Addressing the CENSORSHIP in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake

[@ThatsRoyo]

Update: there was an interview with Yuji Horii and it goes into the censorship of the release, I'll post the link down here x.com/saou0345/status/1840243748007219257 x.com/gamenohanashi/status/1840150742293983623

[@TimelyStefan]

Called it. I understand that CERO and ESRB has strict regulations to make it available for a wider age range of audience. However, some of these influences have been pushed by western influences (more religious back then). I'm gonna guess that's why SE didn't really care for releasing DQX into the western market. But I think they can fly with CERO B or ESRB 10+/Teen would be still good for their metrics. In my opinion, I think it's a smarter strategy to raise the age rating and stick to the loyal fanbase that has supported with their wallets back then when they were kids. Alienating them, causing discord among each other (Existing fans using ad hominems i.e. calling each other gooners) isn't going to do any good. I'm also okay with giving options if it's an issue of comfort, so each player can toggle to their liking. A larger percentage of kids in America play roblox, fortnight, and minecraft anyways, good luck convincing their short-attention span tiktok brains to play a text scrolling, turn-based game like dragon quest 3.

[@dr_pally0]

It sucks they have to change their game so much because of one country’s ideas. This probably could just be modded all back in the future, but the way NexusMods has been taking down mods against these similar ideas recently isn’t good. Which I would have honestly love that the warrior had the black tights then the weird skin color burlap sack😂

[@ThatsRoyo]

Yeah I do plan to make an update video correcting some things I said and address what horii said, as I said before I intend to present the facts as they are

[@ThatsRoyo]

Actually I’m going to do a livestream instead

[@omensoffate]

@@ThatsRoyooof this didn’t age well buddy

[@DigiPen92]

I definitely do know this isn't the first time that there was a Dragon Quest game got censored. Dragon Quest VIII on the Nintendo 3DS did got it as well. I think it has to do with the CERO Strictions since the Dragon Quest games were marketed towards CERO A in Japan and also, I did heard from Sakurai when developing Super Smash Bros. series that the CERO had some strict guidelines when it comes to Female Designs such as Female Corrin, Palutena, Bayonetta, Pyra, and Mythra had some alternations while Mai Shiranui from Fatal Fury was cut out due to she had shown a lot of skin. Jessica did had a lot of Dresses and Red's outfit were tone down due to CERO along with some parts in the 3DS Port. I definitely do think the people claimed in their videos haven't seen other Dragon Quest games had been toned down or knew about CERO A as well?

[@nonusbusinissus5632]

Meaningless counter argument. Yes. There have been instances of censorship previously. No, none of it was all encompassing, mandatory and pushed under the umbrella of an ideology/religion. This is like living in daddy a.h.'s germany and saying that ppl used to "pass away" even before we started to help them speed up the process.

[@brotbrotsen1100]

If they didnt censored DQ3hd it would in fact be one of the rare times that they didnt censored a game in this Franchise. This was a Problem that started already in the nes games called Dragon Warrior back in the day. Back then with religous topics and the Classics puff puff scenes.

[@DigiPen92]

@brotbrotsen1100 Enix had to rename Dragon Quest to Dragon Warrior before 2000s due to that Pen and Paper Role Playing Game had it called DragonQuest (there was no Space between Dragon and Quest) and it was trademarked till it expired in 2000s.

[@brotbrotsen1100]

@@DigiPen92 Yes i know but that isn't the censorship i'm talking about. The name change was simply a result of name trademarks and they didnt had a choice other than changing the name.

[@nonusbusinissus5632]

And? Creative decisions are creative decisions. Market pressure and cultural censorship are a different boat. So please dont mix and blur the lines between the issues here, okay?

[@Beringer90]

Naz Chris (Host): "The costume design has become a huge topic of discussion." Yuji Horii: "Well, there are various regulations, you know. We can't have too much exposure." Naz Chris: "But that's fine. Even though it's fiction, you, the protagonist, are going on an adventure within it, so I think that's okay. Isn't it?" Yuji Horii: "I don't really know. I'm not sure about that." Naz Chris: "It's a game. It's a non-fiction virtual experience within fiction, so I think it should be fun." Yuji Horii: "If there's too much exposure, the target age rating goes up. It could no longer be suitable for all ages." Naz Chris: "I didn't think about that back then." Kazuhiko Torishima: "There's this absolute god called 'compliance.' It’s like evil disguised as good. Not everyone can feel comfortable with everything. After all, concepts of beauty and ugliness, good and evil vary from person to person. At the root of things, there are definitely some things you should never do, and as long as you avoid those, everything else should be fine. But that’s not the case. The concept of sex education that comes from religious ideas in the West is prevalent in America. Their view on compliance is really narrow. When they publish comics over there, they have to categorize them by age. If it's a Weekly Shōnen Jump manga, it can't be published for anyone under 13 years old. Everything has to go through reworkings. You have to get insurance in case of lawsuits. It's really troublesome. Japan has also been negatively influenced by this." Yuji Horii: "You can choose the protagonist's gender, but you can't say 'choose male or female.' It's type 1 and type 2. I wonder who would complain if we just said male and female? I don't understand."

[@cloudmv15]

I understand that DQ has been dealing with censorship for a while, I think that right now people are really annoyed seeing everywhere, specifically on remakes and new ports.

[@ThatsRoyo]

Yeah for me I think I’ve been very desensitized to the whole discussion regarding censorship discussion, changing dialogue, etc that I just don’t give a damn anymore. I personally just go out and buy games that I’m interested in. As I mention if someone doesn’t want to buy a game for x reason go right ahead it’s your money at the end of the day.

[@steaksmash33]

What was uncensored about the originals?

[@husky6672]

@@ThatsRoyo keep buying it like a good consumer npc.

[@AdoreYouInAshXI]

@@ThatsRoyo So in other words you just consume whatever slop they shovel out if it's an IP you like? What a horrible practice. You are part of the problem, and you certainly shouldn't be making videos about this topic with this kind of mindset.

[@ThatsRoyo]

@@AdoreYouInAshXI you mad bro?

[@thefutureisbread]

In my opinion censoring Toriyamas art and character designs after he passed away is extremely distasteful. Its like drawing a moustache on the Mona Lisa. Toriyamas fantastic designs are 70% of why I love Dragon Quest games. Needless to say I won't be buying this game. What a bummer. Sweet Baby = modern day 4Kids

[@Delibelly99]

Did you even watch this video??

[@noctotainlowry9246]

Of course not they just want to be a baby and whine about their percieved offense like every other culture warrior, aka why they brought up sweet baby because they treat them like a boogyman hididng under the bed, game has already sold one million copies in just pyshical editions ALONE in just japan not counting elsewhere so let me tell you No kne has given a single shit about their culture war hissy fit.​@@Delibelly99

[@archlordv3494]

"Oh my God, why are you guys getting so wound up over this? It's such a small change that it barely even matters!" Counter-argument: If it barely even matters, why are you bothering to change it in the first place?

