Xenoblade Chronicles X is now out in the west, and it's great - as you'll know if you've read our review or played it yourself already. However, changes made for the North American and European launch of the game - one of which involved the removal of a revealing costume worn by the 13-year-old female character Lin - caused controversy among fans, with some disgruntled gamers claiming it was little more than censorship.
Now, Cassandra Lee Morris - the voice actress who played Lin in the game - has commented on the situation, and states that she's very much in favour of the alteration relating to her character:
[It] honestly makes me cringe a little bit because [Liz is] only 13 years old. People are calling it censorship. I really see it as localisation.
There are a lot of cultural differences between Japan and the US and Europe. I, personally, don't mind that Lin's outfits were changed for the US version. My hope is that players will be able to concentrate on Lin's abilities and what she can bring to your game and what she can do for the other members of her party and not just how she looks.
I also think that covering Lin up a little bit will make parents more comfortable with kids playing the game, so it also opens the game up for a wider audience.
You can watch the full video below.
[source mcvuk.com]
Comments (164)
Doesn't bother me that it was changed it's not that it affects the game in anyway,it still plays the same and that's all that really matters
Haven't watched the video yet but cannot disagree with what she is saying in the quote you've provided. The costumes in question shouldn't really have been in the Japanese version either in my opinion.
Also, it's a real shame that whenever Project Zero or Xenoblade X are brought up the discussion just revolves around censorship, massive shame.
And the people stating that she's wrong and that this decision was a terrible one in 3, 2, 1...
This quote misses the point, and an article highlighting it feels like click-bait at this point in time.
People (at least, the sensible majority) aren't upset the costumes for child were modified to be more modest - very few had problems with that specific change. What gets people upset are the multitude of other changes that Nintendo makes, across multiple games, which aren't really necessary or beneficial. Those decisions build up until people start to be skeptical about any change and the "C" word starts getting thrown around.
Localization needs to keep the target audience and desired response in mind, something Nintendo is very inconsistent with in games they release.
("Remove any passing reference to religion!" "Make sure you don't show any underwear - even when it made sense for the story of an M-rated releases!" "Bayonetta? Meh, I'm sure there is nothing objectionable in this one...")
"I also think that covering Lin up a little bit will make parents more comfortable with kids playing the game,"
Funny timing. I was playing the game yesterday afternoon with my wife and 2 kids watching and when Goetia walks on screen in her cut scene my wife says - "Oh look, she's naked." Which, she isn't, butt I knew what she meant.
So, no mention of the bust slider getting censored? Surprised she could mention one without the other.
I really wish people would worry less about the censorship and more about the tiny text. Game needs a font-slider. I can barely read it on a 52" tv without squinting and leaning forward. Elma's cleavage I can see just fine.
I agree with her. The altered costume doesn't affect the game at all.
Yeah I still find it annoying that people have chosen not to buy the game becuase one young character who's age is in fact important to her characterisation and lots of dialogue (she referred to me as a father figure at one point which would be a bit weird if she was changed to like 20) has had a slight costume change. Yeah the bust slider may be annoying to some but I really see it as a non-issue seen as, once again, it is absolutely not integral to any part of the game.
Honestly, Lin being "clothed more" in western release is a non-issue. Unless you're a pervy pedo, then it might a problem... for you )) With the limited amount of character customisation (I'm playing as male), you really can't identify with your character, so the boob-slider missing in the western release is also a detail that doesn't change anything.
=Click Bait= *
Really NL? Is there anything else to talk about that isn't controversial?
I didn't mind this change at all even though I'm against censorship in all forms. It just makes sense for the west. There ARE costumes in the game that are censored even for the adult characters, though, and THAT doesn't make sense. For an example of what I mean, look up the Six Stars Ritual costume.
They were absolutely right to make that change. I find it disturbing that anybody disagrees. Oh, right, its the principle is it? Suuuuuuure (wink, wink)
That could be why it's not the the charts
@KomrathDE
So the people who made the game with those options are pervs? And Nintendo of J are pervs for approving it? Did I get your point?
@zool I'd say it has more to do with the fact that it's an excellent Wii U exclusive JRPG that wasn't adversitied at all as opposed to say something like Star Wars Battlefront. Though I don't get your point at all.
@KO-Cub
Half the time they don't even post news, controversial or not. They hide actual news behind an ass load of boring nonnews stuff nobody needs or wants.
Let's not ~Santa
why drag this up again this is old news tbh.
Gonna agree with the click bait comments here. But then again, Nintendo really doesn't have much to write or talk about these days. So, let's beat this horse to death. And let's call this what this is, localized censorship. Done. Oh yeah, and about that text size and never-ending/too loud/mismatched music thing...
Reading this thread, it's no mystery to me any more why Nintendo continues to treat its Western fans like small children who require protection.
All I can say on the subject is, the first armor upgrade I bought Lin gave her a boob window. Why is that ok? I hate when they do gender splits in gear like that.
I don't think some of you know what click bait means.
This isn't a misleading headline >_>
As for the topic. Yeah Lin shouldn't have the option to where revealing clothes.
Even then I think those costumes on the adult characters look ridiculous. It's immersive breaking, and I don't understand why anyone would want them, outside of sheer admittance to their perve tendencies.
I was for the bust-size slider, as I would be if they gave us a fat slider, and a chest size slider for men too.
i dont like all that sexy stuff and nudity in games at all but if it is part of the original product i still think its wrong to take it out.even if ts stuff i dont like i dont want it to be cut out.
as iv sed befor for allot of Lins outfits i sortif prefer them... i feal it suld be optinal for other charicters tbh Specialy with some of the Skell Were it just looks allot more practical and neater to me.
