Fire Emblem GBA Characters: Complete Roster Hub

The GBA trilogy has three distinct playable casts. This hub keeps them separate, then groups names by affiliation or recruitment phase and a broad class family. It is a directory, not a tier list: a unit’s place here says where they belong, not how strong they are.

Use the recruitment checklist before a chapter if you do not want to miss anyone. Use the best-characters analysis only when you want an explicitly editorial recommendation.

How to Browse This Directory

Each card names a game, a story affiliation or arrival group, and the class families represented. Names are the permanent campaign-playable characters in the international naming used by this site. A character who changes class after promotion remains under the family that best describes their starting role.

FE7’s Lyn Mode cast returns in Eliwood or Hector Mode; those are not duplicate characters. FE8’s branching promotions do not create extra characters. FE6’s mutually exclusive route recruits appear once, with their branch explained below.

FE6: The Binding Blade Roster

FE6 has 54 campaign-playable units, but no single ordinary playthrough obtains every branch-specific face. The Western Isles choice determines Larum and Echidna versus Elffin and Bartre. Later, the Ilia/Sacae calculation determines Juno versus Dayan. The route calculation uses the relevant pegasus-knight pair’s gained levels against the nomad pair’s gained levels; ties go to Ilia.

Several enemies become allies only through a named conversation, and Cath requires three conversations across separate appearances. Check the recruitment database rather than assuming that defeating a boss or clearing a map will convert them.

FE7: The Blazing Blade Roster

FE7 is mode-sensitive. Lyn Mode introduces a company that returns in the main campaign. Eliwood and Hector modes share most permanent units, but chapter numbers shift and Hector Mode adds maps and characters. Farina and Karla are Hector Mode exclusives. Geitz and Wallace occupy alternative versions of one map, while Karel and Harken are a separate mutually exclusive pair chosen by actions within Pale Flower of Darkness.

The tactician/Mark is a player avatar and story role, not a battlefield unit, so it is not in the playable roster cards.

FE8: The Sacred Stones Roster

FE8 splits after Chapter 8. Eirika and Ephraim meet the same permanent campaign roster by the reunion, but the chapter, recruiter, bases, and amount of availability can change. Cormag and Duessel are especially route-sensitive. Branching promotions also mean that “class” is a choice: for example, a trainee or a magic user can finish in more than one promoted class.

Orson is controllable in Chapter 5x but is a temporary story unit, so he is not treated as a permanent roster member here.

Class Families and Promotion Paths

GBA promotion is normally one-way in FE6 and FE7: a Cavalier becomes a Paladin, a Mercenary becomes a Hero, and so on. FE8 adds two promotion branches for most unpromoted classes. A class family is therefore safer for browsing than a promised final class.

The leveling and promotion guide explains promotion items and why waiting until level 20 is optional rather than mandatory. Growth percentages describe probability, not a guaranteed final stat line; the directory does not label a character “good” from growths alone.

Route Locks, Temporary Units, and Alternate Forms

What This Hub Deliberately Does Not Rank

Affiliation, starting class, and availability are descriptive facts. “Best,” “low investment,” and “first-playthrough friendly” are recommendations that depend on rules and play style. Keeping those claims on the ranking page makes the boundary visible.

For a full-recruitment run, open the shareable recruitment database before each map. Its rows show the starting side, valid speaker, route or mode, exact action, and permanent lockout.

Research and Naming Notes

The roster order and class groupings were reconstructed from the local FE6, FE7, and FE8 English character/growth archives, then cross-checked against the FE7 guide and community reference index listed below. Translated name variants exist—especially for FE6—so this site uses one consistent modern English form in navigation and notes alternatives only where they prevent confusion.