Final Fantasy 16: Rating warns of such horrors
Square Enix has been emphasizing Final Fantasy 16’s Mature rating, a first for the mainline games in the long-standing JRPG series. However, they could have simply let the ESRB do the talking, as the detailed breakdown (opens in new tab) of the game’s M rating provided by the ratings board is quite entertaining.
The ESRB’s explanation starts with the typical Final Fantasy elements of swords and magic, mentioning intense blood splatter and “cries of pain” during battles. However, more intriguing are the specific injuries and incidents described, such as a severed head, a slit throat, and a character being impaled through the chest. Additionally, there’s a particularly painful scene involving “a prisoner’s shoulder stabbed and twisted by an interrogator’s blade.”
Some of the explicit details are amusing when taken out of context. Phrases like “The words ‘f**k’ and ‘sh*t’ are heard in the game” are ESRB classics that never fail to make one chuckle. Other content includes “a character caressing and straddling a man in bed,” which seems mild compared to Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s Honey Bee scene; “sexual moaning sounds in a brothel” and references to prostitution, which aren’t entirely new to the series; and, most shockingly, “partially exposed breasts and buttocks.”
It appears that partial nudity in a JRPG is more likely than one might think. Kudos to Final Fantasy 16 for making the ESRB use the word “buttocks” once again.