It's a difficult one, because I can see that the character looks fairly young (not a "child" though). On the other hand, it's only a bikini. She's not a real person and nothing sexual happens, so it's hard to see a problem. If you imagine something sexual, that's up to you. On balance, I think Lin looks old enough to wear that sort of bikini, and the Japanese outfits just look better - not necessarily sexual, just better.
It might be easy to understand Lin's censorship if it was a one-off, but it's not. The bust slider was also removed, and is it correct that other outfits were censored? Overall, I think it's fair to assume the game was localised with a prudish attitude in general, as was Project Zero - the lingerie outfits in that definitely shouldn't have been removed.
If you look at the bigger picture, it's a growing trend. Lara Croft was toned down, Street Fighter V was made less sexual and (at time of writing) Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 is not coming to the West, supposedly for fear of a backlash.
So overall, no, I wouldn't care if a supposedly 13-year-old character was given slightly less revealing outfits in the first place, but I am sick of the way the heterosexual male's viewpoint has suddenly been deemed unimportant by those behind the scenes.
@Rockmin The ESRB is self-censorship. Nintendo is self-censoring.
Not censorship... according to a voice actor who had no hand in the localisation process.
@MetalKingShield It's a natural consequence of people taking to heart the idea that male sexuality is fundamentally predatory.
I hate censorship however big or small it is...but in this case it wasn't anything major, it was sleeves added to a character model. And lets not forget this character model is 13! No biggie.
Plus, sorry to be THAT person, but Xenoblade chronicles X doesn't take place on the top of giants...I think Lins voice actress picked kotaku's review of Xenoblade Chronicles...oops.
I'm against censorship and I'd always prefer to see the developer's original view without it being changed because someone else has deemed it to be innapropiate. I also dislike being told what is and isn't appropriate for me. Despite saying this, I much prefer the Western costume version and I think it's creepy to have 13 year old characters in revealing clothes.
The boob slider though, that's a different matter. There was no real reason why that needed to be cut and that wouldn't have affected the ratings. That's just Nintendo treating everyone like children.
I don't care anyway
it shouldn't matter if she likes it or not, it does not justify the fact that Nintendo is censoring things that don't need to be. This is why Nintendo is called "kiddie" and it amazes me that people get offended by it when the reasons are obvious.
@KomrathDE
So it's offensive to me unless Japanese people do it. Then it's just their culture and in that case it's cool to sexualize 13 year olds. Now did I get your point?
Lin’s bikini change I can understand and agree with. I would even like her version of the costume to be available for my character as it looks pretty nice and cute.
However what I’m against is the removal of the bust slider. Taking away something that limits the detail of my character does not sit well with me.
Bearing in mind this game takes place on a post-Earth human settlement, how can we make any comment on the "culture" at play here?
This game has a T rating... For teens and up. The game's intended audience is not (young) children. It doesn't have an E rating, nor was one sought, by virtue of the intended content. Teenagers can handle this, you don't need to play parent or big brother/sister for thousands of people.
It's an anime character, so no one can even tell exactly what age they look like, anyways. Just change her age to 18, boom, done, easy. Who could tell the difference? (That's kind of scary, though, yes, which is another discussion in itself...)
Let's not whitewash this, it was censorship, not localization. I can't help but wonder if the clothing articles were interpreted out of context. Sure, if 13 is the insistent age, then I don't really mind it too much... But an age change would be easy.
WoW slow Monday? This thing is two weeks old too
I really enjoyed Lins character and her voice actor really contributed to it. And yes, in this case if think it was an localisation choice made for the bether.
You know, I could stand it if it was some tween wanting to be cool by saying that, but she only shows she's braindead beyond recognition by saying the first sentece with so much confidence, when she's the one worth a cringe.
She's typical burgerland sperge.
Such simple mindedness... Of course it's all part of the localization process, but that in no way negates that it's also censorship. Changing or removing something because it is deemed inappropriate for an audience is the definition of censorship. It's almost as if some people can't identify something as being more than just "this" or "that". It's both.
This is coming from someone that is completely fine with the changes.
I'm glad they did that, for gods sake she's 13! Don't get me wrong I like hyper sexualization as much as the next Japanese kid, but this was a little too far, if anything, this fixed what could have been ultra creepy.
Don't really care what she says. Censorship is still censorship.
But tbh, I don't care about this particular instance of censorship as I'm more miffed about the removal of the boob slider. Not every female body has the exact same breast size and it's pretty much impossible to create the character you'd like to unless said character looks the part with the default size. Which is rather big imo. Of course I play a guy anyway, but I like always enjoy playing around with a game's character maker to see if I can recreate my usual characters in them.
Hey, I was more upset with the body size options of your own character.
You can't make them overly weighty or overly skinny. And you cant make them really short or really tall. Its really restricting when you think about it...
Kinda old, censorship is censorship even if by another name.
Those puppy dog eyes, though.
It's so crazy to me that people care so much about this and, even more so, the boob slider. I'm happy they changed it, it makes that much less mysogynist. Apparently they think that Western gamers are aware and would be put off by this. Think of it as a compliment - they value your social intelligence. Were they wrong to assume that level of maturity in you? Were they wrong to think about how female gamers would feel better objectified and "less than" for just that split second?
I definitely agree with her.
