The latest installment in Hideo Kojima’s best-selling Metal Gear franchise has undergone censorship in Japan. The prelude to the highly anticipated Metal Solid Gear V: The Phantom Pain has been targeted by CERO, otherwise known as the Computer Entertainment Ratings Organization which is based in Tokyo, Japan.
In an interview with Weekly Famitsu, Japan’s go to source for gaming news, Hideo Kojima stated that the Japanese ratings board decided to censor the Japanese version of Ground Zeroes. According to the interview, the interviewer was amazed at what people will be able to see in the uncensored American version of Ground Zeroes. “You can see everything” said Kojima to the interviewer, in reference to the American Ground Zeroes.
Those who have played the game, which recently released on March 18 for the previous and next-gen Sony and Microsoft consoles, likely have a good idea of the content which was targeted for censorship by CERO. Kojima has mentioned before that the series was going to express a much darker mood going forward, but promises that there will still be silly missions and extra content to lighten the mood and give the viewer a laugh as always. The sequel to Ground Zeroes, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, is still undergoing development.