Atelier Ryza 2 Won't Be Censored In The West, Says Koei Tecmo

Looks like only the Playstation release will.

@BenAV same here, I played most of the Atelier games but Ryza is the first one on many years I really enjoyed at lot.

Sad to see what Sony does here, this unnecessary censorship reminds me of Nintendo in the past, kinda ironic to see the roles being swapped today.

I don’t understand why Sony would censor theirs. They’ve had games straight up show on screen nudity. I don’t understand their policy

This is what happens is when you move your HQ to California. Nonsense ensues.

@-Green- that was Sony before their quarters in California too over too much of these type of decisions.

We can thank US for how Sony is now (luckily my Vita and PS3 never had to be a part of this madness)

Wow so another thumbs down for Sony, this pushes me even more towards Xbox SX.

Good. I hate this "think of the children" puritan mindset from California being forced upon the rest of the world. There's nothing wrong with sexuality or controversial themes as long as the age rating is appropriate.

Yes gimme dem thicc thighs

@SmaggTheSmug Sex and body bad violence is fine

Not censoring is actually better for those who would take offence, because they can see the extent of the content and better make the choice whether to support it or not.

Sony is maybe making that choice for you through censorship to potentially increase sales

Sony will probably find something to censor though

Bottoms you say?

@Rayquaza2510 No I mean even now. They had full visible nudity in the Last of Us 2, with a straight up sex scene. Seems weird

If you think a product needs censoring, that product is probably not for you in the first place.

While I find this type of "fanservice" pretty unnecessary and a tad inappropriate, that is my choice to make, and so my choice is to not buy this game. Though admittedly that has more to do with the gameplay also not being my type of jam.

But seriously, if we have to censor this, then we have to censor every type of violence as well, and that would leave us with only Animal Crossing to play.

@-Green- oh that well pick one of the options below.

My take on it is that Sony did it because it is a first party game, to give a example if there was nudity in a western developed game they would probably censor it less ( or not at all) compared to censoring silly stuff in Japanse games (because Japan so it's automatically not done, bad and evil)

Take of some people on the internet is that they push a LGBT agenda and that is why it's fine (I don't agree or disagree here, my take is neutral here)

The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle, probably closer to my own personal take (anime = bad)

There is a flawed logic in censoring things like this.

The people who dictate it are the same ones who promote children learning about sexuality at an early age and for people to be body positive and dress however they like (even if it shows too much).

Yet, when it comes to a fictional character that shows a tiny bit of butt cheek they censor it saying it is overtly sexual, encourages predatory behaviour and that those who like it/defend it are exhibiting toxic masculinity.

You can’t have it both ways unless your aim isn’t about inclusion, acceptance and so forth but is really about control and power over another.

@Ooyah

California changed massively over the last 30 years. It did used to be a very libertarian place. Now, it's perhaps the worst version of a "nanny state" in the US. Everything is over regulated and heavily controlled by the state government.

OH NO, MY CHILD SAW HALF A BUTT! They are scared for life now!

I mean you can blame Sony, and should blame Sony, but lets remember that we are the consumer and they are doing this because the overwhelming majority of adults in the US have been brainwashed by religion to think that even the most benign images of body parts will bring instant hellfire open them and their families.

Here is the rule to live by: If you think something is "sexualized" ... it's probably because you are sexualizing it.

@Rayquaza2510 it's not because the last of us 2 was first party, Sony censor games where the main character is portrayed to be underage (school age)

@SmaggTheSmug Weird how the progressive mindset now is no different than the puritanical mindset that they mock for censorship.

The European trailer wasn't censored, only the North American one.

Censorship is really hitting new lows these days.

@Severian Not really. They both come from a place of belief in a greater good and a desire to control people to achieve that greater good.

@SmaggTheSmug Just waiting for Abstergo to build a division in California at this point

I'll believe it when it's released. The recent fairy tail game they released was censored. And that was a sneaky one. It was uncensored on release but they snuck out an update that censored a lot.

I'm hoping sony don't censor it as I got the last one on ps4 purely for the upgraded graphics and trophies, but if it comes to it then I will get the second one on my switch.

@Valhalla91 even if they looked adult, the moment it looks anime Sony would censor it.

Really they would.

(and no I don't hate Sony, my most used console ever is a system a lot of people call "dead" and that one is made by Sony)

Likely will be censored on the playstation. How the tables have turn in regards to censorship these days.

It's not about showing ass
It's about sending a message

@Rayquaza2510 it's a strange one to really understand as I played fairy tail on ps4 last month and there's no censorship and a lot of swimsuit action, same with most anime games they have dlc swimsuits that they don't censor.

But then other games they censor and at first they censored devil may cry 5 (not an anime game) but changed it when fans complained

@SmaggTheSmug

*From the U.S.

Atelier Ryza was the only game in the series I played to completion...I should try the older entries at some point, but I'm definitely looking forward to Ryza's sequel. Glad to hear Western gamers' intelligence won't be insulted by assuming we can't handle some curves and exposed skin...

I don't see why people get so worked up over this stuff. I mean, if you don't like anime fanservice (like me), just ignore it. No reason to get all emotional about something so small and silly.

Um are those pics supposed to show me something?

Looks more clothed that what you'd see at even a public pool during the summer. What am I missing?

I'm just going to assume that this thread is already loaded with comments from [redacted] who don't understand the difference between censorship and localization and that more are on the way. Not in the mood to be ignored, insulted, or preached to by the ignorant today.

