DatFunkySmell

@Dezzy All of her optional outfits are meant to show off her sexiness except the in canon clothes you meet her in that she keeps her her closet that has the weakest stats of anything she could equip. Whether its her Dancer's suit, Bunny Girl suit, Dangerous Bustier, Magic Bikini, or Divine Bustier,(am I missing any, its been years) all of those pieces of gear are incredibly important if you actually want to have a strong party or beat the secret end boss.

@MetalKingShield So they're still in there. People made it sound like they were completely removed. My reactions and use of phrases like "pounds of flesh" are just compounded because of my experiences with this stuff. Some in context sexiness is no problem, but in a fictional media where a person can be designed as anything in a writer or artists imagination and 4/5 times woman is sexy gets selected, it should be addressed.

@MetalKingShield It doesn't reflect in the story like all of the other characters and their special traits. It seems like its only there for the obligatory "woman is sexy" trope. We see Yangus' humanity be a significant part of his character throughout the game. The same with the hero's courage and Angelo's charisma. Yet, Jessica's Sex Appeal stat is just there for no reason other than she's female. Her actual character has nothing to do with that as she's quite hostile towards men coming on to her.

@Yorumi because the western version is releasing like a year later, the developers had the opportunity to revise parts o the game that as originally not appreciated by players in Japan. Because nintendohas been recieving a ton of bad press for thee types of things lately, they tried to get in front of the bull to let the public know that this was a square and silicon decision and not a localization one.

@Ryu_Niiyama Thank you for this. I am not a woman. I also don't think you have to be a woman to understand the human issue at play here. I have sisters and nieces that I think about and my biggest concern for them is that they accept a world created for them, where they aren't given the full breadth of choices that I enjoy as a male because the media and culture that we consume only gives them one side of life with little to no alternative.

@Einherjar She's not a woman but a creation of a man designed to look like one. It speaks to the designer when they ship a product like that. Jessica didn't dress herself. Daddy Toriyama did. Why? Why does Yangus have a tough, yet silly appearance to match his design. Why is Angelo dashing? Why does the hero dress simply and practically? Because that's what the artist wants us to take away from their character. So I ask again, why is Jessica's most powerful armor, the Divine Bustier?

In regards to this issue, I can see this as both a positive and a negative. It's a positive if you view games as a product or service as the consumer is getting an overall more enjoyable experience. However, if you were to view this as an artistic statement, it's worse off because any conceptual ideas that the writers were trying to get across have been disgarded. It really depends on your slant. But, then were left with the reality that no perspective can change. The game WAS changed to make it a more satisfying PRODUCT. So was this ever really art to begin with?

@Einherjar What about the opposite end of the spectrum. I decided to distance myself from this stuff at a young age because I saw this trend and didn't want to be a part of it growing up so forgive me if I don't know of the rare Japanese game that doesn't treat woman as pure sex objects.

I don't understand the concept that a designers intent is law. When they are selling you a product and also claiming it to be art its the consumers job to be doubly critical.

@Einherjar That's ridiculous. What happened to coherent design? Are you really telling me that's its smart or even okay to design a character one way (serious) but have the characters visual design not match or even contradict that design? No. It's not. It's really stupid and when Jessica's strongest armor in the game is the Divine Bustier with her skirt that's shorter than her ass and her thigh highs and cleavage exposed torso combined with obligatory female "puff puff" attack, there's not even a shred of a character I should respect on display. It doesn't help that she is the only woman in the game with a slight ability to actually make a difference in their world.

@MetalKingShield Yeah, it takes away the destruction of a great character. And it's obviously culture clash. As seen with other Japanese media, woman, homosexuality, or minorities are rarely treated with any form of dignity. Making the only playable female relegated to simply fan service is sleazy. Unless Angelo got matching banana hammocks. What was changed in DQ anyways, exactly?

@Einherjar By making a character who is portrayed as strong and intelligent instead by viewed as pounds of flesh. Pretty simple stuff. If you were dressed as a clown, I would take you less serious in social encounters.

