It was probably around 2010 or 2011 when Fire Emblem was dying. Radiant Dawn was a hit, but sales weren't going well as expected. So, Nintendo and IS decided to develop the 13th instalment of the series (later named) and end the series right when the new game was released.

The game was later named Fire Emblem Awakening and IS decided they would bring back a feature from New Mystery of the Emblem: a customizable avatar. When the game was released in 2012, and later left Japan in 2013, the public loved it. Sales went through the roof. They were higher then they were when previous instalments came out and everyone had many opinions on why they loved it.

It could've been the customizable avatar, the well developed characters, or the intriguing storyline. Fire Emblem Awakening introduced so many new things for the series. The option to turn off "permadeath" (aka Casual Mode), the support conversations, paring up, the customizable avatar, you name it.

Whatever the reason Fire Emblem Awakening went so well, we all know that Fire Emblem Awakening saved the dying series from going extinct and we wouldn't have another instalment on the way if it weren't for Awakening.