[@degreeskelvin3025]

The challenge here is that, is it worth not playing a game youve wanted to play for years because of censorship

[@TheShadowivan]

To reduce the ESRB/PEGI. Simple as that. It's not the first time the female warrior has her outfit changed. The card game did it, and IIRC DQIX also had the upper part of her body covered-up. But you know, if more easy if people cry about censorship to try and generete outrage.

[@BlueLightningSky]

Counter-counter argument: They changed it so deal with it. If it didn't matter, why do you even have to bring up a counter-argument.

[@SwiftJustice]

There there. It's okay. You're okay.

[@neko791]

@@degreeskelvin3025 it's very worth it they will not stop here give then an inch and they will take a mile shame on you for defending this.

[@samuraiforever9120]

I honestly don't care If it doesn't affect gameplay or story. I just want to either make a unique party or recreate a party similar to Dais or Avans.

[@eyesofdeathperception6730]

I feel like there's nuance that people just aren't willing to talk about. It's perfectly fine if you don't want to get the game if it's censored. But these people thinks incredibly unrealistically, as if everyone will collectively boycott the game with them. And they'll shame people if they want to get the game by mentioning how it's censored, and making the person feel bad for getting a censored product.

[@steaksmash33]

@eyesofdeathperception6730 nobody on KZbin is willing to talk about how the game isn't censored.

[@eyesofdeathperception6730]

@steaksmash33 This could've been a good argument if it weren't forthe fact that it wasn't true. There has been multiple videos talking about censorship. It's just that it's hard to even listen to when they're handled by a group of people known for their hatred towards specific groups. Along with shoving their hateful ideologies into their videos. Even then, you'd also have to thunk of things realistically.

[@steaksmash33]

@eyesofdeathperception6730 The minor changes they have done seem like a stretch to call censorship

[@TheJedux]

i disagree i wouldn't buy any game that censors stuff, you let it happen once and it will get worse.

[@ericfischer8295]

Your loss

[@TheJedux]

@@ericfischer8295 the game could be great but i cannot stand censorship so i won't buy it.

[@SuiteLifeofDioBrando]

Amen

[@haulinheavy540]

True, you give them an inch they won't stop.

[@sadracklimon2999]

100% right here.

[@RachelRichards]

I'm buying this game day 1 because I love Dragon Quest so much, but the censorship is immoral. I love the troll without the lips because it looks more like a European troll now, but I don't understand why they changed the design. The type A and B thing is baffling to me too. Imagine Professor Oak asking if you're a type A or B.

[@RachelRichards]

@FF8IrvineFan_ - You need help.

[@RachelRichards]

@FF8IrvineFan_ - Your arguments are really woke and unhinged.

[@RachelRichards]

@FF8IrvineFan_ - You're arguing from a leftist perspective, accusing someone of xenophobia and misogyny. You don't defeat leftists by acting like them. Get some help.

[@blizzforte284]

Hopefully you can remove the added clothing with mods

[@solonepeon5805]

​@blizzforte284 that is what I'm waiting for the mod community to do so that's why I bought it because they will patch it at some point.

[@sanguinex]

You are talking as if Square can't make an uncensored version for the rest of the world, you mention FEF as an example and the Japanese version of that game is uncensored, if the problem is the Cero rating system, then make an uncensored version for the other regions, and for your last question, I have a question myself, if you guys making these videos are so sure that the DQ community doesnt care about this, then why make this video? As you said, this is not new, I remember back in the 3DS era when DQ8 was announced and the community saw a lot of the changes that square made, most of the players in the VG forums were mad and a lot of them didn't buy the game and played it using an emulator or a hacked 3DS instead, this time is even worse because back in the day this kind of thing was discussed mostly in the forums, now you have people with big platforms talking about this, Square is not in a good situation to be losing sales because of dumb decisions like this one, I myself am not going to buy this game, it starts with small things like the character design, then when that is normalized they go and censor other things

[@ThatsRoyo]

To answer your question the only intention I had with the video was to present the facts as they are, whether or not SBI had involvement with this particular release, why the changes are made in the first place and get clarification from people regarding the controversy. Regarding the DQ community and whether or not what I presented is the vast majority or not, I can admit from my perspective it can be construed, as I did get a majority of my screenshots from X, there was a reason I put it in my question to clarify things I wasn't aware of. Regarding to your question on Cero and why the international versions cannot be uncensored, because the base release is the Japanese version, and potentially they do not want to allocate more resources to make the international version different. They simply want to make one version of the game and it's evident seeing how each version is multilanguage. Hopefully that helps answer your question.

[@sanguinex]

@@ThatsRoyo in the end the only way to see the community reaction on this topic is wait until the game releases and watch the overseas sales, about the resources, Square already spent lots of money on games that don't sell what Square wants, it's amazing that they won't spent more money on something that can affect negatively the sales of a game, it just shows how disconnected Square is from the community, but hey, is not my intention to tell other people what to or what not to buy, this is just my opinion, and I really hope that the people that is going to buy the game enjoys it a lot and have a great time

[@julieb3240]

Girl, were you born yesterday? If you have been gaming with this mentality, you probably haven't played any games. This has been going on for decades.

[@rofldodger]

anyone else get the feeling that by boycotting these games we are inadvertently helping sweet baby in their mission to destroy the gaming industry?

[@haulinheavy540]

Good point, it's has happened before to other games. Just look at the current situation with Halo.😢

[@Scarygomez]

Nope I don’t have to agree, i also don’t have to buy it. Saved so much money in 2024!

[@dukey03]

Very well done video showcasing the facts. Trying to punish DQ for this makes about as much sense as punishing a movie for having to edit out scenes to make their targeted rating.

[@Gemuki_Aron]

Great video here, thanks for your work and courage in doing it !

[@kibble113]

Imagine refusing to buy a game because 0.0001% of the total content involves having to make a choice at the beginning between body type A and B instead of male and female.

[@viewtifuljoe66]

This what happens when let vanguard, blackrock, or tencent get small interest in your company this crap follows!

[@julieb3240]

So many boogiemen. How do you keep track?

[@powerbeard5653]

@@julieb3240 lol you have a hard time keeping track of 3 whole companies? how do you keep up with the games industry?

[@Fauntleroy.]

You're looking at a potential fucking masterpiece of a game and calling it crap because the female warrior's minge is covered up.

[@gotthecutenessoverload1086]

@@julieb3240 you can keep track of a gazillion genders but can't even keep track of 3 companies?

[@KimSamaVideos]

Any game that tries to appeal to a "global audience' sucks

[@haulinheavy540]

Very true

[@steaksmash33]

@KimSamaVideos Why make something if not for a wide audience?

[@peterparker1683]

I don’t like how certain fans are acting like you can’t criticize the changes. They are stupid. The Troll lips are fucking dumb and it’s Square trying to avoid any controversy cuz they think people are dumb enough to think it’s black face or some shit. I also hate how the Female Warrior and Gadabout look too! These games are played in sprites so why even bother with the censorship anyway? Good thing I have a PC cuz all of these changes are getting modded out.

[@haulinheavy540]

Agree, you can't exile someone from being a fan of Dragon Quest just because they don't like where the franchise is going.

