There are tons of characters in Fire Emblem Fates, which means there are plenty of opportunities to see how different characters interact. The Support system is one of Fire Emblem’s most notable features, and it’s present in full force in this installment. Each route has so many people to talk to and, should you walk the Revelations road, you’ll get what happens when people who ordinarily wouldn’t meet, do.
The Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright and Revelations routes are best for building relationships. That isn’t to say you won’t earn Supports in Conquest, but that the other two routes afford you more time to explore how people interact. In Nohr, connections are forged out of necessity. With the other two, you can take on optional Challenge missions with a handful of characters to force them to interact.
A very minimal amount of affection can be earned by having your avatar visit his or her Private Quarters in My Castle and inviting an ally to the room. This is the segment where the petting game previously existed. If you’re only interacting with someone, they’ll say an endearing phrase in English and you’ll get a minor boost. (I’ve found you get a far greater boost from sending those two units into a battle together and pairing them up for forcing them to fight alongside one another.) If your avatar is married, the spouse may occasionally be sleeping. You’ll then get to wake the other character up by blowing into the mic or tapping the spouse on the touch screen.
There’s also a hot spring. Walking in when other characters of your same gender are also bathing allows you to engage in some small talk. It’s far more interesting if characters of the opposite gender are already there, because then they’ll freak out, apologize, claim they didn’t see anything, and say you weren’t supposed to be there. Your character will immediately flee.
Once you’ve bonded enough to have a chat, you can enjoy Support conversations outside of battle. Most male units can get up to S rank with female units, and vice versa. There are exceptions, as Niles can get to a S rank relationship with a male avatar and Rhajat with a female avatar. Each character can only have one S-rank relationship.
There are also A+ rank relationships between some characters. As an example, I had Leo and Azura pair up in Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest. Due to tactical decisions, Leo had an opportunity to also enter into a A+ rank relationship with Niles. Each character can have one A+ rank relationship. Even though I had Leo at A+ with Niles, Niles was free to pursue a different A+ relationship with either Arthur or Odin.
Now, on to some of my favorite relationships. I paired Corrin with Xander in Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest. It resulted in delightful conversations about their interactions as they grew up. Plus, it added a little extra meaning to Xander always calling her “little princess.” She’s paired up with Saizo in Birthright, because it was amusing to hear how suspicious he is of everyone. In Revelations, I’m seeking out my favorite pairing of Corrin and Kaze, as the two work very well together.
However, I feel bad about the Corrin and Saizo pairing in Birthright, because it feels like Saizo is meant to be with Kagero. I very strongly recommend having the two interact with each other. As Ryoma’s retainers, you learn a lot about the history the two share and the way they approach their duty.
Subaki and Selena is also an amazing pairing, and one of the reasons someone should go through Fire Emblem Fates: Revelations. It taps into the complex Selena’s always had with her mother and allows a look at a different side of Subaki. (Who, despite having stat growths that can’t compare to Hinoka’s, is labeled as some sort of prodigy throughout the game.)
Sending off Silas and Oboro is great for character development on the part of the latter. Considering her personal skill is Nohr Enmity, which deals an additional +3 damage to any Nohrian unit, you can imagine a talk with someone who’s not only from Nohr, but also a romance option, has an interesting result at the B and A ranks.
As for conversations between kids, I really liked the one between Ignatius, Benny’s son, and Soleil, Laslow’s daughter. The two ended up paired together due to fighting on the front lines alongside one another. The C and B rank conversations are promising, as Ignatius catches Soleil engaging in behavior some would consider harassment, rather than teasing, and she helps him with one of his own flaws. The S rank conversation is results in a sweet and tender moment where two friends exchange gifts.
Try sending Arthur’s son, Percy, with Odin’s daughter, Ophelia, too. Arthur has a superhero mentality and Ophelia has a flare for the dramatic, just like her father. It’s interesting to see how two “Chosen Ones” interact.
As a plus, you’ll always be able to savor these Support Logs. Even if you go to a different save file for another storyline, you’ll find unlocked conversations in the Records Hall. They’ll all be waiting there for your perusal. It’s interesting, because going there shows the conversations between the avatar and Azura vary slightly in the Birthright, Conquest, and Revelations storylines.
Fire Emblem Fates will come to the Nintendo 3DS on February 19, 2016.
