During the announcement that Valkyrie Drive: Bhikkuni would be localized for North America and Europe, there was a small confirmation that the game would not be censored like recent games, such as Tokyo Mirage Sessions. Today on DualSHOCKERS, it was revealed that Valkyrie Drive will not be censored by PQube’s PR Executive, Peter Nathaniel Fury (no relation to Nick Fury). However, they also expressed their opinions and concerns regarding the recent censorship.
In the email sent to DualSHOCKERS, he went on to say the following:
We generally don’t take on these kinds of projects if we’re not confident we can release it in the west without cutting or changing content. Changing the source material kind of defeats the purpose of doing it in the first place, so that is not something we even consider unless we literally have no other options. In terms of platform holders and ratings boards, you’d be surprised what you can get away with. Gal*Gun: Double Peace passed quite painlessly for example.
He went on to say how some retailers may be hesitant to take the game, and the process does involve trying to convince every retailer to do so. This involves both sales numbers and how to present the game, and he describes the executives “might be in their 50’s and don’t play or particularly care about games.” It might seem things could go well due to how successful Senran Kagura was anyway, though one also has to remember that in Valkyrie Drive, there are two characters who are sisters, thus involving a bit of incest.
They also confirm that the game will feature Japanese voiceovers, with English subtitles. Any nudity will still be censored by glowing flashes similar to how Senran Kagura: Shinovi and Estival Versus handled it, kinda like this:
Valkyrie Drive: Bhikkuni is set for a English release on the PlayStation Vita both digitally and physically in 2016.