I personally prefer her more modest costume change. The stuff that comes out of Japan is often shameless softcore porn, (which is my biggest issue with Anime in general). IMO, young kids who play these games don't need to be staring at that day in and day out. The culture in Japan is okay with that sort of thing. I mean, just look at any shonen anime! Boys in those shows often do perverted things like, looking up girls skirts, barging in while girls are showering etc... Not to mention the ever present perverted old man character (master roshi, lol!) But in Japan its seen as funny, and harmless, and that's just the culture over there. It's just not the case in America because most American families run on a different set of morals.
I understand the distast for "censorship", I really do, but I believe it has its places, and T rated JRPGs that kids/young teens play is one of them. IMHO.
Now I really wish people would stop crying over not being able to see the thirteen year old's T&A with 100% clarity.
As a corporate decision, it was the correct and appropriate thing to do.
I don't think she fully understands what localization is. But then again, this company that she worked with finds outdated memes to be acceptable for a game that's supposed to sell and be "immersive."
Let's lay off the caps ~Santa
I think XCX is a pretty adult game anyway, what with all the swearing and skimpy outfits and criticizing religion and whatnot. I'm actually quite amazed Nintendo didn't censor any of that. And glad.
Why is the opinion of a localization voice actress for the game extra relevant?
Liam Neeson is anti-gun does that mean his opinion is extra relevant and all the guns in his action movies should be censored and/or made invisible like 4Kids did for their localizations?
https://youtu.be/mPJgqd1B_ns?t=565
I am very angry that she didn't refer to the change as "fashionabluh" and respond to critics with "mrgrgr"
@Zach
The only western gamers that would be put off by this, as you say, are hipster SJW types.
@Mijzelffan A little harsh don't 'ya think?
Back when there's no internet, gamers wouldn't know (most of the time) if the game was censored or not. They criticised games for its gameplay and story and not if it was censored. I say I blame the internet for all these. Just go buy and play the game. It's phenomenal.
@Splatburst It's sad how a lot of criticism these days seem to be for the wrong reasons because we simply know too much.
@Zach Oh, the irony... Isn't it an example of objectification of women to force female players to be locked into a certain body type, essentially telling them that only the type prescribed by the developers (or the censorship, in this case) is okay for them to use? That they therefore must aspire to use only the body type allowed to them, and anything else is unacceptable?
The Lin censorship I don't have a problem with, if the age isn't changed... But they're an anime character, they look just as much like an 18 year old as a 13 year old in anime terms. Changing the age for the international release would have been very easy.
@JusticeColde See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_localization
What did she get wrong? Censorship is actually part of localization
"People are calling it censorship. I really see it as localisation"
That's not how it works.
@PlywoodStick you're right, the reason for a boob slider is so that women with big boobs can finally feel ok about having big boobs when they play a game. Even if their boobs are super big. That is the reason why they put it in the game. There is no other possible explanation or way it could be interpreted.
@CB85 Well don't get too comfy because everything you listed is going to be the next step since everyone' is so complacent with the censorship this time around.
First it's outfits, then it's language, then it's religious themes, it'll be the 80s all over again.
@Zach You make me want to throw up.
@MrRight do it!
@Splatburst Interestingly, there is now retroactive criticism (or just interesting trivia talk) for older games when we learn things about their original release that we didn't know before. Although, it might not receive much attention...
Who ever talks about things like Ayla from Chrono Trigger in the Japanese version probably being bisexual? Nearly only when it's brought up in articles like these. Otherwise, few would notice or even talk about it. If the XCX censorship never happened, and none of the online gaming news outlets were talking about it, this would probably be a non issue. Media outlets make it into a bigger issue, not individuals.
@LztheQuack @Splatburst Agreed. Most of the hate/criticism I see with games most of the time on the web is what region is more superior in game release and contents rather than the game itself or just having the game localized in general.
Odd how there was less/stricter localization with games in the 90s and early 00s which didn't bugged gamers then but bugs then now because they're more connected to the world.
@PlywoodStick
Ironically, I don't blame the media for bringing up things like these to their readers. It's what brings interests/clicks. They are just catering to our "needs". I still blame the internet and those who go apesh*t on things like this.
@Mijzelffan Again, a tad harsh there. Seriously man, N Life just want you to play nice. Chucking around accusations like you were is not cool.
Yeah, sure. "People call it censorship, I see it as localization", alright. The same way people would refer to this as "pandering to western players", I refer to this as "pandering to western parents". And parents aren't the same thing as players.
I didn't mean to get riled up at this, it's just that in some case, no explanation is better than such a fierce justification. Also, she's 13? Whatever, Sailor Moon's Usagi was fourteen. What's your point?
@Zach lol, I know that lots of guys play as women for their own... Reasons. Yet, surprise surprise, there are women out there who may play this game and use such a feature. Not everyone is into all of the political correctness being bandied about, either. If it's not hurting anyone, why interfere with it?
@AlexSora89 The point is that Sailor Moon and friends could pass off as 18-year-olds if the dub called them that.
@LztheQuack
Good point. However, I wonder why people are making such a big deal out of her being 13 when the gaming industry gave us Disgaea's infamous Etna.
I thought it was a fair choice. I know it's ficiton/animation so the originals didn't bother me, but I can understand the idea that hyper conservative parents seeing a 13-year old in a bikini and immediately make a media frenzy out of it that's put Nintendo (with their label plastered all over the game) in hot water. They were trying to avoid a fire storm and made a choice based on the numbers. There are way more people who'd be extremely upset by having it in, rather than those who were upset that it got censored. And seeing that the gameplay and story don't change at all because of it...I'm OK with that. Bust size censorship was dumb though. I know you'll get a bunch of immature wankers, but what about female gamers trying to get an avatar that looks like them?
