Short answer: Echoes of Aincrad stars your created avatar, then surrounds that avatar with original partners and returning SAO characters. Bandai Namco now lists Iori, Wyzeman, Zash, Musoh, Argo, Kirito, Asuna, Agil, Klein, Lisbeth and Silica in the official Partners roster. This lore page explains who the major names are; the character database tracks weapons, partner status and source-backed details.
For in-game stats and images, see the character database. This page covers the story and lore side.
Your Avatar — the protagonist
Unlike previous SAO games where you play as Kirito or choose from franchise characters, Echoes of Aincrad puts you in control of a fully custom avatar. You create your appearance, choose your starting weapon, allocate your attributes, and build your identity through the game's systems. You are one of the 10,000 players trapped in Aincrad on launch day — not a franchise hero, but a person caught in the same crisis as everyone else.
This is a significant design choice. By making the protagonist original rather than established, the game lets newcomers enter the story without feeling like they're stepping into someone else's shoes, while franchise fans get to experience Aincrad from a genuinely new perspective. Your avatar's story — who they were before the trap, what they do inside it, how they relate to the other characters — is original to this game. You're not retelling Kirito's story; you're living alongside it.
From a gameplay standpoint, the custom avatar means build diversity is real. Your avatar's 7 attributes, weapon choice, EX-Mod build, and partner configuration make every playthrough mechanically distinct — a dagger-wielding Agility build and a mace-wielding Vitality tank are playing different games.
Original partners — Iori, Wyzeman, Zash and Musoh
For newcomers
Iori is the most important original character in the opening hours. She's a Sword & Shield partner, solo swordswoman and your acquaintance from Sword Art Online's closed beta test — someone you knew before the trap sprung. After the Death Game begins, she reunites with you and becomes the face of the partner system.
In gameplay, Iori is the face of the partner system. She fights alongside you in combat, responds to Switch commands and tactical settings, and provides support skills from the action wheel. She's not a silent follower — she has her own personality, dialogue, and story arc that unfolds alongside yours.
Wyzeman, Zash and Musoh are also official partners. Wyzeman is framed as a veteran adventurer with Mace & Shield, while Zash is a Two-handed Sword front-liner described by Bandai Namco as the strongest player in the beta. Musoh is confirmed by roster placement, but public detail is still sparse.
For franchise fans
Iori is entirely new to the SAO universe. She has no counterpart in the light novels, anime, or previous games — she's created specifically for Echoes of Aincrad. Her background as a closed-beta acquaintance places her in the same social layer as early-Aincrad characters like Argo and the other beta testers, but her specific story and personality are original. Think of her as the game's answer to the question "what if the protagonist had a partner who was there from the beginning?" — something the franchise's Kirito, as a solo player, deliberately lacked for most of the early arc.
Mechanically, she fills a role the franchise hinted at but never fully explored: a permanent combat partner in a Death Game where trust is literally life-and-death. The partner system's Switch mechanic — trading aggro, setting up combination attacks, relying on someone else to cover your back — captures the cooperative survival the franchise described but rarely showed at this level of mechanical depth.
Kirito — the franchise protagonist
For newcomers
Kirito (real name Kirigaya Kazuto) is the protagonist of the Sword Art Online franchise — a teenager who was among the 1,000 beta testers of SAO before its official launch. He's one of the most skilled fighters in Aincrad, known for his preference for solo play and his eventual mastery of dual wielding (a unique skill in the franchise). In Echoes of Aincrad, he appears as a supporting character — you'll encounter him in the story, but you won't play as him.
For franchise fans
Kirito in Echoes of Aincrad is early-arc Kirito — Floor 1, before the Black Cats incident, before dual wielding, before his reputation as the "Black Swordsman" solidifies. Bandai Namco lists him as a confirmed Sword partner here, but the useful restraint is obvious: do not assume dual-wield mechanics just because franchise lore eventually goes there.
His role as a partner rather than the protagonist is the game's most significant franchise departure. Previous SAO games either put you in Kirito's shoes directly or treated him as the primary driver of the plot. Here, he's someone you meet from the outside: important, playable-adjacent through the partner system, but not the center of your character sheet.
