Fire Emblem Fates Cuts Petting From English Version

[EternallyBored]

You know, I think it did make the game worse. With that there, you have to actively avoid looking at the game making a fool of itself if you want to continue to take it and its characters atleast somewhat seriously. It just doesn't suit the series.

Adding more does not neccesarily make something better. It's like... sex scenes (or really, any scenes that involve nudity) written by David Cage. They're not the shortcuts to maturity he thinks they are and just end up making everyone feel uncomfortable.

Besides, stuff like this does say a lot about how the creators feel about their game and their audience. Touching minigames like this are usually the domain of sleazy fanservice games that hope the 'sex sells' thing is true. If Intelligent Systems and Nintendo think they need to pander to the nether regions get players' attention, well, shame on them.

No, the way it's made is you have to actively go and search for it to make the game "make a fool of itself". It's a features on the side and there is no way you can actually do it by accident.

Also based on your post, you actually don't know what the petting is about, right? It seems like you believe you can just go and grope anyone however you want, when it's in reality just a pet on the head. So it's certainly not "pandering to the nether regions".

Actually, if reports I've been hearing from people who imported the Japanese version are true, if you are playing the Nohr route of the story then it's not something you have to search for, it's something you have to use to get some of the S and A rank support conversations, as unlike the Hoshido route, Nohr doesn't let you replay missions, so team up attacks alone aren't enough to max out your relationship levels. So unless they change how fast support levels build, the Nohr half of the campaign, which is significantly harder from all reports, requires you to use the feature if you want to maximize character stats through team ups or get some of the child characters.

 

[Piecewise]

THIS JUST IN: AMERICANS UNCOMFORTABLE ABOUT SEXUALITY! PURGE THAT WHICH REMINDS US OF THE SHRIVELED PROCREATION DEVICE HIDING SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THE MCDONALDS BRAND FAT FOLDS.

Seriously though, I don't really give a shit either way about this; I'd honestly have expected this to be removed for an american release anyways The general american audience wants fire emblem to be a tactical rpg not a dating sim. I mean, don't get me wrong, the weeaboo audience would love being able to touch their waifus. But nintendo is aiming to sell to american kids, not 30 year olds with love pillows. But I do have a question.

"what some perceived as 'gay conversion therapy'"

What? The fuck are they talking about? Who thinks this? Why do they think this? Is this another one of those cases of that particularly loud and mentally ill segment of tumblr pitching a fit about some non-problem?

 

[Lightspeaker]

The people who have a problem with skinshiping being removed just irk me.

Its skinshiping you people are defending. Let this Fire emblem fan tell you how the fanbase viewed that feature.
Skinshiping was a feature most fans were downright EMBARESED to have in their series. Skinship was the clearest and most unwelcome exemple of IS putting in more and more fanservice no matter the cost to the product. It was the stain on a proud series we just had to stomach because Otaku's had more money to spend. And now people are willing to overlook all that to fight "censorship". Thats just weak and even damaging to Fire emblem if Nintendo would listen to that.

Skinshiping does not and will never belong in Fire emblem. It clashes with about every theme the series ever had.

I suppose one legitimate concern is that skinship had gameplay benifits. Maybe they will remplace it with something , maybe they won't . To me even putting nothing in Skinships place is still preferable to one of the greatest game series debasing itself with skinship.

You might have had a point if it was actually being removed. Its not. Its being cut from the English language release. Its still in the game, just not in the version you can easily acquire in the West. So yeah that kinda completely undermines your whole moral outrage over it being there in the first place.


I am amazed at how many people apparently have such weird hang ups about sexuality and cuteness whilst simultaneously being perfectly happy about violence and slicing people up. Anyone in favour of little features like this being cut must have some serious issues honestly.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Okay, this is coming from someone who has admittedly never played any of the Fire Emblem games.

From what I've seen and heard Fire Emblem is a turn based strategy game that has some RPG elements and character development. What does prodding people in the face have to do with any of that? It sounds daft.

 

[EternallyBored]

I'm thinking is just doing this because the West, for lack of a better term, is still figuring itself out as it works through its awkward puberty phase. I just say no one is allows to complain about "censorship" over anything when they clearly wanted this to be removed. But then again we're dicks like that.

What a weird comparison, if the West is going through puberty, then what exactly is Japan doing with its weirdly puritanical live action porn and heavy handed censorship on certain types of sexuality that isn't animated. Or the somewhat sophomoric views on homosexuality that see it as a phase that's cute when its teenagers and college kids exploring sexuality, but needs to be grown out of for adulthood.

Also, why are we pretending that America is the entirety of the West when Many Western European countries are more permissive towards female toplessness and the casual use of sexuality than both America and Japan. The puberty comparison is kind of laughable really, every country has their hangups when it comes to sex and sexuality, and they are all trying to sort things out in their own way. Japan isn't even close to some sexually liberal utopia that's got everything figured out, neither does the West, but to try and pretend that Japanese sexual norms are somehow more mature than the rest of the world is silly.

