[RUMOR] Bravely Second Censored - A Localization Chop Job?

Published: March 1, 2016 8:20 AM /

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Bravely Second: End Layer

According to Nintendo Life, and gamers who've already had a chance to play, Bravely Second: End Layer has had major chunks of content removed by its localization teams - including "bad" endings to numerous quests.

Please note that these links do include access to spoilers, such as videos showing the alleged changes in content.  So far, forum users do seem to be careful about their own spoiler warnings and tags.

Garett, a forum contributor at GBATemp.net, sums up the current concerns succinctly:

So basically instead of picking a side and seeing the consequences of your decision being played out you're given a "good" ending regardless, i just went back and checked the events again and this applied to all the ones i've done so far. Can't say i'm a fan of this change as part of the appeal of picking a side was actually seeing the consequences of your choice and then further down the line without going into spoilers "stuff" happens.
LordNibel at GameFAQs gets more specific:
From what i've played so far, outcome A has been removed from the English version and from a video i watched yesterday [for a particular situation], outcome B was removed and outcome D was shown.
There's already been some controversy surrounding localization for Bravely Second, such as by eliminating one stereotypical class (Native American "Tomahawk") and replacing it with its cultural opposite (White American "Cowboy").  Localization issues like these seem to be a contentious topic of recent, with more and more Western gamers becoming concerned that they are not receiving complete and faithful adaptations of their favorite games. Fire Emblem: Fates, for example, turned out to have numerous dialogue issues, including one extended conversation being reduced to three-dot ellipses - an awkward pause - for no apparent reason.

Additionally in this case numerous costumes have been modified as reported by Censored Gaming. His video below shows several comparisons that another user had posted on pastebin which compares the changes. Most of them are removing cleavage in costumes, adding shadows or further covering the hip area.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpOqTxwOM1U

Bravely Second: End Layer releases for the 3DS platform in the United States on April 15, 2016.

 

What do you think about localization and censorship issues facing cross-cultural video games? Will This influence your decision to purchase Bravely Second? Let us know in the comments below!

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More Info About This Game
Learn more about Bravely Second: End Layer
Developer
Silicon Studio
Publisher
Square Enix
Platforms
Nintendo 3DS
Release Date
April 15, 2016 (Calendar)
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