One of the games shown during Tokyo Game Show was Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, with a title that pretty much gives away what it is, namely a remake of the NES title Dragon Age III. From what we’ve seen so far, it seems to be very faithful to the original when it comes to content.
More recently, however, it was brought to our attention (via Ryokutya2089) that one change that has been made is to remove the genders. You can no longer choose between male or female, but are now referred to “Type A” (whose voice actor is a man, Hiyama Nobuyuki) and “Type B” (whose voice actor is a woman, Minaguchi Yuko). However, as Niche Gamer, among others, points out, there are male and female differences in the game depending on your choice, both in terms of characteristics and jobs that potentially will become more diffuse.
Now Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii and former Shonen Jump editor Kazuhiko Torishim have commented on the matter in a Japanese interview – and they’re not happy with the approach, which they blame on the West. Torishima cuts the concept off at the knees, saying:
“There’s a religious concept from the West, especially in America, that influences their approach to sex education, right? Their approach to compliance is really narrow-minded.”
Continuing his argument, he was not done with the criticism, saying that the Japanese are being penalised because of this allegedly ridiculous American concept:
“Doing business with such a ridiculous country is really frustrating. Because of that, Japan also gets negatively influenced.”
Horii is a little milder in his way of communicating though, and instead asks who is really complaining and thus asking for this:
“I really wonder who’s even complaining about this?”
What do you think, is it a good thing to replace genders with Type A and Type B, despite having male and female attributes as a part of the game?
Thanks Push Square