10 CENSORED Moments in Resident Evil Games
The Intro
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“Resident Evil” (1996) No one will ever forget the hokey opening to the original “Resident Evil”, not with all that B-movie writing and violence. Well, the violence we were left to imagine anyways, for those of us in the US and Europe. Japan got to see everything that was told to us. The bodies in the forest, the severed hand, Joseph’s death - it all was shot but removed in the US and European versions. Whether this was ESRB’s call or Capcom self-censoring is anyone’s guess.
No Decaf–I Mean, “Decap”
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Various Now, the North American versions of the “Resident Evil” games are known to be pretty graphic in how certain characters die. A lot of limbs get thrown around, and many heads, too. However, many other regions, Japan and Europe specifically, had decaps censored all over the place. So, characters that were killed off by Hunters and the like had less gruesome ends than the scenes depicted in the North American releases. CERO and PEGI have a long history of disapproval towards brutal deaths in media. So, this was no surprise.
Alien Anatomy?
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“Resident Evil 2” (1998) “Resident Evil 2” has some pretty graphic “game over” screens, but even for 1998, censoring polygons was a tad…questionable, don’t you think? Regardless, Germany and Japan did not appreciate the savagery of the “game over” screens. Japan had scenes fade to black before any violence was shown whereas Germany had that in addition to blood changing from red to green and sometimes gray. It kind of makes some of the characters seem like they’re human-like aliens.
Everybody Hates Leon
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“Resident Evil 4” (2005) Speaking of violence being removed, “Resident Evil 4” was just asking to be censored. RE4 has long been known for the various vicious ways Leon can die (as well as the combat, level design, and campy tone). So, it’s no surprise that Japan went and had just about every death censored, and these censors would carry over into the HD re-releases years after. Of course, North Americans got to see all of these deaths as they were. Same for Europe.
The Snake Key
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“Resident Evil 7” (2017) “Resident Evil 7” is perhaps the grossest game in the franchise due to how much interactivity there is with corpses and body parts. One scene involves Ethan digging into an unalive’d person’s throat for a key. This clearly did not fly with CERO, the Japanese ratings board. Rather than reach inside the corpse for the key, the Japanese version just lets players grab the key instead of enduring a disgusting scene. Hey, we still like it because it’s a part of the horror.
There’s Still a Dress Code!
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“Resident Evil” (2002) “Resident Evil” doesn’t typically get too sexual, but when it came to Jill’s skirt in the HD remake, or at least the releases after the original GameCube version, some shots had to be changed. Certain camera angles would give players a view of Jill’s underwear, allowing them to see her white panties. Every version to have come out since the GameCube original has had a black void filled in to block players from peeking.
Smoking
Various Though it hasn’t had as heavy of a presence as, say, violence, smoking has faced some scrutiny during the censoring process of RE games. This was mainly on Capcom’s end as the company had fears about the perception of smoking in other countries. To mitigate possible controversy, Capcom opted to remove any smoking scenes Chris had in the first “Resident Evil” and had tobacco advertisements replaced with anti-smoking PSA’s in “Resident Evil: Outbreak File #2”.
Too Perfect
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Various Nothing is more satisfying than nailing that perfect shot, that flawless pull of the trigger that ensures no zombie is bouncing back to life. Thing is that, you know, a head exploding is pretty visceral, and as expected, not everyone is gonna be cool with it. Much of the franchise has faced censorship over this in Japan, most likely due to how it’s the player enacting the violent act, which is something CERO has a long history of disapproving. And so, many of the Japanese versions leave heads intact, much like the decapitations.
A Regime of Monsters
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“Resident Evil: Survivor 2 - CODE: Veronica” One of the more fascinating aspects of “CODE: Veronica’s” story is how it gives us a glimpse into Kruger’s twisted past, specifically his heritage. Various documents reveal one of Kruger’s ancestors, Hilbert, was an officer of the Third Reich who ran a concentration camp and would hunt military artifacts. However, this part of the story was concerning for the game’s European release and how it might be perceived. As a result, much of this story was wiped from the game for PAL regions.
The Face That Changed Survival Horror
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“Resident Evil” (1996) Let’s be honest - that zombie turn has aged horribly. It just isn’t scary, and perhaps it never really was. But for the folks hanging around in 1996, it was too much. In the Japanese version, the zombie drops Kenneth’s head on the floor, rolling to face the camera. The US and European versions of RE1 got the simpler version where Kenneth’s head is never seen, just that creepy head turn. Did any of these censors surprise you? Let us know down in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe to MojoPlays for more Resident Evil videos!