[@Fauntleroy.]

​@@haulinheavy540Where is the franchise going? We're getting this gorgeous, lovingly crafted remake, and you lot are bellyaching and threatening to boycott over the most trivial shit imaginable. The only thing going off in a weird direction is some of you.

[@haulinheavy540]

@@Fauntleroy. When your accepting of the small changes they make, then their just going to keep making further changes in future games and remakes til it's nobody wants. I don't like where the game is headed (because of today's Square Enix, Sweet Baby Inc, and other companies influencing these changes) so I'm not going to pre-order nor bother picking up this game.

[@shawnsindulfoabellana3912]

@@haulinheavy540the changes you’re worrying about are minor and it doesn’t affect gameplay. Plus your complaining about the art which is not going to be used for the game but pixel art which you barely can’t see the ugly undergarments

[@peterparker1683]

@@shawnsindulfoabellana3912 if the games are played in sprites why even bother making these changes. In vacuum these changes are minor but it’s start becoming a death by a thousand cuts. I’m not into the whole boycott notion but that doesn’t change the fact that these changes shouldn’t be called out. This toxic positivity isn’t helping the series either.

[@bogroll1881]

I understand the point you make on censorship however what about Stellar Blade, Uma Masume and other Gacha games aren't they much more explicit?

[@BuryTheLight-tds]

Two words, *Age Ratings*

[@oreoiscool3409]

This makes me wonder if they are gonna censor The Scandalous Swimsuit, Magic Bikini, and Blessed Bikini or just cut them out of the Remake entirely. I really hope not.

[@TimelyStefan]

First of all, thank you for the wonderfully produced video and nuanced take. I see your passion and your love as a fellow Dragon Quest fan. To answer your question, the goal of making a huge fuss is so other established franchises learn from the market failure of censorship and in the future, release products as they were always intended even if it means to limit it to the niche adult fanbase that supported the game since 1992 by raising the age rating. Yes, us fans that supported the game since then are old millenials and Xers now. Sucks for kids with uptight parents, but honestly I don't think the age ratings need to be adjusted as the raunchy content in Dragon Quest is pretty tame. Young teens see borderline pornography from social media or explicit materials their older siblings collect. I've always been an anti-censorship person since the 90's. I hated the censorship back then from the far-right dominated Christian Bible thumping parents who thought that rock music was the devil. Nowadays it's from the far left, the people that devout Christians demonize for being gay. Which is wild to me that two sides end up being on the same when it comes to censorship, since they hate each other. I just want to escape from all this tug-of-war politics and enjoy my games in peace and its original intended form like I had been since I was a young teenager. It was great time when I first played Dragon Quest VIII. Loved it so much I scoured the early internet for the famicom and gameboy releases to play on the emulator. From raw untranslated to fan translations. I'm grateful that I can navigate the grey area and will purchase Dragon Quest III HD RM on steam when it releases and probably put an uncensored patch on it. Some people are commenting the censorship complainers are non-dragon quest fans and are only sabotaging it, calling them tourists. I want to say I vehemently resent that sentiment. I sinked hundreds and hundreds of hours into DQ. From repeated attempts to beat the Dragovian Lord in VIII to get all his rewards to spending hours in IX to get a consistent MKS map for grinding my vocations repeatedly, on top of spending hours on the main franchise games to the monster and builder series. Calling me a tourist and non-fan is an absolute spit to my face for my censorship stance and my past financial contributions to DQ. If DQ dies, I'll feel bad but I'll move on. I'll cherish those good long times I had with Dragon Quest until I'm dead and further beyond. There are other games out there that will respect my rights as a consumer.

[@simonthedigger2874]

That’s great and then they will move on to the other games you like. It won’t stop. And it’s even not even that hard to counter either it’s simply letting people know what they are doing is wrong but it’s about presentation. Many reasons is they sperg out and say they are the devil incarnate when in reality it’s just a bunch of angry losers who got bullied in high school trying “own the chuds”. Presenting what they are doing as a lame move rather than evil is the better way to go since it’s not evil just lame and obvious trauma dumping from whatever disgruntled person is trying to shove into the stuff we like

[@nonusbusinissus5632]

There is not a single sentence in this that addresses censorship. There are a lot of sentences explaining it, excusing it, justifying it, but addressing it? None. Addressing it would require you to view the change as a problem, and it takes less than 5 minutes to see that you are at best neutral about it, at worst completely on board with it.

[@CC-df3pn]

Not gonna lie, when I booted up my 3DS to grab that picture of the female warrior in Morrie's monster arena just to shut someone up on twitter. I did not expect it to be used by others or end up in a video to help in the battle against the outrage farming tourists and swathes of misinformation doing the rounds. Like many DQ fans, yourself included I'm not pro censorship, it sucks in general. But I know why it exists and why people in the west crying about the bureaucracy in a Japanese ratings board will change nothing. All their calls to boycott or farm outrage has any potential to do is harm the brand in the west, something that is already on rocky footing. It will not impact the Japanese sales in the slightest. (Also yay for you using DQ6 music during that section. People sleep on that OST plus my favourite DQ game in general)

[@CC-df3pn]

@FF8IrvineFan_ no, they really don't. DQ3 alone has consistently taken up 2 of the top 10 famitsu most wanted spots for months. Because Famitsu does releases based on platform separately. But yeah, every single poll has DQ3 switch as number 1, PS being 2nd, 3rd or 4th usually, hell DQ 1+2 with no release date takes up spots too. For multiple months in a row the new DQ HD2D remakes have taken 4 of the top ten spots. So please shut up. Also don't throw around words you don't know the meaning for you utter tool.

[@CC-df3pn]

@FF8IrvineFan_ ok, go look at the Famitsu most wanted polls for the past 4 or 5 months. Go look at the fact the DQ HD2D remakes take up 4 of the top 10 spots consistently. That since that direct trailer DQ3 HD2D Switch version has not left the number 1 spot. That the remake of 1 and 2 without any release date also consistently take up spots on the top ten most wanted list. The reason before anyone asks, as to why they take up multiple spots is Famitsu lists the games and the specific systems. So DQ3 PS usually sits between 2nd most wanted and 4th most wanted, but switch is always number 1. Also, don't just throw around words you really don't seem to know the actual meaning for. You just look stupid.

[@CC-df3pn]

@FF8IrvineFan_ yes. Won't impact sales. Look at the famitsu most wanted polls they have been releasing for months. The DQ remakes take up 4 of the top ten spots consistently. The reason for 4 spots being Famitsu lists by the system as well. The number 1 spot has been DQ3 HD2D Switch every single time since that trailer in the direct a few months back. The PS version fluctuates between 2nd most wanted and 4th most wanted. So that is what I mean by it won't impact their sales. It is Dragon Quest 3. It was never not going to sell well in Japan.

[@CC-df3pn]

@FF8IrvineFan_ ok. I'll ignore the facts and go solely on Irvine Fan's feelings that definitely aren't all twisted up in a bunch. Also don't throw around words you don't know the meaning for, calling someone a phobe of any kind carries weight that you disrespect by using it as a petty insult. Do better.

