Mortal Kombat is basically persona non grata in Japan, thanks to uber-strict censorship laws and a cultural aversion to graphic gore—decapitations and showers of blood just don’t fly with the CERO ratings board. Nintendo toned down the carnage with green blood and black-and-white fatalities, but even then, the series rarely saw official releases. Japanese gamers? Sure, some still import it, but for most, homegrown fighters like Street Fighter feel a lot more, well, family-friendly. Curious how Mortal Kombat still finds fans here?
Although Mortal Kombat is a household name among fighting game fans worldwide, its journey in Japan has been unusually rocky—and, honestly, a little bizarre. Back when Mortal Kombat 1 through 3 landed on Japanese consoles, players noticed something off: blood wasn’t red, it was green, and Fatalities—the series’ ultra-violent finishers—sometimes went black-and-white, like an old TV show. Nintendo Japan, worried about local standards, pressed pause on the gore and remixed things to keep it tame.
Mortal Kombat’s debut in Japan swapped red blood for green and turned brutal Fatalities into black-and-white TV moments to meet local standards.
As time marched on, the series faced even more hurdles. When Japan adopted the CERO rating system (think ESRB, but with a sterner face), Mortal Kombat’s signature violence became a real problem. The board has a strict “no decapitations, no graphic dismemberments” rule—pretty much Mortal Kombat’s bread and butter. Banned or censored in Germany, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, mainland China, and Ukraine, the Mortal Kombat franchise’s history shows that Japan is not alone in limiting the game’s extreme content.
While games like Doom Eternal could slip by with some monster gore (as long as it wasn’t too realistic), Mortal Kombat’s human-on-human carnage was just too much. Japan’s gaming culture also prefers its fighting games a bit less… splattery. Series like Street Fighter and Tekken, which focus more on stylized moves and less on organs flying around, fit right in. Public perception of video games has been especially influenced by media coverage, which often highlights the controversial violence in Mortal Kombat and amplifies concerns about its suitability for younger audiences.
Meanwhile, Mortal Kombat’s realistic violence and over-the-top Fatalities seemed excessive to both regulators and many players. It’s not that Japan dislikes violence—they just like it served with a side of fantasy, not raw realism.
Legally, Mortal Kombat isn’t “banned” in the sense of being illegal. People can import and play it privately. The problem is official distribution: CERO’s standards are strict, and publishers aren’t keen on slicing up the game just to pass. Mortal Kombat 11, for example, never got an official release in Japan—too many Fatalities, not enough compromise.
Some speculate there’s a bit of market protectionism, too. After all, why let a gory foreign game compete when homegrown franchises already dominate? Despite the controversy, many Japanese gamers seek out the series for its cognitive benefits associated with strategic gameplay and quick decision-making. Whatever the reasons, Mortal Kombat’s story in Japan remains a strange mix of censorship, culture clash, and a lot of green blood.