Hmm, this is another “odd” review in that it isn’t an otome game, but it does have elements of shipping, so I feel like it’s okay to review here. Fire Emblem Fates is divided into three parts: Birthright, Conquest, and Revelations. You have to purchase each part separately. This review will cover Birthright and like my review of Trails in the Sky, First Chapter, it will not be about the mechanics of the game because there are hundreds of gaming outlets that will do it better than me and this is a romance review site.
This is a traditional Japanese-style RPG. This game falls under the strategy genre, meaning the bulk of the gameplay is on a grid and you command units by moving them around the grid.
During battles, by pairing units together or having them fight side-by-side, you’ll increase their affection for each other. Then after battles (or before the next) they can talk to each other for cute little scenes. Not all characters get along, and a lot of fun lies in figuring out who would be best for each other. Because the unions result in a child, it makes it even more fun to ship characters together.
This is both a major mechanic and not. You can ignore it, but by raising levels you can grant bonuses when the characters fight together, so it’s worth it to try and get a variety of pairings going. Not only can you get married, you get one other high rank I called best friend for lack of definition in the game.
Ranks go from C to S, with S being possible only once with the opposite sex and A+ being possible only once with the same sex. There are a few select gay/lesbian routes available, but there is no child as the result of the union, and the children unions are fantastic units, so that’s a sacrifice you’ll have to decide on if you want a same-sex partner. 
I was so upset when I found this out because I really wanted my female Corrin to marry Rhajat!
There are several difficulty modes in the game and there is an easy mode, if you want to play and enjoy the story. The main story is a standard affair of a character fighting for what’s right. You can choose to be male or female and the default name for both is Corrin. If I have an option to be female in games, I always take it. 
The main storyline in Birthright is straightforward saving the land type stuff. You’re not going to be impressed with it by any means. In fact, Corrin is a little too naive for my tastes at times.
Well.. umm… this is awkward LOL now what can I say about it? 
It would take a lot of time and effort to go through each pairing possible. With the main character, I went through all the possibilities and chose which one I liked best. Your short stories with each are super short, I don’t want to make it sound like it’s a long thing with any of them, so keep in mind — short and sweet. It’s a nice additional mechanic on top of a normal SRPG. For a lot of the minor characters, if I liked the way their C-rank started I considered going through the effort to get the S rank.
My personal favorites were:
Female Corrin ♥ Takumi — Takumi is an ass at first, but her earnest personality wins him over. His S-rank scene was by far the cutest of all of them. He tells her his feelings and she thinks they’re talking about platonic love, which embarrasses him and forces him to be extra clear about it. 
They talk about several more things (his actually was one of the longer ones) that are spoilers so I won’t go into them here but know it is both awkward and adorable on Takumi’s part, basically the crumbling of his public persona into the dork he is inside. His voiced CG line was really… really… cheesy. Like I cringed it was so horrible BUT the actual scene was the best. Their bonding segments continues with his awkward shyness and it’s really cute!
Disclaimer #1 — Takumi ended up being my second-favorite character in the game.
For voiced lines with Corrin, Ryoma and Kaze had the best. Jakob’s devotion to Corrin was cute, but he was such a huge jerkface to everyone except her it turned me off big time.
Sakura ♥ Hayato — Sakura loves sweets and Hayato loves sweets too, but is afraid to admit it because he doesn’t want to be seen as childish. So they become secret pastry pals! 
And it’s as sugary sweet as you would imagine. And their daughter ended up as one of my favorite characters, to say the least.
Hana ♥ Hinata — They’re two of a kind. I enjoyed this because Hinata starts off a bit sexist but changes. I like reading stories where couples correct each other’s faults.
Kaze ♥ Rinkah — Much like Sakura and Hayato, their story involves the love of sweets. Kaze is one of the few people who can break through Rinkah’s rough exterior and get her to act, well, nice instead of rude LOL And their S-rank line had one of the absolute best — “FINE! I love you too, and I want to be with you, you gorgeous dastard!” 
Oh man, I was rolling after reading that.
Kana ♥ Midori — They’re both around the same age and really young, so it’s not so much of a romance as it’s two children being absolutely freaking adorable.
Corrin ♥ Rhajat — I really adored Rhajat’s creepy character. The S-rank conversation is super adorable and her voiced lines are well, Rhajat-like.
Disclaimer #2: Rhajat was my favorite character.
Rhajat ♥
Asugi — I think I ended up liking all of Rhajat’s S-ranks, if only because she’s so odd and the way their budding relationships turn up are unique. That said, Asugi’s sort of laidback personality meshes with her creepiness rather well.
Dwyr — Aesthetically, I like them together because they both look super gloomy. They’re my little Adams distant family~ Their S-rank has a super cute line too~ “I’m going to stick with you until one or both of us are dead! It may not be as long as you think!”
Shiro — I hated it and it’s bad on all fronts.
Hisame — While as the idea of a couple I was meeeh, their S-rank conversation is hilarious.
Ryoma ♥ Oboro– This was the best of the Ryoma S ranks. I found his character as a whole very dry, though.
This isn’t a comprehensive list by any means, but these were ones I enjoyed a lot.
So while romance isn’t the focus, if you like playing matchmaker in things you’ll probably enjoy doing this. As a bonus, you’ll get to do it twice — once with the first cast and the second with their children.
Though, that’s being objective. Personally I enjoyed it a tooonnnnnn, but that’s because I really loved Takumi and Rhajat’s characters and SRPGs are my favorite.
My heart scale is defined as follows – 5 hearts = a story everyone will fall in love with, regardless of preferences; 4 hearts = a well-done story that people who love the concept will adore, and people who don’t may end up liking it; 3 hearts = if you like this type of story or this type of hero, then you will enjoy this, but those who do not like either of those things will probably not; 2 hearts = it had potential, it squandered it; 1 heart = just a waste of time from the get-go; 0 hearts = why was this made?