Nintendo Removes Controversial Fire Emblem Fates Conversation

We have other words in the English language that better describe this situation and don't come with the authoritarian baggage that 'censorship' does.

Here's a good idea, lets water down a perfectly good "call to action" word by slapping it on every lame controversy involving a game company removing anime bullshit from their games!

Again, reductive. Childish. Shows a gross misunderstanding of the entire process and is absolutely an attempt to demonize the people responsible for the changes.

Yup and editing is now self-censorship FFS. Self-censorship is a product of censorious laws that abuse deliberate vagueness to ensure nominally independent publishers tow the line. For example Thailand has a lése majesté law that bans 'insults' to the King without defining what that means allowing censors to ban content critical of the royal family or their hangers on without ever having to write 'Don't talk about what a wanker the Crown Prince is' down. That fear of random, arbitrary enforcement gets internalised and publishers simply shy away from anything that might be deemed an 'insult' by a courts system that is a tool of the government.

Self censorship is not looking at a bit of failed writing likely to attract attention for reasons that have nothing to do with the authors intent and going 'Nah'.
 
It's silly anime nonsense, not a roofie.



Cordelia is a pettanko? Damn...

I generally don't have a problem with the FE localizations, but I sometimes would like to play a more accurate translation of them. Like, I know Henry is a COMPLETELY different character in the localized Awakening.
Hallucinogens are "silly anime nonsense" and that makes it okay. I will never understand anime culture.
 
Being gay is totally fine if you pretend your partner is the opposite sex?
Oh wow, I'd expect that from a Rep Presidential candidate... not a Nintendo game.
Good change for the West, but it should be patched for Japan too. Coz that shit is insulting for Japanese LGBTs.
 
I am arguing against censorship - for material to be released in its original released state, as Fire Emblem's scenario writer made it. That means without the translators later taking an eraser to those sections they deem objectionable or politically incorrect.

I hope you're taking the good fight to every person performing editorial duties at a book publisher, website, or newspaper, and every producer working in film, music, or games, and telling them all about the works of censorial havoc they're wreaking upon the world.
 
Aeolist, the game was finished and released in its home country. In localising it, a culturally sensitive / politically incorrect sub story has been removed. This is, by definition, censorship. And your words categorically condone it in this instance.

I am arguing against censorship - for material to be released in its original released state, as Fire Emblem's scenario writer made it. That means without the translators later taking an eraser to those sections they deem objectionable or politically incorrect.

It's fascinating to watch you try to squirm and twist this around. I'm a censor now ? Heh.

As I stated earlier in the thread, through localization a product becomes its own entity. This is not, and was not ever going to be a 1:1 translation of Fates. Trust me, you wouldn't want that. It would be boring, you wouldn't understand the jokes, and a lot more than one conversation would be lost on you. To becry this is to lessen the meaning and intent of the word 'censorship'; this is editing done by the company that created the content.

Again, not all editing is censorship.

Also, when people start to gloat about how others 'squirm and twist around' it is a fairly obvious sign that their own side is losing momentum, and is an attempt to deflect attention via drawing attention to the other party.
 
I hope you're taking the good fight to every person performing editorial duties at a book publisher, website, or newspaper, and every producer working in film, music, or games, and telling them all about the works of censorial havoc they're wreaking upon the world.

Presumably in Japanese?

reposting

I've said it multiple times in this thread, but there are degrees to localization. It's not so simple as looking at a product as localized/not localized.

Take the Persona series for example. This series is (in)famous for it's strict translation, keeping in honorifics and native english speakers calling each other senpai and choking out awkwardness like JOON PAY KUN.

However, most fans would prefer this over the heavily localized original, which for some odd reason insisted that the game was set in america and hilariously put one of the party members in blackface.

While the second option takes many liberties with the original text in order to accommodate an american perspective, you'd hardly find any fans that would prefer it to a more strict translation.
 
You can't quote me because it was an empty accusation. I've caught you out.

Wait, didn't you enter this thread by bringing up Yakuza, a franchise where the third game had something cut out of it for localization reasons? (i.e, we didn't want to bring Hostess clubs over to america, they wouldn't understand, etc.)

Just for the record, did you cry censorship for that back then as well?
 
So... I'm just now catching up on this...

She's slipped a secret potion unknowingly that causes her to feel and experience things differently and to then fall for the male hero?

Did Bill Cosby write this subplot?
0.jpg
 
Aeolist, the game was finished and released in its home country. In localising it, a culturally sensitive / politically incorrect sub story has been removed. This is, by definition, censorship. And your words categorically condone it in this instance.