Some of Lin's censorships were just hilarious though. Like they were trying SOOOOOO hard to cover any skin below the neck. I was surprised when one set of armor showed her belly button
I'm enjoying Lin. I see no issue here, except for Nintendo dodging the perfect recipe for bad press.
@Mijzelffan If you're that sensitive I would suggest not reading through the comments, because like it or not people will have different opinions to you on any topic you care to mention. Leaving the comments open is fine, as long as it's well moderated; (and judging by the fact your abusive comment was removed, I think it's fair to say they're doing a good job).
@Splatburst totally nobody noticed Monster Party, heavy censorship of Wolfenstein 3D and Doom or completely unsubtle and without any logic censorship of Bionic Commando. Yep. There was also no controversy around Mortal Kombat "perfect" SNES version and everybody was okay with Nintendo, no sir.
There was talk about it, but there was no internet to spread the discussion.
Don't feed @Mijzelffan people - he's mindset is "if you don't agree with you, you are really bad cookie" taking extremes only, so there's no point.
I actually forgot that this was actually a thing. Nevertheless, doesnt save the fact that she is one of the more unlikeable characters of the bunch, at least imo.
"[It] honestly makes me cringe a little bit because [Liz is] only 13 years old. People are calling it censorship. I really see it as localisation."
Liz?
@LztheQuack LOL, I was just thinking that myself! Although, honestly, Lin could be passed off as an 18 year old shorty as well. Ms. Morris certainly could have given her a voice for that age. Her wording makes me wonder if the censorship coding took place before, during, or after their casting roles, though... It's kind of strange to see a public video comment about this sort of thing, usually it's reserved for interviews.
@Mijzelffan Last I checked this was about a video game. Lyn is not a child, she's a video game character. Grow up.
@Mijzelffan you're the one saying that anyone who doesn't support censorship is bad. What they did is still censorship.
The change was pointless, actually. I don't see anyone having rage on for Final Fantasy X.
What @MrRight said. It's just a blob of pixels, not real life human being.
@SupremeAllah so what exactly does sjw mean? Are we are lumping everyone together who want social justice like equal right to minority's and people who are to sensitive like college students complaining about sushi in their cafeteria that's not made by the Japanese? If you are going to throw everybody in a pot as opposed to have a serious conversation about inclusiveness that you would never win then maybe you should give a personal definition
So white people can't handle a girl in a swimsuit but Japanese people can, got it. Thanks voice actress. These same people cry endlessly about "cultural appropriation" but then justify this stuff in whatever doublespeak they can.
Also no kid on Earth gives a crap about playing this and no parent could possibly care less. Give me a break.
@faint SJW, feminazis etc. are not about equality.
@ikki5 what did people call them for funding an uncensored bayonetta or mad world. Can we call capcom kiddie for censoring street fighter 5?
@faint "Can we call capcom kiddie for censoring street fighter 5?"
I don't see why not.
@MrRight
@MrRight the bigger question should be what does his link and law have to do with the topic? I mean, is there a "prive" bideo in there with her hidden somewhere in the game that he brings that up?
@Dave24 where do you draw the line tho. Who falls into these categories? Do you know more versions of feminism exist than Christianity? Most of them want different things and don't agree. For instance I'm a feminist who can't stand Anita sarcesian (or how ever you spell it). She is against choice feminism. In her eyes a woman can not choose who she wants to be if it makes other woman look bad or less strong (ie house wife). When you throw everybody in the same pot you just prove ignorance
@Dave24 if you read it you will have your answer.
@faint well, all of them "agree" that women should be paid the same as men, even though it would not be equal and total BS and completely misandric. When you can't see that, you're the ignorant one. Especially ignorant if you believe that there can be equality, which is actually impossible.
If it was about equality and better life of women, then they would go to Japan, Iran or other country where women are really treated badly. But nope, they are not there, and you wanna know why? Because it would actually take effort.
You bringing up "me feminist, so me knows" argument only shows that you are full of crap and try to be "holier than thou", because you are one and that means you know everything
Still the link is wrong, unless there is a bideo with the act, but there is none of that in the game.
@Dave24 it means I have actually read many feminists thinkers and know the difference between them. women should get equal pay when they have equal skills or the exact same tasks. If you don't believe that you definitely have a problem with women. Also if you've played xenoblade and I haven't then who knows more about it? You would. I've read feminist literature so I do. I recommend starting with ema goldman for a good feminist and the scum manifesto for a bad feminist. Honestly if you lump them all together the bad ones will win just like politicians
@faint So because they had two uncensored games, it makes it okay to do it for a mountain of others? The fact is, the censoring shouldn't exist at all (unless it is obvious legal issues and cannot be avoided).
@ikki5 they have had more than two and you know it. Just because someone give two examples doesn't mean that's all they have. Jeez
@faint The games not censored vs the censored isn't even close when it comes to Nintendo. This is what differentiates Nintendo with Capcom when it comes to the issue. Censoring is a common practice with Nintendo even if they don't do it for all games. It's sad to see people defend Nintendo with these types of issues when really... there could be an option for both, even more so when they are already doing the work to censor it in the first place. I guess some people can only envision stuff so far.
P.S - Capcom did get quite a bit of backlash when they censored Street Fighter.
@faint I knew you would bring that contrived argument of "equaly pay when have equal skills and task" from "Feminism for dummies", because you, like most feminazis, miss the bigger picture, because that's convinient for all of you.
But I okay, I'll play. Please tell me how is it equal that pregnant women can't get fired (prohibited by law), get full payed "vacation" from work of the kids (1-5 years being fully paid without going to the work place or doing anything for the company she works for) and get the time with the child?
