The Entertainment Software Rating Board, more popularly known as the ESRB, is the organization responsible for assigning age ratings to video games in North America, based on any sexual, violent, or otherwise inappropriate content they may contain. The press releases that go along with these ratings are pretty boring, especially when it comes to Nintendo games, as they don’t tend to contain very suggestive content. The rating for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a different story, however, as it’s actually surprisingly funny and way too cautious about sexual themes in the game.

The rating, which was released last night, makes references to “fairies with moderate cleavage and/or exaggerated-size breasts,” so we can expect that the creepy half-naked fairies from Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask will be returning for the new game. It also warns about suggestive dialogue in the game, like the phrase “if I have to have something pounce on me, why couldn’t it be a lady?” Overall, the game was given an “Everyone 10+” rating, so the game should be okay for any child over ten years of age. This means that Breath of the Wild is slightly more mature than the average Zelda game, as most have received “Everyone” ratings, but it’s not as adult as Twilight Princess, which was raunchy enough to merit being listed as “Teen.”

“This is an adventure game in which players assume the role of Link on a quest to stop a growing evil in the land of Hyrule. As players explore the open-world environment, they can forage for materials, explore shrines, and engage in melee-style combat against fantastical creatures (e.g., goblins, skeletons, centaurs). Players use swords, axes, clubs, and bows to defeat enemies that generally disappear amid puffs of smoke. One brief sequence depicts a battlefield strewn with the bodies of enemy creatures; in the background, a few bodies appear to be impaled by spears. The game contains some mildly suggestive material: fairies with moderate cleavage and/or exaggerated-size breasts; dialogue such as ‘I get to see a young hunk draw a bow again?’ and ‘If I have to have something pounce on me, why couldn’t it be a lady?’ During the course of the game, a shop owner tells Link that she only serves ‘…drinks that are definitely just for adults…’; players can also encounter a drunken character that occasionally hiccups.”

What do you guys think? Did you enjoy reading the ESRB’s statement, and would any of that stuff ever stop you from giving the game to a kid?

Source: ESRB

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