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Namco censors Tales of Berseria despite insisting they won't

SDBurton

World's #1 Cosmonaut Enthusiast
While I'm not a fan of the change, I'm not going to let it deter me from buying it. Will probably get modded on PC anyway.
 

Inuhanyou

Believes Dragon Quest is a franchise managed by Sony
Why is she wearing rags she probably found in a bin somewhere?

Technically it would have made more sense for her original outfit to be this design decayed because

she was stuck inside a tower for years until she escaped
 
i'm pretty patient currently. will get it at bomba or used later if people say it's good. did the same with all the censored nintendo games.
 
I think this is what she wears at the start, no idea if it's a costume or not

WEB%E3%83%99%E3%83%AB%E3%83%99%E3%83%83%E3%83%8803-768x432.jpg
Yeahhh bois party's still on. Looks good.
 
D

Deleted member 518609

Unconfirmed Member
What a stupid change. It even ruins one of the major story beats for the game with [Major Berseria Spoilers]
Velvet killing Artorius with the same sword through the chest in the exact same way.
 
Makes you wonder why they even bother to make that other awful costume. Sex appeal?

There's that, plus the fact that Berseria's general atmosphere and story is very grim & cruel, I'm guessing the character designer wanted to really hammer that home by making Velvet's design look edgy. I'm glad they at least offered the villager costume as alt because I was expecting it to be dlc. (this game is actually surprisingly generous with non-paid costumes compared to the last several Tales)
 
Usually I roll my eyes at these censorship threads, but the change here totally kills the impact of the scene, which seems like it's crucial in establishing the tone of the entire game.

Hopefully the response gets them to change it back. It worked for Dual Audio in P5.
 

jonjonaug

Member
This is what I was afraid would happen. No one really gave Nintendo shit for all their changes, few cared when DoA Volleyball wasn't localized for fear of backlash, no one cared about the changes in #FE, Xenoblade X etc. They were all minor changes, often having to do with sexualization, but I really feel they were a warning sign and no one cared because to most they were changes they didn't care about.

But we've been gaining a reputation as prudes in the west and the less this goes challenged the more censorship I expect to see in the future. 2016 is awful and I bet this is just the tip of the iceberg.

I remember people caring about all of those in decent numbers (or at least being loud enough) except for Xenoblade X. The only censorship in Xenoblade X was the kind that it's either hard to really be concerned about (Lin's base character model when wearing very light clothing), or so minor that no one really cared (a single clothing item out of dozens being altered that most players would never see in the first place). There were some legitimate concerns about localization choices (changing names or acronyms around to make more sense in English but also in a way that removed how they tied into the plot and themes) but those were also quite minor.

The rest of those though had actual impact on stuff in the main plot of a game or noticeably altered gameplay features. I would consider concerns about any of those to be worth considering. I'd also put the censorship we're seeing here in the same camp.
 

kunonabi

Member
I remember people caring about all of those in decent numbers (or at least being loud enough) except for Xenoblade X. The only censorship in Xenoblade X was the kind that it's either hard to really be concerned about (Lin's base character model when wearing very light clothing), or so minor that no one really cared (a single clothing item out of dozens being altered that most players would never see in the first place). There were some legitimate concerns about localization choices (changing names or acronyms around to make more sense in English but also in a way that removed how they tied into the plot and themes) but those were also quite minor.

The rest of those though had actual impact on stuff in the main plot of a game or noticeably altered gameplay features. I would consider concerns about any of those to be worth considering. I'd also put the censorship we're seeing here in the same camp.

I'm finishing up the Japanese version right now and there were bits of violence that were changed a bit and I would consider removed character customization options as altered gameplay features.
 
Not to mention the numerous, divisive GAF threads about the games in question.

I cannot believe I am reading this when #TorrentialDownpour was a thing.

I remember people caring about all of those in decent numbers (or at least being loud enough) except for Xenoblade X. The only censorship in Xenoblade X was the kind that it's either hard to really be concerned about (Lin's base character model when wearing very light clothing), or so minor that no one really cared (a single clothing item out of dozens being altered that most players would never see in the first place). There were some legitimate concerns about localization choices (changing names or acronyms around to make more sense in English but also in a way that removed how they tied into the plot and themes) but those were also quite minor.