Or are you that stupid and such a tool that you think it's right and equal that women should always be around the kid and father can't have that time and don't care and can't care about their own child and that they don't deserve the time to spend with their child?
If you want equal, then throw away those rights for women or bring on the same privlages to men as well.
Still, I don't see "good" or "bad" feminazis fighting for the better world in Islamic countries and you dodged that one perfectly and swimmingly.
But yep, you can go back to pretending and "literature".
@Dave24
ha ha, you bring up a good point, though where I am, it is not full pay for maternity (70-80% I believe) leave but if a man tries to do this so they can look after the child and the women to return to work, they won't be allowed pay but a women gets two years at least here (though she can return after 1 if she wants)
@Dave24 actually their are feminist movements in the Middle East. The problem is their leaders tend to get assassinated. This is in the worst parts like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Indonesia is considered part of the Middle East and has had a female head of state but most people think all of the Middle East is the same just like media. Do you realize how much of a task it is to give birth? Have you met a woman with a csection? It happens quite often. They literally get cut open. The paid leave is medical leave. Men get medical leave to. You will understand if you get gallstones which as a man you are far more likely to get and you will get paid leave if you have a good job. I didn't doge a single question of yours nor did I call you stupid or a tool. Your giving yourself away you know.
@faint I went through open heart surgery and was out of the hospital in 4 days, I was back to school 2 weeks after that. My aunt had a C section with my cousin and she was back on her feet and going like she always did after a month and she was in her late 30s. Also, the Maternity leave is not just for C-section, my Sister was on mat leave for a year and a half and half and had a natural birth.
@faint Obviously, you've got the right idea about what the SJ difference is. @Dave24 is off to a degree with his points, being one of the types to throw around and degrade the term SJW.
The thing about maternity leave is more of a business issue than it is a gender issue because a lot of injuries (unfairly) don't count, and worse, businesses outright refuse medical leave.
@Dave24 also your lumping everyone together again. You do realize that we don't have this in America right? Currently politions are working on it for men and woman here( the liberal s anyway) tho it may never happen. I believe earlier I said if you thro every feminist in a pot the bad ones will win. I truly believe that. We have bad ones and good ones just like good cops and bad ones.
@JusticeColde this is very tru but I guess it's easy to blame woman instead of the system.
@faint It's very easy to blame a lot people for things, unfortunately.
@faint yeah, you're still missing the point, so there is no talking to you like to all feminazis. I mean, you try to defend that fathers don't deserve the time with the kid, because pregnancy apperantly takes 2 to 5 years of full (or nearly full) wage to get covered.
Anyway, you further prove my point by saying there are more bad feminists then the good ones, meaning that I am actually right in thinking that feminism in current state is bad and doesn't work towards equality, but things as idiotic and pointless like "let the women be priests, even though it will crap all over someone's religion! Let's force OUR beliefs, that will make it betterer!".
"The thing about maternity leave is more of a business issue than it is a gender issue because a lot of injuries (unfairly) don't count"
Well, pregnancy COUNTS, and as JusticeColde knows and opened our eyes, no matter what gender you are, you can get pregnant.
@ikki5 I understand this but you have to read my whole post not just home in on one sentence. You are in Canada right? You have different laws when it comes to this than the UK which is also different than America right? If feminist are solely responsible for this and all want the same thing then why do we all have different laws? Also some do heal faster than others. My friend couldn't lift ten pounds for over a month after her surgery. I guess you example is one tuff lady but you know that better than I do.
She's allowed to do this right?
@Dave24 where did I say more bad then good. That bad ones are just a vocal minority like fan boys. I said if you put them all in the same pot then the bad ones win. It's the same with every kind of discrimination or ignorance. Just like every Muslim is a terrorist which is no where near close o the truth. Most of them hat Isis or isil or the brothers of Mohamed or whatever. When I see some guy go Ina planned parenthood hood and shoot people for Jesus I don't suddenly think all Christians would do such a awful thing. Do you see what I'm getting at. Also like I told you here in North America they are fighting for paid leave for the mom or dad. If it passes here maybe you're government will rethink its policy.
@Dave24 I didn't write that. Another poster did. I mearly agreed that most uncovered injuries were a business thing. Injury should always be covered if proven ligit
@Dave24 the sad thing here is you continue to insult and missqoute me. I have not done the same because I actually want to read your opinion. You could care less what mine is but want the argument to continue. What's your end game. For me it's less ignorance. You can hate feminism all you want but at least educate yourself so you know what your talking about. Oh and anytime you're thankful that birth control worked for you or and daughter you may have or somebody who you think would be a bad parent know Emma Goldman helped make that happen. She's the good feminist I mentioned earlier
I still think the removal of the breast slider is troublesome for some broader philosophical issues I won't go into here.
I do think the Lin change was for the better, though. We can't change Japan's culture, but we can change the content of the game here.
Who cares? The Lin-Tatsu dialogue is literally one of my fave things of this game. At the start of every chapter when she's cooking and suggests using him as the main ingredient hahaha.
"Lin did you come up with the menu for dinner?"
"Depends if Tatsu can make it...if you know what I mean..."
Linly is a kid. Thank god they censored these sexy costumes. No problem with naked adults in video games though. Sexualizing under-aged characters is something i really hate about japanese media (anime, games, etc.).
@faint Goldman lived nearly 100 years ago if memory serves me right. A century ago. And I'm talking feminism nowadays, which doesn't accomplish anything for the equality and is more towards hatered towards men with patriarchy and privlage or whatever.