[@CC-df3pn]

@FF8IrvineFan_ when did I accuse anyone of being a fake Japanese? You're reading way too far into things I never even said. Please, reading, it's the basic skill required to even play an RPG. The irony of your behaviour is truly palpable.

[@Fa1nTy]

I don't buy this shit. They just relased a game Visions of Mana, and Palamena the mage shows more skin than Jessica did in DQ8, and it's 100% still a game designed for kids. This type of censorship (especially the lips) is from them catering to western influence. "Expand their appeal" is bullshit. jRPG is niche and will always be niche, the people who play dragon quest are people who've always and will always play dragon quest. They would be better off focusing on pleasing existing customers instead of chasing an external, western market. Might as well add guns into DQ if they want that.

[@Dwellerinshadow]

What irritates me the most as a long time dragon quest fan is seeing people actively trying to reduce sales for this series. I've been playing these games since the first one on NES and I saw how we got shafted out of every SNES release. Even now, it feels like we're lucky to get the games at all. The sales are already low and here you have these guys trying to basically kill the franchise with their incessant bitching. You're damn right I'm pissed off. Squeenix isn't gonna look at this stuff and think "the game didn't sell because of woke stuff, let's stop putting that in the games", they're gonna think "the game didn't sell, they must not like DQ, let's stop wasting money localizing them"... I've already done the only thing I can do about this, I pre-ordered the game. This is a "shut up and take my money" game for me ;p

[@ricorosson5752]

This is exactly what they're counting on. You being a mindless consumer who is so afraid of not getting your fix that you're willing to allow them to abuse you relentlessly. I would rather see no more Dragon Quest games than ever give them financing to make worse and worse content, much less defile and censor anything. You deserve what you tolerate, and you're seemingly willing to eat grass as long as it's packaged as lettuce.

[@DEPORT_nonWhites_or_KILL_them]

it's called morality you goyslop chugging consumer.

[@Kainsito13]

Damn and here i was expecting this game since its been a while since i wanted to try DQ for the first time what should i do then?

[@CalebePriester]

I don't care. Deal with it. I won't buy a censored game. If I have to deal with the fact they keep pushing woke stuff on my favorite titles then you will have to deal with the fact that people like me won't buy the games because of that. I'm not happy, you are not happy, the studio isn't happy. I guess the only happy people are the woke ones.

[@micahlindley7515]

Honestly, I feel the same way. The anti-woke crowd is very frustrating. They basically guilt you for buying a game you love.

[@emmiranda2]

People are taking these changes so personally. They’re minimal in the context of the modern release. Videos going crazy for it is just for the clicks and views. Dragon Quest is so much more and focusing on these changes should not be the priority. Get over it people. Thank you for your take on this video, I totally agree.

[@ricorosson5752]

Go tell the Japanese to "get over it". Go on, we'll wait.

[@julieb3240]

@@ricorosson5752 Most of them don't care. This is going to do numbers on Switch in Japan. I'll be responsible for one of those copies.

[@ricorosson5752]

@@julieb3240 You wouldn't be here if you were certain of that.

[@marbleq9586]

​@@ricorosson5752You're gonna hurt yourself trying to get that gotcha hun.

[@ricorosson5752]

@@marbleq9586 Considering it's been over a month since this thread even had any attention, that is quite unlikely. Take your own advice and don't try so hard.

[@AtomizedGaming]

Did you just use past examples of them also doing something as a defense for them doing something? Insanity.

[@ericstaples7220]

Japan has been making alterations like this for western audiences, since 1990. It's par for the course.

[@n.p.l.s3859]

While the censorship doesn't break the game, the only one thing I'm very annoyed by was changing the priests cross on the costume to a trident.......which is eerily similar to the pitchfork that the devil uses It's just a very unnecessary change, I somewhat get the female change costume and the troll face (both I don't agree with) but the cross, really? Why was it deemed bad enough to change?

[@SwiftJustice]

Because christians are _the worst_

[@julieb3240]

The left gets all of the blame for most censorship but let us not forget that this type of censorship originated with evangelicals (which explains the cross censorship), and they would probably be in agreement with these changes on a surface level, aside from the troll lips changes (if you know, you know), unless you called it woke and triggered their anti-woke programming, at which point they've be vehemently against it, but couldn't tell you why.

[@Fauntleroy.]

The trident-like symbol has been used in Dragon Quest for decades. It's not new.

[@davegb555]

I personally not care a lot about the changes except for the Troll one, and they already did that for Monsters: The Dark Prince, so I will eventually get used to it... But that's more for aesthetic rather than "politics". Censorship is not good either way, but I can understand certain things need changing if they want to get to a larger market, even though I don't want DQ to loose it's identity with lots of changes, but those particular ones are not that severe to make such a great fuss about it. I will enjoy Dragon Quest, as I did since I've been a wee lad, so screw the people that are trying to get this franchise to loose it's standing on the west again since the fans have cried out lout we want more releases here, I'm not going back to the early 2010's with no games releasing for about 8 years and missing a whole numbered entry! Good job Royo, keep it up! We will enjoy this game and the many more that'll come to the West, this won't affect us DQ Fans in the long run!

[@Fauntleroy.]

​@FF8IrvineFan_Could you be any more melodramatic?

[@Fauntleroy.]

​@FF8IrvineFan_Dude, you are a complete freak. This is like a religious thing to you. Look how manic and freaked out you are over trivial changes to a video game. You must have an incredibly easy life.

[@davegb555]

@FF8IrvineFan_ With that amount of reach you can probably get to the sun and back a couple times. It shows you didn't even read past my first statement, and that's why media does BIG TITLE and no substance, for people like you who reach so hard but see so little.

[@davegb555]

@FF8IrvineFan_ With that amount of reach you could get to the Sun and back a couple of times. That's why the mass media don't bother with writing articles anymore, just putting BIG TITLE a sprinkle of AI and done; it's for people like you who think know so much yet lack so much foresight and fail to see the point. Have a good hike, it's a long way to the Sun, and you still have a few laps.

[@shinzoux5912]

Censoring Toriyama's work is disrespectful af.

[@Delibelly99]

Clearly didn’t watch the video

[@shinzoux5912]

​@@Delibelly99 Are you retarded?

[@jackstrife3821]

Sweet baby inc's list of clients has also already proven to be false....so yeah, it is very doubtful they are involved here. Also, most Japanese companies in general don't use them....they are a lot smarter than western devs & see how unnecessary all their BS is. If you don't like the content of a game...don't play it! Very simple. Game developers exist to make fun experiences....they do NOT have to cater their creations to suite every god damn taste/orientation/preference.

[@gameingdude2266]

I don’t like the censorship however I can understand why cause of the Japanese cero rating system and also I’m just more hype for a new dragon quest game to play and hopefully if the hd 2d remakes do well we’ll get a hd 2d remake of dragon quest 4 5 and 6

[@Tw0tson]

It’s not CERO it’s the west

[@papasears1982]

you know most of us gamers play games to get away from RL bullshit and yet its always there. keep the bullshit out of games, thanks (b ' ' )b

[@CrowQuark]

Big thing too prove games not "censored" puff puff girls are still in the game. Check mate

[@bander-Coolb]

It is clearly censored wtf are you talking about even the cross was changed to a fork

[@julieb3240]

@@bander-Coolb Blame evangelicals!

