'm forcing myself to choose 5 Archanea characters total. How Kaga axed the ones he did for Fe3 is something I will never understand. I have a heart.

Add Axe Boy TA to FE1, and I might actually play the game again one day.

If anyone removes Castor, the mother will die from grief. Think about that.

Kaga was off his meds, don't trust his takes.

I don't want vulnerary. I just want "Take me with you, and you'll be very glad you did".

I don't know if the main question would remove these guys just from 1, or all iterations out of continuity, but imagine doing FE11 early game with no heal until the end of chapter 3. It's over. I do find no ch1-2 heal annoying. You either waste what little vulns you possess, or you spend all day on a fort. I'll admit there was a bit of fun planning out how many hits each unit can afford to take before falling back, but I'm not a fan of limiting Cord's ability to solo the entire map.

I find myself genuinely breaking the heal staff by chapter 3 of Hard 5. Not something you see often in Fire Emblem!

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

52 minutes ago, Shaky Jones said:

I don't want vulnerary. I just want "Take me with you, and you'll be very glad you did".

Wrys? Is that what you want? Well, there's never been any Wrys! Wrys is just a myth!

Anyway, I'm going to approach this from a slightly different angle. Basically, I've been theorycrafting a potential "Paper Emblem" game. It would essentially be (another) remake of the first game, but with substantial changes in gameplay (i.e. traversible world map, small-scale enemy encounters, battles that use timed button presses to crit or dodge, probably no permadeath), and chibi papery aestherics. In that light, the following characters would stay playable:

1. Marth. The Lord and main character, whom everything revolves around.

2. Jagen. Great early on, but less impressive as time goes on, now pulling double-duty as Marth's advisor.

3. Draug. The Armor Knight, giving you someone who can tank hits really well.

4. Gordin. The Archer, giving you someone who can fight from the back lines.

5. Caeda. The Pegasus Knight, Marth's pove interest, and warrior princess.

6. Lena. The Healer, giving you someone who can heal allies mid-battle and play with positioning (a la Warp).

7. Julian. The Thief, giving you someone who can nick items off of foes. Also helps open doors in the overworld.

8. Merric. The Mage, giving you someone who blows through the opponent's defense.

9. Hardin. The Cavalier, with great movement around the battlefield, and of course plot significance.

10. Minerva. Princess of Macedon, riding a Wyvern with the fierce Hauteclere.

11. Jeorge. A famed Sniper, who uses Parthia to enact justice.

12. Linde. Another Mage, who starts unimposing, but comes to take up the mantle of Starlight.

13. Midia. Another Paladin, who takes up Gradivus once it returns to Archanea.

14. Astram. A fierce Hero, who uses the regalia of Mercurius once reclaimed.

15. Tiki. The Divine Dragon, whose holy flames are the key to fighting Medeus.

16. Gotoh. The Archsage, who brings his wisdom and magical mastery to Marth's aid.

Next, who isn't playable, but still shows up with some function?

17. Cain. He handles forging.

18. Abel. He keeps the Convoy.

19. Ogma. He operates the Arena.

20. Maria. She heals units between battles, Pokemon Center-style.

21. Bantu. He comes along to save Tiki, and will also sell you boosting items.

22/23. Bord and Cord. They will show up to cut down overworld trees that present an obstacle... for the right price.

24/25/26. Palla, Catria, and Est. They show up in plot, and also in a "Triangle Attack" that Minerva can trigger.

27. Castor. He shows up to bum money off of you for his sick mother. Donate enough, and you may just be rewarded...

28. Darros. He'll help ye become sail, and reach locations across the watery deep.

29. Lorenz. Shows up for plot, and also sells Shields to help your defenses.

30. Nyna. Maintains her "sounding board" role, and tells Marth where he needs to go next.

31. Matthis. Occasionally shows up among the enemies. Just talk to him, and he'll leave you alone for a little while.

32. Elice. Plot reasons, and I might have her do something with Aum, IDK.

Anyway, these are just a few ideas. Obviously this is super trimmed down, and wouldn't fly in a typical Fire Emblem game. But I think it would work with a smaller cast as more of an RPG, or even an "Echoes-like". Let me know if you think I missed anyone vital.

[JimmyBeans]

10 hours ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

My boy Barst,

My boy @JimmyBeans's boy Bord.

My other boy @Shaky Jones's boy Cord.

We triangle attack in this household.

I also really like Castor and I want him and his mother to be happy, so he stays.

The Hammer Man for sure must stay, and we cannot get rid of the other axe bro's either. Chapter 2 gives you 4 axe users on the same map, what other FE does that?

[Jotari]

13 minutes ago, JimmyBeans said:

The Hammer Man for sure must stay, and we cannot get rid of the other axe bro's either. Chapter 2 gives you 4 axe users on the same map, what other FE does that?

Thracia 776 gives you 4 on Chapter 1!

[JimmyBeans]

6 minutes ago, Jotari said:

Thracia 776 gives you 4 on Chapter 1!

I'm a fraud

[Imuabicus der Fertige]

Cut out Abel, Jagen, Cain, Gordin, Draug, Norne, Bord, Cord, Darros, Castor, Julian, Navarre, Matthis, Wolf, Sedgar, Roshea, Vyland, Hardin, Rickard, Athena, Bantu, Caesar, Radd, Roger, Jeorge, Maria, Minerva, Linde, Dolph, Macellan, Tomas, Boah, Midia, Horace, Astra, Catria, Palla, Arran, Samson, Etzel, Est, Tiki, Lorenz, Ymir and you have a nice manageable unit window.

5 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

1. Marth. The Lord and main character, whom everything revolves around.

2. Jagen. Great early on, but less impressive as time goes on, now pulling double-duty as Marth's advisor.

3. Draug. The Armor Knight, giving you someone who can tank hits really well.

4. Gordin. The Archer, giving you someone who can fight from the back lines.

5. Caeda. The Pegasus Knight, Marth's pove interest, and warrior princess.

6. Lena. The Healer, giving you someone who can heal allies mid-battle and play with positioning (a la Warp).

7. Julian. The Thief, giving you someone who can nick items off of foes. Also helps open doors in the overworld.

The softlocked by chapter 3 H5 squad.