@Dezzy You're fishing for reasons to be mad at Nintendo. I don't know what's been changed in DQ VIII, but Jessica's bikini outfits were always sleazy and seriously detracted from her character. I felt that way back when I first played that game when it launched on PS2 and still feel that way today.

@MarinoKadame the IGN review literally says "great" in your screenshot.

@GoldenGamer88 street Fighter does not have combos. it's controls are slightly more complicated than Smash but also slightly less.

I need this game super bad.

No one's crying about localization here it seems.

This is disappointing. I hope whatever the problem is gets resolved as this has been on my watch list for quite some time now.

@JohnnyC But it has been released and the information is available for all to consume. Video games are art. This latest Fire Emblem is not art. Not with how it was developed. Intelligent Systems openly admits and even brags about selling out to achieve greater financial results.

@JohnnyC But it has been released and the information is available for all to consume. Video games are art. This latest Fire Emblem is not art. Not with how it was developed. Intelligent Systems openly admits and even brags about selling out to achieve greater financial results.

Good idea. I'll follow.

@TheLastLugia I don't know why I click on these articles. But it's been 3 hours and my wrists hurt. So...shrug.

@tsukipon My whole point was to expose the "Japan can do no wrong" that is all over these articles. Even blatant racist caricatures in Bravely Default is being defended by people for no reason stronger than "Japan". People are saying things like "Native Americans don't even play these games". Just like that Oshwott person claims that people creeped out by waifu simulators don't play Fire Emblem. All of this boils down to the idea that if Japan does it, we're just supposed to roll with it or else we're bigots.

@Utena-mobile Japan happened. Shadow Dragon(DS) is a remake of the first NES game.

@tsukipon Yeah, I get you and I would not want you to gang up on someone, I just hit a breakthrough with this whole debate that I had to share. For some reason, no one was putting 2 and 2 together. This was never about censorship or a creators rights, it was about getting as much weaboo Nintendo action as possible and my poor Fire Emblem is being used because of it.

@Utena-mobile Do you have a Wii U? If so, download the first(7th) game for $8. Low risk, perfectly lays out what FE is about. Support relationships are hard to obtain but are there. They're just a little random and are performed different since the game is completely linear unlike Awakening and Fates.

@tsukipon Did you see the winky face? I agree. At this stage I'm indulging in a little internal giggle. I wanted to dance around that word for as long as I could. The fact that a staggering amount of people who watch that stuff and enjoy it are complaining about "censorship" is the most ironic thing I've ever seen. But of course it's okay if it's Japanese. See the last comment I made toward MrOshawott.

@tsukipon There's a Japanese word for pervert, I can't seem to remember what it's called... Either way, some people might take offense to your assumptions.

@MrOshawott Then what made you want to play Fire Emblem (gba), Sacred Stones, Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn, and Shadow Dragon.

How would you feel if this were an M-Rated game with censored/pixelated genitalia?

By the way, I'm super bitter towards this game. I'm in no way hiding that. But I also do a thorough amount of research into things FROM THE SOURCE before I start to theorize. Every statement made public about this game from Intelligent Systems says "Hi, I'm a consumer product".

@Utena-mobile Perma-death is why I like the games to begin with. I recommend it. I used to just a normal kid until I lost Bartre back in the first game and thought he would be back in the next chapter. Boy was I wrong. I was never the same since.

You mentioning that reminds me of one of the last Iwata Asks where he interviewed the devs of this game. They all were wearing T-shirts said "Die, Reset, Restart" or something like that. They were referencing the traditional way you "play" Fire Emblem games because while perma-death is there, its really the only way the game can "defeat" you unless you lack all strategic awareness or 2-digit math skills.

The stress of trying to not lose a single unit, I feel, greatly enhances the feelings you get if you're trying to connect more with the characters. It also makes you better at the game because even if you do restart the chapter, you learn what mistakes to not make next time.

