Stuff that got past Nintendo Censorship

We all know that Nintendo used to censor heavily games for the NA market (Most infamous being Bionic Commando for the Nazi references or the seals replaced by yetis in Ice Climber). However, there are a few things that slipped through the cracks. I recall a few NES character smoking (Bill Rizer on the title screen of Contra, although no smoke is visible, just the cigarette; Super Joe in Commando and some NPCs in Faxanadu) and a few games with crosses clearly visible (Mappy Land, Sqoon). Any other games that slipped through the cracks come to your mind? If you have some lesser known censorship examples (Alcohol replaced in Princess Tomato or in Bard's Tale), feel free to discuss those too.
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  • Exploding the hamster in Maniac Mansion.
  • I always thought it was weird that Harvest Moon 64 has a tobacco warning, yet I've never seen anything tobacco related in this game.
  • Like most of Golgo 13, and the boobies in Taboo.
  • MTPO - Soda Popinski is supposed to be Vodka Drunkenski
  • My personal favorite, still remember this being the first time I was kinda of WOWed from seeing an insult on a Nintendo game for the 1st time.



    image
  • In one of the Chip N Dale games, one of the main bosses attacks you with Cigar ashes (something like that)
  • The 'phallic' island from the dinosaur world in Banjo Tooie.
  • "Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles" may qualify, though it wasn't Nintendo specific.
  • There are cigarettes in Metal Gear.

    Tons of stuff in Castlevania games. Castlevania III you start the game in front of a Christian altar.

    The word "hell" appears in Rambo.



    And let's not kid ourselves about what Link is doing with those women in Zelda II.
  • Originally posted by: AsmikAce



    Exploding the hamster in Maniac Mansion.

    My favorite!
  • Originally posted by: dr.robbie



    In one of the Chip N Dale games, one of the main bosses attacks you with Cigar ashes (something like that)

    Yeah, that's Fat Cat the final boss, and he ashes you with his cigar.  I always thought that was an odd attack.



     
  • Originally posted by: AsmikAce



    Exploding the hamster in Maniac Mansion.

    Hitlers head violently exploding at the end of Bionic Commando comes to my mind.





     
  • There are churches with crosses on them in Stinger. In Monster Party you go inside a large church with a cross on top.
  • Were crosses supposed to be censored? I feel like they were in a bunch of games back then. Even link's shield had a cross on it.
  • Originally posted by: dr.robbie



    Were crosses supposed to be censored? I feel like they were in a bunch of games back then. Even link's shield had a cross on it.

    Yeah there is plenty of games where the crosses were censored and made into an X cross and stuff.



     
  • Originally posted by: Thunderblaze16



    My personal favorite, still remember this being the first time I was kinda of WOWed from seeing an insult on a Nintendo game for the 1st time.



    image

    Was this from the Rockman X series?



     
  • I'm pretty sure all the crosses in the churches in Lufia and the Fortress of Doom (it may have been Lufia II) are censored except in one town which has one prominently. I think it's the town that was destroyed by the Sinistral troops, but I could be wrong.
  • ^ no way... seriously? If real, I'm assuming it's when the book flips through during its attack.
  • I always thought that "You and your friends are dead" from Friday the 13th was surprisingly violent.
  • Originally posted by: Faxanadude

     
    Originally posted by: AsmikAce



    Exploding the hamster in Maniac Mansion.

    Hitlers head violently exploding at the end of Bionic Commando comes to my mind.




    I thought that was pretty radical myself.

     
  • I know it was unlicensed but Chiller was a very gory game that I am not use to seeing in a 8 bit system especially one that censored and for children.
  • Originally posted by: Tulpa



    There are cigarettes in Metal Gear.

    Tons of stuff in Castlevania games. Castlevania III you start the game in front of a Christian altar.

    The word "hell" appears in Rambo.



    And let's not kid ourselves about what Link is doing with those women in Zelda II.



    I was just thinking about cigarette in Metal Gear earlier when I was at work. I thought it was quite an odd feature. I was thinking about a thread that was on here a few months ago that was talking about alcohol in games and I was gonna make one tonight about cigarette use in games. Any other games use cigarettes?

     
  • Censors must have missed the blood and pentagrams in the NES Ninja Gaidens because they were censored in the SNES versions.
  • Let's not forget the shower scenes in River City Ransom.





    Actually, let's DO forget those.
  • Originally posted by: Brock Landers






    Is this the NTSC version? Really odd I never noticed this.

     
  • It's been 20 years since I played it so my memory is hazy, but I believe I only saw that 2 or 3 times. It was pretty uncommon, and usually something else.  In fact the first time I saw it, I thought I hallucinated it, and spent a looong time trying to get it to trigger again.  Keep in mind this was a young boy before the internet
  • In 3-D Worldrunner the guy is smoking when paused (at least that is what I have believed for 25 years).
  • Splatterhouse has crosses that attack you right at the beginning.



    That's all I got coach
  • On the other hand there were games that were overly censored.

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