[@CrowQuark]

@@bander-Coolb That was done Ages ago like soo many games back. also still does not refute my statement if the game was really censored they would have gotten rid of the puff puff girls but its already been proven that they are still in the game.

[@bander-Coolb]

Don’t buy censored games have some control guys or wait until a discount

[@Tw0tson]

So to the ppl saying “the ppl that care about this don’t even play DQ!” while this is not true, wouldn’t the people that claim to be fans of DQ care MORE about censorship of their favorite series?

[@plasmaaxis356]

@@Tw0tson to be fair like Royo pointed out, we DQ fans don’t like censorship and want the original artwork but sadly that ratings board that even Sakurai complained about is getting its way in Japan. It makes me miss back in the early 2000s like with VIII on PS2 where we didn’t have to deal with censorship.

[@Tw0tson]

⁠@@plasmaaxis356I’m talking about the comments, Royo had a good take, some of these ppl in the comments tho are just gross. Yea there was a golden era 10-15 years ago when we saw basically no censorship.

[@dukey03]

We care much MORE about the success of a new DQ game than the minor changes done to make Yuji Horii’s targeted rating level.

[@Fauntleroy.]

@@Tw0tson Are you aware that the design of the female Soldier/Warrior was tweaked decades ago when DQIII was released on the Game Boy Color? These are just adjustments and they have always been made as the culture changes over time.

[@Tw0tson]

@@Fauntleroy. it was wrong back then and it’s wrong now

[@ClankFelix]

I’ll wait to play it when it’s fan uncensored and gone back to sleep.

[@darcy7257]

A lot of the time it feels like the people who are talking about how much it doesn't matter actually just support the changes

[@haulinheavy540]

That's true, because those who are pretending that it's not a big deal are most likely for censorship because it's more adult or whining because the game does represent them.

[@solonepeon5805]

The truth will come out when Chrono Trigger gets a remake & see if Ayla will get censored etc.

[@That_one_guy449]

"what are your pronouns?" I'm type A.

[@julieb3240]

.................... bro can't tell the difference between pronouns and gender when gender is represented in types a/b structure. Oi. On second thought, maybe Type A and B might be too confusing for some.

[@gotthecutenessoverload1086]

@@julieb3240 says the person who doesn't even know they're a girl or boy.

[@MegamanNG]

This video is very well done. Like you, I'm also getting Dragon Quest III HD-2D. One of the reasons why I am is because I want Dragon Quest to succeed in the West. Thing is, this franchise struggled and struggled hard. So much so that the franchise failed twice. It failed back in 1989-92 and again in 2001. I don't want it to fail again. I don't want Square-Enix to have DQ be exclusive to Japan because they've done that. They're sabotaging it in the West and I fear there's no stopping them. That's why I'm buying this game. To show my support for this series.

[@iJakku]

If they wanna do a remake. Why not adapt it to a T? They can add more clothes on new characters and people wouldnt complain since its an original design. Wither it effect sales or not will be on them. Now for removing the trolls lips? There was nothing wrong with it!

[@ThatsRoyo]

Dragon Quest in Japan has always been considered a children's property, hence why they tend to go for the lower age rating.

[@Tyrgermanic]

The game boy color version of this exact game had female warrior censored on the American box art like 24 years ago

[@Fauntleroy.]

And nobody cared, because there wasn't a cottage industry of influencers and "thought leaders" using it as a way to gin up controversy, to make a buck and push some agenda.

[@SwiftJustice]

This is verifiably untrue. Just google that cart.

[@RachelRichards]

Wrong. Just Google the box art. The female warrior is not censored. People, do your own research.

[@Tyrgermanic]

@@RachelRichards actual fans don't have to google the box art, you hive mind follower. theres a version of the box art where she has red biker shorts

[@RachelRichards]

@@Tyrgermanic - Personal attacks are not an argument. Also not all "actual fans", a category you just made up to win an argument, played this game on the gbc or even remember the cover art. People just need to do their own research.

[@TheChoosh]

Meh. I am waiting for this game to be 50% off on sale. They made their decisions, and they don’t deserve 100% of its value for it. The JRPG market is over saturated, I can play other games. I’d be more excited if they kept Toriyama original art, even if they need a higher age rating, the fans are old farts like me. The type A, type B shit isn’t worth it. JRPGs are best when made for Japanese people, and translated for us Westerners. Game is less appealing when aimed at a global audience.

[@julieb3240]

Dragon Quest just isn't for you, I suppose.

[@michaelcrow6943]

I won't be buying it I hate censorship.

[@Gentou76]

The modern global audience rather than the one that buys the game.

[@AlpacaLipzMeow]

Last I heard, Squenix severed their relationship with Sweet Baby. They still have an internal DEI department though. That said, the censorship sucks, but is...Light...compared to what i've seen from Squenix in recent years, and from what I can see, it doesn't look as if the story beats have been messed with, nor does it seem (despite the gender neutral terms) that they have messed with the curvature of the lady type characters. All said, I changed by mind on not buying this some time ago, but will wait till the price drops. I still don't like some of these changes, but purchasing it while it is cheap will handle my distaste with those changes.

[@CalebePriester]

To me, it looks like you are trying to do, how they say, "damage control"? Yeah, I guess this is the term they use.

[@hourglass7010]

I don't know much about dragon quest bc I'm new to the series. I don't believe art should be censored. As an outsider, I got the game & I love it.

[@rainbowflash5937]

I agree. It doesn't bother me at all I personally don't care for the censoring that much the gameplay is there and that's why I buy these games. Though I must say the Body Type A and B was kinda hard to understand cause the sprites look very much the same and I couldn't see a gender. Maybe that was even the intention.

[@Lyoko42o]

@3:02-3:15 what are these two games?!

[@eddievelez4723]

first one is Dragon Quest Treasures and the second is Dragon Quest X

[@HonestEmillHead]

Thank god this game is gonna launch on pc so modders can fix all this censure shit.

[@liquidmetalslime9]

This video needs MILLIONS of views to shut all of these uninformed people up that are trying to hijack this game to use for their gripes about the world or some culture war. You came with FACTS and really shed light and how this has nothing to do with DEI, sweetbaby or any of that other nonsense., These changes have been going on for years. Glad you brought up CERO and the 3DS remake of 8. I just subbed, always happy to find new DQ content and content creators

[@Tw0tson]

He didn’t say it had “nothing to do with DEI” he explicitly said some changes were made for a “global audience”, who is this global audience? Western leftists who are obsessed with diversity equity and inclusion.

[@mups4016]

I don't have an issue with changing a character's design, but goddamn they did warrior dirty. she looks REALLY lame now. They could've tried harder like how smash bros did with pyra and mythra.

