We all heard the outroar, and also support, when we found out that Lin from Xenoblade Chronicles X would be getting a costume change in the western version of the game. Now the voice actress for the character has come out and supported the change saying that “People are calling it censorship. I really see it as localisation.” Voice actress Cassandra Lee Morris says that changing her costume opens up the game to a wider audience including children. Here’s what she had to say on the matter.
“[It] honestly makes me cringe a little bit because [Lin is] only 13 years old. People are calling it censorship. I really see it as localisation.”
“There are a lot of cultural differences between Japan and the US and Europe. I, personally, don’t mind that Lin’s outfits were changed for the US version. My hope is that players will be able to concentrate on Lin’s abilities and what she can bring to your game and what she can do for the other members of her party and not just how she looks.”
“I also think that covering Lin up a little bit will make parents more comfortable with kids playing the game, so it also opens the game up for a wider audience.”
perfectly reasonable. clowns keep forgetting that Japan and na differ greatly when it comes to culture.
Damn Sherlock I had absolutely no idea.
Then how come they onlychanged Lin’s outfit, as opposed to any other female characters?
…because she’s only 13. Did you read? Have you played the game?
Can’t you tell I clearly don’t care?
Then don’t comment
And who is going to stop me? Exactly, so don’t comment
And only because the game files say so.
Yeah, but I think that is the point. If you pretend that Lin is a real person, then if you are 13 then you are 13 and underage. It doesn’t matter if you “look” older or if your age could be interpreted differently. 13 year olds are children and should be treated as such.
Which is why Nintendo NA probably made the right call in removing her perverted outfit.
But that’s the thing. That line of logic holds no water. The representation of an object is not the same thing as the object. Ceci n’est pas une pipe, as I said before.
That line of thought was rendered completely obsolete though the 20th century in every single art form, especially in visual and literary arts. That we still haven’t understood the difference between both concepts more than half a century after these ideas were introduced is a sign of serious intellectual stagnation.
As I said before, I can get behind the justification that it’s bad for business. I get that, it’s ok. However, the ‘she’s 13 argument’ is completely meaningless. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to play any video game with a hint of sadism.
Well, if you think that line of thought is obsolete, then no wonder why people call a bunch of thrash “art”.
Violence =/= Sexualization, and as such, they must be treated in a different way. They must be treated differently, because violence in Videogames are easy to ignore because it isn’t real, but that isn’t the same story with sexualization, because with sexualization (like Bikini or little to no clothes) nobody cares if she is real or not, they only care for the sex appeal, which is why if a character is under age, it wouldn’t be a good idea to show her under such conditions.
I would understand if lin was the main character that you’d play as but your playing as cross who you can dress in bikinis if you want. Lin is only optional in a bikini if you didn’t want to see it don’t dress her that way.
I can make a lin copy anyway and dress her in it. Not that I want to. But I’m thinking it’s more of the breast slider removal that has people annoyed.
And ps….. Do little kids even play these kinds of games ?:/
But, would you really be okay with adults wanting to see a scantily-clad 13-year-old in a video game? IT doesn’t make it any better if it’s a child or an adult playing it. It might be okay in Japan, but in the US, that’s definitely frowned upon. I personally have no problem with the slight censorship. The gameplay is still the exact same and a little costume censorship for a 13-year-old is not a problem. Adults who enjoy seeing almost naked 13-year-olds, in the US, are usually put on a list and labelled as…y’know…pedophiles. Lin isn’t real, for sure, but it’s still kind of unsettling.
You are equating an anime-style representation of a teen girl with a real-life 13 year-old girl. If the problem is the age of the character, just change it, as it has been done countless times in the past.
I’m not getting into the myriad of other reasons why I think the change should or shouldn’t be made, but that one has always been the weakest argument on the pro-change side.
But to say that we shouldn’t make the comparison is just as weak and in the end they decided to NOT change her age and in the end: Should they? either age or clothes would have to be changed and in the end, complain about any of them is just plain dumb when it doesn’t even affect the game.
It’s funny because you censorship crybabies always say that you wanted “the developers original vision.” If they changed her age, wouldn’t that be changing their vision even more?