You crapped all over your point, because none of the todays feminism accomplishes anything as close as she did. What I despise is feminism of today.
@MagicalDreamer The fact that you sound WILLING to change their culture, (just unable to,) is disgusting.
@Baker1000 "Who cares?"
Anyone with a spine and a sense of human decency and standards.
Censoring art is archaic and should never be stood for just because the content itself isn't important to some people.
Censorship is censorship, you can't cherry pick. When you try to decide what is good and bad censorship, you've already lost.
"...Yes, officer, I'd like to report a dog that's gone rabid...foaming at the mouth, yes..."
Game is great one way or another. Nintendo wants the image of being family friendly. Not news.
If the original creators don't care then there wasn't anything lost. They had nothing artistic to tell you that was worth losing the cash over.
@Joenen "If the original creators don't care then there wasn't anything lost."
That's wrong, though. Objectively.
@Dave24 that was an example of where to start reading. Bell hooks is currently writing and has done a lot for women and believe it or not men. She is one of the thinkers behind the male on male rape is still rape movement demanding equal prison sentence for male on male rape which is a subject that has only been taken seriously in the last five to ten years.
@Mijzelffan
"I mean come on. That was practically you putting an end of any tone of seriousness our discussion had up to that point."
Weren't you the guy who was calling people who were upset about censorship pedophiles earlier?
People still making this a big deal?! grow up!
@Minotaurgamer agreed
How hard is it for people to understand that it the boob slider and sexualised 13-year old had been left in, the press could have crucified Nintendo? Do you not understand that in such a case, all the major stores in America (and many in Europe) would refuse to stock the game. Nintendo are not trying to treat you like children, they are trying to bring you this cool game without having the media bury it. If Nintendo were not to bring the game more in line with Western sensibilities then it simply would not financially be viable to release it here.
JRPGs are always changed a lot for Western audiences. Sometimes some things get lost in translation, other things are not culturally compatible. If you check an American or European mainstream media, you'll find they take a very dim view of leering at 13-year old girls. It's the kind of thing that can get you violently assaulted.
This is so dumb. This shouldn't even be an issue. The bigger problem is NoA's treatment of Fatal Frame. Personally, I'm glad Lin got a wardrobe change, but I kind of wish I could have made my bust a little smaller. lol. So it's about 50/50.
If you're so upset over this then, again, localization isn't the issue. Might I suggest getting mad over the fact that Nintendo region locks their consoles?
@rjejr So much sense in this comment.
Localisation is the last problem of these game characters...
The voice actor is absolutely right, however it would be nice if we could stop with these clickbait articles that fuel arguments and put this silly rally against "censorship" to rest already.
I bet if we never would have heard about Lin's change and the boob slider, no one would have freaked out.
stop freaking out!!!
I definitely don't mind the changes to Lin's costumes, but removal of the bust size customization and changes to adult character costumes probably weren't necessary.
@YorkshireNed: That would not have been the case, at all. Lin could have been somewhat problematic (and to be honest, I'm not bothered by the censorship at all, except that it looks stupid/ridiculous when she's wearing a bikini over a bikini/bra) but, this game isn't a high profile release so few people would have actually noticed as long as Nintendo didn't advertise a bikini-donning 13 year old as a main feature (and it isn't). I can get Nintendo trying to completely avoid stirring up anything about it, but no store is going to refuse to stock the game unless they feared they would lose profit by stocking it (which would require a MASSIVE controversy). They probably got more attention along with a few attaboys from a handful of people by censoring her. The breast slider was a non-issue. Plenty of games have them, said games aren't currently being boycotted, and all it did was draw more attention to it. If you go to Google and type in "boob slider", your first page of results is almost entirely about how it was removed from this game, not about the other games which do feature one.
Well no matter what, it's a lose-lose. If Nintendo does something, a group of people get angry. If Nintendo doesn't do something, a group of people get angry. And the worst part is each group sometimes displays their opinion as the "superior one."
@LztheQuack This is why it's important to stand on principle.
@HeCaster101 Thank you.
Did you read all the other comments in this thread before you posted? I usually do, but things are insane up there in parts, too much for me. Guess I'm just wondering if my comment just seemed sane compared to all the rest of the insanity.?
That's a joke, don't feel obligated to answer.
@YorkshireNed I've never heard of any of the 100s of other games out there with breast sliders (LOL, now it's starting to sound like a stupid pr0n joke) getting "crucified" by the media, just for existing, or even becoming more prevalent... It's always the ill-conceived "simulation" argument that gets used time and again, which many people latch onto (mostly by those who are ignorant to the context of the games in question, and the research that exists today, or they're just idiots).
The Lin wearing revealing clothing bit, however, might gain some brief "controversy" (because we Americans are so easily distracted from real problems), but not as badly as trash that somehow becomes popular, like Honey Boo Boo. (Because the character isn't a real person.)
@Dave24
Anyone who uses the term "feminazis" is immediately invalidated because you are first off all using a term created by a bigoted liar, and secondly...because no matter how much you deny it doing it, you keep lumping all feminists together and then demonizing them.
Before you accuse me of missing your point, you should realize I'm far from some kind of politically correct SJW...I'm kind of an old fashioned guy and some of my positions are from the "right", and some from the "left", and center.
@Damo: You guys are so late. I was talking that mess about this over on Sili more than a week ago. I don't even need to bother with it here...but I might anyway.
Fun Fact: I was actually thinking about sending this in as a tip for lulz but I was too lazy and mostly bored with this one.
@Action51: You don't need to demonize feminism. It is literally the devil. Literally.
