The upcoming JRPG Tales of Berseria has a rather racy costume for one of it's female characters. After a string of JRPG costume censorship incidents in recent months Dualshockers Giuseppe Nelva saw fit to ask Tales of Berseria producer, Yasuhiro Fukaya, to promise that the outfit would not be changed for the western release. He had this to say on the matter:
“I promise. Velvet’s costume will surely be the same in the western version. The design of that costume is created by Mutsumi Inomata, and she created that costume based on the character’s concept and setting, and on the storyline. I believe that those who support the Tales Of series like to have exactly the same content as the Japanese version. We believe it’s ideal and the best option to bring exactly the same game experience and design to the western countries. I promise that Velvet is still Velvet in the western version.”
He also relayed a personal anecdote about the situation that seems to show a shifting climate in the industry :
"Fun fact: when I asked the question, something pretty peculiar happened: the lady doing the translation (she is pretty much the "traditional" Tales interpreter. She has been there doing the interpretation for the series for as long as I can remember) didn't immediately translate my question. Instead, she pointed out: "My personal answer is "I hope so." It isn't very often that you see an interpreter take that kind of initiative. Even more so a Japanese one."
Quick Take
It's great to see a dev finally grow a spine and draw a line in the sand. Hopefully others will learn from this and start to realize that you don't have to cave to the offended-by-everything censorship brigade. If you give these people an inch they take a mile, and many are wising up to that fact. Stories like these are starting to give me hope for what lies on the horizon. As Sam Cooke once said "A change is gonna come"
