Nintendo is renowned for making video games for nearly all family members – from kids to teens to adults and grandparents. The Nintendo Switch library is packed with a myriad variety of family-oriented games and products. They always ensure to come up with games that can be enjoyed by everyone. However, due to the hard censorship practices, Nintendo has faced some controversies related to their content policies regarding the release of certain games. These controversies revolve around issues such as censorship, violence and controversial themes in games.
There are many games that had to be censored to meet the standards and content guidelines of Nintendo. It imposed a strict series of content guidelines that game developers had to follow to release their games on Nintendo. Those regional content standards resulted in the biggest Nintendo Switch games that were censored in many ways that you never knew about in your childhood.
If you are thinking of the classic Nintendo games of your childhood that were secretly censored, here is a list of those games that were a little dirtier. These games are easily available on many video game stores.
Let’s check them out.
The Legend of Zelda
It’s no secret that The Legend of Zelda is one of the most favorite and enduring franchises, because of a lot of reasons. During the SNES era, Nintendo rigorously followed an active policy and developers can’t use any obvious religious reference. The Legend of Zelda has somehow managed to avoid any controversy and censorship.
Gamers don’t find any nudity, violence or explicit language in the game. The game faced controversy due to religious iconography. In the original version of Ocarina of Time, the music of the Fire Temple and a group of men chanting an Islamic call to prayer. This part was removed and censored due to the concerns that it could be considered offensive to Muslims.
Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy games were also censored due to many content suspects. The game experienced many substantial and surprising changes due to many controversial character designs and references to drugs and alcohol. Nintendo made many notable changes to the game and updated the game’s more mature content.
For instance, they removed the Cover Up the Enemies feature from the original Japanese version. It allowed the prayers to hide the sprites of enemy characters during the battle. This feature has been removed. Furthermore, the company also made changes in the game’s dialogues, as some terms were considered offensive for Western audiences, so they were removed. The game’s violence scenes were also deleted to show less blood and gore.
Super Mario RPG
This is one of the classic Nintendo games that were censored. It shows that Nintendo maintains a perfect balance between respecting cultural sensitivity and preserving artistic integrity. The video game underwent many changes in order to release internationally, outside of Japan.
In the previous version, the game heavily references some gestures that truly represent Japanese culture and are considered rude in other cultures. To prepare it for the international release, Nintendo removed many parts and references to prepare it for a Western audience. Moreover, some character dialogues were also altered. Nintendo censorship involves altering content due to some cultural, moral and political concerns to respect cultural sensitivity.
Mega Man
The Mega Man franchise faced many controversies and censorship due to its character development. It faces controversy due to concerns related to the portrayal of different characters.
From character names to dialogues and graphic violence, Nintendo had to censor the game due to a variety of reasons. Nintendo has removed many violence content in the Mega Man X series by eliminating the scenes that show blood and gore. It also changed some names of characters as they are too religious for western audiences.
Moreover, some dialogues were also removed and altered due to cultural references and jokes that are offensive for a western audience. The company made these changes to make the game accessible to a wider audience.
Dragon Warrior
It is another Nintendo classic game that was heavily censored by the Nintendo company due to many religious and cultural references. The company made many changes in the Dragon Warrior or Dragon Quest to make the game easily accessible for a wider audience and align with their content guidelines.
The original series featured many religious references, such as church and the associated religious elements. Nintendo removed many character dialogues from the original version of the game, as they were not aligning with the content guidelines.
Déjà vu
Déjà vu is one of the classic Nintendo games that faced heavy censorship and controversy. It faced controversy due to many religious symbolism and controversial themes. The game used many mature themes and mature content, such as suicide, death and mental illness. These themes and content are strictly prohibited for NES games.
Despite so many controversies, Déjà vu has gained recognition due to its innovative gameplay, unique atmosphere and challenging puzzles. The game attracts many gamers as its unconventional approach to storytelling and problem solving has made it a great adventure game of all time.
Final Words
Here you go. These are a few NES games that I’m sure you didn’t know were censored. If you are looking for these Nintendo classics, check the Nintendo eShop Dubai to access your favorite classic game.