I am arguing against censorship - for material to be released in its original released state, as Fire Emblem's scenario writer made it. That means without the translators later taking an eraser to those sections they deem objectionable or politically incorrect.

It's fascinating to watch you try to squirm and twist this around. I'm a censor now ? Heh.

Several people in this thread have already described why this specific scenario is editorial discretion and not censorship.

But if this is your story and you plan on sticking to it, learn Japanese and start importing.
 
You can't quote me because it was an empty accusation. I've caught you out.

Your first post to the thread was to call everyone who disagreed with you an apologist for censorship.
I've come here to read the thoughts of those who condone censorship. Fascinating.

Which you then doubled down on
I never called you a fascist or a censor.

But you are undeniably condoning censorship, in this instance.

We're adults here we can read between the lines as well as the actual text, "I come to bury Caesar" indeed.
 
I would say that if anything shows a gross misunderstaning, it's your inability to process the fact that for a long ass time, these sorts of changes have been referred to colloquially as "censorship", as demonstrated by this wikipedia article that I have already linked to.

Censorship and localization are two words for the same thing in these discussions because the english language is an unwieldy beast. Yes, 20 years ago we probably should have been calling the editing out of crosses, nudity, alcohol, and blood "localization", but that cat is and has been out of the bag for a long time.

I understand that in some circles this watering down of the word has been going on for decades but a wikipedia article's bland titling is a different beast than the cudgel that the word has been used for recently.

"Censorship", when used by certain actors on the internet, is a stand-in for authoritarian evil and they apply it as liberally as possible in order to froth up the rabble as much as possible. This, and the wikipedia article you reference, are both clearly not "censorship" in the traditional sense of the word, the sense that has connotations and baggage...

So no, we don't have to accept this misuse with a shrug of our collective shoulders as an enraged minority right within gaming cudgels publishers and developers down using needlessly inflammatory language.

This isn't censorship.
 
I went back to transcript more from the video:

Soleil: There's no other person, no other guy that makes me feel like this. Ever since that day where I saw you as a girl, I really fell for you.
MC: So, what? Does that mean that you fell in love with just the girl me?
Soleil: Uh huh.
MC: Uh huh? Oh come on.
Soleil: Oh don't worry. I like you even if you look like a male. I love you. When I had that magic powder, I saw a bunch of other people that looked like girls, but none of them got me excited or got my heart racing like you did. Heck, my heart is beating right now. Touch my chest and see.
MC: No no no no.
Soleil: Why?
MC: Come on, even if we're going to be husband and wife, I can't just touch a girl for the hell of it.

(snip because I don't feel like transcribing irrelevant dialogue)

MC: Oh, and don't cheat on me with another guy... maybe I don't have to worry about that.

Maybe "tricked" isn't the right word, but nothing offered here as a better translation implies that she genuinely is attracted to men. Yes, she does say that Female MC doesn't really get her weak-kneed upon meeting, but she also admits that she only fell in love with him after the potion. And there are so many awkward cues in there that don't really present her as legitimately straight. The first line is clarified from "no other person" to "no other guy" that makes her feel that way. She says that she like him even if he looks like a male with the implication that looking like a male is ordinarily a problem, just not for him now. And then there's finally the joke about how he guesses he doesn't have to worry about her cheating on him with another man because she actually likes girls.

I just don't understand what the non-sexual interpretation is for her "cute girl" issue. What else is it? She says that she gets weak in the knees and aroused... cute girls get her going. And sorry for ignoring the clarification about the battle, but it's still describe as a problem she wants to get over. After a battle she literally fell over because a cute girl from the village came up to her. It sounds to me like she's being describe as a lesbian with a comically high libido. What's the alternative explanation to explain her reaction to cute girls that would imply she's not actually a lesbian?
It would be great to see her other support conversations to see how she feels about her other possible husbands and men in general. She really is sending mixed signals by saying she only fell in love with fem Corrin while also saying fem Corrin is not her type. Maybe she's just being playful?
A joke is a joke, so it doesn't clarify anything either way.

All we hear is about is her going on tea dates, but does that mean she actually wants to be in a (physical) relationship? Is she being aroused in a sexual way? Does being aroused by someone/something mean you want to be in actual relationship with them/it?
You could compare her reaction to cute girls to the reaction people can have to animals/babies/things they are collecting/...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5jw3T3Jy70&feature=youtu.be&t=182

I think watching it play out makes it seem less like date-rape, which I already admitted. It's just the broad strokes of how it plays out are uncomfortable. Like if you look back and summarize what happens, it's pretty awkward and it's not surprising that some see parallels to date rape drugging situations.

1.) Character is drugged.
2.) Character later falls in love with character that drugged her.

