Square Enix Modifies Revealing Bravely Default Costumes for the West

[roseofbattle]

Square Enix Modifies Revealing Bravely Default Costumes for the West

Screenshot comparison of the European version of Bravely Default to the Japanese version shows added clothing to the characters.

Square Enix has toned down the costumes in RPG Bravely Default and changed the ages of characters to make the game's content more tasteful. The changes do not affect story or content beyond the surface level.

A poster to the IGN forums posted screenshots of character designs from both the Japanese and European versions. Shown on the left are the European versions while the Japanese counterparts are on the right, revealing Square Enix made less revealing versions of the costumes. However, changes appear to be minimal. One character's bikini-style bottom has been lengthened to cover more skin, and another clad in belts has less of her midriff appearing. Some characters' ages have also been changed from 15 to 18, 16 to 19, and 17 to 20.

This is not the first time a game's mature content has been modified for a 3DS game. In the DLC mission "Summer Scramble" of Fire Emblem: Awakening, a screen of a female character depicted her about to remove the bottom of her swimsuit. In the North American version, this was obscured by a cloth.

Bravely Default launches in North America on Feb. 7. While these images are of the already-released European version, the same edited costumes will likely be present in North America for the rated T for Teen title. In Japan, Bravely Default had a rating of Cero C, or 15 years old and up.

Source: IGN [http://www.ign.com/boards/threads/european-bravely-default-has-censored-content-would-you-still-buy-it.453638211/]


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[Quellist]

I Have the game and I have zero problem with this. Personally I think the European outfits are a little too revealing as it is and if anything they should have gone further in de-sexualising the female costumes...

Once in a while it would be nice to play a game with female costumes that look like they weren't designed with a catwalk (or for that matter a street corner) in mind

 

[Trishbot]

They look like they have more common sense with more clothing. I prefer the more covered up version immensely.

 

[oldtaku]

That's fine with me. The top right one is fairly disturbing on an SD model.

 

[Dr.Awkward]

I guess the opposite question to ask is: Why didn't the original designers think about how practical, chibi-sized armor could actually look awesome? I mean, yeah, the general shape would likely be some plate armor melded with a Victorian dress, but that may look sexier and more appealing than some outfit that reveals a lot of skin.

 

[Azuaron]

Yeah well I won't be getting this shit, till I find out if comes to America uncensored.

I don't think you know what "censored" means... this wasn't imposed on them, they did it of their own free will. They probably consider it on par with localization. If you want your games localized to Japan, learn Japanese and get the Japan region games.

 

[Penguinplayer]

Funny how this is only getting in the news now when it was already a hot topic debate in 4chan the very second this happened. Say what you will about the "Imageboard that must not be named" but news spread fast there.

On-topic: Censorship is horrible, and even if the company that made the game is doing it out of their own free will, it's still horrible. I was sort of interested in this, but I guess I will just skip it.

 

[2xDouble]

[Generic comment expressing acknowledgement.]

[Snarky remark featuring flippant, unapologetic misogyny framed as intentionally ironic and humorous.]

[Whinging about the current state of being as unacceptable.]

[Secondary snark featuring blatant, unapologetic misogyny, unintentionally ironic; easily misconstrued and taken out of context.]

[Meaningless technobabble and assorted gibberish]

[pseudo-intellectual summation; vain attempt to disguise opinion as objectivity]

 

[Karadalis]

Funny thing is.. this is only an issue in the US of A...

Heck the entire Sexism in video games debate is entirely made in US of A

No one here in europe and ofcourse not over in japan gives a dolt about this discussion.

To bad i like western games more then i do asian ones... kept for the random Atlus title that actually makes it out of alkatra... i mean japan.

Oh well... first its the chibis then the normal game chars. Such is the way of the video game industry reacting to social justice warriors

 

[IndomitableSam]

Oh god...

They gave women extra clothes so they aren't in straps and bikinis fighting alongside men in full platemail and people are losing their shit.

Yay incoming sexism debate and pure stupid.

Edit: I say "women" in the broadest sense, since the chibi models look like children.

 

[ThePS1Fan]

Oh noes, the loli fan service game is going to give you as much loli fan service as you wanted. What is the world coming to?

 

[SnakeTrousers]

[Generic comment expressing acknowledgement.]

[Snarky remark featuring flippant, unapologetic misogyny framed as intentionally ironic and humorous.]

[Whinging about the current state of being as unacceptable.]

[Secondary snark featuring blatant, unapologetic misogyny, unintentionally ironic; easily misconstrued and taken out of context.]

[Meaningless technobabble and assorted gibberish]

[pseudo-intellectual summation; vain attempt to disguise opinion as objectivity]

I'm going to go with... B)

If publishers start censoring their games just to appeal to the knee-jerk reactions of those 'durned social justice warriors, where does it end? Next thing you know, those totally-legal-age characters will be wearing actual clothing!

 

[Arqus_Zed]

You know...

There's a lot of room for discussion here. Are the Japanese perverts? Is the Western civilization filled with prudes? Does this harm the original game? Are they right to change the ages because putting teens is revealing clothing is creepy (even though we see it daily within our own society)? Or is it all irrelevant because it is just a game?

But the one point I keep coming back to, is this: what's the fucking point if your graphics look like *that*. I mean, I like JRPGs (to a point) and I've heard some good things about this game, but between the capabilities of the 3DS and the style they went for with this game... you couldn't make this explicit even if you had full frontal nudity.

Do they even have noses? I can't say for sure because of the small resolution, but it looks as if the characters don't even have a nose.

 

[AldUK]

Wasn't particularly interested in this game anyway. But this is nothing new. The Elin from Tera received a similar treatment around 6 months before the Western launch. It caused a huge war on their forums for weeks. Personally, I agree some things should be modified. Having any character run around in knickers while appearing to be under-age is just fucking creepy, digital or not. (One of the common arguments I hear is; "but it's not like they are real!" Like that somehow absolves all responsibility to uphold morals and sense.)

 

[Azuaron]

Yeah well I won't be getting this shit, till I find out if comes to America uncensored.

I don't think you know what "censored" means... this wasn't imposed on them, they did it of their own free will. They probably consider it on par with localization. If you want your games localized to Japan, learn Japanese and get the Japan region games.

~~irrelevant snip~~

You're missing my point. Censorship doesn't mean, "The game's creators changed a thing and now I don't like it." Censorship means an exterior party with legal authority deletes or changes something. For instance, the Australian government censors games all the damn time. If the US government or the EU stepped up and said, "You can't release the game unless that girl's thong gets wider," that would be censorship.

But if the publisher (it's almost certainly the publisher in this case) localizes something for a region with no governmental or legal pressure, that's called knowing your target market (at least, believing you do).

 

[WindKnight]

Wasn't particularly interested in this game anyway. But this is nothing new. The Elin from Tera received a similar treatment around 6 months before the Western launch. It caused a huge war on their forums for weeks. Personally, I agree some things should be modified. Having any character run around in knickers while appearing to be under-age is just fucking creepy, digital or not. (One of the common arguments I hear is; "but it's not like they are real!" Like that somehow absolves all responsibility to uphold morals and sense.)

One of the specific arguments for treating explicit/sexy loli-con art the same as actual real photographs is the idea that a pedophile could use such art to convince children what their doing is a-ok.

'Look, their doing it in the cartoon sweetie, its totally ok!'

Anyways, on topic, I must admit I love the bottom left outfit more than the right one. The top two are both pretty meh, though I will give the left one a slight thumbs up for effort.

Honestly, this isn't going to impact the story in any way, shape or form, and that these feels a little like a submission to repair her armour.