In the Japanese version of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, the character Kyza (Kisa in the Japanese version), a member of the Laguz Beast Tribe, is gay, and openly in love with his superior officer Ranulf. He views himself as a rival with fellow warrior Lyre (a female Laguz) for Ranulf’s affections, though Ranulf would prefer to not be involved in the triangle at all.

Kyza is depicted in the Japanese games as being very formal toward others, but when only in the company of Ranulf and Lyre, his speech patterns change to use very strongly feminine Japanese. The character’s depiction is generally used for comic effect, though this characterisation was entirely altered in localization to remove the feminine speech patterns and the attraction to Ranulf. However, according to the Fire Emblem Fandom Wiki, in the Fire Emblem 20th Anniversary Encyclopedia, Kyza is titled “The body is male, the heart is female?” which has lead some fans to read Kyza as a trans woman.

LGBTQ references in this game series:

Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 (1999): Marty and Dagdar

Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade (2003): Bramimond; Florina and Lyndis; Legault; Lucius and Raven

Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones (2004): Ephraim and Lyon; Joshua and Gerik

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (2005): Ike and Soren; Jill and Mist; Reyson and Tibarn; Sigrun and Tanith

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (2007): Elincia and Lucia; Heather; Jill and Mist; Joke about Ike and Sothe; Kyza; Ranulf

Fire Emblem Awakening (2012): Gay Jokes and Queerness; Same-Sex Relationship Hack; The Hubba Tester

Fire Emblem Fates (2015): Forrest; Nina; Romance options; Same-Sex Relationship Hack; Skinshipping; Soleil; The Hubba Tester

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (2017): Leon; Lukas; Queer Readings

Fire Emblem Heroes (2017): Ally Support; Loki; Sharena

Fire Emblem: Three Houses (2019-2020): Byleth Pairings and Controversy; Non-Byleth Pairings

See also QRM’s entry for this game series

Citations:

1. Nintendo/Intelligent Systems. 2016. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn Memorial Book Tellius Recollection: The Second Volume. Tokyo: Tokuma Shoten (ambit).
2. Various. (n.d.). Kyza. Retrieved July 27, 2020, from https://fireemblem.fandom.com/wiki/Kyza