Relationship Poll! Four Questions :)

[lordsuzaku]

I don't think IS and the Japanese market is well suited for homosexual relationships. I trust them to write in implicit relationships pretty well like Soren and Ike, but doing things explicitly increases the odds that stupid things get written. I'd rather they make the gameplay better than putting in an excessive amount of time writing support dialogue anyhow.

Then there's the cultural barrier around these relationships. Western culture is more willing to address this publicly, so I think we tend to have a slightly better way of writing them over here. Even so, this subject matter gets pretty messy and complex, even before character development comes into play. Hell, check out Dragon Age Inquisition or the other two Dragon Age games if you want some of the less conventional character stories.

[Ganhur]

Homosexuality in gaming, to my experience, have only been used in "mature" rated games. Considering FE is targetting young people (mostly all age I believe), for gay relationships to be implented would take a miracle.

Also the cultural factor, although I think it would be nice to have homosexuality in the game, America (parents) is not very sympathetic, shall we say, toward this form of sexuality. If this stigma is being put into the game, we may not have the chance to play it. I believe there is a online game from KR that is being liscenced in America. However, due to the overly exposure of characters' outfit, U.S. staff is trying to censore it in by adding bit more clothes. So in a way, they have to tone it down to a safe level for Americans' audiences before allowing them to play it.

In short, if the sexuality within the game affect American culture as I think it does, then there's a good chance we won't get to have an official English version of this game if homosexuality is implanted.

Edited March 24, 2015 by Ganhur

[ckc22]

Homosexuality in gaming, to my experience, have only been used in "mature" rated games. Considering FE is targetting young people (mostly all age I believe), for gay relationships to be implented would take a miracle.

Also the cultural factor, although I think it would be nice to have homosexuality in the game, America (parents) is not very sympathetic, shall we say, toward this form of sexuality. If this stigma is being put into the game, we may not have the chance to play it. I believe there is a online game from KR that is being liscenced in America. However, due to the overly exposure of characters' outfit, U.S. staff is trying to censore it in by adding bit more clothes. So in a way, they have to tone it down to a safe level for Americans' audiences before allowing them to play it.

In short, if the sexuality within the game affect American culture as I think it does, then there's a good chance we won't get to have an official English version of this game if homosexuality is implanted.

Ignoring that there are already subtle hints at various characters through the series being gay and the fact that FE:A was rated T...

A lot of the posts here seem to have a concept of American politics grounded in the 1990s.

[CazTGG]

Ignoring that there are already subtle hints at various characters through the series being gay and the fact that FE:A was rated T...

A lot of the posts here seem to have a concept of American politics grounded in the 1990s.

Let's also not forget Heather in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, also not rated M (E10+ in North America). Having a gay/lesbian character does not equate to a Mature rating. Most of the games that feature a character of non-traditional sexual orientation that feature an M rating have a reason for their rating, one which is not in any way connected to them featuring said character.

[Ganhur]

A lot of the posts here seem to have a concept of American politics grounded in the 1990s.

2~3 decades are not enough to change the belief of the mass. Take racism for example, from the Civil war until Martin Luther King until today, how many American big figures (government, war hero, TV host, television/movie main character) are non white? There're also the study of evolution, some still believe Earth is the center of solar system, concept of war and anti-violence, etc.

Let's also not forget Heather in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, also not rated M (E10+ in North America). Having a gay/lesbian character does not equate to a Mature rating. Most of the games that feature a character of non-traditional sexual orientation that feature an M rating have a reason for their rating, one which is not in any way connected to them featuring said character.

Unless the game is "about" a homo/bisexual main character, I don't think the rating will be E10+ anymore.

Sexuality may not affect Age rating, then what about sexual interaction, say two character of the same sex kissing or flirting in the game?

Edited March 26, 2015 by Ganhur

[Saladus]

Let's also not forget Heather in Fire Emblem

Would Heather even be notable if she only had eyes for men?

Edited March 26, 2015 by Saladus

[DeadGame]

This is still going?

Ayye, keep it straight, people.

[lonelyVoxel]

This is still going?

Ayye, keep it straight, people.

*cringe*

[Kon]

Would Heather even be notable if she only had eyes for men?

Not even a little :D

This is still going?

Ayye, keep it straight, people.

You gonna bother explaining why they should

[Anacybele]

Ignoring that there are already subtle hints at various characters through the series being gay and the fact that FE:A was rated T...

I would guess that the T rating is due to frequent swearing by characters like Sully as well as the fact that we witness a freaky murder right at the start of the game... (referring to the Avatar killing Chrom in the Premonition)

[Chastlily]

It would be great if Intelligent System did include homosexual pairings as well, but the general american mindset is not very welcoming for homosexuality and while it is considered ok by most people in Europe, the case is not always the same in Japan. It would be a good move for their general image in western countries, butn ot a good commercial move.

I think that making the main issue would be that if you want bisexuality/homosexuality to be a thing in FE14, they'd have to do it for everyone.

[Saladus]

Not even a little :D

And those are the grounds to keep same sex pairings out of Fire Emblem. IS has yet to show it can handle them properly.

[Florete]

And those are the grounds to keep same sex pairings out of Fire Emblem. IS has yet to show it can handle them properly.

How are they supposed to show they can handle them if they don't, you know, go for it?

I don't think Heather is a good indicator either way, though.

[Kon]

And those are the grounds to keep same sex pairings out of Fire Emblem. IS has yet to show it can handle them properly.

