What the HECK?!? US Kingdom Hearts 2 is CENSORED!!

[saiya-jin]

Thats right folks, for those of you who don't know, the US version has been censored!:mad ! There appears to be censoring in Many parts of the game!

Besides typical English localization, the English version of Kingdom Hearts II differs from the original Japanese version.
The Hydra has its green blood from the Japanese version changed into black and purple smoke in the English version.
Xigbar's telescopic sight view has been edited from the Japanese version to replace its crosshair with three circles and remove the black shading around the sides that implied a telescopic sight.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Censorship2-US.JPG
The guns of pirates found in the Pirates of the Carribean world in the Japanese version have been altered into crossbows.
Scenes in the Pirates of the Carribean world have been edited to remove some of the violence. In one instance, Jack Sparrow is stabbed in the chest by Barbossa. The sword sticking from his chest and the blood dripping from his eyes are edited out.
Undead pirates do not react adversely to Fire magic as they would in the Japanese version.

This info was taken from wikipedia.com

[CrazyMoronX]

I thought they stopped censoring games a long time ago. What a load of crap. Must just be because it's Disney, and some pansy children cried and the parents sued someone.

:mad

[Dattebayo]

If it's true, it's unfortunate, but given how things run in America, unfortunately a lot of these companies have to take precautions to avoid any unfavorable responses or legal issues.

[n8dogg]

This was actually done so that the game wouldn't be bumped up to a Teen rating by the ESRB.

They're already pushing the E 10+ rating by involving alcohol (Barbossa's scene) and some blood (On the gold coins in Pirates of the Carribean).

The only censorship that kinda irked me was not seeing a sword in Jack's gut... although I don't know why he would have blood coming out of his eyes. It definately wasn't like that in the movie!

[thegame2009]

True enough. I wouldn't let this bother me. If you want to play a game with lots of blood and gore play god of war.

[saiya-jin]

Speaking of which, does anyone have a clip of the scene where Jack gets stabbed?


The censorship can't be because of Disney, because POC is a Disney movie, I haven't seen it, but isnt' there that kind of stuff in it anyway?

[Dattebayo]

It could've been an overal decision by Square to keep the rating lower, realizing that w/ the Disney themes, a lot of the audience could be younger.

[CrazyMoronX]

This is a cartoon looking game, little kids would play this more than they would watch that movie, wasn't it rated pg-13 or something?

Anyway, I think it's a load of crap. They used to censor a lot of the Final Fantasy games too, which was pretty dumb.

[crazymtf]

Are you serious? How can you have Goku in your picture and declare this has bad cencorship...

[Hyuuga Neji]

I thought they stopped censoring games a long time ago. What a load of crap. Must just be because it's Disney, and some pansy children cried and the parents sued someone.

:mad

they have made so many retarded decisions just because some assholes want to sue a company for no reason but making them get some cash and piss off the entire rest of the population.

even naruto is somewhat "borderline" on CN (i think)

[Ssj3_Goku]

If it's true, it's unfortunate, but given how things run in America, unfortunately a lot of these companies have to take precautions to avoid any unfavorable responses or legal issues.


yea just like GTA should have now they are getting fined up there rear end.

* 5800th POST* :dance

[Dattebayo]

they have made so many retarded decisions just because some assholes want to sue a company for no reason but making them get some cash and piss off the entire rest of the population.

even naruto is somewhat "borderline" on CN (i think)

It's really not a "retarded decision," 'cuz unfortunately, most of the time, it is the only decision they can make - either that or get slapped by tons of legal fees or really bad publicity when some random kid decides to take things too far and the parents decide to blame his games instead of their lack of attention. It can't be helped though, and at the end it's better to make a not-so-popular decision and still make games, than go bankrupt and not make games at all.

[Obito Shisui]

I kind of feel like crying now because I bought the game on Saturday. I hope they make a remake of it uncensored. $54.00 dollars down the drain!!!!!!!!!:cry

[n8dogg]

If they wanted to, they could have made the game much more violent. However, that would give them a "Teen" rating -- a rating that isolates a portion of their target audience.

Part of Kingdom Hearts' success lies within the broad appeal of the game. The parents like their kids playing a relatively bloodless and language-free game, while the kids themselves like to fight alongside Disney characters. Meanwhile, the older gamers can enjoy the great storyline, as well as cameos from various Final Fantasy characters. In order to keep a content rating that reflects that broad appeal, they had to make some small sacrifices.

I don't see what the big deal is, really.

