I have a very intense love affair with the Fire Emblem franchise. I’ve been playing Fire Emblem: Three Houses over the weekend, and it is everything I’ve been wanting out of a Switch Fire Emblem game. However, I discovered something interesting while I was doing a little bit of research and preparing to write a review later this week. Nintendo is going to be changing the voice actor for Byleth (or whatever you name the Fire Emblem: Three Houses protagonist) in an upcoming patch.

You might be wondering “Well, the game is out, why change now?” and to that, I will explain. Chris Niosi, known for his voice acting in things such as OK KO, Octopath Traveler and a variety of other games and anime since 2009, recently responded on Tumblr to accusations from friends and colleagues about alleged abuse. Interestingly, Niosi not only responded but admitted to a myriad of things. These infractions include, but are not limited to, violating a non-disclosure agreement about voicing Byleth in Fire Emblem: Three Houses in order to brag to an ex-partner.

It's time people learned the truth about what how I've acted the past 15 years. Please read. https://t.co/uVuJuGa7ad

— Chris Niosi (@Kirbopher) July 17, 2019

Normally, I would be critical of accusations and information such as this, released by Kotaku and other outlets. I tend to do my own research and figure out if things are worth speaking to the public about. However, Niosi’s words on his Tumblr read not as a PR script, but as someone who is finally coming clean after abusing people close to them for a decade. I have provided a link to the Tumblr post in question so you can read it and draw your own conclusions.

Nintendo has responded to both the accusations and Niosi’s response. They first chose to recast Niosi in Fire Emblem Heroes and released a new trailer revealing Zach Aguilar as the new voice of Byleth in the popular mobile game. Their second response is a bit more surprising of course, the previously mentioned removal and replacement of Niosi’s voice lines in Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

Kotaku was given a statement by Nintendo in regards to this recast which reads, “After assessing the situation, we decided to re-record the character’s voiceovers in Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Fire Emblem Heroes with another actor. The new voiceovers will be included in a future patch.”

No information has been given as to whether Zach Aguilar will also voice Byleth in Three Houses, or if Nintendo will recast the character with someone currently unrelated to the role at all. I do find it interesting though, as I have never heard of a role being recast after a game released. We will be following up on this with more information as it is released, so keep an eye out for more. We will also have a Fire Emblem: Three Houses review in the coming weeks, so watch for that if you’re interested.

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