Also, I’m assuming you haven’t played the game. Her age is very important for her character; she’s basically a child genius. And the characters constantly refer to how young age is. So, no, changing her age wouldn’t work, unless they want to change her entire character.
All the reasons you can think of aren’t good enough, and that’s why it’s censored. The end.
“It’s funny because you censorship crybabies”
It’s funny, because you pro-censorship retards always start the name-calling.
“If they changed her age, wouldn’t that be changing their vision even more?”
Depends if it’s relevant for the characterization of the character. In this case, it isn’t.
“she’s basically a child genius”
She’d still be one at 15, 16 or even 17.
“So, no, changing her age wouldn’t work”
Disagree
“unless they want to change her entire character”
Hyperbole
“All the reasons you can think of aren’t good enough, and that’s why it’s censored”
You and I know the reason why it was censored, cut the crap.
It’s funny that whenever somebody decides to answer to you with a good and reasonable opinion or fact, you try to reduce them when it actually makes you look like a jerk.
THANK YOU! When the news about the censorship originally came out, I spent weeks arguing with some guy about this on Gamnesia…
Nobody cares about any female character being scantly clad no matter the age, if the bikini “armor” was stronger then other armor you use it.
Here’s the thing. You can go down to a beach and see real life girls aged 13 and younger, all the way down to infants, in bikinis and nobody seems to have an issue with that. Hell, you don’t even have to go anywhere to see middle school aged girls dressing in flamboyant and skimpy outfits walking around. Or you can turn on the television and see such quality programs as Toddlers and Tiaras.
On the other hand you know many children are playing games where you cap realistic looking characters in the head, watch the blood splatter against the wall and their lifeless body fall like sack of bricks. This is apparently awesome and enjoyable to many. These types of games are extremely popular and sell millions.
Explain to me how a breast slider and an optional costume that nobody has to use on a clearly stylized and fictional character is somehow harmful to anyone aside from those who get irrationally offended over extremely trivial things. People don’t realize that if you just roll over and accept censorship that you personally don’t mind, that it condones and exacerbates further censorship of questionable material. You might not care now. You might care next time. This isn’t just about a breast slider or a skimpy outfit, this is about something far more important than that. So to the people dumbing it down by calling anyone who questions this decision a pedophile or pervert, please grow up.
Except that’s the wrong term for people attracted to kids in the 13 age range. Pedophilia is an attraction to children ages 11 & under. Ages 12 & up have different terminologies.
You really think kids don’t play this games? please tell me at what age did you played Earthbound or a FF game?
Kids are and always will be the ones who play the most amount of games so yes, do they do play this games, especially considering that their parents are the ones who buy them.
With next to no advertisement, as Nintendo themselves stated, this is a niche franchise and only those who have been following along with it this whole time got it then add in the fact there wasnt a massive supply of the game in stores and the fact that only 1% of the Wii U’s Userbase is 12 and under kids yes, kids dont play this game. Maybe 1 or 2 here and there but definitely not many.
And? If a parent is stupid enough to let their 7 yr old child play a T rated game, that’s on them. Nintendo is under no obligation whatsoever to babysit other people’s children. What’s the point in a rating system if you aren’t even going to fucking use it? Might as well make all T rated, and M rated games, child friendly because some idiot parent might let their child play something that clearly says on the box they shouldn’t be playing unless they are at that certain age.
Yes, little kids do play this type of game. My nephews do play jrpg. It really depend on what the kid like.
-Do little kids even play these kinds of games ?
I don’t think they do and even if they did I think they would have no idea on what their suppose to do :P
Honestly I never gave a shit to begin with.
Besides watching the salt, tho.
Yup exactly and it is very funny
Obligatory comment stating that changes made due to imposed ideologies are still censorship, even if those ideas are self-imposed.
A couple of other things, while we’re at it:
“[It] honestly makes me cringe a little bit because [Lin is] only 13 years old.”
Lin is not a real person. It’s not even a realistic depiction of a person. It doesn’t have any kind of biological age. You could up her age a bit and none would blink an eye. Ceci ne pas une pipe and all that.
“My hope is that players will be able to concentrate on Lin’s abilities and what she can bring to your game and what she can do for the other members of her party and not just how she looks”
This is patronizing. Would the feeble minds of the players be distracted by her body were she a bit more naked?