[@julieb3240]

He didn't like something you said, so he told you to be quiet. He appears selective about his feelings on censorship. ^.~

[@bgeezus3955]

Nah man the og was T for teen they chose to change it because they chose to want to have the game slide into the E category to sell more. Well everyone who played it as a kid who couldn't buy it themselves would go iut and buy in droves for nostalgia they'd still sell way more than the og and first remake. Also stateside parents get their children gtaV...the game would have sold regarldess. Hoping someone mods it to be "unchanged" soon. The "wrecking ball" instead of magic bomb is so stupid. It's not just costume changes and body a/b. The original dialog was gender neutral in the beginning and now it just has to say she, im not bothered it says she im bothered it's not really a "remake" it's more "revised"

[@duffystrings9680]

Sweet baby inc is just 1 of the many companies pushing dei. My friend, it feels like you're being obtuse. Also, investors and banks that fund these games and companies require you to push dei/esg in order to get the loan for your project.

[@irregulargamer1352]

this is the root cause of it. There is a good chance that many of these companies would flat out get rid any sort of dei hire and teams and simply add in a censored/non censored option to have everyone happy but unfortunately they must have things this way otherwise they do not get financial benefits from corporations pushing this stuff. It doesn't help that these people must also hyper scrutinize every detail to find something to justify their existence.

[@dreamcast2k1]

I feel like some of the changes should have been changed region to region cus I’m pretty sure the esrb wouldn’t have too much of a problem with the game

[@JohnAGalvanArt]

In all honesty this is just a lot of nothing, it's finally coming out, that's all that matters, I'm excited.

[@Dwellerinshadow]

Careful, some people will accuse you of not being a real fan if you're not furious about the most trivial shit imaginable ;p

[@JohnAGalvanArt]

@@Dwellerinshadow let's gatekeep together ❤️ Aw yeah, bring on the puff puff 👀

[@TheReZisTLust]

It took me a second to find out what the issue of the warrior lady was, like i immediately thought ow her wawas when she didnt have at least cloth 🤭 We all just anime weebs at the end of the day lmao

[@julieb3240]

It's my most anticipated game of the year. I can't wait to see the new cutscenes and story bits that help it tie better into the other two games in the trilogy. Eek. Can't wait!

[@mcsweatshop]

This looks amazing I don’t even see any changes

[@andr0zzsenpai]

Honestly that the rating thing STILL doesn't adress the troll lips situation.

[@CeliriaRose]

Stuff like that is more just the devs erring on the side of caution. Even if it wasn't intended that way it vaguely resembles black face and they know the comparisons will be made. Same way that the city of Isis in the game now has the unintended connotation of the real world group regardless of the fact that it's also an egyptian goddess. And since neither aspect from the devs persepctive are that vital or important to the overall game it's just easier to nip it at the bud and avoid the potential comparisons rather than stand their ground over something so minor. Basically a case of "is this a hill they are willing to fight on?" and when it comes to things like the color of the trolls lips or the name of a city that can easily be tweaked while still keeping to the theming the answer they clearly came to is that no it's not worth the time or effort to make a fuss over and try to keep. If it was a detail that was more pivotal or important to them they might make a stand about it but since it's not they just made the change and moved on.

[@ThatsRoyo]

I should of have brought up points regarding the troll lips, it's on me that I chose to tie it with the female warrior, but to explain this is kind of a self censor by the devs, because they want to make the series a more global property, they want to make changes that they deem to be sensible in a global sense. The best example I can give is similar to how in the Pokemon anime, Brock was replaced by Tracey in season 2 and how Jinx change from black to purple. It's on me that I didn't provide specific examples.

[@RachelRichards]

I guess piranha plants need their lips censored too. Oh and Cell's second form!

[@RachelRichards]

@@julieb3240 - Looks like I struck a nerve.

[@julieb3240]

@@RachelRichards I deleted my comment because it was mean. At least you're getting the game. I can respect that.

[@OldKingCl4ncy]

Wait, so the trolls ARE based on black people but when you remove the lips we cant tell anymore?

[@bonrulapaugh7164]

If it doesnt have the board game, thats pretty fucking lame also.

[@julieb3240]

I'm kinda glad. I didn't like that in any of the games. D: < It always felt like a bump in the road that kept me from progressing the story and doing other stuff I liked more.

[@julieb3240]

Should be noted that this is the only legitimate complaint in this entire thread of type-a incelery, thus far.

[@bonrulapaugh7164]

@@julieb3240 nah it was fun, you could get stat ups on the boards and it was something else to do

[@bonrulapaugh7164]

@@julieb3240 the boards also had charm to em

[@julieb3240]

@@bonrulapaugh7164 That's fair. I just saw them as another thing to min-max and I was obsessive about it, so it felt more mandatory than fun. I can see how some people would like it though. It was a series staple at one point.

[@casplays2318]

I was excited, but im so tired of censorship and people want to change such redundant silly thing that it makes me wonder what other small things they might censor that could be good and fun. TLDR im tired of censorship and unnecessary changes. I will just try to finish my 200+ hr DQ 11 game.

[@themangacomicfan]

The censorship in dq3 hd 2d is making think twice about buying this game but at the same time i want to support dragon quest because i want more dragon quest and am worried that if i don't buy dq3 hd 2d and if it doesn't sell well it might tank the franchise and stop us getting anything dragon quest in the furture so i think am buying dq3 hd 2d

[@Lyoko42o]

@1:10 why censor troll lips? Makes no sense..whats the issue?

[@steaksmash33]

Idk why he said the trolls lips are censored it's just a troll lmao

[@julieb3240]

Cause of the connotations to how old art depicted certain individuals of color. I don't care about this change, even though it seems unnecessary. I wouldn't have noticed until it was pointed out.

[@julieb3240]

@FF8IrvineFan_ Not you trying to censor me. No one is getting stabbed. You're being dramatic. Most of these anti-censorship warriors are the ones that don't care about real issues. They're too hung up on stuff like this. I however am able to put things in perspective, and relatively speaking, it's not that big a deal. I don't have to like every little change, but why am I going to punish myself over inconsequential things? People like you have existed since forever. I was like you. Censorship comes and goes. You'll get mods on the PC version and none of this will matter. I mean, for the same reason many games that don't have legacies like Dragon Quest get hate over being woke, and people like you are the one's calling for censorship in those scenarios, maybe you should back off, and we can all respect each other's visions. What you have here is people who want to censor artistic expression by calling everything woke fighting against people who are actively working to counter your discrimination and then they end up overcompensating with things like this. Both sides fuel each other. I'm glad I'm not part of it.

[@steaksmash33]

@FF8IrvineFan_ slobbering violent subhuman? Nobody said that but you you racist bitch

[@steaksmash33]

@FF8IrvineFan_ what race? It is a troll

[@NissenFundoplication]

who cares

[@Tyrgermanic]

Those people complaining don't actually play Dragon Quest. They're fans of whining about DEI not playing DQ.

