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Fire Emblem Fates RPG's Western Release Will Not Have 'Petting' Feature

Game news website Kotaku confirmed with Nintendo that the North American and European release of its Fire Emblem Fates Nintendo 3DS game will remove the "petting" feature present in the game's original Japanese version.

The feature allowed players to "pet" one of their party member's face by rubbing on the screen or tapping on the stylus. Doing so would result in a minor boost in affection.

Nintendo recently revealed the removal of a controversial dialogue segment in the game relating to a character named Soleil, who gets flustered around women. In a conversation with the male protagonist he slips a "magic potion" into her drink without her knowledge, so she magically sees men as women and vice-versa. The idea was to help her "practice" around women, so when the potion wears off she is no longer distracted around them. At the end, she falls in love with the male protagonist.

Nintendo stated regarding the removed conversation that there will be "no expression which might be considered as gay conversion or drugging that occurs between characters," and confirmed that the game's same-sex marriage options will still be present.

Nintendo shipped Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright and Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest in Japan on June 25, and will release the games on February 19 in the West. The games are the first games in the franchise to offer a same-sex marriage option.