Now that the dust is slowly settling around Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, my thoughts are turning elsewhere — namely, which of the dozens of new characters might end up in the next Smash Bros. game. Before you curse my name for speaking such evil into the world, just look at the Smash Ultimate roster. There’s already eight (or only eight if you’re a sicko like me) Fire Emblem characters in it! If we end up getting a Smash Bros. game for the Nintendo Switch 2, we’re almost guaranteed to see at least one more Fire Emblem character now that Fortune’s Weave is in the wild. Whenever that does happen, I hope the new additions include at least some of these folks.
6
Eshmel
My condition for Eshmel joining the fray is that they aren’t just another Byleth. No giving them the powers of the Flame Lords as their attacks just to get all the main faces in! Not when Eshmel has a unique fighting style (that almost certainly points to their identity in a former life). Trident is a nifty class, too. It specializes in spear work, which would be a first for the sword-loving Smash Bros, and it has access to some pretty helpful white magic, too. Robin already has the self-healing Nosferatu spell, so I’m not keen on repeating that. Seraphim is essential given how prominent the undead are in Fortune’s Weave, and maybe some of those fancy starlight spells Orchel and Aurora get.
5
Peppe
Look, I don’t have any special ideas for what Peppe could do. But — theoretically, at least — this is his one chance to stand out and not be overshadowed by literally everyone else. The kid just can’t catch a break pre- or post-timeskip! He’s the fastest little thing in the world, but his horrendous strength puts him on par with a gnat in terms of combat potential. I’d say he’s a funny joke, if not for the trouble you have to go through to recruit him in Dietrich’s path. Making someone that obnoxious to recruit also be that weak is borderline cruel.
Anyway, bonus points if his kit leaned into the memes and made him incredibly fast, but woefully puny.
4
Cai
Cai seems like a ready-made Fire Emblem Smash hero. His godly spear is distinct enough to stand out, like Lucina’s Falchion or Corrin’s dragon sword. He can summon ornius dinosaur-birds for his mobility skill and trample anyone who gets in the way. The balefire Blaze Art is practically designed for Cai’s down special, the way it’d cover the ground and burn enemies who stand in it. It could work as his standard special I guess, but then you’re getting awfully close to Mario fireball territory.
Or maybe he could be in a similar situation as the Pokémon Trainer. Every time Cai spawns, he has a different mount with unique abilities: speed for the ornius, power with the horse, airborne attacks with the bau. Plus he’s basically the Fortune’s Weave poster child, and it’s almost always the best-known character from a game who gets added, hence why we have Robin and Lucina from Awakening, for example, but no Virion or Lon’qu.
3
Goliath
You know what Fire Emblem is full of? Big dudes (gender inclusive) in armor. You know what kind of Fire Emblem character we never see in Smash Bros.? Big dudes in armor. Lithe swordfighters are fine, but c’mon y’all. Give us a Big Guy and make them a tank like Bowser or even Donkey Kong. Buccar doesn’t have a signature combat style, so he’s out. Jasmine’s counter-focused combat could make her an interesting candidate, though that’s pretty close to the counter move you get from Marth and Roy. So that leaves Goliath, the larger-than-life guy who fights with careless abandon, as the ideal option.
2
Dante
I just like Dante. I think she’s neat.
1
Fabio
If there can only ever be one more Fire Emblem character in any Smash Bros. game, it has to be Fabio. Everyone else can get in the bin. He’s just the best.
Even if you put aside my incredibly strong bias for Fabio inclusion on the basis of him being a fantastic character, it does make sense to have someone like him in the roster. No Smash game has an aggressive magic user like Fabio. Zelda’s spells are primarily defensive, and one of her specials is reserved for transforming into Sheik anyway (at least in some Smash games). Ness and Lucas pack some more magical oomph, but they’re pretty fiddly. Why use PK Fire, when you can just smack someone into the sun with a baseball bat? Fabio’s got a lot of potential with your standard Fire Emblem magic and his special Agarthan brand of spells — Mire for long-range hits, maybe Death as his ultimate, and Warp would naturally be his recovery spell.
Make it happen, Nintendo.