Nintendo has decided to change a controversial scene for their release of Fire Emblem Fates Conquest.
Half a year after promising to make a localization decision for the said scene, Nintendo of America shared this statement:
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.
For those who didn’t hear of this controversy last year, there is a key scene concerning Soleil, a potential support and wife in Fire Emblem Fates Conquest. The scene, which you need to make happen to improve your connection with her, has been interpreted and criticized as depicting gay conversion therapy. You can learn more about the scene, thanks to translator Adam Evanko, here.
Gay conversion therapy is the carry all term for any treatment that attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation, usually from homosexual to heterosexual. While the practice persists, it has been repeatedly debunked and condemned by different governments, as well as medical and scientific communities.
Conversion therapy was and is most widely practiced in the US and Europe. I won’t pretend to be an expert in LGBT rights in Japan, but their stance on conversion therapy remains unclear, so it’s ambiguous if the practice even made it there. Regardless if this is the case, it is similarly ambiguous if the infamous scene in Fire Emblem Fates Conquest, written by manga and anime scribe Shin Kibayashi, was meant to depict it.
Whether the scene does depict conversion therapy or not, Nintendo has ended the debate by choosing to change it completely. We have yet to see how the scene will play out now, but how do you feel about this decision? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