“I also think that covering Lin up a little bit will make parents more comfortable with kids playing the game”
Kids shouldn’t be playing a T-rated game anyway, that’s a very sad excuse. Again, treating adults like children and all that.
Obligatory comment asking who the fuck respects age ratings anyways ?
You don’t see how that’s a problem? Because it is, especially when Nintendo is ‘forced’ to make changes such as these because parents don’t know what the hell they’re buying.
The underlying problem comes from the generational gap between parents that grew without video games (or with not-as-complex video games) and the fact that many of those parents treat video games as babysitters. It’s nowhere as common as it was in the 90s, but that we have to keep dealing with this kind of shit 20 years later is pretty sad.
No we don’t, most of the people who support or doesn’t care about this changes grew up with games, also to say that we shouldn’t care about her age because she isn’t real (or human) is also a weak argument.
And if you don’t like it well guess what, you’ll still have to deal with this because this are changes made for localization (making changes from one country to another for cultural clashes that, if this changes weren’t made, makes the game easier to understand) not censorship.
I’m on the “she’s fictional” boat. She doesn’t look like any real 13 year old. She’s a fucking 3D animuh character. Then again no character in this game have any reasons to run around half naked. Not every JRPG needs otaku-eye candy. But I wouldn’t take it out if it’s already in there.
And yes this game isn’t for ‘kids’. That excuse is really irritating.
Add to that Nintendo’s inconsistency with other games (Nowi in FE:A, Fatal Frame V, Bayonetta) and you add yet another layer to this clusterfuck.
I agree with you. I’m not one to support things like Senran Kagura or Dead or Alive (the volleyball games, I mean), but I’d never try to ban them. There’s an audience that wants it, let them have it. Same with Federation Force and other outrages, but I disgress.
As you say, if it’s there, keep it.
Really? You hope more kids play this game?
Kids these days don’t even have the attention span for Angry Birds. What makes you think they will have the attention span for a 150 hour JRPG?
This is so fucking old.
It’s so fucking pointless to cover Lin up when you have celica who looks about the same age as Lin, running around in bikini’s just like everyone else. Sure no one wants to see a half naked ten year old. But if someone was complain about it. Then why the fuck aren’t people bitching about celica’s nudeness. To me she the same as lin.
Actually… Celica is 18 years of age. She may not be human but her age is legal here in the United States.
Ok if she’s fucking 18 teen. Then way in the hell didn’t they make lin 18 as well. Even if celica wasn’t a human she should still get the same treatment as lin. They’re age looks identical to me
I’ve read their data when playing this game. It’s 100% legit.
“She may not be human but her age is legal here in the United States”
Why did it this make me laugh so hard?
Porn…Cough ..cough
It’s pointless for the censorship, especially if it’s a T rated game. Kids shouldn’t be playing T games anyway.
>>>Human teenagers are still children with primitive rituals applied as the only difference>>>
T is like the grey area of ratings- sometimes it’s superficial. For example, I would have no problem seeing an 8 year old playing Zelda Twilight Princess or Metroid Prime or F-Zero GX or Smash Bros Melee or Brawl. This, though…
Hit the nail on the head. The T category needs to go.
The ESRB needs to fucking go altogether & replaced with a rating system more similar to movie ratings. I never understood why video games had to have a different rating system from movies. Especially the video game ratings we DID end up with.
Agree completely. Both are audiovisual mediums, I don’t see how they’re any different as far as content goes. I guess videogames get away with more things in the field of violence while movies often feature sexual content more freely.
Lin’s bikini change I can understand and agree with. I would even like her version of the costume to be available for my character as it looks pretty nice and cute.
However what I’m against is the removal of the bust slider. Taking away something that limits the detail of my character does not sit well with me.
>>>Like I’ve said countless of times before I don’t care, this just helps me identify the perverts and also the ignorant ones since there are gay characters in the game>>>
>>>Any of the primitives want to play that game now?>>>
Gay characters? Lara Mara has stuck me multiple times but thought that fool was playing around since you can have both genders in this game and change it at well.
