As a fan of JRPGs and other niche Japanese games, I always find ratings standards differences between the U.S., Europe and Japan laughable. Take Criminal Girls 2 as a perfect example.
As with the first in the series, Criminal Girls: Invite Only, “Punishment” will be framed as “Motivation,” and other terminology changes from the first game will also apply here … This reduces the power distance between the player character and the girls in the Reformation Program and makes the activities of the game more consensual.
… and …
Some of this [no Motivation Scene Dialogue] could cause an issue with power distance, or perceived consent of the activities of the game.
I give NIS America kudos for taking the time to spell out exactly what is being censored, but I disagree with censorship. Let’s let the consumer decide, and if an anime based JRPG influenced game is really worthy of an AO rating in the U.S., something is very wrong. Violence is always condoned over sexual themes.
Just compare the newest Doom (hint – violence link) to the first Criminal Girls title (hint – sexual themes) to drive the point home …
