Today Nintendo revealed a rather odd detail about the upcoming Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore for Nintendo Switch.
It’s a commonly-known fact that the original Wii U title was heavily censored in the west, going as far as receiving several visual changes and redesigned assets to create a tamer experience for North American and European audiences.
While I doubt many actually held any hope for the original content to be restored in Encore for Switch in the west, I’m quite sure most expected that at least the Japanese version would stick to what was previously released on the local market.
Apparently, that isn’t the case. Not only the official Japanese website was quietly updated a few days ago to replace a screenshot featuring Tsubasa’s idol costume with the tamer western version, but today small print was added as showcased below (spotted by PersonaCentral)
The small print mentions that this is an International release “adding new elements” based on the western version “Tokyo Mirage Session #FE” release on Wii U.
“Adding new elements” doesn’t mean what you think it means, Nintendo.
The oddest part of this whole operation is, of course, that Japanese users are going to have to put up with a product censored for the west. Historical precedents show that this normally doesn’t go down well on the local market, and the original game didn’t sell massively to begin with.
We’ll have to wait and see. That being said, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore will release on the Nintendo Switch on Jan. 17.
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