All of the gore in No More Heroes was censored when Marvelous released it in Japan. The Wii version replaced fountains of blood with pixel clouds and cut out grisly death sequences. The HD port, No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise, restores the carnage, but only on the Xbox 360.
Amiami’s product page explains the Xbox 360 version is the North American edition and they expect it to be rated as an adults only, CERO Z game. This warning only appears on the Xbox 360 page, which suggests the PlayStation 3 version will have black pixels instead of red blood.
Releasing an edited game on one platform and a bloody one on another is an interesting strategy. In Japan, Microsoft has shown they aren’t afraid of the restrictive CERO Z rating. On occasion, they even embraced it by throwing events showcasing CERO Z titles.
This shouldn’t be an issue in North America if Ubisoft picks up No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise since the ultraviolent version was published here on Wii. Europe is a different story since Rising Star Games released the censored version. Perhaps, they will try Marvelous’ approach and release two versions of Heroes’ Paradise in PAL territories.
