476) Rinnie's Eating Problem, Part 1
Posted January 26, 2016 at 10:28 pm

Don't worry, this probably won't go in the direction you think it will. If it does, please feel free to call me a hack.

Edit: The previous blog post was too god damn boring, so instead of talking about socks and underwear, I'm gonna complain about inconsequential video games news like GOOD OL' CLASSIC BRAD.

Today, Nintendo of America confirmed that they will be removing the "petting" mini-game from Fire Emblem: Fate's Western release. The petting mini-game works similarly to Pokemon Amie, the feature in Pokemon X and Y that lets you pet and generally interact with your Pokemon. In Fire Emblem's case, you take a character of your choice, preferably one you're trying to woo over, and you can...well, pet them. You can pat their head, rub their cheek, give their shoulder a massage, and well, that's about it. Doing so will get that character to open up to you, raising their affinity and sometimes they'll even talk more about themselves and give you background information you wouldn't normally get. Is it a weird little feature? Yes, it's a little weird. Should it have been removed? Hell no.

If you've read my blog posts before about the ever-increasing occasions where this kind of content removal happens, you'll know I'm against it. I hate, hate, HATE when we in the west get an incomplete game or the game itself is butchered on its way over here. I want an experience as close to the original version as possible, with the only acception being ADDED content (ala Jet Set Radio's western release with new stages and music that actually helped flesh out the story a bit). Don't get me wrong, I can understand why some localization changes need to happen. Change a character's name or age? Sure, whatever, that's reasonable. Alter a character's costume or rewrite a scene considered problematic? I'm a little miffed about it, but it probably won't stop me from buying the game. But when you remove actual gameplay mechanics and replace them with NOTHING? No, fuck you, this isn't 1997 anymore. I have the internet now, I know what you took away and I'm going to be pissed that you're charging me the same price for an inferior version of the same game.

I've seen so many people actually celebrating the removal of the mini-game, and honestly, it just makes me sick. The mini-game is optional. At no point are you forced to play it. If you don't like it, you never have to see it. Hell, I didn't even plan to use it that much, I simply liked the idea of it because I think the technology behind the way the faces are rendered in the game is neat as hell, and I figured it was more just an elaborate model viewer with some touch capability. But I know this kinda shit is important to fans of the game. Who the hell would want LESS content, LESS options play to play the game with and to interact with characters they like? What was great about the petting mini-game was that it allowed you to interact with EVERY character, regardless of their gender. There was something for everyone to enjoy! By removing it, all you're doing is alienating fans who wanted to get the most out of the game while appealing to people who weren't going to buy it to begin with. Most people I see celebrating the removal of the game are people not particularly interested in anime and weeb shit to begin with, when this is EASILY the most anime-influenced Fire Emblem to date. There's still 1000 year old dragon girls to date, there's still spunky (not blood-related) little sisters pining for your affection, there's still shipping and cute anime boys to pair up. Who the hell are you still trying to appeal to by removing something like this? If you're making it safe for kids (because shoulder rubbing is so scandalous), the game is rated T for Teens! It's an anime medieval fantasy tactical RPG known for its difficulty and permadeath, it was NEVER going to appeal to kids. All you're doing is pissing off fans and purists for an already niche game. 

On the subject of dumb shit that may or may not be censorship, I also think it was ridiculous to remove R. Mika's butt-slap from Street Fighter V on the grounds of not wanting to offend anyone with flagrant displays of sexuality, only to parade out a whole slew of sexy and provactive costumes WAAAY worse than a fucking spank.

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