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[Shin]

Yakuza 3 remaster has apparently cut some transphobic elements from the game, which lines up with the comments made by the series creator in an early interview.

Sega has faced a lot of controversies recently due to Catherine: Full Body after the ending for the game was leaked and seemed to feature some transphobic content. They still haven’t shared any update or acknowledged this issue in any official capacity.

Spoiler: Story

Yakuza 3 Remaster is a re-release of the game on the PS4. While it hasn’t been released in the Western market so far, it is already out in Japan. There was a transphobic sidequest in Yakuza 3 which featured a transgender woman called Michiru. The game always tried to make fun of the situation surrounding Michiru and Kiryu while offering transphobic comments and remarks.

Kiryu was often chased by Michiru as part of the substories offered in the game. This entire substory has been eliminated now in the most recent remaster for the PS4, which lines up with what the Yakuza creator and series producer Nagoshi said in an interview.

Credit: Twistedvoxel

 

[mejin]

ow fuck, and there goes the chance to have the complete game in the west.

 

[mcjmetroid]

I'm going to have to see the scene to judge it fully and of course the context as well.

 

[JimmyRustler]

I'm going to have to see the scene to judge it fully and of course the context as well.

Well, if the description in the OP is accurate I'm ok with the quest being cut.

 

[Alexios]

Looks more like a crossdresser than a trans person?

 

[AV]

For context:



Honestly, the worst thing happening here is the main character misgendering them. They even say "that's sisters to you!" when he calls them brothers. He then doesn't make any further remarks. There's no straight-up insults (unless I missed any), and in fact, the story ends with a Michiru finding love. I really don't see the issue here.

Ailynn not to "summon our resident" on this or anything, but as usual you're more qualified than us to talk about whether or not this seems acceptable.

 

[Lucumo]

Well, if the description in the OP is accurate I'm ok with the quest being cut.

Watch it for yourself then, OP is bs.

 

[dirthead]

What a joke. The real key to addressing shit like this is to simply stop talking to the press/public about it and do whatever you want to do.

The thing about all the gender studies activists is that they don't actually play video games. So if the developers don't make a big deal or talk about this crap, they won't even realize it's in there in the first place.

I don't even understand the point in developers doing interviews. All it does is get them in trouble. I don't think it helps sell games.

 

[azz0r]

Good news, I don't see how you could see it any other way.

 

[mcjmetroid]

For context:



Honestly, the worst thing happening here is the main character misgendering them. They even say "that's sisters to you!" when he calls them brothers. He then doesn't make any further remarks. There's no straight-up insults (unless I missed any), and in fact, the story ends with a Michiru finding love. I really don't see the issue here.

Ailynn not to "summon our resident" on this or anything, but as usual you're more qualified than us to talk about whether or not this seems acceptable.

Ya this reminds me of those scenes in Persona 5. The gay ones.

Like I'm gay and I found those kinda amusing I dunno.. I tend to have a thicker skin than most.



What do you guys thinks?

Also sorry about the video title it's the first one I found with half decent quality

 

[Peroroncino]

I love the series to death but that was a pretty idiotic quest so I'm fine with it.

 

[Aren117]

Yeah that was shit, good riddance.

ow fuck, and there goes the chance to have the complete game in the west.

There was so much more content missing in OG Yakuza 3 than just one substory, that makes the new version missing this one kinda irrelevant.

 

[brap]

Pretty stupid decision. Lmao @ some bodybuilder in a dress thinking he's a woman and people actually getting upset you don't see it as such.

 

[Dunki]

nstead of cutting it they should just rewritten it a bit like not using it in the localisation. I am also curious why his was cut. Because they thought it does not fit to the game or rather because of the recent backlash in he west.

 

[Rayderism]

Those quests made me cringe anyway. Just sort of creeped me out. They were sort of funny, but I won't miss them.

 

[Redneckerz]

Spoiler: Story

Yakuza 3 Remaster is a re-release of the game on the PS4. While it hasn’t been released in the Western market so far, it is already out in Japan. There was a transphobic sidequest in Yakuza 3 which featured a transgender woman called Michiru. The game always tried to make fun of the situation surrounding Michiru and Kiryu while offering transphobic comments and remarks.