Yes, that may oversimplify how the story plays out, but it's still uncomfortable when one frames it that way.
Well, duh. You can make anything look bad if you frame it a certain way.

A game about a murderous individual who has no regard for life or property; he kills animals and robs them of their home, trashes and steals from every place he visits, and has no qualms about sacrificing his pet to get ahead.
0My2v5m.jpg


But doing that is completely dishonest and you know it. Just using the word ''drugged'' without any explanation of the effects or the situation it was used in will make people assume the worst.

I first drugged my kid when he was 5
he had a pretty bad cough. Thank god for antibiotics.

Also doesn't the fact that they fall in love further distance it from date rape. Last time I checked victims don't fall in love with their rapists.
 
The 30 minute video I watched to clear all this up never implied that she was being disingenuous.

Both internal and external lying. It's just a really convoluted means of coping with self-esteem issues that the character she's a clone of had.

Hallucinogens are "silly anime nonsense" and that makes it okay. I will never understand anime culture.

It's more like context matters and stuff that is completely reprehensible in real life isn't as bad in anime because it comes off as totally ridiculous.

There's a harem anime where the main dude's sister and mother constantly hit on him. One episode has him getting amnesia, and so the mother and sister pretend to be pregnant with his child so that he'll return their affection (he of course just ends up thinking of himself as a terrible human being for it). And it's hilarious!
 
Aeolist, the game was finished and released in its home country. In localising it, a culturally sensitive / politically incorrect sub story has been removed. This is, by definition, censorship. And your words categorically condone it in this instance.

I am arguing against censorship - for material to be released in its original released state, as Fire Emblem's scenario writer made it. That means without the translators later taking an eraser to those sections they deem objectionable or politically incorrect.

It's fascinating to watch you try to squirm and twist this around. I'm a censor now ? Heh.

i'm not trying to squirm and twist anything and it's annoying that you think so. i am presenting my beliefs sincerely and trying to explain them to the best of my ability.

not everyone uses a term in every context exactly the way it's presented in the merriam-webster dictionary, that's just a fact of language that you will have to get used to. for myself and others, this particular change is not censorship because it's not externally imposed on nintendo. some people are arguing that it would have to be a governmental body in order to be censorship, but i'd agree that any outside authority imposing the change would qualify (e.g. the ESRB).

i don't think you're a censor yourself, but your definition would seem to qualify you if critical influence is all it takes. asking for more things you like and less things you dislike is something everyone does, and if nintendo caves to that kind of pressure it's on them and not the people asking for things.
 
It is impossible for the creator of material to censor their own work. Censorship is almost entirely recognized as coming from an outside party. If it comes from within it is simply editing.

And if you would cry 'self-censorship' please realize that it is a dubious topic at best, and honestly a bit offensive.

Matt.. it IS self-censorship. By definition.

Nintendo didn't remove this particular subplot for any other reason than they felt it objectionable and politically incorrect for the West, and they didn't wish to deal with the repercussions.

You know this, I know this, we all know this.

However, feel free to construct an alternate scenario in which it was purely an artistic decision, but may Occam's Razor be with you.
 
Faint, no, but some married army guy friends have definitely described in detail things they would do to my ass and how hard it makes them.

What I was largely getting at is we see her body visibly react with blushing and fainting, which I know you know is a common anime trope both males and females express around someone they're especially attracted to, to females.

You said in an earlier post she's faking it all. So is she somehow making her body have these reactions?
 
Also, Coffee Dog, people are absolutely NOT using two different words for the same concept.

Some people are using needlessly inflammatory language in order to create controversy where normally there would be none which is VERY DIFFERENT from the innocent misuse of "censorship" to describe localization changes.
 
I'm rarely offended or support cut content, but drugging a gay person to be straight is so god damn fucking stupid that it makes the game infinitely better that it doesn't exist.
 
Matt.. it IS self-censorship. By definition.

Nintendo didn't remove this particular subplot for any other reason than they felt it objectionable and politically incorrect for the West, and they didn't wish to deal with the repercussions.

You know this, I know this, we all know this.

However, feel free to construct an alternate scenario in which it was purely an artistic decision, but may Occam's Razor be with you.


"they felt it objectionable and politically incorrect"

That's also the definition of editing. Yes, I do know this. But just because you can technically use a word like censorship in a case doesn't mean that the implications and meanings of the word remain consistent throughout its context.

The simplest answer is not, 'they changed it because of society', but 'because they wanted to'. It is a much more simple answer, no?
 
So no, we don't have to accept this misuse with a shrug of our collective shoulders as an enraged minority right within gaming cudgels publishers and developers down using needlessly inflammatory language.

