Fire Emblem isn't a series that was originally known for romance. The franchise has and seemingly will always be an overhead strategy RPG/battle-simulator. But, as time went on, and people latched on to amazing characters like Ike, Marth, Roy, even Chrom, Nintendo began to realize how important the support conversations between characters were becoming. It wasn't until Fire Emblem: Awakening happened and saved the series that the romance options went wild, but, looking back, here are our own personal top 5 and bottom 5 romances.
Disclaimer: Most of the romance dialogue in these games between any and all characters are quality, so these are very individual picks. And, as Awakening kicked off the romance-train, we'll mostly be keeping it to games that came after Awakening. Sorry Blazing Blade and Path of Radiance fans.
10 Best: Arthur and Azura - Fire Emblem: Fates
Starting off is probably one of the most unexpected but sweet pairings in Fire Emblem, obviously other than canon ones such as MarthXCaede. Arthur in Fire Emblem: Fates is a literal superhero fanboy, a true pursuer of Justice. Basically he's like a mini All Might from My Hero Academia. But, underneath that cheesy facade, is the core of a truly good person, and Azura brings that out in him. Turns out the two have known each other since they were kids, but Arthur is the only one who remembers at first. The progression of the romance is natural and steady, unlike a lot of Fire Emblem romances, and it fleshes out two of the more seemingly shallow characters.
9 Worst: Nah And Inigo - Fire Emblem: Awakening
Fire Emblem: Awakening did something different by letting the romance pairings play a part in both the skills and appearance of their children. Because of the convoluted plot, the children of the Shepards travel through time to save their parents, so Nah is Nowi's daughter. And, being part Manakete, she can turn into a dragon. This is important because of her relationship with playboy Inigo (Olivia's son) is one of the worst we've seen. Basically, she likes him, but can't stand his constant flirting, so she literally threatens to eat him unless he marries her and stops flirting around town. There's no back and forth bonding, no consensual love, just a dragon forcing a man to marry her because it's what she wants. Chomp Chomp.
8 Best: Gerik And Tethys - Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones
This is the only entry that's before Awakening, and that's because it is one of the more genuine connections we can remember in Fire Emblem. Gerik and his merry band of Mercenaries join Eirika after Mission11 in Sacred Stones, are absolute WMD's all on there own. Gerik himself is one of the most insane Hero-classes in any game and has some great support dialogue. Frankly, they're some of our favorite characters in the franchise. When reading the supports between Gerik and Tethys, it becomes clear that both have had their own incredibly difficult journies, and they both strive for similar ideals. Honestly, there's not much more to say, it's just a very real relationship between two people.
7 Worst: Tharja And...Well, Anybody - Fire Emblem: Awakening
This next one is going to get us a lot of hate, but Tharja is a horrible romance option for just about anyone. And her daughter is even worse. Most of her interactions with the men in FE: Awakening involves her using them as guinea pigs to test curses and to talk about her love/obsession for Robin. It's unhealthy, and somehow the men fall for her anyway which feels forced. Sure, we get that she's a fan favorite, and for good reason, she's a great character on her own. But that's the key phrase, on her own. We ended up pairing her with Henry because they're oddly similar in some ways, but even still that felt wrong.
6 Best: Gregor And Cordelia - Fire Emblem: Awakening
Gregor is one of the best characters in FE: Awakening, honestly. On the surface, he's the cheerful and lovable mercenary with a foreign accent and a muscular build. Basically the stereotypical "Russian Guy". But, upon diving into his support conversations, we find out that Gregor has really just had it incredibly rough, yet he still keeps his chin up. His progression with Cordelia is particularly heartwarming because it involves Gregor teaching a socially awkward but beautiful Pegasus Knight about finding love. But, in all their lessons, it turns out Gregor was actually teaching her how to find love with him. Honestly, it's one of Cordelia's best romances and the perfect blend of comedy and romance.
5 Worst: Cordelia And Frederick - Fire Emblem: Awakening
And, funnily enough, Cordelia also has one of the worst pairings ever. This is the most beta relationship in Fire Emblem history. Cordelia loves Chrom, it's all she talks about, and all she can see. Frederick is Chrom's right-hand man, and would never betray him. Yet, after listening to Cordelia whine about her unrequited love for Chrom to him for hours and hours on end, Frederick for some reason falls in love with her. And, in their S-rank support conversation, he proposes to her knowing that she still loves Chrom and not him! Most of her other pairings have her getting over Chrom, but this one just feels awful every step of the way.
4 Best: Lorenz And Hilda - Fire Emblem: Three Houses
We wanted to include a bit of Three Houses on here, even if the game is pretty lacking in the Romance department. Sure, players can pair their Byleth with anyone, but Byleth is the most cardboard player character the series has ever had. Nah, it's all about the students. And among them, there are some with some pretty overt references to marriage/love at their end of their A-rank supports, particularly with Hilda and Lorenz in the Golden Deer. Both these characters seem scummy at first, but as the game/supports progress, we find that Hilda is passionate and cunning, and Lorenz is altruistic yet stubborn. And, weirdly enough, they just work together!
3 Worst: Corrin And Any Of Their "Family" - Fire Emblem: Fates
WARNING: Slight spoilers for The Fates series up ahead.
So yeah, we understand that Corrin is Mikoto's true child and that the Hosido family have a different father and the Nohr family aren't related in the least. But Corrin is raised with the Nohr family and is seen as family to the Hosido's! And just because the Hosido's are step-children, doesn't mean its not still weird. It's a shame because all of the Hoshido's and other family are great characters, particularly Takumi and Leo but the romances with them and Corrin just feel so gross. Honestly, in 90% of them, the script-writers basically force the characters to say "Don't worry they're not related by blood it's fine" and that really proves our point, doesn't it?
2 Best: Azama And Orochi - Fire Emblem: Awakening
Alright, we admit it, there's a bit of bias when it comes to Azama. He's just such a fun character! A Priest with a talent for sarcasm and laziness? And that hair! Those stats! He's just an absolute asset on the battlefield. So, when the support conversations between him and the Hoshidan Omnoyo mage Orochi kept getting better and better, we were delighted. Basically, the two of them are both experts in sass, and they turn it up to max when talking to each other. Azama likes to pick on Orochi but in actuality helps her more than he hurts her. While most of the other pairings on this list are just sweet, this one is particularly funny and adorable.
1 Worst: Peri And Arthur - Fire Emblem: Fates
And finally, we have another person who isn't in the right mental state for a serious committed relationship. But, even more than that, Peri is a serial killer! She's not some veteran who has killed but only during wartime, she kills as a hobby. Obviously, due to her gruesome past of witnessing her mother's murder, Peri has some deep trauma. But, that's no excuse and even less so considering she just constantly talks about stabbing people and buying knives. We never understood how Peri (outside of her design) became so popular among fans, or even how Xander picked her. All of her romance-based supports feel so incredibly forced, especially with our main man Arthur, who basically just falls in love with her by buying her knives over and over.