Ubisoft has confirmed that the Japanese version ofAssassin’s Creed Shadowswill be censored in some areas to comply with the regional rating organization CERO.The game initially received a “Z” rating from CERO, which ensured that it would have been illegal to sell the game to anyone under the age of 18.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Japan censorship explained
In a statement translated on X, Ubisoft claims that “there are some differences in the in-game content of the version sold in Japan in order to comply with the regulations of the reviewing organization,” referring to CERO.
“The option to switch dismemberment on and off has been removed from the game settings, and now dismembering the heads and limbs of enemies while playing is permanently disabled. The way severed body parts are depicted has also been changed.” This will be a huge disappointment to players in Japan who were looking forward to this element of the game, although the rest of the world remains unaffected, with the option to toggle dismemberment intact.
That’s not all, though. Interestingly, “the representation of some Japanese voices played in the overseas versions (North America and Europe) has been changed.” Ubisoft was light on details regarding this, so it remains to be seen what has specifically changed here.
Assassin’s Creed Shadowsfinally takes the long-running series to feudal Japan, arguably one of the most requested periods since the series’ inception. On the surface, the two seem to be a match made in heaven, returning back to the RPG formula after the back-to-basics approach of the previous game,Assassin’s Creed Mirage.
The road toShadowshas been fraught with controversy, namelymultiple delaysthat have halted the hype somewhat. Still,hands-on previews ofAssassin’s Creed Shadowshave been largely positive, offering hope that Ubisoft may have stuck the landing on this one.