And it's not like they completely kiddified the game. I see that Will Turner and Jack still had their guns. Characters were shot off screen, of course, but who cares?

Although you didn't see Jack get stabbed, it was implied. You know he got hurt just from hearing his grunt and seeing his expression.

I can't believe you guys are complaining about something so minor. There's no reason to go up in arms or bash Disney for this. It was just good business thinking.

I'm not playing this game for a bloody gore fest. I'm playing it to experience the crazy story, as well as immerse myself into my favorite Disney movies. My breath was taken away when I saw how faithfully and beautifully the graphic artists captured the Ballroom from Beast's Castle. I seriously had to pick my jaw up off the floor.

Jesus, it's as though I'm in the English Naruto section of the forums.

I kind of feel like crying now because I bought the game on Saturday. I hope they make a remake of it uncensored. $54.00 dollars down the drain!!!!!!!!!:cry

Are you serious??!

An "uncut" version of the game would be BARELY any different from the original release! I can't believe you're actually saying this!

Jesus CHRIST!

[Jink]

fuck this shit I doub its true, why would they censor green blood? and crosshairs? that makes no sense. It better not be true...

[Obito Shisui]

n8dogg- Your right, I just wasn't thinking straight once I heard and saw it to be true. :amuse :haha

[Dattebayo]

Yeah, I mean yeah sure, it sucks that things have to be censored, but I'd hope that the gameplay, plot of the game is what makes the game so great, and not a 3 second clip where smoke instead of blood comes out. If it's blood you're looking for, get a different game.

[Supreme Alchemist Fan]

Some kids are tormented by blood from past situations in they're life.

[Vegitto-kun]

Oh well I will just have to wait for the european version, our ratings are looser and most games that are censored in america are uncensored here.

[crazymtf]

Who cares!? It doesn't change the game -_-

[Psysalis]

this is probly payback since the japanese version of kh1 didnt get sephiroth as an extra boss and the u.s. did :nod , lol i dunno

[BladeofTheChad]

Japanese got Sephiroth when they made the Kingdom Hearts Final mix version of the game(the best version of KH)

[Psysalis]

*sigh* nevermind , they always get the better stuff :cry

[Personal Jesus]

None of the changes are dramatic enough to affect the story or gameplay, so I'm not all that bothered.

[o0oEnderIlleso0o]

Haha! You act SUPRISED that the US version of something got censored! XD

[SeruraRenge]

this makes me wonder: was the US version of KH1 cersored in any way?

Also, I'm kind of happy that the pirates no longer run around when on fire, cuz it made them a pain in the ass to kill.

[Hokage Naruto]

The US censors everything these days. I was supposed to get Kingdom Hearts 2 since everyone in my school is talking about. When I get it, everyone will be finished with it. Thats what happened with all the games I have. I hear the opening is amazing, my friend said she saw it twice; it was that good.

[Jones]

as long as the storyline of the game doesnt change i'm fine with it. if it was something big like changing sora's keyblades into giant pencils or something. (better for the kids)

[n8dogg]

But like I said, the only thing I noticed being censored without having a goddamn list in front of me was not seeing a sword stuck through Jack's stomach, and Will Turner not pointing the gun at his head when he threatened to kill himself.

And yes, fuck Japan. Goddamn little pricks get everything now-a-days.

[The Sandwich Prince]

Only because Americans are sensitive and greedy.

[Yoshitsune]

well it is disney. u cant have mickey slicing off the heads of a heartless now can u?

[Vegitto-kun]

well it is disney. u cant have mickey slicing off the heads of a heartless now can u?
I am pretty sure that he does o_O

[n8dogg]

Yeah, actually. Mickey kicks a lot of ass in this game. I'm so glad they made him badass like they did.

Who here thinks the animators were inspired after watching Star Wars Episode 2?

[SeruraRenge]

Yeah, actually. Mickey kicks a lot of ass in this game. I'm so glad they made him badass like they did.

Who here thinks the animators were inspired after watching Star Wars Episode 2?
I think everyone noticed the Mickey-Yoda connection when you use him against Cerberus (since he has a little robe too).

[saiya-jin]

Yeah, I noticed the connection too.

It isn't that I care alot about the censoring, it is just that I don't like having stuff left out of things. It always feels like something is missing. Its just a pet peeve I have. Like when they show short versions of funny commercials that are originally long.

And about complaining about this when I have DBZ in my avatar, I watch my Dragonball uncut. The only time I watch it edited is when it is on TV(except when CN played the ultimate uncuts.) and when my brother buys his own movies(our parents don't let him watch uncut.). Besides that, I watch unedited when I can.