Kiryu was often chased by Michiru as part of the substories offered in the game. This entire substory has been eliminated now in the most recent remaster for the PS4, which lines up with what the Yakuza creator and series producer Nagoshi said in an interview.

Credit: Twistedvoxel

Not commenting on the transphobic part but if that is supposed to be a remaster then that's hideous man. Just look at the environments. Is this offscreen? There is more aliasing in there then your average X360 title.

 

[Bkdk]

Idiotic decision, Just make people to remember the good old days of gaming even more.

 

[HeresJohnny]

Well there’s a big fuck you to the “games are art” crowd. Sanitizing your content so it doesn’t offend anyone is about as far from being art as it gets.

 

[Aren117]

Not commenting on the transphobic part but if that is supposed to be a remaster then that's hideous man. Just look at the environments. Is this offscreen? There is more aliasing in there then your average X360 title.

That's a PS3 image. This content is not in the remaster (is the news from this post, even)

 

[Redneckerz]

That's a PS3 image. This content is not in the remaster (is the news from this post, even)

I have not muttered a word.

 

[Paracelsus]

And still the loon crowd thinks this is not censorship because they changed it "with no outside interference".

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

I dont see any problem in this sidequest.

Actually is pretty hilarious

 

[Verdanth]

The quest is hilarious. Stupid decision if you ask me.

 

[radewagon]

I'm going to have to see the scene to judge it fully and of course the context as well.

I love this comment.

 

[Shouta]

As I recall, the scene wasn't particularly funny nor all that important so I'm okay with it being cut. Something in its place would have been nice but they could run into issues there as well so cutting it probably was for the best.

 

[Kazza]

AFAIK, this was the decision of the developers themselves, not the result of any outside pressure. Haven't we all done stuff 10 years ago that we now cringe at and would like to change if we had the chance? I first played Y3 a couple of years back and didn't have an issue with the substory (I'm pretty sure that character appears in other games in the series too - usually working in one of the bars in that small alleyway district). So long as they put back the content that was cut the first time they localised the game, then I'll be satisfied.

 

[Lucumo]

AFAIK, this was the decision of the developers themselves, not the result of any outside pressure.

Apart from him telling it's due to outside changes which is linked in the OP?

 

[Allnamestakenlol]

I haven't played it, but from what I'm hearing it's no great loss.

 

[KarkarnRed]

Not that I was really looking forward to the sidequest but I don't get why this is where the line is drawn. A bit insensitive but not malicious I don't think. Removing sections of gameplay to appease a subsection of an audience strikes me as shortsighted.

 

[Whitesnake]

IIRC In Yakuza 0 there was a pretty similar gag with one of the phone dating girls very clearly being a man in a dress. That wasn’t edited in any future releases including the localized versions.

Did Kiwami or Kiwami 2 remove any jokes from the originals that were similar to this? This seems like a pretty sudden 180 on their sense of humor.

 

[JunkerWoland]

Keep in mind, since May 2018, we knew there would be changes to the game's content, due to contract & social issues; and we've had confirmation of the removed transsexual side-quests, since August/September 2018.

The only reason this topic suddenly resurfaced is becomes certain individuals are positioning it as some cultural victory in light of the what they feel is abhorrent treatment of transsexuals in the Catherine remaster.

Censored Gaming provides a good summary of the changes to the remasterd Ryu ga Gotoku 3 in the below video.




As someone who didn't play the original Ryu ga Gotoku 3, I'd like to have seen all of its side-quests maintained and be allowed to form my own opinion on the content. Since the remastered changes are essentially global, I'm still willing to buy the game, as long as we don't see any additional content cut from (hopefully) the eventual Western release.

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

So I guess we sure as hell aren't getting the Honey Bee Inn's humor in our FF7 remake either. Just play the originals; remakes by definition look to recreate the past from a time too far removed to understand it on its own terms.

 

[DreamsiclesPlz]

So I guess we sure as hell aren't getting the Honey Bee Inn's humor in our FF7 remake either.

