Zelda: Breath of the Wild, 1-2-Switch receive ESRB ratings
With just two weeks to go, Nintendo’s first Switch titles have now been rated by the ESRB. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and 1-2-Switch both popped in the database today and are listed as E10+. We don’t usually cover ESRB descriptions, but we’re making an exception for Switch’s launch. And Zelda’s rating is… certainly interesting.
So first up, Zelda:
“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.”
And now for 1-2-Switch:
“This is a collection of motion-controlled mini-games set in a party-like atmosphere. Players can engage in activities such as table tennis, capture the flag, quick-draw shootouts, samurai training, wizard duels, and sword fighting. A handful of these mini-games depict violent acts: a boxing mini-game contains a brief animation of opponents throwing punches at each other; wizard duels depict two figures with wands fighting for control over a beam of energy; the sword-fighting mini-game contains clashing sound effects, while the samurai training depicts characters being conked on the head.”