I just hate it when the US picks on small things in video games when there are hookers, drug dealers, "Hot Coffee", and many other worse things in other games, TV, and even real life.

EDIT: Oh, and Hokage Naruto, the opening is in my sig if you wanna watch it.

[Seany]

I am not that bothered about the blood, but i don't know why they edited guns out when they didn't edit the shotgun in deep jungle last time.

[n8dogg]

Yeah, I noticed the connection too.

It isn't that I care alot about the censoring, it is just that I don't like having stuff left out of things. It always feels like something is missing. Its just a pet peeve I have. Like when they show short versions of funny commercials that are originally long.

And about complaining about this when I have DBZ in my avatar, I watch my Dragonball uncut. The only time I watch it edited is when it is on TV(except when CN played the ultimate uncuts.) and when my brother buys his own movies(our parents don't let him watch uncut.). Besides that, I watch unedited when I can.

I just hate it when the US picks on small things in video games when there are hookers, drug dealers, "Hot Coffee", and many other worse things in other games, TV, and even real life.

EDIT: Oh, and Hokage Naruto, the opening is in my sig if you wanna watch it.

Oh man. You just don't get it.

SquareEnix didn't HAVE to censor all that stuff out. But had they not censored it, the game would have received a Teen rating. Teen. As in, teenagers. But KH2 is s'posed to be for everyone. Hence the rating they shot for, and received.

I really don't see what the beef is all about. I don't mind censored anime, censored films, censored games, as long as the actual story is intact.

Symbolic violence, like blood on the Aztec coins in Pirates of the Carribean (which wasn't censored, by the way) should never be censored, as it plays a pivitol role in the story. But if they want to replace green blood with black and purple smoke (which I think creates an infinately cooler effect) then it's fine by me.

And just to let you know, you sound JUST like Jack Thompson. :notrust

[saiya-jin]

Oh man. You just don't get it.

SquareEnix didn't HAVE to censor all that stuff out. But had they not censored it, the game would have received a Teen rating. Teen. As in, teenagers. But KH2 is s'posed to be for everyone. Hence the rating they shot for, and received...And just to let you know, you sound JUST like Jack Thompson. :notrust

It isn't that I care alot about the censoring, it is just that I don't like having stuff left out of things. It always feels like something is missing. Its just a pet peeve I have. Like when they show short versions of funny commercials that are originally long.

I understood why they did it, and it is reasonable. I am just saying there are worse things in the world.

By the way, I don't know who Jack Thompson is, but how can I sound like him if we are on an online forum?:nod

[Vegitto-kun]

I understood why they did it, and it is reasonable. I am just saying there are worse things in the world.

By the way, I don't know who Jack Thompson is, but how can I sound like him if we are on an online forum?:nod
Crazy ass law guy that thinks games are the devil and that he is a soldier of god sent to reveal the terrors of games and ban every voilent game

[saiya-jin]

Crazy ass law guy that thinks games are the devil and that he is a soldier of god sent to reveal the terrors of games and ban every voilent game

Oh...



Well I am not trying to reveal the terrors of games. I don't think they are evil.(except for E.T. thats evil.)

[Shogun]

You USA cats should be pleased that you have the game. Goodness knows when it is coming out in Europe.

[saiya-jin]

I think in the fall.

[ziBBy]

America is a lot more strict in our rating systems and what we allow our kids to be indulged in. IMO the reason is that America is more of a peaceful country (or we claim to be) and Japan has for centuries been a country of honor and war. Samurais are a very good example of this. Like I said this is my own opinion. All I can say is at least we got the game and now the story line is much more complete in my mind.

[Dattebayo]

America is a lot more strict in our rating systems and what we allow our kids to be indulged in. IMO the reason is that America is more of a peaceful country (or we claim to be) and Japan has for centuries been a country of honor and war. Samurais are a very good example of this. Like I said this is my own opinion. All I can say is at least we got the game and now the story line is much more complete in my mind.

Hrm... I wouldn't really attribute it to that, it runs deeper than that. I think if anything, I think if anything it's more about the religious culture that separates the East and West. America was founded on Judeo-Christian values, which has profound effects on how we (as a people) view things such as violence, right & wrong, objectionable material, etc. Japan, which was not introduced to such thinkings and had their own philosophies and culture, views things much differently.

