ESRB says Super Mario Odyssey isn’t E for everyone
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
was first, a game that appeared to appeal to adults, as much as it did
with kids. That's not to say that the past Zelda's haven't, but just
that Breath of the Wild was more grown up in regards to its gameplay
mechanics, emotion, and story, than its predecessors. Now it appears as
though Nintendo may possibly be applying the same level of thought to
Super Mario Odyssey.
The Entertainment
Software Rating Board (ESRB) which has typically given Mario titles an
"E" for everyone, has rated the forthcoming Odyssey game with a 10+E, as
in for everyone over 10 years of age. While the ESRB didn't explain
their reasoning in detail, they did mention that the game received its
rating due to cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language and/or
minimal suggestive themes. This isn't exactly shocking though, as the same basic rating was applied recently in Australia, where Odyssey received a PG rating, instead of a typical G.
If you break those reasons down, it leaves us scratching our heads.
First, no Mario game is what you'd call "violent." Sure, he jumps on a
bad character's head, which knocks them off screen. But there's never
any real "death" or "blood" in the game. Mild language? That one is
particularly interesting, in that Mario games don't typically feature
much talking, other than the occasional "H-hey, itsa me, Mario"
and sounds Mario makes as he jumps. So I think it's safe to say we're
not going to witness any "S" for "F" bombs in Mario, especially not with
a 10+ rating. The suggestive theme was the last reason. What type of
scenarios could Mario or his fellow castmates really be involved with
to get that warning? A damsel in distress? We've already seen that a
dozen times already and we've never seen a 10+ rating.
Perhaps it's all due to one thing, New
Donk City. Super Mario Odyssey is the first Mario game to feature Mario
in a city filled with humans, not just Koopas and Goombas. So it may be
possible that Mario has to do something to a human that may be
considered somewhat violent, even in a cartoonish manner (ex. Looney
Toons), in which case it causes a suggestive theme (i.e. a fight, street
violence, etc) thus provoking the human to utter back words, while not
profane, that may cause some parents to take note. Again, don't expect
GTA level violence and language here, but for some parents, a cartoon
character possibly hurting a human on a semi-realistic street, may draw
areas of concern. This is exactly the job of the ESRB, it's not to have
a game banned, but to merely point out features and content that some
parents may want to keep away from their kids.
So while I don't think we have much to worry about regarding Odyssey's
content, I just hope that whatever happens in New Donk City, stays in
New Donk City.
No comments