There's no feeling like when your team is holed up inside a rickety fort while your best units are keeping the enemy from swarming through the front door, whilst your archers are picking off guys surrounding the place who are trying to break down the walls to get to the civilians and healers you're desperately guarding inside. The scenario writes its own drama as you play it. It's unreal.

@tsukipon She's not supposed to have spd like that. My 41 spd Miriel is a freak of nature/stroke of luck. For comparison's sake, Lon'qu, who is the same level +-, is a Swordmaster with a spd stat currently of 34. Gaius has 36. Tharja is good but Henry joins much too late to ever be useful. But I play Fire Emblem like I play Pokemon, so every one of my units have to hit they're max level with optimal skills and weapon loadouts regardless of if the characters aren't any good.

@tsukipon You can be good enough to make anyone work in most normal cases. And I gravitate towards Myrmidon's generally as I love Samurai and Japanese martial arts, but when you're playing on Lunatic and higher and Miriel is faster than Lon'qu, you use Miriel to get you out of tough jams.

@MrOshawott More than a quarter of the game? No. The game is hours spent on the maps. The different weapons and skills each character can l obtain. The linear progression of the story. The actual characters themselves. What you described are the most pointless features in the game that has never once been a driving force of what makes Fire Emblem compelling. You don't even play Zelda. You are in no way entitled to be offended, irritated, or tired of something you have zero interest in. You don't like internet memes because they're in English I bet. But had it been a Japanese internet meme and you would be championing its use of "culture".

BTW one cartridge of this game is $40. And if Nintendo's claims that each is as robust content wise as Awakening, you're absolutely not getting a "less" game regardless of how many things were changed.

@JohnnyC This isn't art. Far from it actually. It's a product specially curated to appeal to a specific sect of Japanese anime culture in the effort of getting their money. When your studio specifically goes out to hire famous manga writers and artists to help the game appeal, all artistic integrity is void.

@Utena-mobile
It's not bad. I just don't want you to be let down by how shallow the feature is. 95% of the game is hard-ass strategic combat and it's where the games shine brightest. The games are incredible at delivering that. It's what should be getting attention, I feel. Instead of this relationship nontroversy. So what you're experiencing from myself and tsukipon is our own frustration at what this series has become from what it was and where it could be headed as a result.

I can't express it beyond that. I hope you actually do become Fire Emblem's biggest fan but for reason's other than it's shallow attempt at fan service. I feel wrong for all that this comment contains but this is how I feel about this series and what it means to me. I hope you understand and can relate to the sentiment.

@tsukipon The relationship stuff is a fun distraction. It's neat to see the characters express themselves differently to see how they behave with different characters and is a slight reward for multiple playthroughs, but I would be lying if I said I didn't see Miriel as just a walking Forseti tome with 41 Spd stat off just one Master Seal.(she leveled up insanely broken). When I'm strapped in and ready to die a lot the characters are just numbers.

@tsukipon I think there's a misunderstanding about the homosexual bit. I am in no way talking it down or disliking it, the specific person I was talking to about it mentioned it as their main interest but it's no secret that each very of the game has one(1) gay and lesbian character respectively. So the mileage you can get from that is used up pretty quickly.

@MrOshawott Why are so upset with silly memes in Zelda? Tri-Force heroes entire style was of one that meant NOTHING. Unless there's some other meme heavy game I'm not aware of. I don't internet very often so there could easily be memes that slip right past me.

It's also very bad form to use numbers as facts when you have to actual way of proving it(25%). The 3 game/s as advertised are worth the total $80 regardless of what's been changed. A lesser game would still be $40 or $50 each if you shop with Atlus.

@Utena-mobile Since when did Fire Emblem have a different ehtos? Awakening? All it took was one game to change things and now there's waifu face poking.

For the sake of honesty, I'm aware that past unreleased Fire Emblem games have had plots involving incest and other things that are not "PG" in some form. I can only speak for the games released since Smash Melee. At the same time those games never left Japan and would have never left un"localized".

