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The new marriage system in Fire Emblem: Fates, released on June 25, has made it possible for characters to marry partners of the same sex.
Fans’ reactions can be heard all over as Polygon reports that using the marriage system
of the new game Fire Emblem: Fates, released on the Nintendo 3DS in Japan on June 25, characters of the same sex are now able to get married.
In the previous release, Fire Emblem: Awakening, the marriage system allowed the player’s character (who can be either male or female), the Avatar, to marry other characters within the game, and the game’s difficulty increases if you don’t use the system, so it was met with disappointment and criticism.
Fire Emblem: Fates is available in two packages: Birthright and Conquest, which determines the story and which country you support and battle for. A third game which will be made available at a later date through a large update will offer a different path.
According to Polygon’s article, in Birthright, the protagonist will be a female character able to marry another female character, and in Conquest the protagonist will be a male character able to marry another male character. In the third story, both options will probably be available. In other words, if you want to pursue a relationship with two girls, you have to purchase Birthright (or download the third story), and if you want to pursue a marriage between two male characters, you have to purchase Conquest (or download the third story).
In the interview published on the official Japanese site, it is said that “the marriage system is in this game, as well, and the Avatar is able to marry any of his or her comrades,” but it isn’t stated that this includes same-sex characters. The details of the system are also curious. It is reported that “you can join the army branch of your partner. For example, if the armor knight’s partner is a ninja, then you can become that ninja.” Offspring, who appeared in the previous game, might have a new system, as well.
Nintendo of America has been criticized as not being supportive of same-sex marriage in the past due to it not being included in the Western version of the game Tomodachi Life (Japanese title: Tomodachi Collection Shinseikatsu) and released an apology. Nintendo of America released a statement about Fire Emblem: Fates’ system saying, “We believe that our gameplay experiences should reflect the diversity of the communities in which we operate and, at the same time, we will always design the game specifications of each title by considering a variety of factors.”
Source: Netolabo
Source article written by Nahoko Aoyagi