You made a good post, but I'm going to pull out this quote because it's the most relevant to my original point.

You have to accept that misuse, and that layman's definition, if you are interacting the layman. To jump on someone for a common misconception (as many have done in this thread) is a masturbatory semantics derail of the highest order, especially if you have the knowledge that it is a common misconception in the first place. It attacks the words of an argument, but not the substance of it.
 
Both internal and external lying. It's just a really convoluted means of coping with self-esteem issues that the character she's a clone of had.

This is bad for many, many reasons. Both as storytelling and just being offensive as h ell



It's more like context matters and stuff that is completely reprehensible in real life isn't as bad in anime because it comes off as totally ridiculous.

No?

There's a harem anime where the main dude's sister and mother constantly hit on him. One episode has him getting amnesia, and so the mother and sister pretend to be pregnant with his child so that he'll return their affection (he of course just ends up thinking of himself as a terrible human being for it). And it's hilarious!

There is also a difference between things played for comedy and things that aren't.

And thinking that converting a lesbian to being straight is supposed to be funny is...
 
I hope you're taking the good fight to every person performing editorial duties at a book publisher, website, or newspaper, and every producer working in film, music, or games, and telling them all about the works of censorial havoc they're wreaking upon the world.

I'm against censorship in all walks of life, and I do act upon it, yes.

:)

Cool snark !
 
I understand that in some circles this watering down of the word has been going on for decades but a wikipedia article's bland titling is a different beast than the cudgel that the word has been used for recently.

"Censorship", when used by certain actors on the internet, is a stand-in for authoritarian evil and they apply it as liberally as possible in order to froth up the rabble as much as possible. This, and the wikipedia article you reference, are both clearly not "censorship" in the traditional sense of the word, the sense that has connotations and baggage...

So no, we don't have to accept this misuse with a shrug of our collective shoulders as an enraged minority right within gaming cudgels publishers and developers down using needlessly inflammatory language.

This isn't censorship.

Censorship has baggage because of its extreme government-enforced instances. Just because this is a much lesser form that most wouldn't really care about and is arguably a better thing doesn't mean it isn't censorship.

And localization isn't always a stand-in for censorship. Here's how it should go:

Adapting content so it makes sense to a different culture (changing onigiri to sandwiches in Pokemon): localization
Removing or toning down content to prevent the possibility of offending (removal of boob slider in XBX): censorship


What I was largely getting at is we see her body visibly react with blushing and fainting, which I know you know is a common anime trope both males and females express around someone they're especially attracted to, to females.

You said in an earlier post she's faking it all. So is she somehow making her body have these reactions?

Sure. Reminds me of Girls Bravo (I think that's what it was).
 
Surely you guys can recognize the difference between censorship that requires action against it and "censorship" that is actually just editorial discretion though?

Both acts cannot necessitate the same response from the consumer because that handcuffs the editor, in much the same way that some claim outrage over inappropriate content handcuffs the artist.
 
You made a good post, but I'm going to pull out this quote because it's the most relevant to my original point.

You have to accept that misuse, and that layman's definition, if you are interacting the layman. To jump on someone for a common misconception (as many have done in this thread) is a masturbatory semantics derail of the highest order, especially if you have the knowledge that it is a common misconception in the first place. It attacks the words of an argument, but not the substance of it.

But at what point does the word and meaning of censorship cease to be an essential part of the substance of the argument? Censorship is a very specific word, used in very specific cases. It has meanings and arguments inherently within it that are introduced into an argument the second the word is brought up. If a word has become part of an argument, then its misuse should be argued against, as you are going against the arguments raised by the word.

"Censorship" is quickly becoming the new "Hitler" of the internet.

To promote the discussion however, instead of talking in circles for the next five pages, haha: What in particular makes this censorship instead of editing? Please give specific details, as this is a very specific line to cross and an argument that needs to be given more care in its consideration if you truly want to call it censorship.
 
You made a good post, but I'm going to pull out this quote because it's the most relevant to my original point.

You have to accept that misuse, and that layman's definition, if you are interacting the layman. To jump on someone for a common misconception (as many have done in this thread) is a masturbatory semantics derail of the highest order, especially if you have the knowledge that it is a common misconception in the first place. It attacks the words of an argument, but not the substance of it.

I disagree the meaning of the word and emphasising the reliance on external state force are very important to the debate. As Marrec has pointed out the word 'censorship' is a rhetorical cudgel in online debates used as a pithy dismissal for any argument that suggests that changing a work can improve it.