The rest of those though had actual impact on stuff in the main plot of a game or noticeably altered gameplay features. I would consider concerns about any of those to be worth considering. I'd also put the censorship we're seeing here in the same camp.


The thing is those are all drops in a bucket. A couple forum threads, a minor campaign to complain? The sad truth is most people don't care, not until it actually affects crap they give an F about.

I cared about all that stuff, not always because I felt it was essential, but because I don't like censorship at all. I'm well aware I wasn't the only one upset, but the sad truth is the people who do care are by far outnumbered until things like Dragon Ball Fusions stupid level of censorship start hitting things more people care about.
 

B.K.

Member
Ah, brings back warm n fuzzy bitter memories of playing Xenosaga NA versions months after the JP versions. To quote Trump- Sad.

To be fair, the censored scenes in Episode I work better than the uncensored Japanese version, in my opinion and Episode II's censored scene was so quick that you wouldn't notice if you didn't know about it. There's no excusing Episode III, though.
 
This is what I was afraid would happen. No one really gave Nintendo shit for all their changes, few cared when DoA Volleyball wasn't localized for fear of backlash, no one cared about the changes in #FE, Xenoblade X etc. They were all minor changes, often having to do with sexualization, but I really feel they were a warning sign and no one cared because to most they were changes they didn't care about.

But we've been gaining a reputation as prudes in the west and the less this goes challenged the more censorship I expect to see in the future. 2016 is awful and I bet this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Lol slippery slope logic

Most of those changes were for the best and no one cares about a shitty volley ball game.
 
So I just watched the comparison video, how can you call this censorship? The pretty much completely remade (and enhanced with additional effects) the scene, and the kid is still murdered. What am I missing?

I'm super anti censorship, but this just seems like a change that doesn't really affect anything? Calling it censorship is a big stretch
 

Stiler

Member
Why was this censored? It wasn't overly graphic (silhouetted, etc) and seems like something that could be put in even a T rated game....so it makes little sense as to why it was censored.
 
why don't you just watch the uncensored cut scenes on youtube

I mean I wasn't even aware there was an edit until I saw this thread.

I watched the dub cutscene on my timeline and thought it was really goofy, but figured that's just how Tales Of was.

Saw the original in this thread and wish I had seen that first.

It's just kind of a bummer that their solution totally kills the impact of that scene. Personally I'd want to be hit with the feeling of the original in my experience with the game.
 

Nozomi

Banned
I wonder if the original scene will show if the original japanese VO is selected.

I asked the same question. If you play it with japanese VO it will lead to some big problem if it dont change back to the japanese cutscene.
 
So I just watched the comparison video, how can you call this censorship? The pretty much completely remade (and enhanced with additional effects) the scene, and the kid is still murdered. What am I missing?

Later events in the game will make little/no sense, as they reference how the kid died visually. Its also beyond gaudy, and arguably diminishes what happened.

why don't you just watch the uncensored cut scenes on youtube

Why even play the game? You can just watch it on youtube!
 
in dragon ball fusions US version Trunks doesn't use his sword likely because of child characters. Dragon Ball games are going to have a problem with this considering the amount of violent 10 year olds the series has.

What a stupid change. It even ruins one of the major story beats for the game with [Major Berseria Spoilers]
Velvet killing Artorius with the same sword through the chest in the exact same way.

wow what the actual fuck
 

Linkura

Member
Not sure why this is a surprise to anyone when Scamco are the ones who brought us the atrocious Xenosaga censoring.
 
A little off topic, but with people in here saying this is a great Tales game, what other entries are at the top of the series?
 
This is incredibly disappointing. One of the biggest things that caught my interest for this game was it's dark tone and to see it changed in a way that lessens the impact of certain scenes is really frustrating. You can't hope to have the proper emotional or visceral response to something if you remove the factor that creates that response. Like "Please be sad at this brutal death but we'll just do a 90s 4kids anime slash so nobody would see anything violent in a game that deals in SUPER HEAVY THEMES"
 

Inuhanyou

Believes Dragon Quest is a franchise managed by Sony
A little off topic, but with people in here saying this is a great Tales game, what other entries are at the top of the series?

Vesperia is the most notable because of its art style and main character that is somewhat different from other main characters.

Tales in itself is not a 'great' franchise. Its good to average for most games, but certain games have elements that are memorable.

