Censorship has been a heated issue in Video Games over the years with developers having to make some slight adjustments for their projects to fit certain age ratings. These issues usually happen when the Japanese platform decide to localize their games and items like costumes are modified along the way. However, there have been plenty of instances when censorship has gone a little overboard to appeal to a certain fanbase or to avoid unwanted criticism from certain social groups. With this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the ridiculous cases of censorship in video games.
'Bravely Second'
After the success of its first game, Square Enix decided to create “Bravely Second” for the Nintendo 3DS. The game features a class system that lets players adjust their characters’ jobs based on their current class. One class, Tomahawk, depicted heroes in traditional American Indian clothing. To avoid offending in any way, the company decided to change Tomahawk to Hawkeye and dressed characters in some kind of cowboy-esque outfits instead, Heat Street pointed out. Moreover, Square Enix also modified female outfits by covering more skin in the Western version of the game.
'Mario Kart 8 Deluxe'
This racing game on the Nintendo Switch was a direct port of the Wii U title with all of the DLC already included.
Nintendo didn’t really touch any of the game mechanics but added a few new modes to entice players to buy the game again. A few weeks after its release, Polygon shares that the company removed an “obscene” gesture that Inkling Girl would do after she passed by another racer. The original gesture showed the character placing her hand on a flexed bicep while pumping her fist and smiling.
Apparently, this is actually has a foul meaning in parts of Europe and Latin America. Now, instead of grabbing her biceps, she simply pumps her fists in the air.
'Uncharted 4'
“Uncharted 4” is the last mainline game in the series and features the game’s cast doing one last major adventure before calling it quits. After you beat the main game, you could choose to replay it with more weapons, different skins, and additional modes.
In line with this, The “Uncharted” series had always included a bonus mode called Donought Drake which bloats up the protagonist throughout his journey. While this has become something of an iconic feature, Naughty Dog decided to remove it in the fourth game so as to not offend anyone with Drake’s body type.
