10 Video Games Changed After Real-World Events

It seems Fire Emblem really can't catch a break when it comes to controversy - the series repeatedly came under scrutiny for seemingly only acknowledging heterosexual relationships, with Three Houses only appearing to make brief allusions to the possibility that people of the same sex can actually feel, y'know, human love for one another, with the most recent title, Fates, finally acknowledging that gay relationships do exist.

But one step forward, two steps back.

In Fire Emblem Fates, the Japanese version of the game had a pretty insidious scene where, if you're a male character and paired with the openly-lesbian Soleil, you'll spike her drink with a drug that makes her fall in love with men (so you can trick her into falling for you). When the drugs finally wear off she'll note she saw you as a female, fell in love, and still finds you attractive (despite the illusion disappearing).

Given that the gay rights movement, particularly in the United States, was pushing hard for more parity of media exposure and acceptance around this time, the scene was considered to be "gay conversion therapy" and "deleting years of progress". The scene was later removed for Western audiences.

And for the record, this is literally the first ever time I've written about a game about spiking drinks with gay conversion drugs.

I don't think the subgenre needs any more of that, thanks.