Some online are unhappy with how Fire Emblem Engage is going to be released in the West, as a purported leak of the game's script suggests that while Japanese players will be able to romance characters under 18 years old, those in the West won't get that same opportunity.

1/2 It seems Fire Emblem Engage got even stronger censored by Nintendo's localization team than anticipated. Any romance lines with supports that were with minors were removed.
The entire script is currently datamined and discussed/dropped on various places (like 4chan's /feg/) pic.twitter.com/JrUPzxg6D7

— Mondblut (@Mondblut1984) January 17, 2023

According to the supposed leak of the game's English script on 4chan, the game's protagonist Alear will be unable to romance anyone under 17. One highlighted example indicated that if the player pursues a relationship with the character Anna, it will culminate in her suggesting they become business partners. In the original Japanese version, Anna says a line that reads, "Even if it's too early for us to be lovers, don't you think we can be partners?"

Since it introduced a social bonding element to the series, Fire Emblem has given players the opportunity to romance essentially anyone in the cast, even if such a romance is outside social norms in certain places. For example, the player could romance their well-endowed sister Camilla in Fire Emblem Fates.

If the purported leak is accurate, some 4chan commenters concurred that preventing the player from romancing minors is a good change. Others pointed out that it seems odd, as the protagonist of the game, Alear, is canonically 17 but is able to romance older characters. Others still argued that the censorship had gone too far.

breaking news: neckbeard fire emblem fans outraged that they cannot romance teenage minors!!! they do not understand the concept of localization either. https://t.co/Z1OgT1aKqR

— fabio 🌾 (@supa_fabio) January 19, 2023

I really wish alot of people would contact the Japanese side of the Fire Emblem devs. The localization of Engage is so egregious and I wish enough people would complain directly to the source. Constantly losing things I care about is infuriating.

— ArtzyDegenerate (@DegenerateArtzy) January 18, 2023

Of course, the gold standard in localization controversies is the one that surrounded Fire Emblem Fates. In 2016, multiple changes made to the games in the localization process angered fans, some of which seemed to be to more innocuous dialogue than what is purportedly being altered in Engage.

At the time, the controversy exploded online, eventually leading to harassment campaigns against the localizers at Nintendo. It remains to be seen if the supposed changes to Engage will stir the same toxic response.