Changes are often made when localizing a Japanese game for Western audiences. That's exactly what Nintendo is doing for the North American and European release of the upcoming Fire Emblem Fates for Nintendo 3DS, but the nature of those changes are causing some controversy.
Specifically, a scene in the game between the male player character and a female character named Soleil (pictured below) is being modified in order to avoid being labeled as pro "gay conversion". In the original Japanese game, Soleil is flustered around women, finding them distracting. The protagonist seeks to help her overcome her fear of talking to other girls by slipping a magic potion into her drink when she isn't looking. The potion makes Soleil see all men as women and all women as men, thus giving her the ability to talk to girls (even if she doesn't know she's talking to them.) After the potion wears off, Soleil is no longer flustered around women and instead falls in love with the player character.
Obviously, the scene is questionable in a number of ways. For starters, the idea of slipping something into the drink of a girl is a little off-putting. For what it's worth, the player character does later apologize for spiking her drink.
Then there is the entire issue of Soleil falling in love with the player character after having previously been flustered around girls. Though it isn't explicitly stated, many assumed that Soleil's nerves around members of the same sex were due to the fact that she is a lesbian. She is, in actuality, bi-sexual, but it's easy to see how the entire scene could be taken out of context. Without all of the proper information, one might get the idea that Soleil's character is being converted from gay to straight, when the truth and intent of the scene is far more innocent. Marriage plays a large role in Fire Emblem Fates, so it's worth noting that same-sex relationships are included in the game, with numerous gay characters. Soleil simply isn't one of them.
That being said, Nintendo of America isn't taking any chances.
"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," a Nintendo representative tells Nintendo World Report.
Nintendo hasn't elaborated on exactly how the scene will be different, but we'll know soon enough when Fire Emblem Fates arrives on February 19.