But the issue here isn't even the rating system, per se. It's not any organization that's keeping Square from releasing the original game - if anything, I'd say it prob. deals more with our legal system and corporate responsibility. The fact is, in the US, a company is much more liable for their products, and Americans seem much more eager to involve themselves in frivolous lawsuits, in playing the blame game when something goes wrong, etc. At the end, it was Square's decision to "censor" the game, to prevent itself from having to deal w/ possible litigation and legal troubles and help minimize bad publicity from occuring. Also, meeting a lower rating will help it open up more to a younger audience (which Square sees as an important segment to open itself to, at least for this game).

[BladeofTheChad]

dude sayjin, none of you Kingdom Hearts Chronicles movies work for me :(... think they might be on you tube or video google?

[saiya-jin]

Here is the first one BOI, it's on Youtube.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ywh7iyshkCk&search=Kingdom%20Hearts%20Chronicles

[BladeofTheChad]

thanks a lot...

[ziBBy]

That's very true... your point about the legal system especially. It seems like many people in the higher up positions would like to see gaming reduced to beating a cardboard box with a stick (which they may still find violent). I can understand why Rockstar is getting a lot of heat due to their some what unneccesary violence... that for some reason we all find fun and appealing. But like I said as long as we have the game it doesn't bother me that we got a censored version.

[The Pink Ninja]

I'm currently praying the European version doesn't get such censorship.

[Dattebayo]

Yeah def. It's just such a shame that there are people out there that don't take responsibility and when so undiscipline kid goes too far and gets him or whoever else hurt, you got a bunch of poor parents, senators, or whoever, instantly looking to blame video games, tv, or whatever. It really does ruin it for everyone else that knows the difference between a game and reality.

[Dattebayo]

Haha, Europe has censorship? Lol, if half the content that you see on European magazines and television even TRIED to appear on American channels... o_O

[ziBBy]

Anyone that bases their life off of video games that heavily and goes out immitating last night GTA killing spree.... had problems to begin with. Blaming video games is not the answer. Honestly IMO the parents are to blame for letting their children indulge themselves in violence. When I have children (god forbid anytime soon) I am going to let them pretty much play any video game they want as long as it doesn't have nude men and women running around and/or sexual scenes. And if I see that the video games are having an impact on the way they behave then BAM! Bye bye Halo hello Elmo's World of Counting.

[Dattebayo]

Well that was the problem with GTA though... it did have sexual scenes... or as close as you can get to one.

[Feathers!]

I think those things are minor if the storyline is not affected and the game stays in tact. Im not big on KH though. I much prefer an offline Final Fantasy or another Wind Waker.

[ziBBy]

Yeah... Hot Coffee..... wow. The God of War sex "game" was kind of unneccesary too and I'm very suprised that it hasn't gotten any attention from "AMAE" (angry mothers against everything) yet.

[n8dogg]

Actually, God of War had much more in the violence and sex department than GTA did.

Full blown topless nudity, three way sex mini game...

"Hot Coffee" (I'm getting real sick of that name) wasn't even normally accessible!

Strange, it is.

I'm currently praying the European version doesn't get such censorship.

Man... I tell you...

Since when did green blood matter to a game? I barely noticed the censorship! I thought the pirates normally used crossbows!

:huh

[ZE]

Square-enix disappointed me with this, I didn’t expect suck thing from the best software house in the world.

[Hyuuga Neji]

It's really not a "retarded decision," 'cuz unfortunately, most of the time, it is the only decision they can make - either that or get slapped by tons of legal fees or really bad publicity when some random kid decides to take things too far and the parents decide to blame his games instead of their lack of attention. It can't be helped though, and at the end it's better to make a not-so-popular decision and still make games, than go bankrupt and not make games at all.

i am not critisizing the fact that they made the decision, i am critizising the decision's content. it's retarded because the person who sued the company wanted it that way and they had no choice than to accept

@GTA debate, another example of some jackasses just because a SECRET scene that you DONT NORMALLY SEE and that you NEED A SPECIAL DEVICE to see is "ecchi", the whole game gets rated "adult oriented"

[saiya-jin]

Good news guys, I just saw JP clips of the things that were censored and I am okay now. I just remembered, once I see what I am missing for myself, I'm okay with it.


Oh, and Pink Ninja, your sig is HILARIOUS!!!

[Supreme Alchemist Fan]

I saw the commerical of KH2.....i really wished i got it but im getting NGNT4 now....oh wells. This'll still be fun.

[TenshiOni]

After reading what was censored, I'm of the opinion that anyone who thinks less of the game because of this minor censorship is quite idiotic.

This is hardly worth mentioning. Doesn't effect how awesome this game is at all.