@Ooyah don't be fooled by that fool. California culture is very laid-back and is as you thought. They just also happen to have a lot of laws that govern things like how much your car can pollute so people who disagree with saving the Earth think they are a nanny-state.

Yes she is super cute. But this game isn't "that" kind of game at all. It's extremely kid friendly and wholesome.

That anyone would even consider censoring it is just more of the double standard the west has, being okay with violence in the extreme, but cracking down on even remotely, vaguely sexual content.

@-Green- I was thinking the same thing. Last of Us 2 was an example.

I understand why they felt they had to censor it. But if they felt that way, then I’m surprised they showed the trailer at all. It would have been more appropriate to edit out the offending shot than to visually edit it.

I don't understand people bashing on Sony in the comments.

We have so little info to go on that any assumption we make may be false.

Was it Sony who decided to censor it? Why not the developers? Couldn't the developers have self-censored themselves because they thought it would be seen badly in the west? Could Sony have done it for the sake of some YouTube algorithm or rating system? Could someone have wanted to keep some intrigue before the final release?

The only fact we know is that it will come out uncensored. So what are you all whining about? You can have your opinion on whether that's good or bad, but please don't go on babbling about censorship.

Sorry if that was rude, but I'm just so tired of people jumping to conclusions first and thinking (or not thinking) later.

It would not be the worst thing in the world but YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA i'm happy!

@The-Chosen-one Might as well if you're interested in Japenese anime style games. Japan developers are already ditching the PS5 in favor of the new Xbox, because they cannot work with the censorship that Sony has placed on them.

If you believe this, you are an idiot. No, really. They lied about this with Fairy Tail.

@pinta_vodki Well, it's because Sony has a hard censorship in place for 3rd party developers, especially Japanese developers . Also, Nintendo has the uncensored version on their youtube channel, so I doubt it was the developers who decided to upload it

Just ordered the first game. Gotta see those bubbly thighs and tight persona. Err...

Having never played an Atelier game before, I finally bought Ryza about a month ago due to the stellar reviews. Slow to get going, but once I got the hang of the combat and synthesis, have really enjoyed it overall to the tune of 100 hours and counting.

The point of this post is that, although I think AR is a great game, I think that the overt sexualization of Ryza and Lila detracts from the quality of the game. Some game designers (and their customers apparently) seem to have an unhealthy (IMO) obsession with unrealistically proportioned female characters. I do consider AR on the milder end of that spectrum. Am I rationalizing ... probably.

I know that in many 'modern' countries including the U.S. (my country), there is a feeling of disconnect with our fellow humans, so that may have something to do with it.

Some may agree and some may not, but I'm not interested in debating. History shows us that trying to tell other people how to live never works, so I'm not trying to do that here. But based on my own experience, I think that there is value in occasionally stopping to question if the content that we choose to subject ourselves to is actually serving us.

🤷🏻‍♂️ I’d get it either way, Ryza 1 was great.

@sword_9mm Her entire lower half is practically exposed, except for cloth where it really matters. Nearly 2B levels of booty.

Translation, never "localization." Say no to censorship.

@Rayquaza2510 @-Green-
This article I've added is an interesting read. Makes a lot of sense as well. It's clearly a Sony of America policy and the same games come out in Japan uncensored. Nintendo used to be the company that censored everything for the west, but now as long as it doesn't reach an AO rating, Nintendo leave's the developers alone.
And yes, it's only Japanese developed games that are affected. Anime is also an interesting beast in and of itself. Young characters can look like adults, adults can look like youths. So this may play a key part of it for Sony of America as US customs and ideals differ from Japanese ones.
But it certainly is baffling that Sony of Japan would allow Sony of America to censor a niche market that they dominated back on PS3 and Vita, especially as Nintendo, "the kids console" isn't doing anything about these games.

Check out the article, it's a good read, not too long either.

https://mainmenu.games/2019/03/14/sonys-censorship-of-japanese-games-is-the-beginning-of-a-self-inflicted-wound/#:~:text=The%20censorship%20could%20be%20an,sales%20numbers%20of%20these%20games.

@Shiro28
Thanks for the info!

@Ooyah The fact that Americans are prudes and attack Japanese works for sexuality a lot and that censorship increased after the move. Funny how every other platform didn’t censor Beatrice’s butt in DMC5. But Sony did.

@TsukiDeity Same reason it happened with NoA a few years back: the western branches make more, so they are given more say into this sort of thing. PS is too big for a lot of these small companies to ignore and they are well aware of it, which is made worse when considering the overwhelming majority of the playerbase is unaware of these games and wouldn't bother with them even if they were. It's also ridiculous when the games are multiplat as the intended audience will probably just get it on the platform that doesn't have these changes.

If they are only concerned with Censorship then sony clearly missed the boat already. Do they think one can't find worse adult materials online. They must be living in Alice in Wonderland stories. Majority that buys the game do so already and that should be a American choice not corporate Studio choice. If the parent buys for the kid then that is their Freedom to do so. Like I said if you think kids aren't stupid enough to find Adult materials online your kidding pun yourself. There are worse things in-person online they can find compared to the game.

@Ooyah charming tuber is a progressive/leftist, and as such won’t see how bad that state is.

California is essentially a hub for pie in the sky bleeding liberals. They will censor games like this, but then promote lgbt stuff in games.

Basically if you know those crazy woke people you know California.

@ritouf Just curious what did they do to my Genshin Impact?

@Ooyah Going pretty far? The article and Koei Tecmo make it quite clear that nothing is going to be censored.