 

[Gorrath]

I'm not a big fan of changing things in order to make it fit a foreign audience "better." This is done to some degree in cinema and it always drives me to find the original. Unfortunately with games, it's not so easy to find fan localization where as finding fan subs of films is usually much easier. I don't fault them for these changes any more than a fault foreign films being dumbed down for American audiences but I still wish they'd leave it alone.

I do find it particularly peculiar that people are talking about a Japanese game being "too Japanese." Do people honestly want their media filtered through the comfort of their own culture or ideology? That seems juvenile.

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

I don't really give a shit either way about this; I mean, I'd honestly have expected this to be removed for an american release anyways The general american audience wants fire emblem to be a tactical rpg not a dating sim. I mean, don't get me wrong, the weeaboo audience would love being able to touch their waifus. But nintendo is aiming to sell to american kids, not 30 year olds with love pillows. But I do have a question.

"what some perceived as 'gay conversion therapy'"

What? The fuck are they talking about? Who thinks this? Why do they think this? Is this another one of those cases of that particularly loud and mentally ill segment of tumblr pitching a fit about some non-problem?

Nah see, there's this totally and completely straight lady in the game who, totally and completely straightly gets flustered around pretty ladies, to the point of possibly fainting around them. Said totally straight character is also fairly disinterested in men. To help with the awkwardness and potential fainting bit this totally straight lady has around women, the totally straight woman asks the male protagonist to help out. Without telling the totally straight lady before hand, the Protagonist spikes here drink with a powder that changes the subjects perceptions, causing the apparent gender of whatever person they're looking at to swap. Men look like women, etc. Why this powder exists, only the gods of bad writing know. This totally straight lady then falls in love with the protagonist's female form, despite being a totally straight lady, and remains in love with the protagonist after the inconceivable powder wears off. A joke, I think, is made to the effect that the protagonist doesn't have to worry about the totally straight lady not cheating on them with a guy, and laughs were had all around.

Someone let me know if I missed anything.

 

[Something Amyss]

like a MMF threesome, the two pairs should not come into direct contact.

You take that back right now.

I'm thinking is just doing this because the West, for lack of a better term, is still figuring itself out as it works through its awkward puberty phase. I just say no one is allows to complain about "censorship" over anything when they clearly wanted this to be removed. But then again we're dicks like that.

You do understand sexual standards and practices aren't static even within a given culture, right?

 

[Chriss_m]

Okay, this is coming from someone who has admittedly never played any of the Fire Emblem games.

From what I've seen and heard Fire Emblem is a turn based strategy game that has some RPG elements and character development. What does prodding people in the face have to do with any of that? It sounds daft.

What does Pokemon have to do with Sherlock Holmes, or the Sengoku Jidai? Baffling criticism.

"You do understand sexual standards and practices aren't static even within a given culture, right?"

So how about you stop your faves from trying to impose oppressive, static sexual norms within art?

 

[Xenon5032]

Now to fly in with an unpopular opinion!
I'm actually kinda sad this is getting removed.
1) That's a piece of content cut when compared to the Japanese edition
2) Conquest has almost no grinding so the 'petting' helped rank up the affinity levels for support bonds, that's going to hurt some playthroughs unless they compensate
3) No petting the fluffy ears of bestmen ;-;

 

[Andy Shandy]

Okay, this is coming from someone who has admittedly never played any of the Fire Emblem games.

From what I've seen and heard Fire Emblem is a turn based strategy game that has some RPG elements and character development. What does prodding people in the face have to do with any of that? It sounds daft.

What does Pokemon have to do with Sherlock Holmes, or the Sengoku Jidai? Baffling criticism.

"You do understand sexual standards and practices aren't static even within a given culture, right?"

So how about you stop your faves from trying to impose oppressive, static sexual norms within art?

Ooookay then. From what I understand, Detective Pikachu is a quirky spin-off in a series full of quirky spin-offs [http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Spin-off_Pok%C3%A9mon_games].

From what I understand of Fire Emblem, it is a fairly serious series. The "prodding in the face" doesn't seem like it would mesh well with the tone of the games (again, this is just from what I've seen of them). I'm not even sure where you're going with the sexual standards part and static sexual norms parts. I'm just saying that it doesn't seem to fit a series like Fire Emblem. Is this instalment particularly sillier than the others? In which case, yeah, keep the face-prodding in. Well, except not, since it's been edited out by Nintendo, but I'd be fine with it if it were.

 

[Erttheking]

Oh no...that was holding the game together. Really, is anyone seriously going to miss this?

That feeling when your reaction to cut game content is to minimise and dismiss the concerns of censorship and moral panic.


When will we be free of these people and their unending projection of their own sexual neuroses on the rest of us?

Here's the thing. Censorship is becoming a seriously loaded word. You can't say it without it automatically being associated with "most horrific thing that ever happened and is encroaching on our freedoms," despite the fact that this was a decision that was willingly made on Nintendo's part. Christ, if this wasn't in the spotlight of sensationalist media, it probably would've been removed from the game anyway and you and everyone else wouldn't have even noticed. So I don't really buy the overwhelming concern that this is going to lead to anything.