Nintendo didn't intend to produce a strategy RPG with dating mechanics and the ability to drug a person expressing same gender attraction into falling for the opposite gender MC. When this scene alters the perception of the game and is not a key part of the story (several defences are based on the 'it's just a tiny scene' argument) why not dump it?

The act of censoring alters a thing as does the act of editing it and frankly the act of creating it (no text emerges pure and complete). If we don't emphasise the difference between these things it becomes impossible to dicuss them in a useful manner at all.
I'm against censorship in all walks of life, and I do act upon it, yes.

:)

Cool snark !

So you haven't bought any media in years? As they've all asked themselves the question 'How will this be received?' at some point in the process.
 
Sure. Reminds me of Girls Bravo (I think that's what it was).

I can think of two cases like that in Girls Bravo. One involves the main male character around other women because of trauma in his past. The other is the joke gag character who can't stand being around other men.

Neither is at all similar to what is being displayed in this game, unless you're talking about someone else.
 
I don't really see this as controversial or awful or the like.

If it's there, cool.
If it's not, that's cool too.

It's a video game with fictional characters with fictional motivations and ideas. Some of these fictional characters might be dumb. Some of these fictional characters might do dumb things. Some of these fictional characters might do things that we (real, different people) wouldn't do.

Not a big deal.
 
I've said it multiple times in this thread, but there are degrees to localization. It's not so simple as looking at a product as localized/not localized.

Take the Persona series for example. This series is (in)famous for it's strict translation, keeping in honorifics and native english speakers calling each other senpai and choking out awkwardness like JOON PAY KUN.

However, most fans would prefer this over the heavily localized original, which for some odd reason insisted that the game was set in america and hilariously put one of the party members in blackface.

While the second option takes many liberties with the original text in order to accommodate an american perspective, you'd hardly find any fans that would prefer it to a more strict translation.

The Persona games have heavier localization than you seem to think they do. To take the name suffix example, honorifics are still there (because the target audience is weeaboos), but changed in such a way to be more familiar to a Western audience. "Family name-san" is frequently changed to "first name-kun" in Persona 4's translation. Honorifics and such aren't really left in, but changed to how it's audience would like to perceive them without going so far as to completely alienate people who wouldn't normally give such a gane a second glance.
 
But at what point does the word and meaning of censorship cease to be an essential part of the substance of the argument? Censorship is a very specific word, used in very specific cases. It has meanings and arguments inherently within it that are introduced into an argument the second the word is brought up. If a word has become part of an argument, then its misuse should be argued against, as you are going against the arguments raised by the word.

The actual meaning of censorship is entirely irrelevant to the thread, because there is no outside agency enacting change. The changes being discussed are, factually, not censorship. That means that censorship is largely in this thread being used with its colloquial definition.
 
I can think of two cases like that in Girls Bravo. One involves the main male character around other women because of trauma in his past. The other is the joke gag character who can't stand being around other men.

Neither is at all similar to what is being displayed in this game, unless you're talking about someone else.

The joke gag character that can't stand being around men. By the logic presented from the main character's affliction, it would imply the gag character is gay, but he's not.

Not saying it isn't stupid, just as it is in this case, but I don't think it's inherently offensive.
 
Trust me, you wouldn't want that.

Thanks for telling me what I would want.

When people start to gloat about how others 'squirm and twist around' it is a fairly obvious sign that their own side is losing momentum, and is an attempt to deflect attention via drawing attention to the other party.

Matt..
I was just accused of being a censor for arguing against censorship.

If I don't call people out on their gymnastics, I'm not doing myself or them any favours.
 
Honestly, trying as hard as I can to not be an overly sensitive SJW who is just looking for problems where they don't exist, the best interpretation that I can come up with is that the original scenario is so poorly written that the intent just doesn't come through properly. Given that, I feel like any attempt to completely rewrite Soleil's story, or at least tweak it, can only help the localization process and thus hardly constitutes some sort of problematic censorship.
 
Surely you guys can recognize the difference between censorship that requires action against it and "censorship" that is actually just editorial discretion though?

Both acts cannot necessitate the same response from the consumer because that handcuffs the editor, in much the same way that some claim outrage over inappropriate content handcuffs the artist.

Sure, but we're talking definitions here. So largely a semantics debate that doesn't matter at all.
 
It's another example in Japan's track record of just not giving a damn about marginalized groups. LGBT is always written as a joke, a phase, or a mental problem that can be cured. A neat character quirk to spice up the story.

To top it off the scenario and dialogue presented here is on par with bargain bin harem garbage.

The funny thing is that the east itself (Nintendo) recognizes this in their acknowledgement and editing of the material. The west isn't censoring it. They already know it's gross to a western audience.
 
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