Avert Your Eyes

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water featured a number of sexy outfits that were removed in the western release. This was perplexing for a couple of reasons. Fatal Frame 5 was a niche game that was barely advertised and wasn’t even given a physical release outside of Japan. It was never going to appeal to mainstream audiences, so it seemed counter-productive to remove content that core fans of the series would miss. Moreover, the game was given an “M” rating by the ESRB, so it’s not as though revealing outfits would have been deemed inappropriate for its intended audience. In lieu of lingerie, the western release featured Nintendo-themed costumes based on Princess Zelda and Samus Aran. I thought Samus’ iconic “zero suit” looked amazing, but the removed outfits were a better fit for the game. After all, one of the main characters was a gravure idol who modeled provocative clothing for a living. The original version even featured a cryptic scene in which she took part in a mock photo shoot and expressed her feelings about the superficial nature of her job. Naturally, this scene was axed from the American release too. It’s always unfortunate when a game’s narrative has to be changed for the sake of political correctness.

Morenn is a potential love interest in The Witcher and a member of a race called Dryads who are defined by an uncanny ability to blend into their forest environments. Clothing is immaterial to them, since they are an all-female race. They occasionally mate with human or elven males, but they only have sex for procreation and are not preoccupied with keeping their private parts private. Morenn wore nothing but a smile in the European version of The Witcher, but she was covered up with a loin cloth and Godiva hair in the initial American release. An official “Director’s Cut” patch was subsequently released that made it possible to see Morenn as she was intended to be seen. The irony of choosing a censored image to accompany this list entry is not lost on me, but there is a difference between an M-rated game and a typical website. There is no compelling argument as to why nipples should be censored in a game intended for mature audiences.

The iconic intro to Soul Blade (also known as Soul Edge) was widely regarded as one of the best FMV sequences of its era. In the original Japanese version, Sophitia was shown skinny dipping in a pond before being interrupted by the Greek god, Hephaestus. Most of her body was obscured by the water, but Namco still saw fit to dress the bathing beauty in a one-piece swimsuit for international versions of the game. No nudity was shown in the original version, but I guess the very idea of skinny dipping was somehow considered taboo outside of Japan. In fairness, the change was fairly insignificant. Since the bathing suit in question was included as a bonus costume for the PlayStation version of the game, its appearance in the intro didn’t seem too out of place. You can’t complain much about a naked body being covered up when other developers feel that bathing suits are too scandalous to be shown. Had Nintendo been in charge of localizing Soul Blade, Sophitia would likely have been covered up with a curtain.

A lot of content was removed from the western release of Bravely Second: End Layer. In one extreme example, a traditional Native American costume was replaced with a stereotypical cowboy outfit. This misguided attempt to eschew cultural appropriation sparked much debate, and other acts of censorship kind of slipped in under the radar as a result. As was the case with its immediate predecessor, some costumes in Bravely Second were modified in order to make them less revealing. The peek-a-boo cleavage windows seemed to have been the primary targets, but the censors were apparently uncomfortable with skin in general. A lot of people have a problem with tits for some reason, but a number of costumes were altered so as to cover up exposed thighs and midriffs too. Covering up belly buttons is downright absurd, since pretty much everyone agrees that they’re appropriate for all ages.

The King of Fighters ’94 was a visually stunning game. All of the game’s characters looked incredible, but it was blatantly obvious that the developers spent just a little more time on Mai Shiranui than on the rest of the roster. More to the point, an inordinate amount of resources were devoted to the animation of her breasts. There was something almost hypnotic about her standing animations. Incidentally, the artists used up all of the game’s extra memory on Mai’s winning pose. Unfortunately, the censors felt that Mai was a little too sexy, and many of her animations were stilled for international home versions of the game. (There was no issue with the size of her breasts her revealing outfits, but heaven forbid her breasts actually move!) It’s perfectly fine to make a game in which a diverse roster of characters beat the shit out of each other, but bouncy breasts are apparently too scandalous. You really have to question any industry where kicking people in the face is more acceptable than a little cleavage.