Symphonia is notable mostly for having a decent story and being one of the few major JRPG's on Gamecube, but its sequel was shit tier.

Xillia i thought was good, but the sequel completely destroyed it with the sequelitis disease.

Graces had good combat and a good artstyle but the story and characters were embarrasing.

Phantasia was a good game, and that's all i can say about it.

I don't count Legendia because it generally was not made by the Tales team

Abyss was also okay, but the main guy is severely hit or miss.

Zestiria was just bland and unmemorable as a story and a game, as well as being a severe step back from even Xillia 2 in term of gameplay
 
The thing is those are all drops in a bucket. A couple forum threads, a minor campaign to complain? The sad truth is most people don't care, not until it actually affects crap they give an F about.

I cared about all that stuff, not always because I felt it was essential, but because I don't like censorship at all. I'm well aware I wasn't the only one upset, but the sad truth is the people who do care are by far outnumbered until things like Dragon Ball Fusions stupid level of censorship start hitting things more people care about.

This was a rather hot topic last year to the point where it gained extensive game media coverage, 20+ page threads and Twitter campaigns, not to mention much debate over how far localization should go. I'll grant it's not such a big deal now but I distinctly recall the controversies surrounding Fates and Star Ocean and the like.

You'll care when they start censoring your beloved Troy Baker.

Uh

A little off topic, but with people in here saying this is a great Tales game, what other entries are at the top of the series?

Symphonia, Abyss, and Vesperia are the only ones you should bother with. The first two are actually some of my GOATS, although Symphonia is a product of its time.

I've heard good things about Phantasia but I haven't played it yet.
 

Lain

Member
This change looks pretty disappointing to me. The original feels more brutal, more physical, more personal and more instilling of a need for revenge.
Considering the Steam version comes with the Japanese VA I do wonder how weird the opening cutscene is gonna end up sounding since the change also makes it needlessly longer.
 

bomblord1

Banned
A little off topic, but with people in here saying this is a great Tales game, what other entries are at the top of the series?


The series is kind of the COD of JRPG's. They release very frequently and all have a fairly consistent level of quality but never really go above and beyond. The series suffers from a "comfort food" or "junk food" syndrome as I would call it none of them I would consider truly "great" when compared to some of the best JRPG's ever made.

Now with that out the way. Of the ones I've played I would recommend the following.

Zestiria: For some reason it gets a bad rap but of the series I feel it had perhaps one of the strongest character arcs for a protagonist by the end of the game he is a completely changed person and it happens so subtly over time. He sees countless horrible things needless deaths, times when him just being there causes things to turn for the worse, and other problems that eat away at his initial happy go lucky attitude. By the end of Zestiria I seriously felt a strong attachment to Sorey and legitimately sympathized with where he was and what he had to do. He wasn't just making these sacrifices because of "lol power of friendship" but because he wanted to try to right just a few of the wrongs with the world. Story is a bit run of the mill though with no real surprises along the way barring one scene.

Symphonia: I'm a bit biased on this one because it was my first tales but I absolutely loved it from start to finish. It has a good cast and an equally good story with multiple "I did not see that coming" twists that raise the stakes considerably over time. It's themes of battling racism were also really well handled IMO.

IMO Vesparia is way over rated. I really couldn't get into it the 2 times I attempted to play through. None of the characters grabbed me and the protagonist is probably one of the worst lifeless bores I've seen in a tales game. They seemed to have been going for a more "edgy" cloud style character and failed miserably.
 

aitakute

Member
As someone who played the Japanese version, if they censored that scene, there will be more scenes getting censored later in the game
 

Inuhanyou

Believes Dragon Quest is a franchise managed by Sony
Thanks.

I actually have a Gamecube copy of Symphonia so I'll play that at some point. If I like it I'll get Graces F and then maybe just jump to Berseria.

Don't have an Xbox for Vesperia and the PS2 version of Abyss didn't get a PAL release, I'll see if I can find a 3DS copy.

I would actually recommend playing Xillia 1 as well. Its a good game, but watch out for the sequel
 

Inuhanyou

Believes Dragon Quest is a franchise managed by Sony
Why do they have to censor the game WHY!?

I can atleast understand one kid scene, but if they are going to be putting an axe to this game in multiple instances, imma be pissed
 
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