Also what moral panic? No one was talking about the skinshipping scene to a serious degree, Nintendo just up and removed it on its own. So you talking about "moral panic" doesn't really make any sense.

Also, neuroses? Because when in doubt, just insult the people you disagree with. And who's projecting anything? This was a decision Nintendo made of their own free will, they weren't forced to do anything.

 

[Hades]

The people who have a problem with skinshiping being removed just irk me.

Its skinshiping you people are defending. Let this Fire emblem fan tell you how the fanbase viewed that feature.
Skinshiping was a feature most fans were downright EMBARESED to have in their series. Skinship was the clearest and most unwelcome exemple of IS putting in more and more fanservice no matter the cost to the product. It was the stain on a proud series we just had to stomach because Otaku's had more money to spend. And now people are willing to overlook all that to fight "censorship". Thats just weak and even damaging to Fire emblem if Nintendo would listen to that.

Skinshiping does not and will never belong in Fire emblem. It clashes with about every theme the series ever had.

I suppose one legitimate concern is that skinship had gameplay benifits. Maybe they will remplace it with something , maybe they won't . To me even putting nothing in Skinships place is still preferable to one of the greatest game series debasing itself with skinship.

You might have had a point if it was actually being removed. Its not. Its being cut from the English language release. Its still in the game, just not in the version you can easily acquire in the West. So yeah that kinda completely undermines your whole moral outrage over it being there in the first place.


I am amazed at how many people apparently have such weird hang ups about sexuality and cuteness whilst simultaneously being perfectly happy about violence and slicing people up. Anyone in favour of little features like this being cut must have some serious issues honestly.

Moral outrage? Who is the one bringing Morals into this? The fan who says such a pathetic feature does not belong in a series with every right to present itself with dignity or the Guy who gets angry over the removal of a bad feature just because it would be a fight against "censorship"

I'm not seeing how "cut from the Western version" or removed makes a net difference. Both have the positive outcome of skinship not being there in the west.

As for personal issues Mind if I take offense to that? You got people being angry over not being able to rubb the cheeks of pre teen characters and I'm the one with issues? You know maybe being a longtime fan of a series now used as a dumping ground for ideas on how to best pander to Otakus is a pretty valid reason to dislike those features.

Your point about disliking cute things while being fine with violence is just bizar. You do know its a game about medieval warfare right?

 

[Something Amyss]

That feeling when your reaction to cut game content is to minimise and dismiss the concerns of censorship and moral panic.

When those concerns are about as grounded as fear of a kaiju attack, one probably shouldn't feel much of anything when dismissing them. When the fear of censorship is itself a case of moral panic, well...maybe it's time to re-evaluate one's stance on moral panic.

Gaming could use less pearl-clutching. Period.

 

[Chriss_m]

Oh no...that was holding the game together. Really, is anyone seriously going to miss this?

That feeling when your reaction to cut game content is to minimise and dismiss the concerns of censorship and moral panic.


When will we be free of these people and their unending projection of their own sexual neuroses on the rest of us?

Here's the thing. Censorship is becoming a seriously loaded word. You can't say it without it automatically being associated with "most horrific thing that ever happened and is encroaching on our freedoms," despite the fact that this was a decision that was willingly made on Nintendo's part. Christ, if this wasn't in the spotlight of sensationalist media, it probably would've been removed from the game anyway and you and everyone else wouldn't have even noticed. So I don't really buy the overwhelming concern that this is going to lead to anything.

Also what moral panic? No one was talking about the skinshipping scene to a serious degree, Nintendo just up and removed it on its own. So you talking about "moral panic" doesn't really make any sense.

Also, neuroses? Because when in doubt, just insult the people you disagree with. And who's projecting anything? This was a decision Nintendo made of their own free will, they weren't forced to do anything.

Oh, it wasn't an insult. It was a genuine interpretation.

Censorship is censorship, regardless of how you misunderstand it. The way you discuss it, I kind of get the sense that you support this censorship.

Nintendo removed it on their own, yes. They self-censored. The end phase of any successful campaign to make something taboo. Why you think that's a good thing is beyond me.

Moral panic? Regarding sexualised video games? Where have you been. Google DoA Shuhei Yoshida. I imagine he's a better authority on this than me.

 

[Therumancer]

Censorship is censorship, and it's wrong. If this kind of thing bothers you don't play the game, otherwise games should be released intact all around the world.

 

[Chriss_m]

That feeling when your reaction to cut game content is to minimise and dismiss the concerns of censorship and moral panic.

When those concerns are about as grounded as fear of a kaiju attack, one probably shouldn't feel much of anything when dismissing them. When the fear of censorship is itself a case of moral panic, well...maybe it's time to re-evaluate one's stance on moral panic.

Gaming could use less pearl-clutching. Period.

I'm not sure how to combat that. I mean what is it you actually need before you will accept that content is being cut from games because they think the west thinks sexuality is immoral - when of course this isn't true. A tiny minority of people have all this weird repressed sexuality shit. Like, do you actually need the Government to legislate on it? Like, is that what you need?