[crazymtf]

^Yep agree with you 100%, now give me postive rep plz :P

[SeruraRenge]

America is a lot more strict in our rating systems and what we allow our kids to be indulged in. IMO the reason is that America is more of a peaceful country (or we claim to be) and Japan has for centuries been a country of honor and war. Samurais are a very good example of this. Like I said this is my own opinion.
Considering that our country has a war every 20 years, I think your statement was just nullified. I mean, we're a 200 year-old country, and we've already been in over 10 wars.

[ziBBy]

Like I said... we claim to be. We always say we are trying to uphold the peace and protect the justice in the world. I wish we could go back and actually stick with the "do not mess with foreign affairs" policy. That is of course not including WW1 and WW2.

[Darth Judicar]

Doesn't surprise me. I thought this as soon as I saw the Barbosa scene (with knife and blood) I figured "I wonder if this is edited hmm?" as I saw it but I don't mind that much. Obvious reasons they did it obviously. I did find the pirates having crossbows a bit odd, as they usually have guns but again, no big deal. I'm fine with it though, because they are small things anyway, definitely not the end of the world. It's an awesome game and those little things I could really care less about. :wink

[ziBBy]

You know honestly I never paid all that much attention to what the pirates were shooting at me with. I just deflected it and beat them senseless. Cross bow... rifle... they both kill people so no biggie really. It's better than giving them like slingshots and marshmallows.

[SeruraRenge]

You know honestly I never paid all that much attention to what the pirates were shooting at me with. I just deflected it and beat them senseless. Cross bow... rifle... they both kill people so no biggie really. It's better than giving them like slingshots and marshmallows.
Yeah. If a crossbow can hurt Bender (well...he did say "ow"), then they're ok in my book.

[saiya-jin]

I didn't notice the crossbows, either. I don't think any less of the game, either, TenshiOni, it's just that I wish that we wouldn't miss out on these things...I mean c'mon.

Wait, maybe this means we'll get the KH2: Final Mix!(Nomura said it was possible.)

On the first Game we only got a few measily bosses, and they got a whole new game!!

So...they get a few scenes we didn't get...so we get an entirily new game!

[Chatulio]

Dude what did you actually think they would not censor it?

[SeruraRenge]

Dude what did you actually think they would not censor it?
well, there was very little, if anything, to censor. So....yeah.

[saiya-jin]

Yeah, with games like GTA running around, this stuff seems so little(not to compare anything bad in games to GTA.)

[ViolentlyHappy]

i thought that was kinda strange too. i was at the pirates of the carribbean part and when it was supposed to show jack getting stabbed it didn't. i was like what the crap?!

[Kirsten]

OMG! This is a conspiracy!!! :yell

lol Doesn't bother me. I mean, it's not like it ruins the awesomeness of the game. I didn't even know they edited anything out until you said something, saiya-jin. :P

[Sumoni]

Honestly, I don't think it changes the game one bit. If you really, really love Kingdom Hearts don't let this bother you! Just play the game. If I wanted a killing spree game I'd play Halo. Whether they took blood out of a 10 second scene shouldn't be the basis of the whole game. But if you just have to buy the original because of that then do as you please. But don't knock it for abiding by the rules. It has a wonderful story line, wonderful characters, wonderful graphics and I love it. If you wanna see Barbosa get stabbed sooo badly. Then go out to Best Buy and get the friggin Pirates of the Carrabien movie. Then you can play it back over and over and over. At least the pirates aren't fighting with sticks. I wouldn't have noticed the difference nor cared. So unless they changed the ending, beginning or anything to do with the story line I could care less.

[saiya-jin]

Honestly, I don't think it changes the game one bit. If you really, really love Kingdom Hearts don't let this bother you!]
I don't
Just play the game. If I wanted a killing spree game I'd play Halo.
I do, and I can't right now 'cause I am playing KH2 so muchsmile-big . Whether they took blood out of a 10 second scene shouldn't be the basis of the whole game.]
It isn't for me.
...But don't knock it for abiding by the rules. It has a wonderful story line, wonderful characters, wonderful graphics and I love it.
I'm not. I know it does. Me too.

I guess you guys misinturrpreted my "What the HECK?!?!" I was just saying that in awe and surprise, not in anger because I didn't expect a game to get censored. I still enjoy the game as much as the rest of you.(Though I can't beat stupid Xaldin!:mad ) And I might like "Sanctuary" more than some of you. I am just surprised.

[Masaki]

At least the pirates guns were changed to pop guns and spring loaded hammers. Crossbows are actually weapons.

(OP dub reference)