Heather is also a character made 8 years ago who also isn't any sort of major character in the game. And like Fox said, it's kind of hard for them to show how well they can handle characters like that if they don't actually try more than once.

How are they supposed to show they can handle them if they don't, you know, go for it?

I don't think Heather is a good indicator either way, though.

If they really intended for Ike and Soren to be gay, that would say a lot about their ability to actually write a homosexual relationship without making it a joke or devaluing either of the two. Though of course that's never been 100% confirmed, but it's never been 100% deconfirmed either, so ~o3o~

And before someone comes in to argue saying Priam deconfirmed it, don't. IS has not released anything explicitly confirming or denying Ike's sexuality and the words of a video game character do not count as official word.

She really isn't. I'd love more homosexual characters, but not any like Heather, since she is about as one-note as the Awakening cast, with her one note singing about how she might have kissed a girl and liked it.

[NinjaMonkey]

the words of a video game character do not count as official word.

You do realise that someone at IS wrote the whole "Priam is Ike's descendant" part, right? So yeah, it does count as the "official word", since someone at IS explicitly wrote it as such.

[Blaze The Great]

I wouldn't be all that opposed to homosexual relationships, but I feel like that would over-complicate the game. Either there would just be like two characters who automatically go together, or there would have to be 10+ characters over the norm, which would get super crazy. Also, judging solely based on what we have seen so far, this game looks to be set in a period where homosexual relationships aren't really going to be happening, even in comparison to other games. Maybe I'm not the greatest judge of this, but I think it would be complicated and there could potentially be backlash. Just my two cents.

[Kon]

You do realise that someone at IS wrote the whole "Priam is Ike's descendant" part, right? So yeah, it does count as the "official word", since someone at IS explicitly wrote it as such.

Just like how Pelleas was stated to be Ashnard's son, right?

[Radiant head]

This is still going?

Ayye, keep it straight, people.

FFS...

And oh hey, we're talking about Ike again.

Edited March 27, 2015 by Radiant head

[Anacybele]

Just like how Pelleas was stated to be Ashnard's son, right?

The difference there is that that was later stated to be wrong. IS has yet to say that Priam was lying or mistaken.

[CazTGG]

Just like how Pelleas was stated to be Ashnard's son, right?

That has zero relevancy to Priam's legitimacy as a descendant of Ike, let alone in dismissing canonical information the creators have provided on the assumption that it may receive a retcon. I sincerely doubt that Intelligent Systems has any plans to further detail Ike's bloodline or any successors between him and Priam or his orientation, let alone if Ranulf or Soren or both leaving with him did occur. I also imagine they don't have any plans to explain where Grima came from since Ylisse is just the continent of Akaneia after a millennium, but that's besides the point. Frankly i'd rather not derail the discussion further than it has been by one the many retcons Radiant Dawn delivered.

Edited March 27, 2015 by CazTGG

[Kon]

FFS...

And oh hey, we're talking about Ike again.

I mentioned him as an example. It's not my fault people are so eager to argue about him that even something so small as a mention sets them off.

The difference there is that that was later stated to be wrong. IS has yet to say that Priam was lying or mistaken.

Hence why I said that it is neither denied nor confirmed, even with Priam's existence because even his legitimacy has not been confirmed directly. NM stated that because it is in Priam's bio, it means it's official. I presented a similar case with Pelleas to demonstrate that what is written in the character's bios is not always 100% true.

That has zero relevancy to Priam's legitimacy as a descendant of Ike, let alone in dismissing canonical information the creators have provided on the assumption that it may receive a retcon. I sincerely doubt that Intelligent Systems has any plans to further detail Ike's bloodline or any successors between him and Priam or his orientation, let alone if Ranulf or Soren or both leaving with him did occur. I also imagine they don't have any plans to explain where Grima came from since Ylisse is just the continent of Akaneia after a millennium, but that's besides the point. Frankly i'd rather not derail the discussion further than it has been by one the many retcons Radiant Dawn delived.

They have similar situations, which is why I chose him as an example. Both claim to be the son/descendant of someone, and even have some semblance of proof of their claim (Pelleas' supposed familial resemblance + Izuka's word and Priam with his "Ragnell"). The only difference is that Pelleas was confirmed to be entirely unrelated while Priam is still up in the air, since there is nothing absolutely confirming the relation. Now, if there was some sort of official family tree or something similar, I would take that as proof. But nothing of the sort exists yet, so the comparison isn't inaccurate.

I know full well that official word regarding any of these issues isn't likely in the least. They didn't exactly give a damn about keeping anything in Awakening faithful to any of the other games in since it's all for the sake of fanservice, so expecting anything of the sort is ridiculous, unfortunately.

I have no intentions of furthering any arguments about Ike or Priam. I'm honestly sick and tired of the whole thing.

[Radiant head]

I mentioned him as an example. It's not my fault people are so eager to argue about him that even something so small as a mention sets them off.

I'd believe you if this wasn't the second time this happened in this very thread.

[Kon]

I'd believe you if this wasn't the second time this happened in this very thread.

What, the arguments or mentioning Ike?

[NekoKnight]

I think it's funny how much they try to rely on subtext to hint at who might be gay and then they have things like incest more out in the open. You can have Morgan marry her uncle among other things in Awakening

[NoNameAtAll]

I think it's funny how much they try to rely on subtext to hint at who might be gay and then they have things like incest more out in the open. You can have Morgan marry her uncle among other things in Awakening

Oh, Genealogy loves that stuff. eue