From bathing suit to Punky Brewster cosplay in one cross-Atlantic trip. Some of the changes made to Japan’s Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem to make it North America’s Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE are quite odd.
Having been busy not caring too much about worrying over things like fanservice, I’ve managed to avoid discussions of the changes made during the localization of Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem, with the exception of the still hilarious “vagina bones” meme. Blissfully unaware of any massive changes, I’ve been enjoying myself immensely over the past week, playing one of my favorite role-playing games of the generation. Check out our early impressions for mildly different but overall positive feelings about the game.
But when I got to the third major dungeon, which involves a photographer obsessed with his idol models, the whole thing just felt a little off. The walls of the dungeon were covered with tasteful photographs of young women modeling the sort of clothing you might find in a JCPenny catalog.
Censored Gaming’s look at all of the changes made to the game between regional releases confirmed my suspicions—after years of playing Japanese imports that many of my contemporaries think are disgusting, I’ve developed some sort of bikini sense. Nintendo and/or Atlus has some weird and inconsistent ideas about clothing and culture.
Check out the video below, but be mindful of spoilers and a couple bits that might be NSFW, depending.
Hightlights include:
- Just about everyone has been aged up a year, from 16, 17 and 18 to 17, 18 and 19.
- Several hundred lines of dialogue were re-recorded to reflect both the age changes and other tweaks to the story.
- Skirted costumes that would have shown underwear during acrobatic moves have been obscured via black void.
- The third dungeon, mentioned above, was all about sexy modeling. It’s now all about feeling good about yourself while wearing stupid clothing.
- Apparently this outfit wasn’t White enough, so they added more white.
Seriously, watch the video. Some of these changes are so nonsensical. A boss has her breasts obscured in an animated cutscene but not in the game proper. Mythical creatures are given shorts and tank tops.
I know some people are upset about the localization changes, just as I know there are people who are upset about the meager amount of fanservice that managed to remain in the game. The only thing I’m upset about is how easily people get upset these days.
Had the changes affected gameplay I might be a little miffed, but they don’t, so I’m not. Some 12 hours in Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE is still on course to being one of my favorite role-playing games ever, Punky Brewster costumes and all.