[@shytendeakatamanoir9740]

Someone in one comment section called them "outrage tourists", and I really like that term

[@SeveraLF]

Seriously, yesterday I saw someone outrage because it’s called Alltrades Abbey instead of Temple of Dharma or whatever. Like bruh they changed that in 2009 you tourist

[@Dwellerinshadow]

@@SeveraLF While I never liked that particular change, it's something that ultimately won't prevent anyone from enjoying a release. I agree that someone acting like this is a new change and a big deal probably doesn't know anything about this series :)

[@Fauntleroy.]

@@shytendeakatamanoir9740 It's a useful term. I'm a Green Day fan--after Green Day made a reference to MAGA during their New Year's Eve performance, our spaces were flooded with people complaining about the band, the members, the fans, etc. All saying how they'd never buy another Green Day record and all that. We'd never seen them before, and once the news story blew over, we never saw them again. "Tourists" is exactly what they are. They have a bone to pick that has nothing to do with the fandoms they invade, it's just another chance for them to beat their chests about their silly issue.

[@omensoffate]

I play dragon quest and censoring the game and getting rid of genders is stupid so no you are wrong

[@conradojavier7547]

Sweet Baby or Not, Censoring Dragon Quest 3 is Tone Deaf, when Only of the Creators is Dead.

[@finnewar]

i will play the old one.

[@anixhoffman9631]

I really like the changes. I can't wait for the game !

[@finnewar]

i will play the old one.

[@guruthosamarthruin4459]

Whether or not 1 specific DEI company is involved in this is irrelevant.

[@travispowell4819]

Thank you for this video. Thumbs up, and a subscribe.

[@Crusader228]

All I want to know is the bikini still in the game? 😅

[@shawnsindulfoabellana3912]

Watching right now

[@ARocketFromSpaceshipEarth]

The infection is spreading.

[@julieb3240]

the self-titled sigmas are at it again!

[@somagai467]

"I don't mind the senseless and arbitrary changes to this thing I like. So it's a good thing and people that criticize it aren't "real" fans. Also if you disagree with me you're a bigot of some sort." Seeing a lot of this in the comments. Not gonna bother watching the video because the audio quality is piss poor.

[@ricorosson5752]

This. This absolutely. The gaslighting from them is fuggkin unreal.

[@AntiRiku]

​@@ricorosson5752 It's all they can do. They can't defend their position so they try to downplay it with a bunch of snarky remarks in a desperate attempt to shut down the conversation. That's why it's ALWAYS a waste of time trying to engage. They're as disingeneous as they come.

[@ricorosson5752]

@@AntiRiku Agreed

[@julieb3240]

I haven't seen anyone call you guys bigots. Just incels who cry over inconsequentials.

[@KageReya]

Scwur Enix??

[@JM-tj5qm]

The orc lips change was dumb. But the female warrior? I actually prefer the "censored" design. The old one looks a bit ridiculous, she is naked and wearing plate armor over bare skin? That sounds super uncomfortable. And you can clearly see she has no underwear so is she just adventuring with her genitalia exposed to the elements? The new one just makes way more sense. And Imo, it even looks better, the colors are more balanced, and the outfit looks more interesting.

[@spencersholden]

I truly do not care that they slightly modified the artwork. It changes nothing accept makes the armor look more comfortable to wear. It just looks like an updated design you would see for a remake of an older game.

[@gotthecutenessoverload1086]

You'd probably love it if they made all the characters wear hijabs too, huh?

[@gligarguy4010]

The removal of "gender" was inevitable. Nintendo has done this for multiple of their franchises now, and it's only worked out well for them, so others were bound to follow suit.

[@Vandalieu]

Apparently it had already been done in some previous games.

[@CeliriaRose]

The thing is they didn't even remove gender. They changed a menu. In game dialogue still uses gendered terms like referring to the main character as Ortega's son/daughter so really it's not even the level of issue people have been claiming. It's just a menu which as the video mentioned isn't even a new thing for the franchise.

[@planguy9575]

@@CeliriaRose But if it is not a big deal why do it?

[@paperluigi6132]

@@planguy9575give them an inch, they take a mile. This is about stamping out the weed before it becomes overgrowth.

[@Fauntleroy.]

​@@paperluigi6132It's a video game, dude. You act like this is the United Nations Security Council passing binding resolutions when it's a damn video game. Get a grip.

[@yoavitanzehavy6244]

This is stupidity, DQ11 released after 8 remake and didn't have any censorships that 8 had, there are outfits in 11 that aren't censored at all.

[@danyygaming8544]

Someone can please answer me this. There was also content removed if i'm correct? I read it and now i can't find it. Like there was a specific side quest and character and dialog that was completly removed. Can someone confirm this?

[@simonkwee]

When a video is made about censorship it's of tantamount importance the information and sources are correct and misinform the public regardless of whether it was done intentionally or not.

[@Domanese]

I'm gonna buy Dragon Quest 3 HD 2d remake.

[@finnewar]

i will play the old one.

[@micahlindley7515]

I got it for my birthday. Love it.

[@plasmaaxis356]

Damn I loved hearing Royo call out a certain someone for said stance on Toriyama’s artwork 🤣🤣🤣☠️☠️☠️

[@rorkan138]

Didn't know about this at all and don't care about it though. To each their own though.

[@Forteoverload]

"Oh no they put more clothes on the women" -some of yall

[@praisethesunnyd6933]

Pretty much this which the gender one I'm fine with especially if it has the chance of having the Vamp personality in males this time so anybody could be cracked in the game. The troll one I don't care much on and the warrior I wouldn't have notice the change until someone mentioned it especially on the crop top, it could be better which they had before but all of these aren't gonna kill my interest in the remake. It is annoying to see grifters out there and at least some are pushing back which hey I still want this to do good in sales which Japan might not be an issue but the west I want it to do decent so we don't go back to what it used to be with how the monster games on 3ds never came to the west.

[@xdcksgmd37]

Censoring the game is dumb, boycotting the game for the censorship is equally dumb

[@shadowdancer2543]

What a dumb comment.

[@micahlindley7515]

My thoughts exactly. It all just seems like ragebait to get people to harass other people.

[@dukey03]

Thanks for the shoutout brudda! 💪

[@ThatsRoyo]

Of course

[@HirokiPlays]

I just find it funny how in an attempt to not offend people, they end up offending people. Just goes to show that no matter what you do, people are gonna find a reason to be offended.

[@SwiftJustice]

*weak people

[@julieb3240]

Most people are indifferent. The offended people are just as weird as the people who thought the censorship was needed in the first place. From where I'm standing, it's two sides of the same coin, and I'm just here, waiting impatiently for it to be November already. Then I remember my brother in law and his family are visiting for Thanksgiving, and I'm like.. ugh, I guess I can wait. I might not even play til they leave, because I don't think I can beat it in 14 days because I want to savor it, and I don't want to have to pause and play host with my addiction distracting me in the back of my mind. A bit of a tangent, but that's the kind of stuff a lot of us are thinking about... not inconsequential changes.

[@HirokiPlays]

@@julieb3240 Best of luck to you stranger, hope you have a great time enjoying the game. I'm also looking forward to it.

