Fire Emblem has long been a niche property of Nintendo's, despite dating back to the NES era. Most Americans only learned of the series with the appearance of Roy and Marth in Super Smash Brothers Melee, and their popularity led to future titles being translated and released abroad. Today, the series has become quite popular, with Fire Emblem Three Houses on the Switch setting records, and the Fire Emblem Heroes mobile game introducing Western fans to characters from Japan-only titles for the first time. But as it turns out, there are some Fire Emblem characters so obscure they aren't even brought up in Heroes.

While Marth's debut game was recently released in English on the Switch, Roy's game (Binding Blade) has yet to be officially translated, despite sharing continuity with the first Fire Emblem game to be localized for America, a prequel referred to now as Blazing Blade. There's one other piece of Fire Emblem history that's set in the world of Binding Blade and Blazing Blade that hasn't been translated, however, and it's not a game. Fire Emblem: The Champion's Blade is a manga series with its own cast of characters, taking place at the same time as Binding Blade, and it has better claims to being canon than one might think.

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The Champion's Blade follows a boy named Al, whose past is clouded with secrets, a princess named Tiena, and her retainer Gant as they deal with the invasion by the empire of Bern that occurs during Binding Blade. Al, Gant, and Tiena then traverse the continent of Elibe, running into some characters from the games (including an older Eliwood, the protagonist of Blazing Blade) and eventually joining up with Roy to help stop Bern and prevent the world from being devastated by dragons.

While there are obviously some differences from the Binding Blade, since the manga's protagonists aren't encountered in-game, the story still closely mirrors the game's plot from a different perspective. Several characters who do appear in Roy's army in Binding Blade, like Cecilia, Chad, and Sophia, also show up in the manga during periods where they are absent in-game, providing some insight as to what they are up to while off-screen. And despite the fact that Al, Gant, and Tiena aren't seen in-game, they are referenced. Unique weapons in the game called Al's Sword, Gant's Lance, and Tiena's Staff can be found, and a special event map released by Nintendo seems to be designed around Tiena's jailbreak. The manga is also illustrated by Yamada Kotaro, an artist who continues drawing character art for Fire Emblem Heroes to this day. Al, Gant, and Tiena have also been acknowledged in the Fire Emblem Cipher TCG, included as cards.

Although these characters from The Champion's Blade are acknowledged in-game and in crossover material, they seem to be in an odd place in relation to Fire Emblem canon. They have yet to show up in any of the popularity polls conducted each year for Fire Emblem Heroes' anniversary, the most recent of which ended on January 28, 2021. Still, it's hard to rule out the possibility that Al, Gant, and Tiena may one day make their video game debut in Heroes, as many previously unplayable characters have been made available, and Kotaro certainly hasn't forgotten them. And, as rumors often fly about remakes of Japan-only Fire Emblem titles, there's always a chance they could be incorporated into a Binding Blade remake, too. With the next title after Fire Emblem Three Houses yet to be announced, fans can only hope that this little-known piece of Fire Emblem history may come to them in some form soon.

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