In past Fire Emblem titles you are given the opportunity to marry someone of the opposite sex after bonding with through dialog. For the upcoming release, Fire Emblems Fates, both versions of the game — Conquest and Birthright — will support the option for same sex marriage. This is good news considering how quick Nintendo was to patch Tomadachi Life after a glitch was discovered that had allowed for it. Nintendo confirms the option with the following message to Polygon:
We can confirm that Fire Emblem Fates for Nintendo 3DS, which launches in Japan on June 25, 2015, and is coming to the U.S. and Europe in 2016, includes the possibility for a same-sex marriage to take place between the main character created by the gamer and another character in the game.
Fire Emblem Fates comes in two different versions, called the Conquest and Birthright editions. In the U.S., Conquest and Birthright will both be sold separately, as is already the case in Japan. For those who have purchased either the Conquest or Birthright edition, a third edition will be made available as downloadable content at a later stage. Details on how the three storylines will be made available in other regions will be announced at a later date.
In the Conquest edition of the game, there is a male character that the game’s player may have his/her male main character marry after they bond in battle. Similarly, the Birthright edition features a female character that a female main character may marry after bonding in battle. Both of the aforementioned characters can be encountered in the third edition of the game.
So basically, if you want to marry someone of the same sex you will need the version of the game and the third edition. Depending on which edition you get, Conquest or Birthright, you will have the option of either two males or two females, but only after purchasing the third edition that hasn’t been announced yet.
Nintendo concludes:
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, such as the game’s scenario and the nature of the game play. In the end of course, the game should be fun to play. We feel that Fire Emblem Fates is indeed enjoyable to play and we hope fans like the game.
Fire Emblem Fates is out in Japan on June 25 and headed west in 2016 for the Nintendo 3DS.