[@sadracklimon2999]

Sorry Royo, gonna have to dislike this video. Like Jedux said, can’t support censorship. If you do. It will only get worse from here. You’re feeding a monster and are letting them test the water with how complacent fans are. Real fans will never be complacent unless the original material is respected. For III HD2D, I’m just gonna borrow Plasma’s copy. I cancelled my pre order. If it succeeds, then that’s fine. I’ll only pray these issues don’t get worse from here on out if my favorite DQ games are remade like IV, V and IX.

[@ThatsRoyo]

hey it's fine to not buy anything for any reason, as I said before it's your money spend it as you choose

[@sadracklimon2999]

@@ThatsRoyo yeah if the censorship gets any worse from here on out with other HD2D remasters, I just want to be able to say I didn’t contribute to it at least

[@Fauntleroy.]

​@@sadracklimon2999The changes to this game are so incredibly minor. WTF are you even talking about?

[@sadracklimon2999]

@@Fauntleroy. I never said they weren’t minor, I’m saying if we are complacent with even minor changes they won’t be afraid to make the censorship worse

[@michaelcrow6943]

@Fauntleroy Minor or not we will never accept censorship. You give them an inch they will end up taking a mile.

[@kap1618]

If the outfits are too spicy then why not just raise the game's rating to M. Most DQ fans are adults anyway. I guess M rated games can't be advertised as hard as T rated ones.

[@CeliriaRose]

Because they don’t want to raise the games rating. Dragon Quest as a series has consistently targeted an everyone to teen type of demographic. Raising the age rating loses that accessibility to youbger audiences the series has always strived for.

[@julieb3240]

You kind of made me think of something relevant to the topic at hand. Many people are blaming the west for these changes, but there has also been a movement in Japan that has led to many people speaking out about scantily clad anime girl cut outs in public places to promote Japan on social media and there was even a recent incident where boys went viral for groping Ghibli characters at a theme park, being rather explicit with their gestures. Some don't know, but they've had a culture that accepted sexual harassments for the longest time and it's only now that they drew the connection, correct or otherwise, that the open embracing of this lewdness had convinced some men that it's ok to treat women and girls in this manner; the manner that anime had portrayed them, as something to be lusted over and groped at will. This is why you have women only trains and women only areas, because men who grew up on this stuff somehow think its acceptable to touch young girls and women non-consensually. They even have a term called "chikan" which means non-consensual bodily contact, because the incidence of sexual assault is so prevalent. There's another term "chikan ikan" which means "pervert, leave off/go away", because it happens so frequently. Even in the anime landscape, there used to be a lot of nudity in primetime shows, and it was treated as normal, but it went from something innocent to something lewd and sexually explicit on some other level, so most anime with nudity cannot be aired unless it's a real late time slot. Back then it was common to see anime breasts and what have you in anime, but you rarely see nudity in the modern shows. Their culture has changed. They too are looking at things like the female warrior art for Dragon Quest, with the eyes of a culture that has changed, and feel it might not be appropriate for children, or that it might send the wrong message about how women are portrayed. Yuji Hori is ok with these changes, because he makes these games for a huge audience. They're supposed to be for everyone, and yes that includes kids and non-binary individuals. The JRPG has always been about justice and inclusivity, even though it has moments of lewdness dispersed throughout the genres history. I won't argue whether the correlation between these scantily clad anime girls is legitimate, but they seem to think so, because portrayals of nude, and underage characters in questionable situations, attire, or poses is something they too are cognizant of, and have made changes to rectify what it might encourage in certain people. I will assert that the sexualization of minors is wrong though, and that's something I won't bend on. I personally don't find the original female warrior art harmful, but the same Japanese that made the original Dragon Quest 3 is not the same Japan today. It's not merely the west exerting our will over them, however, as many think. There are ramifications to letting certain weak-minded individuals think that works of fiction should be pushed into the realm of reality, as they see it. Embracing sexuality is great, but Type As seem to ignore the fine line between admiration and violating consent. If you've seen what the nape of a women's neck does to them, wait til they see a barely clothed chick, anime or otherwise. It could be a case of a few ruining it for everyone else, but I digress, this is why we can't have nice things. This direction might be misguided but they're doing their best to discourage SA, and they are bound to get some things wrong along the way.

[@guruthosamarthruin4459]

I can handle small amounts of this stuff here and there, but when there are so many red flags like this popping up, I expect it to be the tip of the iceberg. It all adds up, and it made me cancel my preorder for this game like I did for FF7 Rebirth before it. It doesn't help that it's SquareEnix, who has an AWFUL history of this stuff in recent history. My trust of that company is so low that I'm about to just put them on my "black list" altogether.

[@emmiranda2]

Vote with your wallet

[@haulinheavy540]

I've been looking at other games to pick up because I don't like having DEI or censorship in some of these newer games these days, I've been a fan of DQ (don't say I'm not cause I own their games and merch) for some time but there are plenty of other rpg games out there and competitions only gonna get tougher.

[@julieb3240]

Dragon Quest has about as much of a chance of failing as Hogwarts Legacy did. If you're of the boycott mentality, you're on the losing side. Most people don't let anything get between them and their game crack, valid criticism or not. At best this hurts the western sales, but I'd even say that's incredibly unlikely. Buy the game if you wanna play it, and if its really that serious to you, then don't.

[@guruthosamarthruin4459]

@@julieb3240 Okay, I won't. Have a nice day.

[@julieb3240]

@@guruthosamarthruin4459 You don't have to announce your exit, but don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you. There are ways to get it for free, if you even care. That should at least allow you to rationalize it from a morality standpoint, however that works. It's genuinely not that serious.

[@АлександрПушкин-ы3т]

Vote for Trump, Trump will stop the war in Ukraine.

[@QuercusQuest]

Lol and give in with what dictator putin wants? That only helps Putin, no one else

[@travispowell4819]

The reasons to hate this game, are the realm of simple minded gamers. Nothing that is being changed is worth, not buying this game over.

[@Fauntleroy.]

I really don't see this as censorship. "Censorship" is when an outside party, like a government, either makes alterations to your work without your consent, or demands that you make changes to your work in order for that work to be shared with the public. Refusal to comply means you don't get to publish. This is a very different thing from a company voluntarily making changes to its own product because it senses that things in the culture have changed over the last 40 years. It's fine if you don't like the changes or think they're silly. That's a reasonable take. But anyone who sees this as Dragon Quest somehow losing its soul needs to touch grass STAT.

[@Vandalieu]

It's especially strange when these design changes were made since 2015, just check out Stars.

[@mzxa9988]

semantics lmao, this censorship IS censorship, bro trying to play words to justify it is not censorship. If you want to buy it go ahead, those who doesnt want to buy it go ahead, but pretending it is not censorship is funny af

[@Fauntleroy.]

​@@mzxa9988It literally isn't censorship, though. Words mean things.

[@RachelRichards]

It's self-censorship.

[@Fauntleroy.]

@FF8IrvineFan_ It's literally not, though.

[@hassanfawaz8322]

bullshit detected. Armor project does own the dragon quest IP but they dont call the shots for every title made, Square does.