Months after the initial release of Fire Emblem Awakening, Nintendo released a series of light-hearted DLC packs that featured new missions and exclusive artwork. One of the new images – found in the “Summer Scramble” pack – featured a seductive girl named Tharja in a swimsuit. Her pose wasn’t especially lewd and her outfit wasn’t overly revealing, but Nintendo still saw fit to edit the image. To preserve Tharja’s modesty, a curtain was haphazardly added to the image in order to conceal her bikini-clad bottom. For reasons that are not clear, only Tharja was targeted by Nintendo’s censors. Fans were deprived of Tharja’s butt, but images of other characters wearing swimwear were left in tact. Perhaps the localization team felt that Tharja’s ass was too enticing, or maybe she just made an ESRB board member thirsty. Either way, the edit was lazy an altogether unnecessary. Anyone offended by the original image would be advised to avoid beaches and swimming pools.

Short skirts and panties compliment each other perfectly and have been a part of our culture since the advent of the miniskirt. The combination is especially prevalent in Japan’s gyaru subculture, where girls deliberately wear skirts short enough to reveal their underwear. Nobody is alarmed by this, and there is no reason they should be. Short skirts are elements of Japanese school uniforms, after all. Japanese street fashion doesn’t necessarily lend itself to America’s censorious sensibilities, however, and the developers of Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness knew this all too well. In a 2016 interview with 4gamer.net, character designer Akira Yasuda explained that they increased the amount of clothing worn by their female characters in response to “flak from overseas countries.” Specifically, one character’s suggestive underwear was changed to look more like diapers for some reason. What makes this case stand out is the fact that the Japanese version of the game was also edited in response to western criticism. Rather than release separate versions for different markets, sweeping changes were made across the board. Director Hiroshi Ogawa described the changes as “distressing” and Japanese gamers were not pleased that their games were being altered to appease foreign critics.

Xenoblade Chronicles X was censored in a number of ways. Lin’s fashion sense was radically different in the American version, for example, and her skimpy outfits were dropped in favor of bulky cargo shorts. Although is nothing especially alarming about a woman wearing a bikini, anyone could have anticipated that Lin’s risqué costumes would be edited given the fact that she’s only 13-years-old (inside and out). More surprising was the fact that the bust slider was removed from the game’s character creation mode. When creating a character in the Japanese version, players could use a slider to adjust the size of their avatars’ breasts. This option was regrettably removed from the western release. Xenoblade Chronicles X was rated “T” by the ESRB, so it’s unlikely that the change was forced upon them by the rating board. (The Sims 4 was also given a “T” rating, and it let players change the bust sizes of their female avatars.) Breasts exist in the real world, and they come in all shapes and sizes. It’s creepy for anyone to suggest that certain sizes are somehow more appropriate than others.

A number of changes were made to Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE before it made its way onto American store shelves, and the chosen attire of the game’s female characters was noticeably more conservative in the western release. Clothing was altered to cover up thighs and cleavage, and the downloadable “Hot Springs” scenario was dropped altogether – along with its associated swimwear. The puritan mindset used during the localization process was discouraging, but it’s not unusual for publishers to cover up skin. Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE took things a step further, however, by removing any evidence of her Adonis belt (the lines on her lower abdomen). In the original Japanese version of the game, characters who wore low-rise pants had visible lines on their lower abdomen. These lines were inexplicable censored in the western release, and Twitter user @Sebban_E created a bit of a stir when he jokingly observed that the “vagina bones” had been removed. It’s not clear why the change was made, but it seems like someone on the localization team has a bizarre fear of human anatomy.

Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 features a number of summer activities – including beach volleyball, rock climbing, and epic “butt battles” where half-naked women try to knock each other into swimming pools. The game is pretty much just a showcase for sexy digital women, however, and advanced jiggle physics, wardrobe malfunctions, and realistic tan lines were among the advertised features. We’ve established that some people have issues with big breasts and revealing outfits, so you can only imagine how much flak Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 would have gotten for its smutty outfits and sleazy pole dancing routines. Rather than censoring the game to appease a vocal minority of critics who had no intention on buying the game in the first place, Koei Tecmo decided it wasn’t worth the effort to release Xtreme 3 outside of Japan at all! The game later broke sales records for importers like Hong Kong-based retailer Play-Asia, but it’s a matter of debate whether Koei Tecmo’s decision was informed by “SJW nonsense” or “cultural differences.” In any regard, other publishers will likely follow suit since nobody wants to be dragged into a media shitstorm. In December 2015, the president of Idea Factory announced that they would no longer localize games that needed to be censored in the west either. There’s a market for masturbatory fantasy in America, but it’s not always worth the trouble for video game publishers.