Nintendo censorship

The following content contains information that may not be age appropriate, and may be offensive or upsetting. Viewer discretion is advised.

Nintendo censorship is the removal of content in games and other media that may be deemed inappropriate for the target audience.

Sometimes censorship may only apply between the localisations of games in different regions, because it can be a complex subject with certain elements being more or less acceptable in that region. It can also occur before the game's release date.

Examples

• In the Pokémon series, the removal of winking Swimmers, smoking Fishermen, Hex Maniacs with no pupils for versions outside of Japan. Additionally, the Kanto old man originally drinking liquor, a religious thanks at the Pewter Museum, the adjustment of a Registeel sprite in non-English European versions of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl as its pose could allude to a Nazi salute. Certain religious/kami related changes in Pokémon Gold and Silver Versions. An allusion to gender reassignment in Pokémon X and Y on a minor Pokémon Trainer called Beauty Nova (originally a Black Belt), which was toned down outside of Japan. In the anime, various content has been changed even including episodes that never aired outside of Japan.
• Devil World (referred to as "Demon World" in the North American version) is referenced in protagonist Tamagon's trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee, but the trophy is unused in the North American version and was fully removed in the European version. This was possibly done to avoid religious symbolism, which is perceived differently out of Japan.
• Time Twist is a controversial Famicom Disk System game featuring sensitive historical events like Nazi-Germany, the Ku Klux Clan and religious symbolism, also featuring a devil-like character and a character based on a possessed version of Jesus, which has never been re-released. It's possible these sensitive subjects played a role in the game not appearing on platforms like the Virtual Console services.
• Various censorship in the EarthBound series.
• Adjustments of how Kirby and Starfy appear outside of Japan (Kirby to look more fierce looking and Starfy to look less Japanese in style)
• Culture-related changes in Tomodachi Life
• The Legendary Starfy adjustments to clothing items, such as the removal of fluid in a syringe, a change to a flag that could represent Vietnam.
• A derogatory mistranslation (profanity) by Nintendo Treehouse before the release of The Legendary Starfy in North America.
• Portrayal of Vivian as a transgender woman in certain versions but not other versions of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
• Censorship in Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2 sprites
• Adjustment of seal sprites on the Topi enemies in Ice Climber to yeti-like creatures outside of Japan, possibly to avoid an allusion to animal cruelty.
• Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE (non-Japanese versions) and Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore censorship, such as removal of a bathing suit.
• Changes related to Birdo from the Super Mario series, originally portrayed as 'a boy who wants to be a girl' but changed to female.
• Changes of feminine looking male animals to female (Gracie and Sahara) in the Animal Crossing series.
• Rococco from the Style Savvy series, who originally was portrayed as a male who wore feminine clothes in the Japanese version. Outside of Japan, Rococco is a woman and her facial hair was removed.

Reception

This article is a stub. You can help NintendoWiki by expanding it.