>>>It was revealed to me by accident once when I was running around the diner>>>
>>>There are also a few random characters around NLA that confirms it>>>
Idk haven’t heard anything about that. The only possible gay character i know of is Lara mara. And to me he’s probably just flamboyant or bisexual.
>>>He is gay which I’ve told you now twice>>>
>>>You just haven’t been running around NLA as much as I have probably>>>
Sesh calm down robo ass. I think it’s good how games now a days are highlighting the fact that there are gay people in the world and aren’t shaming them for it. Something fucking America needs to get over.
With this response of the VA, any comment by saying that this is censorship and/or shouldn’t be done is a contradiction.
If you want to respect/defend the decisions of a company you should do it always not whenever it fits you. In the end this were changes that Nintendo would have done 20 years ago or 20 years in the future (although IDK about the bust slider, probably next time we’ll get that one) because of localization and respect, or are you saying that we/they shouldn’t respect other nations cultures?
“I also think that covering Lin up a little bit will make parents more comfortable with kids playing the game, so it also opens the game up for a wider audience.” Why? If they wanted to have more kids playing this game, it would not have been rated T. Games like the Batman Arkham games for example have thugs swearing every few minutes. And then it also has drug use. Are you trying to tell me this is better than having your kid run around in Lin’s bikini? The costume was optional meaning anyone who doesn’t like it didn’t have to choose it in the first place. I never even really cared much about the costume, but that doesn’t mean it’s good to remove it from others who do.
People tend to forget that a T rating allows for partial nudity too. The rating was not the issue here, not knowing what rating is suitable for which age group and what it includes is. The ESRB system is hardly ideal, but people shouldn’t be this misinformed about it.
Teenagers are kids too. When someone says kids, they include all that are not adults. Teenagers for the most part or suppose to be more mature kids.
It may be true that teenagers are still kids. But the ESRB rating clearly says that Teen is suitable for ages 13+. If parents would have actually paid attention to these ratings (which they usually don’t) they wouldn’t have their child seeing this stuff in the first place. You can’t go buying your kid something that’s not exactly suitable for their age and complain when you see something you don’t like. (Lin’s Bikini) And to the people that keep bringing up her age, what difference does it really make? Are you implying that if she was 18, 20, or 30 and had a bigger bust size or something that it would be ok? Of course not. If you don’t want your kids to see slightly revealing costumes or anything like that, then you have to stay away from T rated games. Who exactly would they be pleasing with this censorship decision? It’s just a costume. That most people would not even know about either if it wasn’t for the fact that they changed it. Nintendo isn’t doing some heroic deed or anything by taking the costume out of the game. They’re basically just saying they think people are too immature to handle seeing Lin in the costume and decided that instead of giving you a choice, you don’t get to use it at all.
a 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 year olds are still kids. For your complaint to work, the under 13 yr old kids would need to be said. Plus the rating is advising the age group suitable for a game. The best part is I’ve been playing the game and forgot all about this outrage that people are making it out to be. Never cared. I still understand why they did it and if people have a problem with the change then don’t buy it. When the developer makes a change, it is done for the best for them. To be the yin to your yang, Who is it pleasing with not changing it?
Bravo.
Now can we leave this in the past? Can we focus on how great the game is?
Not yet, we need to fill this with 100+ comments of useless debate over stuff that people don’t know what they’re talking about or see any other comment that differs from them as dumb and baseless.
This game is amazing. And it’s Huggge. People saying, “It doesn’t matter if it’s massive if there is just empty space.” Don’t know what they were talking about. The environments are beautiful and I love how expansive the world is.
So, I’m level 24 and don’t have my Skell yet. Is that normal? Keep in mind I explore and enjoy myself, so I haven’t been rushing through the story.
>>>Yes, unless you haven’t finished chapter 6 and beyond you can’t get it either>>>
Ah! Thank you sir!
How to plant the probes the lady with the shades wants me to do and I know I can look it up but I want a quick answer and since I’m still grinding it can wait because I want to be above the strength of the missions I have to do and that is in any rpg I play
>>>Doesn’t she give you the coordinates?>>>
What do you have to do
>>>Go there and press A repeateadly once you’ve found the point of destination and the probe will be planted>>>
>>>Do this with any new probe location you find as well>>>
I already found those places and many more I thought that she wanted me to plant new probes I will Check later today or tomorrow
>>>Alright>>>
Yes, I’m level 26 and I don’t have it yet either, been too busy sidequesting to start Chapter 6.