Asuna — the franchise co-lead
For newcomers
Asuna (Yuuki Asuna) is the other central character of the SAO franchise — a newcomer to gaming who was among the 10,000 trapped players. She quickly develops into one of the strongest fighters in Aincrad, eventually becoming vice-commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath. In Echoes of Aincrad, Bandai Namco lists her as a confirmed Rapier partner.
For franchise fans
Like Kirito, the game catches Asuna early — before her leadership of the KoB, before her relationship with Kirito fully develops, and during the period the anime largely skipped: the first weeks and months on Floor 1. SAO Progressive (the retelling that covers each floor in detail) spent its first novel/movie on Asuna's Floor 1 experience, making her arguably the most developed character for this specific slice of the timeline. The game's version of Asuna draws from this same pool — the raw, determined newcomer who hasn't yet become the legend the franchise knows her as.
For newcomers, none of this context matters. Asuna in the game is a strong, capable character you meet in the story. For franchise fans, she's a version of a beloved character at her most vulnerable and most interesting — before the title, before the reputation, before the stakes calcified into routine.
Argo — the information broker
For newcomers
Argo, known as "the Rat" (ネズミ), is an information broker — she gathers intel on enemies, mechanics, and player behavior, then sells it to anyone who can pay. She's shrewd, practical, and one of the most useful people in Aincrad if you can afford her prices. In Echoes of Aincrad, she is a confirmed Dagger partner.
For franchise fans
Argo is a deep cut — she barely appears in the original anime but is a significant presence in the Progressive novels and the floor-by-floor retelling where the game is set. She published the "Argo's Strategy Guide" pamphlets that early-Aincrad players relied on, and her information network makes her one of the most connected people in the castle. Her confirmation in the game signals that the story is drawing from Progressive's more detailed, ground-level telling of Floor 1 rather than the anime's compressed version.
For fans of Progressive, Argo's presence is the most exciting character confirmation after Iori — she's a character whose role (information, commerce, the social infrastructure of survival) doesn't translate into combat encounters, which makes her an unusual choice for a game to feature. Her inclusion suggests the game is interested in more than just fighting.
Other returning partners
The official partner roster also pulls in several Aincrad-era regulars who were previously only watch-list names for us:
- Agil: Two-handed Axe partner; in franchise context, a merchant and heavy front-line ally.
- Klein: Sword partner; one of Kirito's earliest SAO friends and the leader of Fuurinkazan.
- Lisbeth: Mace partner; best known as a blacksmith in the Aincrad era.
- Silica: Dagger partner; known in the franchise as a beast tamer, though Pina's mechanical role here is still unconfirmed.
Diavel, Heathcliff and other wider franchise names remain watch-list items until official material or retail footage confirms their role in this game.
The cast design philosophy
Echoes of Aincrad's character approach is worth noting because it's genuinely different from previous SAO games. The game leads with your avatar and original characters, then turns franchise faces into partners rather than protagonists. This does two things: it makes the game accessible to newcomers who don't know Kirito from Kazuto, and it gives franchise fans a fresh angle on characters they already love — seeing them from the outside, at the beginning of their arcs, in a story that isn't about them.
It's a bet that the SAO universe is strong enough to carry new stories rather than just retellings, and based on the demo, it's a bet that seems to be paying off. Iori is a compelling partner character in her own right, not a Kirito substitute, and the franchise characters feel like part of a world rather than fan-service cameos.
FAQ
Who is the main character in Echoes of Aincrad?
Is Kirito playable in Echoes of Aincrad?
Who is Iori?
Do you need to know the franchise characters?
Where to go next
In-game stats and details: character database. The world they live in: What is Aincrad? The stakes they face: The Death Game Explained. Do you need to know the franchise? SAO anime guide.
Sources
- Sword Art Online light novel series (Reki Kawahara, ASCII Media Works / Kadokawa)
- Sword Art Online Progressive light novel series (Reki Kawahara)
- Bandai Namco — official character roster
- Bandai Namco — Starter Guide
Franchise character descriptions come from the light novels/anime. Game-specific partner status and weapon labels come from official Bandai Namco material; exact partner skills remain under retail verification.