Fire Emblem Fates won't feature 'petting' minigame

Nintendo removed a minigame in Fire Emblem Fates that allowed players to pet the faces of teammates in the upcoming Nintendo 3DS game, a company representative confirmed to Polygon today.

You can watch an example of a petting sequence below from the game's original Japanese version. When it was first revealed in a May 2015 Japan-exclusive Nintendo Direct, fans quickly began talking about the touchscreen-based feature.

This is one of several changes planned for the localized Fire Emblem Fates, which launches stateside Feb. 19. Last week, the company announced that a scene in which the protagonist alludes to "drugging" a party member would not be included in the English version.

As for what else has been changed in both the Birthright and Conquest versions of Fates, Nintendo wouldn't mention specifics. It did suggest, however, that the game doesn't feature "inappropriate" content in either its original or localized versions.

"You might have heard somewhat misinterpreted or exaggerated information about the Japanese original game," a representative for Nintendo told Polygon, "but even in the Japanese original version, we have not included any features which are considered inappropriate in Japan.

"Having said that, however, making changes are not unusual when we localize games, and we have indeed made changes in these games."

Other recent releases altered for the West include Bravely Default, which had its more mature content, such as revealing costumes, toned down for American audiences. Fire Emblem Awakening, the previous 3DS release in the franchise, also received edits of a similar nature when it launched overseas.

For a look at what did make it into the game, check out our overview of its support conversations below.