The Japanese player base has been quite frustrated with Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and a recent change is only set to sour things further.

Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been in a bit of hot water recently, with multiple allegations being brought against the developer/publisher duo in recent months.

Despite the game being set in feudal Japan, a vocal section of the Japanese audience has not taken to the game too kindly – with many calling Ubisoft out for certain aspects of the game.

In a recent statement made from the official Ubisoft Japan X account, it has been confirmed that certain elements of the game will be missing from the Japanese release, which has only served to infuriate the player base even further.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows to censor certain elements in Japan

Assassin’s Creed Shadows will miss a crucial feature in Japan | Image Credit: Ubisoft

The Japanese Computer Entertainment Rating Organization (CERO), is routinely tasked with assigning appropriate age ratings for video games in Japan, and Ubisoft’s upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows was recently reviewed by the board.

CERO has rated the game with a ‘Z’, implying that it contains adult themes and heavy amounts of gore and/or body dismemberment – which is quite typical of Assassin’s Creed games, which follow quite mature undertones.

A CERO Z rating also means that the game cannot be legally sold to anyone under the age of 18 – for both the PC and console versions.

Despite this Z rating, the board has decided to extensively censor the game for no apparent reason, removing any instances of body dismemberment. Developer Ubisoft Quebec was reportedly forced to comply with the matter, removing the in-game toggle to switch enemy dismemberment on or off entirely.

Shadows possesses some altered aspects in the Japanese release | Image Credit: Ubisoft

Additionally, the depiction of severed body parts has also been drastically altered, as has some of the Japanese dialogue in the European and North American retail versions of the game code.

The removal of this particular ‘feature’ is quite unfortunate, as is most kinds of censorship. Japanese players will most certainly be disappointed with this arbitrary removal.

Japan’s CERO board has been quite inconsistent with ratings

CERO has been the subject of controversy before | Image Credit: Ubisoft

This isn’t the first time that the CERO board has come under scrutiny for its inconsistent ratings though, with a prominent example being with regards to Stellar Blade. The game depicts a ton of gore and dismemberment, despite which the game was awarded a CERO D rating – which allows it to be legally sold to non-adults with parental consent.

The CERO D rating also came without any removal of the said violent sections, which caused a strong response from EA Japan. For the uninitiated, the Dead Space remake was also heavily censored in Japan, and the ‘double standards’ expressed here do seem to be quite disingenuous.

The whole situation appears to be quite unfortunate, and it is hoped that CERO sorts things out soon. After all, meaningless and arbitrary ratings only serve to alienate potential players – in addition to painting a very skewed picture of the video game industry’s administration in general.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows has a lot more issues going on

Assassin’s Creed Shadows has a lot of issues | Image Credit: Ubisoft

The recent censorship drama is just one of the several issues plaguing the game. In particular, the game has stirred some controversy regarding its protagonist, Yasuke – which has not been taken to kindly by a vocal section of gamers, accusing the company of shoehorning the character into the game to promote certain ‘agendas’.

A recent preview event also resulted in a rather lukewarm response from attendees, with many pointing out recurring issues and clunky gameplay elements which could be a potential problem in the full, retail version.

This, coupled with Ubisoft’s recent slump into mediocrity and stagnation does not paint a positive look for the game.

One does wonder whether Shadows will be able to bring the publisher back to its glory days, or remain as the final nail in the coffin.