...god damnit, I hate this fucking timeline we're in.

 

[zeorhymer]

Which outrage does this fall into? Censorship? Transphobia? Gender Equality? Feminist?

Don't worry, you're not missing much. The side-quest was silly and easily forgettable.

 

[kunonabi]

This is just some of the content being cut from the release. The Japanese ps3 release is still the only version of the game worth playing.

 

[GreenAlien]

Don't worry, you're not missing much. The side-quest was silly and easily forgettable.

That's true for most things. I probably think so about some games you really liked. I even think so about some people.

What I'm saying is, I might have found it really funny or creepy. It might have been the one thing i remembered from this game. Now I will never know because someone decided "the west" is too prim and proper to handle it.

 

[Ailynn]

Ailynn not to "summon our resident" on this or anything, but as usual you're more qualified than us to talk about whether or not this seems acceptable.

I mean, I understand how this is maybe seen as funny to some people. Just as I understand how the "man-in-dress" trope has been seen as funny by some through countless movie scenes over the past few decades.

Still, just like all the others...this scene makes me equally as uncomfortable.

It's scenes like this that helped keep me miserably in the closet for over 30 years. Just like any other transgender woman...the last thing I wanted to be compared to was a silly and embarrassing "man-in-dress."

 

[Danjin44]

This makes me worry about Catherine Full Body localization.

 

[Dthomp]

And the censorship in gaming continues to ruin players experiences. Thanks world, I didn't like having the chance to enjoy something anyways. Jesus fucking christ....

 

[120v]

it's 2019 and Yakuza is catching on the west. i don't blame them, just don't mess with it

 

[MiyazakiHatesKojima]

Im glad they removed that sidequest just so i don't have to be reminded of the whole trans-movement. if kOjIMa directed Yazuka, we would have much better sidequests and not have to worry about pandering to LGBTQ

 

[The Chairman]

I don't think they removed this substory to please SJWs, i think it was removed because it makes Kazuma Kiryu look like a little bitch and if i remember correctly Kazuma Kiryu gets raped if the player failed the quest so i think removing this quest is better, also when we get this remaster it will have all the previously cut hostess club stuff so that's a bonus i guess.

 

[Fuz]

Fuck censorship.

 

[Verdanth]

This shit is so ridiculous that if Yakuza 0 got release now on the west it would probably have Mr. Libido quests cut off, the phone botty calls mini game, the sexy videos botty and probably even the cabaret mini game.

 

[Pallas]

If it was a choice by the developers then I can’t argue too much, I am mainly against when console manufacturers try to censor shit and force the designers to cut and change stuff.

I mean, I understand how this is maybe seen as funny to some people. Just as I understand how the "man-in-dress" trope has been seen as funny by some through countless movie scenes over the past few decades.

Still, just like all the others...this scene makes me equally as uncomfortable.

It's scenes like this that helped keep me miserably in the closet for over 30 years. Just like any other transgender woman...the last thing I wanted to be compared to was a silly and embarrassing "man-in-dress."

I see what you mean, they could have really done a better job with that quest. Was hoping they would at least rework it and maybe take it a bit more seriously, but I imagine it’s easier to just cut it out and avoid any potential controversy.

 

[angelic]

So the goal is to make trans a normal part of society, and the way to achieve that is to not allow any media to reference it in any way.

 

[Pallas]

Im glad they removed that sidequest just so i don't have to be reminded of the whole trans-movement. if kOjIMa directed Yazuka, we would have much better sidequests and not have to worry about pandering to LGBTQ

If Kojima was directing it then it wouldn’t be Yakuza and probably something much different.

 

[E.T. Waifu]

Good. This is the kind of censorship that I'm okay with.

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

it's a shame when something gets censored but I don't think this is any major loss or anything.

 

[Ailynn]

So the goal is to make trans a normal part of society, and the way to achieve that is to not allow any media to reference it in any way.

I don't believe this scene is supposed to be representative of actual transgender people...yet it may be perceived to be by some, as silly and embarrassing characters such as these have been for decades. These characters are three ineffectual drag queens and one drag king, if the poor dialogue is to be taken seriously.