Another feature removed from the Western version of Fire Emblem Fates, Nintendo have confirmed that the title will not contain the original Japanese audio.

In a controversial move, Nintendo have revealed that the Western release of the upcoming Fire Emblem Fates will not contain its original Japanese audio. Upon their launch, the 3DS titles Birthright, Conquest, and Revelation will have English voice acting only.

Although not all previous Fire Emblem titles have contained Japanese voice acting, previous title Awakening did offer varying language options. When asked to clarify on the company's decision to remove Western access to the original audio, Nintendo refused to comment. While it's possible that the game may receive the option to change the language setting to Japanese as a post-release update, it's more than likely that Nintendo's decision is final on the matter, to the certain disappointment of many fans of the series.

This isn't the first change that the company has made to the Fates games, though it might be the most unpopular one yet. Previous changes that were revealed for the localization include the removal of a controversial scene where a female party member can be tricked with a magic powder into entering a romantic relationship with the protagonist. Another change made solely to Western copies of the title is the removal of Fire Emblem Fates' "petting" mechanic. This mechanic allowed players to bond with their team members in a similar way to Pokémon X/Y's Pokémon-Amie function.

Despite Nintendo's decision to censor certain elements of the upcoming Fates games, the company is not shying away from every topic that could be seen as controversial in Western culture. One example is the company's confirmation that the title will include same-sex marriage options for both genders available to the protagonist. In Awakening, same-sex partners could even adopt children of their own.

While Fates is not yet available to play in the West, fans of the series can already get acquainted with the game's protagonist Corrin and his or her powerful dragon-based transformations thanks to his/her debut as a DLC fighter in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. Corrin is the 6th Fire Emblem character to be featured in the latest Smash title and while some players have complained about the lack of diversity, Corrin appears to be a popular fighter due to his special dragon-powered attacks. Awakening's protagonist Robin is also playable but focuses more on magic-based combat inspired by Fire Emblem's tome attacks.

Fire Emblem Fates, both the Birthright and Conquest versions, will be available on February 19th, with the Revelation epilogue coming March 10th.

Source: Polygon