Top 20 Censored Video Games
#20: “Street Fighter V” (2016)
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The beta version of “Street Fighter V” contained many things that were not in the finished product. Specifically, things involving the female characters. R. Mika performed a seductive move, the camera lingered on Cammy during her entrance, and the character select screen had what could only be described as a “jiggle.” We’ll let you guess what part of the body jiggled. Capcom claimed that the latter was a glitch, but it seems like the other two were entirely intentional. Either way, all three were tweaked before the game’s official release, and it resulted in a divided reception amongst the “Street Fighter” community.
#19: “Cruis'n USA” (1994)
A widely beloved arcade game, “Cruis'n USA” was eventually ported to the Nintendo 64. Suffice to say, the reception was not nearly as warm. In fact, people hated it. Not only was the performance abysmal, but the game was heavily censored to be more in keeping with Nintendo’s family friendly reputation. The XL Power Shaft was renamed to just XL Power, the bikini-clad women were either clothed or removed entirely, and it was now impossible to hit animals crossing the road. Regardless of these changes, and the game’s generally negative reception, it was still a huge commercial success.
#18: “Super Mario Kart” (1992)
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Nintendo was really stringent about their brand throughout the ‘90s. Even “Super Mario Kart” of all games was censored. In the original Japanese version, both Peach and Bowser drink champagne to celebrate their victories. Peach even gets a little drunk, which is evident by her reddening face. This was censored for both the American and European releases. In the censored versions that we know, Bowser simply holds the champagne bottle and Peach throws hers into the air. Neither are seen actively drinking, and we certainly don’t see Peach, um, “enjoying” her victory.
#17: “Martha is Dead” (2022)
This horror game was released on all the major consoles in the winter of 2022. However, one console version was not like the others. The PlayStation release was notably censored, as they were missing some of the game’s most graphic content. In both the Xbox and PC versions, players were forced to interact with some troubling material, yet in the PlayStation version, the interactivity was absent. Furthermore, the PS iteration comes equipped with an optional “censored mode” that removes even more content from the game. Sony did not comment on the decision, so we can only speculate as to why the game was censored on PlayStation and not the other consoles.
#16: “The Punisher” (2004)
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Based on the famous comic of the same name, this was a violent game that earned a lot of attention for its content. Or lack thereof. “The Punisher” was so brutal that the ESRB was going to give it an AO rating. AO being the gaming equivalent of an NC-17 - and receiving it is bad news for the commercial availability. To get their product released, the developers were forced to censor the torture sequences. They were given a black and white filter, and the camera zoomed in to obscure the more grotesque visuals. In Australia, the censorship went even further and two scenes were completely removed from the game.
#15: “Command & Conquer: Red Alert” (1996)
German players have no idea what they’re missing when it comes to this classic. In fact, the German version has been so majorly altered that it’s basically a whole new game. For one thing, the humans in the game were replaced by robots, and instead of blood, they spewed black oil. Similarly, the human cries were replaced with robot noises. Many cutscenes were censored to depict something else. For example, one scene has Stalin looking at a map rather than a video of gas attacks. Many others were cut altogether, including the intro with Hitler and the airplane attack on the village. Many of the problematic cutscenes were replaced with an image of the Soviet logo.
#14: “Conker: Live & Reloaded” (2005)
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This may be a remaster of a beloved video game, but it took out everything that made the original “Conker’s Bad Fur Day” so subversive. The original was acclaimed but problematic, featuring graphic violence, profanity, and lots of sexual content. “Live & Reloaded” was originally going to be called “Live and Uncut,” but this was changed after it was indeed cut. Specifically, all the swear words were bleeped out - even some of the tamer ones that might be found in a T-rated game. It was a bizarre decision that infuriated fans of the Nintendo 64 masterpiece.
#13: “Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy” (2005)
A highly ambitious video game from David Cage, “Indigo Prophecy” was originally given the dreaded AO rating by the ESRB. The North American release was significantly censored to receive an M rating, and that included cutting a majority of the game’s sensual content. Most of the game’s adult scenes were erased, and one was heavily altered to mask the more graphic shots. However, the European release was completely uncensored, as is the 2015 remaster. It was given an M without any cuts needing to be made. It’s amazing what just ten years can do when it comes to ratings standards.
#12: “Duke Nukem 64” (1997)
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Originally released on home computers, “Duke Nukem 3D” received widespread praise and is heralded as an enormously influential first person shooter. Its success guaranteed many ports, and “Duke Nukem 3D” soon found itself on the Nintendo 64. But it was a completely different game, new title and all. Virtually all adult content was censored to some degree. Drug and sex references were taken out, as was the profanity. Steroids were turned into vitamins. Some levels were altered to remove offensive content. Scantily-clad women were clothed, and strippers were pulled. And some of the game’s more violent visuals were either modified or removed altogether.
#11: “Wolfenstein 3D” (1992)
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These 3D games caused quite a stir throughout the ‘90s. Once again we have Nintendo not wanting to tarnish their family friendly brand with violent content. So, they required some major changes to be made before “Wolfenstein 3D” was released on the Super Nintendo. There’s the typical stuff, like the lack of blood and dogs turning into rats. And then there’s more unique aspects, like changing Hitler’s name to Staatmeister and removing his mustache. In fact, there is no Nazi symbolism whatsoever, and the enemies now spoke English instead of German. These were changes that restyled the very fabric of “Wolfenstein” - a series that prides itself on its Nazi-killing content.
