#otherwise it's vague nonsense or the game really implying something while REFUSING to say it

[my-current-obsession]

I mean, to be fair, FE was never heavy about Romance. I know Awakening and so on changed it to be more heavy on w the pair ups and such, but thats like... 4 out of 17(?) FE games. I think Engage(ironically) was trying to dial back to the older style of FE. If you wants romani, why not play a dating sim game and not FE?(i dont mean that in a rude way, that's a general question. Sorry if it does tho)

No offense taken at all! I'll admit, Awakening was my introduction to the series (and I'd probably still call it my favorite), so I'm definitely more used to supports/endings that are... pretty dang romantic. Even more than finding out who *I* liked most and S-ranking them, I LOVED playing matchmaker with my entire army. And since Fates and 3 Houses very much kept up that trend I kind of expected it to be a mainstay of the series moving forward.

That said I HAVE gone back and played two of the older games - Blazing Sword and Sacred Stones, and while they're definitely not as romance-focused as the newer games... honestly I STILL think they've got more romance than what Engage gave us. It's hard to see a lot of it organically since the older games pretty much force you to pick a small set of units and stick with them, plus you're limited to 5 supports per person per playthrough. With no guarantee of a paired ending if you don't get an A rank, and maybe even then there's either no paired ending or it's platonic. But when you're lucky enough to FIND a pair that was given a romantic support and ending... yeah, the chain or at least the ending is fairly obviously romantic! There's flirting, the ending generally outright states they marry or "stay together" forever.

I came out of those games adoring Eliwood/Ninian, Kent/Lyn (though I won't deny her relationship with Florina is pretty eyebrow raising), Raven/Lucius, Cormag/Tana, Ephraim/L'Arachel, and Forde/Eirika, among others.

I actually care way more about the loss of matchmaking, but IMO if Engage was going to still allow the player to romance someone... they really should have let those scenes and endings be more romantic. Otherwise what's the point? And as someone in the replies of that post noted... yeah, it's a bit unfortunate and weird that they chose the game where you can finally S rank ANYONE regardless of gender to really tone down the romance.

And for the record, I play plenty of romantic visual novels, as well as other series with "dating sim" aspects, such as Persona or Stella Glow (a HIGHLY underrated game). So it's not like I need to get my romance fix from FE specifically; I just was used to it being more romance focused and am a bit disappointed. But I initially checked out Awakening because I was intrigued by the turn-based strategy gameplay and its art style, and I'm still fully onboard the series for that, too! Outside of actual visual novels, any game I play with romance elements I'm primarily into for the plot and/or gameplay, but the romance is ALWAYS a plus for me. And since it was a pretty huge part of my FE experience for Awakening, Fates, and 3 Houses, I miss it here.

#fire emblem #fe17 #personal #i'm just a little bitter because i miss legit S ranks from 13/14/16. the confessions and proposals were SO GOOD #and yeah not every single one was a winner. but most were solid #meanwhile here the game has about ~18-ish people who are 'explicitly romantic' #but i've only had like... FIVE OR SIX that actually FELT romantic and included a confession #otherwise it's vague nonsense or the game really implying something while REFUSING to say it #but anyway despite my complaining i do overall really enjoy this game. and i'll continue to love the series #and i'll always have otome for my romance needs. i just wish there was a bigger following/fandom for that here