@Tsurii: Yeah, that's his thing. He's the best writer on the website. You got a problem?
@LUIGITORNADO:
click·bait
ˈklikbāt/
nouninformal
(on the Internet) content, especially that of a sensational or provocative nature, whose main purpose is to attract attention and draw visitors to a particular web page.
"these recent reports of the show's imminent demise are hyperbolic clickbait"
Note the "informal" which I believe means it's not a real word anyway so you can say it means whatever you want it to mean.
Wow, this whole thread went downhill really quickly... What happened?
@Mijzelffan Hey. You. You need to be more careful what you say. That stuff appears in email for some people. Even if it's an empty accusation, those who got your incriminating messages might not want others to get the wrong idea about who is sending us those kinds of messages. The American government tracks that stuff.
This kind of topic was so much easier for me when I was 10.
@LztheQuack -Blinks and stands aback- Mine is the superior one.
@YorkshireNed See? @LztheQuack this guy is straight up wrong. How are my views not superior???????
@Mijzelffan: I know you're like, done or something and I don't usually respond with serious post like this but...Why did you link that law? I don't understand. It says that virtual child pornography is legal in practically every English speaking country. I've read it before...a lot. I might disremember parts but...
It's legal in the United States and the UK(even if it's explicit nudity or sex) unless it's obscene. It's illegal in Canada but only if it shows full nudity. The most strict places I found were Australia and New Zealand(not even sure if they speak English there but) and in Australia Senran Kagura got a free pass. New Zealand banned an Anime for being exploitative to children but that was far more explicit and I haven't found any other cases there so even then I don't see why you brought it up? I don't know of a single country that this localization was geared for whose laws would prevent it, so doesn't the law actually prove you wrong and not right? Especially when some laws explicitly state that there is a difference between virtual and real child pornography?
Bottom line. This "sexualization" of Lin is legal in practically every country in the world, and is legal in every country where it would have been localized(unless I missed one). Unless your argument was like @faint 's argument to try and prove feminists weren't at fault for everything/didn't all agree or whatever I don't see how linking the law makes sense? I'm not trying to prove you wrong or anything. I'm just confused about what you were thinking when you linked it. Again not not to be rude(even though I don't mind being rude, that's not my intention this time) or try to correct you or anything but I don't get it. Was there a law I missed?
Actually after thinking about it some more I think you were just trying to prove that sometimes it can be illegal even if it's not a real girl because their posts implied it didn't matter at all, and it does matter "some".(I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter at all in America or the UK because I think obscene material is against the law whether it's a minor or not...). If that's the case your post makes sense to me now. Thanks...even though I answered my own question...or maybe I was wrong about what you meant and you can answer it yourself. Whatever.
@Mijzelffan Thank you for that reply. No harm done. And yes, I did see that others, particularly MrRight, may have gone too far (yet he didn't get modded for quite a while, even though you did very quickly).
@QuietTheWords I think the better term for you would be "wise up", and I think "grow up" is the term that fits their argument best. I should elaborate. Basically, if I haven't misread, you're trying to preach and they're trying to demean. "Grow up" is the term they should be using for their purpose but I don't think it fits you so well.
@QuietTheWords Yes! Of course! how couldn't I have realized, that humankind will not move on as a species because a 13-year-old video game character's bikini was removed! Crime, war, famine... these things are unimportant, the real problem with humanity is video game censorship!!
Give me a break dude
Why would I care about what she thinks on the issue? Censorship is censorship, and localizations have steadily been getting worse and worse. I would just import the Japanese version but Nintendo still region locks their systems as if the audience are all children. Nintendo, and especially NoA, make baffling decline regularly.
Good call. I'm as far from politically correct as one can get but there's just some things that simply have to be done and covering up a 13-year-old girl in a game I have no problem with. Shouldn't be on display in real life, shouldn't be on display in a game. If the character was 25 however, yeah I would not be for the change but publishers can't do anything these days without somebody getting infuriated over something. Create a game with a male lead and he sucks and should be demonized because all men, especially if they are white, are trash. Create a game with a female lead and you will have a group immediate labeling her a 'Mary Sue' (although frankly there is far less backlash against female characters these days than male). Even I get caught up in it unfortunately. It bothers me we can't get a game today that can be considered a genuine product, unless its' from the indie scene. I'd like to give the benefit of the doubt but with all the PC movements these days I can't help but feel like when 343 makes a change to the new Cortana or Ubisoft throws in a transgender character that it was simply done to appease a certain group of people. At least with the retro-styled indie games I know the only agenda those devs are trying to push is to make a good game and hopefully make a decent living doing something they love.
I find it disgusting when voice actors/actresses have no respect for the Japanese artists vision of a character and what the original version of the game was intended to be. As a voice actress/actor you are an artist and should respect art just like the game developers in Japan would respect your art in voice acting.
Normally I'd make a fairly lengthy comment in order to explain my view on this matter, however my views have basically explained through the first comments of @crimsontadpoles and @MetalKingShield. I guess that means I can keep my comment somewhat shorter than usual.
In regards to the Lin costume change, I see it from two sides; on the one hand she is only 13 and so it makes sense to alter the clothing, but on the other hand it is simply an article of clothing and whether it is sexualised is more to do with how one interprets it. I'm unsure which I viewpoint I side more with.
Regardless of which viewpoint I side more with, I feel this Lin issue has become bigger due to the other censorship issues going on at the time, and keeping strictly with the Nintendo related issues, things like the removal of the bust slider. The bust slider issue certainly is a bigger issue given it removes a previously existing option from players and limits character creativity and customisation... and I still have no idea as to why it was even removed.