Nope I’m level 33 or higher and I don’t have my skill I still need to beat chapter 4 but I am grinding a lot and leveling up the in game npcs I can play as so far to level 30 plus I already did Gwin and Doug and yelv and of course elma and lin and now I’m working on h.b. and irina
It’s censorship because it was a change made to avoid controversy, but I don’t see it in such a negative light.
I think most people who don’t like it are seeing it through the lens of the current political situation, perceiving it as Nintendo trying to appease the sex-negative feminist zealots that have invaded the industry, but I don’t think that’s the case at all since because, while they certainly cover up a bit more, the costumes didn’t really stop being sexy and flashy, and all other females who are nominally adults retained their original outfits, even Celica who has the same body type as Lin but is supposedly 18; such a small change has no potential to appease the SJW crowd.
I think the change is just one of the many examples of Nintendo altering minor details in their games to avoid links to criminal activity, like when they changed the Gerudo emblem because it looked like a muslim symbol, which could have been deconstructed as them endorsing terrorism, so they toned down Lin’s clothes a bit, to avoid the game being deconstructed as them endorsing pedophilia or child grooming.
I suspect the boob slider was removed for similar reasons, maybe to avoid players making loli-type characters who could bypass the edits made to Lin’s clothes.
That’s not to say that I openly endorse all censorship, I just think that, as with everything else, thing should be judged individually, in regards to their own context and logic, and in that sense I don’t see the changes made to Xenoblade X as harmful as what happened to Fatal Frame or DoA.
“I think most people who don’t like it are seeing it through the lens of the current political situation, perceiving it as Nintendo trying to appease the sex-negative feminist zealots that have invaded the industry”
Speaking as someone opposed to it, that’s part of the issue, yes. The other half concerns how easily Nintendo is making unnecessary changes in localization these days (not only of sexual nature, remember the Triforce Heroes controversy).
“even Celica who has the same body type as Lin but is supposedly 18”
This is the proof that the change is completely meaningless. The age means nothing if the body type doesn’t reflect it.
“to avoid links to criminal activity”
That would make sense if they were consistent about it (again, Fatal Frame and Fire Emblem: Awakening). I understand the decision from a corporate point of view, but I can’t defend it as a consumer.
Nintendo have made these type of localizations changes since the 80s.
Examples? Because all I can think of is the famous shield change in the original Zelda and some censorship in some Square titles.
Besides, you know that, due to how limited representation of real-life objects was back then, it was not as infuriating as it is now.
I don’t have any specific examples just remember my Japanese friend telling me the differences in the games we played together. Without examples, my comment was empty so carry on.
Easy fix. Fix the boob slider to have a minimum & maximum boob size. The fact the slider didn’t even have those to begin with was pretty terrible. Monolith Soft should have asked for some help from outside developers that have done boob sliders for there games. Since Nintendo is on good terms with Koei Tecmo, they could have asked for help from someone there since the boob slider in Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3 was done right & wasn’t allowing insane boob sizes.
well I am disappointed we can’t have Japanese voice with English (or any European language) subtitle…
Buy the Japanese import. It’s the only option.
And the wii u,coz don’t forget the wii u is region lock… Not a cheap option
Lin is one of my favorite characters right now and irina because of there moves now I’m not that far in the game but she is level 30 or higher and is a beast
lin is a 13 year old badass, unlike some 13yr olds who are sexually active, she is not only an engineer, she is also great in combat and skell pilot, she is also a great chef. when i have a daughter i want her to like lin, a badass so that i can be proud of her.
I think she is right. A 13 year old shouldn’t be wearing outfits like that and from a feminist perspective a female character in video games should be admired for her strengths and aptitudes, not for her skimpy outfits.
From an actual non-US feminist perspective: you really shouldn’t be seconding sex-negative feminism. I don’t know how the hell they reached that point in the US, but that ideology is tearing apart everything that the members of the second wave achieved. It’s a ticking bomb that’s only creating more problems and knee-jerk reactions, especially from younger people.
