Now that I've got your attention, vote for Bart!*It's the old, familiar story: Fire Emblem coulda been a contender, and it had
one shot to impress the world again! So Intelligent Systems poured their all into Awakening, which launched to rave reviews and very strong sales (around 2 million). Not only that, but FE fever exploded afterward, sneaking in cameos in games like Codename STEAM, featuring no less than
six playable characters in the latest Smash Bros, and even being a part of its own crossover with Tokyo Mirage Sessions.
And, like anything that becomes popular with a big hit, a number of original fans are irritated at Awakening. And a big reason why is because of how it handles relationships. The Support system from previous games makes a return and gets implemented even deeper in Awakening and its sequel, Fates. Instead of simply making your units best friends, they can now marry each other and have kids. What's more, a character in the game who represents "you" (the player) can marry any unit in the game that you'd like! This has led some to derisively describe modern FE as a "waifu simulator."
It's tough to say how much that element effected sales; I don't think it was particularly prevalent in Awakening's early marketing, but there's no denying that the fanbase grew significantly after Awakening. Either way, Fates ramped the romance angle up further, letting you hang out with close-ups of the player characters in your quarters (and...pet their face?), or do goofy anime tropes like going to the base's spa and spooking all the ladies with your lecherous self.
Apparently, Awakening was going to be the last FE game if it wasn't a home run. So I guess we can thank Tharja's cleavage for our six Smash Bros. characters! What do you guys think of these additions? Do they hurt the series' integrity, or are they harmless fun? Does the fact that these elements probably contributed to Awakening's success make a difference?
*Top image size made extra-small to be work safe~URL to share (right click and copy)