Across theFire Emblemseries, players have been able to recruit countless unique and memorable characters into their respective armies. Whether a character joins a player’s cause from the beginning of the game, or whether they must be swayed in some capacity, character recruitment is a core mechanic inFire Emblemthat harkens back to the first installment in the series. However, there are numerous likable and sympathetic characters, many of which are within the series' “Camus” archetype, that for one reason or another cannot be recruited into one’s army.
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As numerous characters are not recruitable for plot-related reasons, expect many spoilers ahead!
11Largo - Radiant Dawn
Largo’s exclusion from playable unit status inFire Emblem: Radiant Dawnis quite tragic. The only playable character inPath of Radiancewas not recruitable in the game’s sequel, Largo was a berserker in his first appearance. Unfortunately, the berserker class was excluded fromRadiant Dawn. Rather than altering Largo’s class, it is stated that he sustained major injuries and is now incapable of fighting.
10Hetzel - Radiant Dawn
One of the major antagonistic factions inFire Emblem:Radiant Dawnis the Begnion Senate. While the vast majority of these senators are corrupt and despicable, one member, Hetzel is shown to be incredibly sympathetic.
Despite this, one senator in the game is recruitable, and it’s not even Hetzel; it’s an antagonist from the previous entry in the series, Oliver, Duke Tanas.
9Hayden - The Sacred Stones
The father of Tana and Innes inFire Emblem: Sacred Stones, Hayden is the king of the allied nation of Frelia. As an ally of Ephraim and Eirika, Hayden is shown to be a strong and wise king who assists the player on numerous occasions.
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Hayden is notably playable in the non-canon post-game, the creature campaign, and is a powerful ranger. However, he was never recruitable in the game’s core story despite being a living able fighter who is allied with the protagonists.
8Galle - The Binding Blade
Like Largo, Galle’s lack of playable status is notably unfortunate, as there are indicators that he was planned to be playable at some point in development. Shown to be honorable and sympathetic over the course ofThe Binding Blade,he has previously established relationships with the playable units Melady and Zeiss. Intriguingly, if he is spoken to by both Melady and Zeiss, he will stop attacking the player’s units, but will remain an enemy unit.
7Judith and Nader - Three Houses
In FireEmblem: Three Houses,the route and story players experience are determined by which house they choose to teach at the beginning of the game. In theory, each house has access to unique route exclusive characters. While each route gives players access to a unique lord, the Crimson Flower route provides access to Hubert and Jeritza, and the Azure Moon route provides access to Dedue and Gilbert. The Verdant Wind route on the other hand features no unique units outside of Claude.
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This route prominently features the two characters Judith and Nader, close allies of Claude who could’ve provided more unique incentive for players who chose the Golden Deer.
6Rodrigue - Three Houses
Similarly to the Verdant Wind route ofThree Houses, the Church route, or Silver Snow, has access to zero unique or route exclusive units. While Felix’s father, Rodrigue is more associated with Faerghus and the Blue Lions house, he could’ve easily served as an additional unit in Silver Snow after Dimitri falls in battle, as in the current state ofThree Houses,Silver Snow is the route bearing the least unique content.
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4Murdock - The Blazing Blade
A general of Bern and the bodyguard of Prince Zephiel in bothThe Binding BladeandThe Blazing Blade,Murdock is primarily characterized by his unswerving loyalty to Zephiel.
While Murdock is an antagonist inThe Binding Blade, he is more of an ally inThe Blazing Blade.Upon the player saving Zephiel’s life in the chapter,Battle Before Dawn,he can offer the player a warp staff out of gratitude. If Murdock had instead joined the player as a playable unit in this instance, it could’ve given the character much more dimension through his supports and made his death inThe Binding Bladeall the more tragic, all whilst believably staying in line with his established character.
3Lloyd and Linus Reed- The Blazing Blade
Fan-favorite members of the “Black Fang,” Lloyd and Linus are honorable assassins who share numerous traits with Eliwood and Hector. Much to the dismay of players, both are killed inThe Blazing Bladedue to the machinations of Nergal and his morphs. After the player spares one of these two brothers, Limstella finishes them off, pinning the blame on the player.
ManyFire Emblemgames features pairs of characters that players may only recruit one of the two in a given playthrough. Perhaps the Reed brothers could’ve functioned in such a manner, allowing the player to convince and recruit whichever brother Limstella hadn’t killed.
2Leila - The Blazing Blade
Those who have playedFire Emblem: The Blazing Blademay remember Leila as Hector’s spy and Matthew’s lover who is executed by Jaffar. While this death raises the stakes of the story and provides motivation for the characters, if Leila had been previously playable at some point in the game, it would allow her death to make a much more significant impact on the player as well.