The female body shouldn’t be made an exhibit, I agree, but hiding it is not the solution. By doing that, people are only demonizing female sexuality instead of embracing it as something natural. That doesn’t mean there should be a statue of a naked woman in each corner of the street, just that female sexuality and the female body should be normativized.
The concept of representation of women is a bit tricky, but there’s nothing saying that you can’t have sexy (or even sexualized) female characters if there’s more point to them than that. Textbook example: Bayonetta.
1st of all kids don’t have this game, its way to complicated for a kid to play through and beat. 2nd supporting any censorship is idiotic, 3rd I dont even bring Lin on my team unless she has to be there, she sucks. L and Lao are where its at!
I don’t know why people think kids are stupid. There are kids that like to stimulate their mind with challenging games. Majority of gamers started off as kids/teenagers.
That’s the problem. Apparently Nintendo & others think that little kids won’t be able to understand that a 13 yr old girl should NOT be wearing such an outfit in real life. They think kids are too stupid to tell the difference between reality & fantasy.
You know when I was a kid I remember playing many JRPGS, MMO’s, Diablo 2, XCOM, Starcraft, Red alert, etc. “hardcore” and complicated games. Xenoblade is not that hard to learn and play, so I don’t understand how kids who grew up playing games can say that kids of today are dumb. It makes no sense.
Can we all just agree that no one cares anymore now that the game is out and everyone is having fun?
This whole censorship thing just gets on my nerves. It’s not about people being pedophiles or anything. It’s the fact that content in the game was removed and Nintendo just made the decision on their own. I don’t care if it was a 13 year old girl, 14, 17, etc. That’s not what the complaint here is about. It’s about the costume being taken away. People seem to think that just because they don’t like seeing Lin in the bikini that it was a good idea to just remove it altogether. No. Why would you support that? You should be able to get the same game with the same content in it regardless of where you live. Even if it is something as simple as an in-game costume. Awhile ago, Koei said that they would not be bringing Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 to the west. And you can guess why. Because we got social justice warriors and idiots that will do whatever it takes to prevent the game from releasing. I know they wanted to avoid getting into all that, but I honestly think they should’ve released it here anyways, just to anger those morons. Same with Lin’s costume. Who cares if you think it isn’t appropiate for her? Don’t like, don’t choose. But apparently, everybody let Nintendo do the choosing for them instead. Just for future reference, if you supported this move with Lin’s costume, don’t get mad when Nintendo censors later games. Because you brought that on yourself.
“You should be able to get the same game with the same content in it regardless of where you live.”
Seconding this. I don’t see how having different options is fair both towards territories in which localization has taken place and Japan.
The sad thing is the ones defending this change to XCX will no doubt defend those later censorings when they occur. People like Batman will accept changes like these. Why? They hate stuff like sexuality, nudity, vulgar language, etc and don’t believe anyone, kid or adult, should be allowed to see it at all. Such is the way of the close mind. They think everyone should follow & believe what they believe. At that point, it’s not being religious anymore but being a fascist.
Oh please, every single female character in this game looks the same age. Elma doesn’t look older than Lin, and Lin doesn’t look younger than any other female walking around NLA.
Lins voice actor is not seeing the bigger picture, this was never about “covering up” a 13 year old. It was never about Lin at all. It was about Nintendo censoring yet ANOTHER one of their games.
Fuck censorship, and if Lins age offends you then don’t play the game. Pretty soon Nintendo will censor another game, and you pro censor people will find another justification for it.
“Pretty soon Nintendo will censor another game, and you pro censor people will find another justification for it.”
I’m counting the hours. Imagine if this happened to something more established, like Zelda. People would be throwing the mother of all hisses.
It’s rated T for Teen! Kids under that age range should NOT be playing the game to begin with. But by all means. Let’s make it kid friendly! Let’s start removing cuss words, half naked characters, blood, & gore from M rated games, too, so parents will be more open to letting their children play those as well. She was doing fine til she went off about making the game kid friendly for little kiddies under the teenager age range.
Oh wait! That’s exactly what certain people want. Like religious fascists or religious extremists. Oh wait. What’s the difference again?