#10: “Carmageddon” (1997)
A racing game unlike any other, “Carmageddon” wanted to offend you. In this one, it’s not checkpoints that earn the player additional time, but running over pedestrians. Not only that, specific levels could only be completed by killing all the pedestrians rather than crossing the finish line. Unsurprisingly, this caused quite the reaction. In various international versions, the humans were replaced with either zombies or robots. It significantly blunted the game’s infamous edge. But that’s nothing. Some countries refused to even rate the game and it was banned outright.
#9: “No More Heroes” (2008)
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Well, it’s safe to say that Nintendo changed their tune when it came to brand image. Released for the Wii in 2008, “No More Heroes” was an exceptionally violent game in which players controlled an assassin with a beam katana. The North American release contained all the blood and savagery that one would expect from such a concept. However, the game was modified for both its European and Japanese releases. There, the blood was either recolored black or removed entirely. In the base game, certain movesets would result in extremely graphic instances of violence. Naturally, these were taken out as well. Funnily enough, the eventual PS3 port was uncensored in Europe.
#8: “Ice Climber” (1984)
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Nintendo’s censorship goes all the way back to the ‘80s and the very first Nintendo Entertainment System. Developed by Nintendo themselves, “Ice Climber” was originally an arcade game before it was ported to the NES one year later. The original version was quite dark, as it had the player clubbing seals with a hammer. Seal clubbing is a very controversial practice, and Nintendo knew it. So they censored their own game for the North American market, changing the cute seals into Yeti-like monsters. The characters survived the ordeal and later gained worldwide fame as playable fighters in the “Super Smash Bros.” series.
#7: “Saints Row IV” (2013)
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It wasn’t all the killing that the Australian ratings board had a problem with - it was the drug use. Specifically the…alien drug use. In the mission “Psychosomatic,” the player takes some type of unknown alien narcotic and acquires superpowers. This was a no go for the Australian censors. They have a rule that illicit drug use in a game cannot result in fun or enviable rewards, so they outright refused to rate the game. This would have resulted in a country-wide ban, so Deep Silver was forced to remove the mission. It remains unavailable in native Australian copies to this day.
#6: “Fallout 3” (2008)
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While generally considered a masterpiece, “Fallout 3” had a lot of trouble when it came to censorship. The game ran into problems around the globe. In Australia, it faced the same situation as “Saints Row IV,” as the use of morphine rewarded the player - so it was censored. In Germany, the blood and graphic violence caused a stir - so it was censored. It caused a host of problems in Japan and, you guessed it, was censored. In the Japanese version, it is impossible to detonate the atomic bomb in Megaton. Furthermore, the Fat Man weapon was renamed Nuka Launcher. Both are the result of lingering pain regarding the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
#5: “Manhunt 2” (2007)
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The first “Manhunt” was already a bundle of controversy, yet that was nothing compared to the outcry behind “Manhunt 2.” Shortly before the game’s release, Rockstar got some bad news. The game would essentially be banned around the globe, as both the BBFC and the IFCO rejected it and the ESRB slapped it with an AO rating. Heavy censorship was needed to pass the game with an M, like placing a filter over the executions and removing some of the more violent ones entirely. It would take over a year for the game to be released in the PAL region, as it required a lengthy court battle. An uncensored version was later released for Windows and is one of the rare games to carry an AO rating.
#4: “South Park: The Stick of Truth” (2014)
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It’s “South Park.” Censorship comes with the territory. Luckily, Matt Stone and Trey Parker were there with a rebuttal. “The Stick of Truth” was self-censored by Ubisoft, and the North American release was the only one to remain in its intended form. The game was censored in every other area, and various scenes were completely removed. The German release saw even heavier censorship, as all Nazi imagery was taken out per the country’s law. Parker and Stone ridiculed the removals and included a placeholder in their stead. The placeholder was that of a facepalming statue (or a crying koala in Australia) accompanied by a graphic and detailed description of the cut content.
#3: “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” (2004)
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The “GTA” series has been the subject of controversy since its inception. But it wasn’t the incredible violence that eventually got it banned - it was the kinky stuff. Shortly after the game’s release, the modding community found a particularly naughty bit of code. So they activated it. When the mod was downloaded and enabled, it allowed the player to perform a graphic minigame involving CJ and his partner. The ESRB caught wind and immediately changed the rating from M to AO. This caused a public relations nightmare for Rockstar. They were forced to pull the game from shelves, remove the code, compensate nearly 3,000 people threatening class-action litigation, and re-release the game with an M rating.
#2: “Left 4 Dead 2” (2009)
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This zombie slaying game was essentially banned in both Australia and Germany, as it was denied a rating and therefore could not be sold. According to the censor boards, the graphic violence exceeded what was acceptable, and the game needed to be significantly censored for mass market release. At the time, Australia’s highest rating was something called MA15+. However, this was later increased to R18+ in 2013. It was then that “Left 4 Dead 2” was finally released in all its brutal and uncensored glory. Germany didn’t get an uncensored version until 2021 - a full twelve years after the game’s initial release.
#1: “Mortal Kombat” (1992)
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And here we come to the granddaddy of controversial video games. Perhaps the most notoriously violent game of all time, “Mortal Kombat” shocked the world with its graphic content and even helped birth the ESRB. Those who visited their local arcades could experience “Mortal Kombat” how it was intended, but those playing on home consoles received a significantly different product. Both the SNES and Genesis versions were thoroughly censored, replacing blood with sweat and eliminating the fatalities entirely. We know, what’s the point, then!? However, the fatalities could be unlocked on the Genesis version by using a cheat code. It wasn’t until the Sega CD release in 1994 that a home console version was left uncensored.