EDIT (10/02/2016): Review copies have disproven the original rumor. Read more here.
Good news, for everyone who was upset about the removal of the petting minigame in Fire Emblem Fates. Despite the Kotaku report stating that the petting game has been removed from Fire Emblem Fates, the assets are still being put to good use. In fact, the feature is unchanged from a superficial perspective. However, a big part of the minigame has been removed: the actual petting.
During a 2 hour stream of the game, Polygon captured the skinship feature’s replacement in this 2 minute clip (below), demonstrating what the changes to the minigame actually are.
Instead of the usual petting minigame, the “invite ally” function now leads to a single character entering your room and talking to you with a brief Live 2D animation. These animations have been left completely untouched, and from what we can tell the dialogue is the same as the original Japanese version (minus the 4 minute petting sessions, and being dubbed in English). While I don’t like being that guy (who am I kidding, I love being that guy) but I totally called this.
While some might still grieve the loss of their waifu/husbando petting simulator, at least they can rest assured that they will still be able to have an intimate conversation with them. The scene is still pretty cute, and I for one am relieved that I won’t have to sprain my wrist trying to pet over 30 people in Revelation just to increase support ranks and get minor buffs.
What do you guys think of the change? Will the middle ground option done by Nintendo’s American localization team satisfy you? Vote now on my official Twitter poll or leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
