Nintendo Censorship
At the time, Nintendo of America had strict censorship policies concerning what sort of content could be depicted or referenced in any game published for a Nintendo system. In the original Japanese version, the DREK "empire" is actually the resurrected Nazi regime, but this was changed so as to fit the prohibition against political advocacy, racial and or ethnic stereotyping.
Yet, some of the changes were more complete than others. The final boss, Smirk, is clearly a cyborg version of Adolf Hitler and a file retrieved by Togo during a base infiltration in Greece retains a swastika on it, which is visible in the player's inventory area. Nintendo required that Golgo had his profession changed to spy rather than assassin, per its prohibition on graphic violence and gore.
Read more about this topic: Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode
Famous quotes containing the word censorship:
“The censorship method ... is that of handing the job over to some frail and erring mortal man, and making him omnipotent on the assumption that his official status will make him infallible and omniscient.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)