The Japanese game Valkyrie Drive: Bhikkhuni has been banned from being sold in Germany and Australia. The game was refused classification by the German USK and Australian OFLC.
Classification entities like USK and OFLC put age categories on games depending on the content that is included. Both Germany and Australia have laws that prohibit the display of certain types of media if it is deemed inappropriate for people under the age of 18.
In both countries games that are deemed inappropriate are put on an index. In Germany the Federal Department of Media Harmful to Young Persons, or BPjM, maintains a list known as the List of media harmful to young people.
Titles that are put on this list may only be sold on request to adults aged 18 or older. Retailers are prohibited from advertised in any media or put the product on display in stores.
Valkyrie Drive is a Japanese media franchise created by Marvelous, which was announced at the AnimeJapan convention in March 2015.
The spin-off game Valkyrie Drive: Bhikkhuni for PlayStation Vita is set in a world where teenagers, or those in their twenties, suddenly find themselves infected with a mysterious virus that temporarily turns their very bodies into weapons.
The game's main storyline revolves around a group of girls known as "Rebreakers" who are able to wield these newly transformed weapons. It features both combat and adventure gameplay elements as players fight swarms of enemy forces in teams of two - one who turns into a weapon and the other wielding it.
As the girls fight together, their synchronization increases and certain aspects such as their weapons, combos, and dialogue can change. Additionally, players can perform special attacks that tear up the clothes of both allies and enemies.
The German USK deemed the game to contain "content severely harmful to minors" and claimed there is content that depicts "minors in unnatural and sexually explicit poses".
The North American ESRB and British PEGI did decide to rate the game. The two organizations ruled that the game is to get a Mature and 16 age rating, respectively.
Valkyrie Drive: Bhikkhuni was released in Japan on December 10, 2015. UK publisher PQube Games will release the game in North America and Europe on September 16, 2016.