@Utena-mobile What makes you so disappointed? Every thing I've seen about the strategy aspects look wonderful and better balanced than the last game. I can't speak delicately on this matter so pardon if I come off as harsh, but if the relationship stuff is your main interest in this series, it's going to leave you wanting. You get a maximum of 4 times per couple to ever actually get them to interact with each other and it's about as brief each time as 1-1.5 minutes of dialogue each time. It's interesting on multiple playthroughs becuase each pairing gives unique dialogue and insight to the characters but if the homosexual stuff is what you were really in for, you'll only get one instance of it the same way every time since it's limited to your avatar and the token gay person.

@tsukipon I get that much, but can I speak hypothetically for a moment? Hyrule Warriors Legends is coming out soon. WHAT IF in that game's original Japanese version, in the model gallery mode, you could blow into the mic to make Zelda's dress fly up? Would you expect that feature to make it to our shores? Would Nintendo even let that fly in Japan considering who that character is to their brand? How do you think people would react if that feature was censored. I'm 1000% certain that "panty shots" are commonplace in anime culture and can easily make it into most T-Rated games in the States and their EU equivalent.

@MrOshawott What makes you think the Japanese version is so sacred? Did it ever occur to you that it too was "localized" to appeal more to its market there just as it was here? Nintendo does not do cut and dry translations. If they want a product sold in different regions, they put in the effort to make it palatable. Is this only an issue with Fire Emblem because it looks like an anime now? Where are the cries when a Pokemon gets it's name chagned? Because besides Mew and Pikachu, they are all different for the sake of being understandable to English speakers.

@tsukipon "as intended". You would have a great point if there was any actual artistry in these games anymore. I could be wrong, but Fire Emblem instantly hit sellout status when it changed it's entire presentation style to reach a bigger audience. Makes perfect business sense, I won't deny, but I've never known Nintendo to ever make perfect business sense as they've always been about selling what they believe in even if it hurts them. I would love to hear anyone from Intelligent Systems weigh in on the matter actually in regards to why the feature was in the game to begin with.

@Utena-mobile Those things all paint the same image of liberal america (besides COD). It's not an accurate representation. If it were as you said, Mario and Zelda would not have as much appeal as they do in Japan being they aren't anime at all.

@MrOshawott If it gets distributed and localized for NA, then it was made for me too and just as Japan has it's audience catered to, westerners deserve the same treatment.

@Utena-mobile Yeah, but it really sucks to lose Fire Emblem as one of those games. Something that required thought, tactics, has a good narrative, and also is in line with my cultural values. That's not an everyday occurrence and are the reasons Fire Emblem I regard Fire Emblem as highly as I do.

@shaneoh I have a ton of doubts that anime culture is actual Japanese culture. To me that makes about as much sense as American Culture being 1:1 with Family Guy and Spongebob. I don't understand the strange mentality that Japan can do no wrong.

@Fee So "quotes" mean nothing anymore, huh? As far as the rest of your question is concerned, you could try being constructive or continuing your actual life elsewhere. It is the same price.

@MrOshawott That is a stupid argument to make. You have no idea who all the people are who play Fire Emblem. I've enjoyed the hell out of this series since it debuted in NA and am particularly disgusted by the direction it's taken since Awakening and am all for NOA's changes because it's not what the series has been and is an obvious sellout.

@tsukipon You can totally not sound like a pervert. You just have to pretend that this is about censorship.

@Utena-mobile If Awakening sold the way it was expected, it would have been the last in the series at least outside of Japan. It's shift toward an anime aesthetic gave it the shot in the arm it needed to get more notice, but also gave it this platform for being Nintendo's most polarizing game for long time fans (me and others) and newcomers such as yourself.

I used to share these games with my younger siblings and neices/nephews but they're getting to "edgy" for me. I really hope for Nintendo and Intelligent systems to refocus on what made this series great and appreciated in the first place, because right now I feel like some sort of creep when I tell people that Fire Emblem is easily my top 3 favorite series of all time.