Japan is known for having special laws regulating censorship and violence, even within video games. As with Resident Evil 7, Resident Evil 2 will also have two versions with different levels of violence.
In Japan, the remake of Resident Evil 2 will come out in two distinct versions: a standard, characterized by a lower degree of violence, and a special “Z” Version aimed at an adult audience, free from censorship.
Since in Japan there are rather peculiar laws on the censorship of violent content, in the country the Resident Evil 2 remake will come in two different versions: a Standard, classified as CERO D (addressed to a 17+ audience), and a Z Version with CERO Z classification (aimed at an 18+ audience).
As you can easily guess, the Z Version (of which you can see the cover at the bottom of the news) will propose the original game experience without censorship, as opposed to the Standard version that will target even a minor audience (cutting violent content partly). A rather particular choice that reflects the particular Japanese rules on censorship of horror games.
The pre-orders will start from August 10th and both versions will be launched on the market on January 25th, exactly on the same day of the Western versions. The Collector’s Edition will be similar to the Western one: the only difference is that the Japanese version will have the soundtrack on a special CD, rather than digital.
Recall that the remake of Resident Evil 2 will be available from January 25, 2019 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