That's really old news, I saw that video two weeks ago...
Doesn't matter. By removing something you're limiting options. No one likes limited options.
The bust slider was removed, one would assume, so NoA wouldn't have to deal with the outcry. People who are offended are quite loud about it, and it's easier to deal with butt-hurt gamers on forums than 1 Million Moms on FOX. What cracks me up, though, is Lin's costume change. You can dress every other woman in the game in the skimpy outfits, but not Lin, because she's 13. You know a better way to handle it? Quit putting 13-year-old characters in your games! Lin's fun and all, but totally unbelievable within the scope of the story.
Looks at writer of article
Ah. Makes sense now.
I'm gone, I come back.
And still looks like a lot of people still need growing up and moving on to do.
I agree with her.
I have to say, I really enjoyed Lin's voice work. This lady has a distinctive voice. I couldn't quite place where I've heard it before, and googled her after driving myself nuts trying to figure out what she was in.
Bravely Default. Edea.
@rjejr I'll add my two cents, and a comment on yours: your little anecdote was an island of tranquility (and sanity) amidst some sort of rage war between SJW's, people that are actually right but for the wrong reasons and some other, not so easily classifiable people...
Oh, and apparently you're blessed with a wife with a great sense of humor. Good on you, old man...
As for the voice actress speaking out on the matter: that probably was one of the dumbest thing I've read in quite a while. As some of the smarter and more level-headed commenters on here (like @MetalKingShield, @Rockmin, @Avahne, @PlywoodStick and @ikki5. Hell, even @Technosphile... ) have already mentioned: this game isn't for kids, so we don't need some rectal tissue protecting us from "potentially harmful" images that may scar us for the rest of our lives, nor do we need to be told how and what we should play.
Concerning the look of the Western outfit in and of itself I don't have any problem with it whatsoever, but I DO have a problem with censorship as a whole. In my humble opinion the very best solution would just be to take the least offensive version and release that in all countries, so no one feels disadvantaged for whatever reason.
If you first make a game and then add, remove or change something for some reason or another, then you ARE to some degree ruining the original experience and in some cases even the artist's original intent. Changing a characters' clothes may be of very little impact to the experience as a whole, but like I said before, it's all about the bigger picture for me, and if we allow one small change this time, chances are the changes implemented in the future will become incrementally bigger each time no one speaks out on the subject. People just don't feel like storming the Bastille anymore...
And I also agree that there should have been a body modifier, since not all women are made from the same mold. Notice that I didn't say boob slider, because I would like a more extensive body modifier, something along the lines of what you'll find in PC RPG's or even in sports games nowadays. There's nothing wrong with wanting such an option, and it can give EVERYONE, not just women, the option to create a character that suits them the best.
If it was just for the boobs like some of the less smarter commenters seem to think, I'd simply play Dead or Alive Extreme on the ol' Xbox 360. At least nobody was busy censoring that back then...
@TheRealThanos why am I "hell, even Technosphile" status... 8/
@Mijzelffan I guess, lucky for me that your original post was sent to my email. Don't really appreciate what you're insinuating. Thankfully, NL removed it. And as far as, what you were insinuating... NO. I reserve my disgust for that behavior, for those that actually partake in it and subsequently, ruin the lives of those who were not given the choice of partaking in it. These characters are from an artist(s) from a different culture and some, like me, can separate imaginary characters, from those who have to endure that twisted nightmare in real life. Thereby, bringing me to say, its not real. And I'm not going to make an issue over the imaginary. I will however, make an issue of a (couple) technical problems with the game. Since I bought it. Please don't liken me to the scum of the earth, simply because you lump fantasy and reality in as the same thing. It's not. I'm aware of the difference. I suggest you do the same. And while your at it, don't judge.
@Technosphile Just kidding, my friend. Although you are a bit more of an "in your face" type of person, from what I've read from you so far. I like to be a bit more nuanced most of the time, but as far as this topic was concerned we're on the same page. So, in case you were wondering: it wasn't meant as an insult or something.
@MrRight
What? Lin is not real? Oh then it's totally fine to masturbate to a 13 years old kid /s. I really don't get your point. So it's okay to let a 40 years old man and a 13 years old girl have intercourse in an anime, but not in real life porn?
I'm not a "censorship apologist"! I don't like censorship in adult media. But there are a few exceptions. Xenoblade isn't a Mature rated game and children shouldn't be displayed almost naked. I mean, it's common sense, fictional or not.
@Peterjr1 dude. This game have abysmal made up translation with tons of unfunny memes in places where there was just normal dialogue in original script. Additionally there's no original voices included which is yet alone a reason for not buying the game. Offering only a dub with no option to switch to original voices is extremely dumb decision. Dubs should be generally a thing of the past already.
On the top of that they also censored a lot of this gnin this game. Not only costumes but dialogue as well.
@OddworldCrash "I'm not a "censorship apologist"!"
Oh, of course you are. Don't be a hypocrite at least.
@nintendomasterr that's one of the reasons why dubbing industry should be banned already. Seriously. Not only they are destroying original characters and personalities but now these losers are even demanding censorship. That's just sad.
@thatguyEZ localization is a type of censorship. More like literal definition of censorship. "let's change it because people won't be able to understand it or they won't be fine with it". It's literal censorship. Why content is censored (altered = localized)? Exactly.
@Araragi I couldn’t agree more. I find it stunning when people try to defend censorship of games. As if it doesn’t cost the team valuable time to have to go back and change something. Some devs are even leaving the industry, and yet it’s not big deal. Until the censor something you like of course.
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