This isn’t the first time Nintendo has had to change one of their games for localization outside of Japan, and it certainly won’t be the last. Most recently we brought you news about Xenoblade Chronicles X, and now Fire Emblem Fates will have a similar adjustment in terms of sexual content in the game.
Nintendo of America made a statement to Nintendo World Report confirming that a scene in which the player’s character drugs a homosexual character to “cure” her has been modified:
“In the version of the game that ships in the U.S. and Europe, there is no expression which might be considered as gay conversion or drugging that occurs between characters.”
In this scene, the female character Soleil—when paired up with the male protagonist of the game—is given a magic powder in her drink. This is done without her knowledge, and it causes her to see people as the opposite gender. In theory, the scene is supposed to help Soleil gain confidence in herself so she can be around other women without being awkward, but then she goes on to make a proposal to the main character and claims that because she fell in love with him as a “female” while drugged, she now loves him as the man he is.
You can see where the issues are…right?
We thought so. In fact, you can even see this entire scene on YouTube, posted right here:
There’s been no news on exactly how the conversation has shifted, or if there’s even an interaction there at all resembling the original, but we think it was probably the right move to make this change for Western audiences, for several critical reasons—not the least of which drugging someone without their knowledge, while theoretically playing a heroic character, is just not okay.
