The problem is, none of these games ever got “localized” – perhaps the Skinship feature is partly to blame as America is so up tight about anything with even a hint of sexuality – Meanwhile it’s fine for their kids to play games with blood, gore, violence, or foul language, but if anything is even slightly perverse, it riles up a frenzy in the media.Īs other media outlets have pointed out, Nintendo’s entire marketing strategy has been on providing family entertainment for small children. Princess Maker 4 also comes to mind as having Skinship. For example, Tokimeki Memorial also has a Skinship feature, as does Ensemble Stars both are Otome Dating Sim games. Skinship exists in other games in this genre – While the mainstream media outlets are loving to compare it to Pokemon Amie (possibly because it’s one of the only examples of Skinship in a Western Release) – and saying that it would be “creepy” or “odd” to pet a “human” character – this is nothing new for these types of games despite how “weird” or “sexualized” the media is portraying this mini game to be. Skinship (or Petting as all of the media outlets are calling it) is not a new concept, not if you’re familiar with dating sim games – and Fire Emblem definitely has a strong Dating Sim component tied into each game. It will be a shame to lose those stat bonuses just because of some controversial undertones within the minigame. I am disappointed by Nintendo’s decision and wonder if anything will be added in replace of the Petting minigame, such as perhaps talking to, or giving gifts to your comrades, etc, as the Petting game offered bonuses and made a significant difference in the upcoming battles. I don’t feel it’s enough of a significant change to boycott the series or Nintendo over. While I will miss the Skinship, I will probably still buy the western release. Perhaps they are not satisfied with such a small market share and strategically removing the content to make it “less” Japanese and more appealing to “mainstream” gamers. By censoring and “Westernizing” the series, Nintendo runs the risk of deterring the fans who would want to buy such a game in the first place. Many Otaku buy Fire Emblem solely because of the relationship aspects which differentiate the series from the slew of other strategy games available. Still for a small but vocal group of core fans, or Otaku (anime obsessed fans – such as myself) these changes are enough to be upset over. But ultimately, for most western gamers, the changes are small enough that they likely won’t be missed. In the end, if you really like the franchise and wish to support Nintendo you could even buy both versions of the game. However, if you choose to import the Japanese version you may be locked out of DLC content available only in the Eshop. – It’s not just as simple as buying the English version and applying the patch to that version to restore the lost content, as the patch will only work on the Japanese version. You could for example, support the game creators by buying the original Japanese language Nintendo cartridge for your 3DS and patching it with the translation - or you could use less ethical means which I won’t discuss here, and never indicated that I support. How you go about getting said fan translation – I will leave that to your imagination. Regardless on where you stand on this issue, my question is, will this significantly impact your decision to purchase this game? The fan translation begun nearly a year ago and from what I understand, the translation is complete and available (with a little effort and searching and digging) for those who seek to play the game as the creators intended, without censorship. Nintendo of America stands by their decision to cut such items, stating that it was necessary to do so for localization. The Petting feature is the latest in a long list of features and scenes to be removed for a Western release later next month. By now you’ve already heard that Fire Emblem Fates is getting censored for it’s American release due to suggestive themes such as Gay Conversion, Rape, and Heavy Petting.
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