Number 2. Ninja Gaiden
Tecmo’s iconic action-packed title, Ninja Gaiden, faced a lot of obstacles upon its arrival in Europe. The game’s graphic depiction of violence caused an uproar in Germany, while the UK harboured a deep-seated fear of the word “ninja” at the time. To cater to European audiences, the game underwent a name change to “Shadow Warriors” and was toned down to suit their sensibilities. However, even these modifications weren’t enough to appease European standards. The third NES game of the series was never released in Europe, except for a port on the Atari Lynx that retained the original name. The trend continued for the 2000s Xbox reboots where the word “ninja” was no longer taboo, but decapitations still were. European gamers had to wait for later re-releases of the game to enjoy the full experience of lopping off heads.
Number 3. Carmageddon
