Following the upcoming release of the first M rated Final Fantasy game, the ESRB have published a report going in depth concerning their reasoning for this mature rating. The ESRB’s statement explains why Final Fantasy Type 0 earned this rating as well as how it could be brought down.
This is an action game in which players assume the role of students fighting to protect their nation from invaders. Players traverse fantasy environments and battle enemy soldiers and other creatures in melee-style combat. Players use swords, bows, firearms, and magic spells to kill various enemies (e.g., robots, blobs, mechanical beasts).
Battles are accompanied by realistic gunfire, screams of pain, and large blood-splatter effects; some sequences depict blood stains on players’ screen and corpses lying in pools of blood. Cut-scenes depict additional acts of violence: a man stabbing himself with a sword; a girl shot by a sniper; a character shot close-up.
During the course of the game, some female characters are depicted in outfits that expose large amounts of cleavage and jiggling breasts. In one sequence, players can use a spy camera to zoom in on a female character wearing a bikini.
The game includes event scenes in which a character sedates/drugs players’ character and performs unknown acts on them; it is implied that some of these acts may be of a sexual nature.
Final Fantasy Type 0 will be avaliable on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on March 17th.
What are your thoughts on the ESRB’s reasoning for giving Final Fantasy an M rating? Let us know in the comments below.
