Maybe Next Time

NOTE: This piece was written before the announcement of the DLC that is adding a second mlm romance. That being said, we here at Uppercut feel it’s bullshit that a second romance had to be added through a paid DLC.

Japanese Role Playing Games (JRPG) are known in the pantheon of gaming as being some of the best. Whether we’re talking about Square and their amazing Final Fantasy series, or Atlus and the Persona series, JRPGs are some of the most celebrated even outside their genre. However, JRPG’s have a horrible time dealing with LGBTQ+ stories. Fire Emblem: Three Houses, in the lens of mechanics and game design, is an amazing Tactical JRPG.  After finishing the Blue Lions story, I can confirm the critical praise it has received and say “it’s a winner.” But here I am, yet again, with another JRPG that lets me down on a personal/social/philosophical level. While the game has amazing social aspects that have made strides forward, it seems that this game too has left the series stagnant in a couple of departments. 

During my playthrough I came across this badass woman, Petra, who is great at hunting and fighting. I thought to myself, “How awesome would it be to make her an amazing brawler?” A girl that can fight with gauntlets and murder the hell out of the enemy army with her bare hands, let’s go! Lo and behold, the warmaster class that would allow this woman to excel at beating the ever living hell out of her enemies was not available to her. 

“Gender Locking” classes is nothing new to the Fire Emblem series. For example, male characters have been locked out of becoming Pegasus Knights before based on the mythos of the unicorn that states that only pure-hearted women can approach the beast. However, even within the series, this “gender locking” has not been consistent. There have been enemy male pegasus knights in past games; Subaki from Fire Emblem Fates was a male Pegasus Knight. And yet Pegasus Knights in FE: Three Houses are again locked to being a female only class.

In Fire Emblem: Three Houses you play as a teacher in what can be summarized as a school of war and tactics. You’re taking on the role of teacher and mentor to these students, and you have the opportunity to shape them in ways that you feel fit their personalities and skills. But gender locking certain classes breaks that fantasy. In my playthrough, I wanted them to live up to their budding potentials, but with this restriction, it felt like some characters don’t actually get to express themselves on the battlefield.  It was frustrating to see such a step back in the series when there was good progress being made in previous titles in regards to removing gender stereotypes and other hetronormative standards

Unfortunately, gender locking classes isn’t the only issue with Three Houses. The male LGBTQ+ relationship offerings in this game are lacking, and if you played previous Fire Emblems this isn’t  a surprise. Many past games in the series have typically only had one male to male (m2m) relationship and Fire Emblem defenders are quick to point out that there are 3 S rank male on male options this time around. Traditionally, the S tier support rank is reserved for romantic relationships. The problem is 2 of those 3 options don’t play out like a typical S Rank support unit relationships would in the past games.  

Let’s break down these 2 non-romantic relationships of Male Byleth. Alois is a lovable goofball who respects and honors your father, Jeralt. He worships the ground your dad walks on. So much so that he is envious of all the time you got to spend with him. As your relationship grows, he considers you like a brother. His bond with you is purely familial, plus he has a wife and kids back home. Sorry, wannabe homewreckers! You basically get friend zoned. At least the game telegraphs this with earlier social ranks talking about the family and he tells you that you’re like a brother to him before the final decision has to be made on who you want to spend the rest of your life with. 

One of your other options is an older man named Gilbert, and while it doesn’t end with him treating you like a brother, it’s not much better. Gilbert has a wife and kids, whom he left for reasons that contribute to his character development. When you go for the S rank, he promises to be by your side forever as your knight and protector. Again, the story does let you know about his wife and kids very early on in the social rank similar to what they did with Alois.

Given the usual way S rank relationships work in these games, why does Intelligent Systems give the option to pursue an S Rank relationship with either of these men? If you choose to go down one of these S rank status not only are you friend zoned, but you also find yourself married later to a village girl in an epilogue. So let me get this straight: my character, who was flirting and developing bonds with all these men, says “fuck it” and ends up with a some random woman? Saying “if I can’t get with this one guy, then fuck it I’ll be straight” is not OK and is a careless, damaging message to gay youth. 

Then there are the JRPG apologists. People have told me “ Well at least you got one,” or they say “It’s Japan! What did you expect?” First, I only got one guy I can marry. But what if their personality sucks to me, what am I supposed to do? Oh, I guess I have to marry any girl units available to the professor because there’s no one else. This echoes the dangerous message a lot of gay youth who already feel like their options are limited hear: you may end up alone or living a lie if you’re queer. While being gay does limit the amount of options out there, it doesn’t mean we should settle for scraps or choose the heteronormative route. That’s not how this works, that’s not how any of this works. 

The argument of “Well its Japan!” needs to be challenged. Japanese culture does present unique issues in regards LGBTQ+ people. According to data from Wiki articles, same sex marriage/union is not recognized in all districts of Japan. Same sex couples are not allowed to legally adopt in Japan, and there are issues with employment discrimination. But that’s not to say there isn’t progress being made. Based on a survey that was in done in Japan by the advertising company Dentsu Inc., 1 out of 11 people in Japan identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. There are more districts within Japan as the years go on that are crafting legislation to acknowledge gay marriage, and as of this year there was even a bill submitted to try to get gay marriage recognized throughout the country. Other rights are starting to be protected as well. For example, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has legislation that bans discrimination in employment based on a persons gender identity and sexual orientation.

Only giving us the most minimal amount of LGBTQ+ content is Intelligent Systems saying we are low on their priority list compared to their hetero audience, and it erases the efforts of the activists in Japan who are working for more acceptance and better representation. It never feels good to hear that sure you matter, but you don’t matter enough for us to actually invest and take time to give you the options you deserve that we give to other people. LGBTQ+ communities should not be okay with just getting mentioned or getting bare minimum treatment because its harmful in the long run. If we accept the scraps then there is no reason for developers to do more to give us equal content in their games. 

Fire Emblem, since FE: Fates on the Nintendo 3DS, seems to be more than okay with only having one m2m relationship. What the gay fans are wanting though, is more options and better representation of gay relationships so we can see ourselves in the series we’ve come to love. It would be nice if Fire Emblem provided meaningful character development that a non-heteronormative man could relate to, including growing and maintaining meaningful romantic relationships. A lot of us don’t get the chance to date under normal circumstances in the real world, especially in our earlier years, so why not give us the opportunity in a fantasy world? 

With only one true m2m gay option, FE: Three Houses feels disappointing, like a punch in the gut. Every time one of these games that promises social aspects and deep relationships, it feels like this could be the game that opens the door to letting me play the characters the way I, a gay man, want to. Unfortunately, here I am, disappointed again. Fire Emblem: Three Houses deserves all the accolades it’s received, but it also deserves all the criticism it gets for its limitations involving gender and the LGBTQ+ community. Maybe next time it will get better, maybe even right. At this point in my life though, I’m getting tired of saying “maybe next time.”