View Full Version : When was the first time you saw "naughty" words in video games
bombman
09-05-2009, 06:02 PM
I first heard them when I played Burn:Cycle on my old Macintosh (also on CD-i and Windows), there's intermittent cursing throughout the game and I was like 'Whoa, that's cool!"
After that I didn't see it for a while until I played Gynoug for the Japanese Mega Drive. When you beat the hardest mode it says like "Fuck you, you are something something" and I thought it was hilarious.
Of course after Grand Theft Auto came out it kind of lost its novelty factor. But before then I was highly amused by such things. (Before anyone mentions it, I'm sure there are a buttload of old PC adventure games that have cursing up the wazoo)
kupomogli
09-05-2009, 06:32 PM
Bionic Commando.
Sonicwolf
09-05-2009, 06:33 PM
Duke Nukem 3D on the PC back in the mid nineties. Lots of naughtiness in there.
Game Freak
09-05-2009, 06:55 PM
Q*Bert
Kitsune Sniper
09-05-2009, 07:09 PM
Ninja Gaiden I or II. Didn't someone say "DAMN!" in one of those games?
bombman
09-05-2009, 07:17 PM
Duke Nukem 3D on the PC back in the mid nineties. Lots of naughtiness in there.
Now that you mention it, I did play that before Burn:Cycle. But the time gap was pretty long.
Nebagram
09-05-2009, 07:35 PM
FFVII. Seriously, Barret and Cid both had serious issues.
Push Upstairs
09-05-2009, 07:48 PM
Good old Duke3D.
Unless I'm forgetting some random Doom WAD I played years ago.
ottojello
09-05-2009, 07:57 PM
Q-Bert!
Red Warrior
09-05-2009, 08:16 PM
Ninja Gaiden I or II. Didn't someone say "DAMN!" in one of those games?
That was only in the SNES Trilogy version, and I think it was Jaquio from Gaiden 1 that said it... I think. But yeah, the original NES versions have no cursing.
Cornelius
09-05-2009, 08:44 PM
Well, I know this isn't really what was asked, but the first curse words in a game for me were those I typed in Hero's Quest. You could ask the waitress all kinds of dirty things and she would blush. Unfortunately, as I was asking about the f-bomb and my dad had walked up behind me, having some interest in games. He swatted me on the head with the newspaper he was holding, and that was the end of that.
jperryss
09-05-2009, 08:46 PM
The first one I remember was probably Duke 3D. But as far as console games go, the first Download for the PC Engine beats it by 5 or so years and had lots of awesome Engrish vulgarity.
Scroll to the bottom to see all the death screens.
http://www.thebrothersduomazov.com/search/label/Download
Kid Ice
09-05-2009, 08:55 PM
Well, I know this isn't really what was asked, but the first curse words in a game for me were those I typed in Hero's Quest. You could ask the waitress all kinds of dirty things and she would blush. Unfortunately, as I was asking about the f-bomb and my dad had walked up behind me, having some interest in games. He swatted me on the head with the newspaper he was holding, and that was the end of that.
I was thinking the same thing....I used to type swear words into old text adventure games like Zork to see how the cpu would respond.
BHvrd
09-05-2009, 09:01 PM
Now that you mention it, I did play that before Burn:Cycle. But the time gap was pretty long.
I'm sure it was cause the language in Burn Cycle was a bit more vulgar in its exectution:
""Listen up Cutter, this is how it shakes down. Every minute you're in the Televerse with my software i'm gonna cut off a piece of that sack of shit you call a body. And I woudn't worry when your dicks gonna go, by then you won't have a hand to stroke it!
Sticks with you a bit more than Nukems one liners, lol. Though yeah I believe he was first, him or as already mentioned Q*Bert. :)
hellfire
09-05-2009, 09:06 PM
conkers bad fur day (I was like 6 years old when I bought it, rofl)
mobiusclimber
09-05-2009, 09:10 PM
I don't remember seeing any swear words until FF7 except the ones I typed myself into the old text adventures. "I don't know how to 'fuck myself.'"
I remember naughtiness in console games but it was restricted to small bits of nudity, like there might be a topless female enemy (like a faerie or medusa or something) or those magic books in Secret of Mana that would randomly flip open to a Playboy-style spread.
CelticJobber
09-05-2009, 09:19 PM
I'm pretty sure Bionic Commando for NES had a couple of "damn's" in it, that would've been the first I saw in a game.
Berserker
09-05-2009, 09:26 PM
Bionic Commando here for me too. I'd never actually seen "damn" in text before, so it sort of puzzled me at first.
Then Hitler's face exploded.
jperryss
09-05-2009, 09:27 PM
I'm pretty sure Bionic Commando for NES had a couple of "damn's" in it, that would've been the first I saw in a game.
Good call. It was "You damn fool!" coming out of Hitler's mouth near the end I believe.
There was a bit of light cursing in Space Quest II (PC), IIRC. That seems to be the earliest in my mind.
j_factor
09-05-2009, 10:35 PM
I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Leisure Suit Larry.
Breetai
09-05-2009, 10:56 PM
The first I can think of is Lunar: The Silver Star on the Sega CD (1993, I think). I said, "bitch" if I remember right. Then again, I don't considered "damn" a swear. It also had light nudity, references to alcohol and prostitution.
Then again, I DID play Leisure Suit Larry back in the day. I just don't remember any swearing in it. I'm absolutely sure it had some, but it just doesn't stick out in my memory. Perhaps because it was a computer game, and these things were just expected. In Lunar, it blew my f'n 14-year old mind.
HappehLemons
09-05-2009, 11:01 PM
FFVII from Barret.
RPG_Fanatic
09-05-2009, 11:12 PM
FFVII from Barret.
Same here FF VII
BHvrd
09-05-2009, 11:24 PM
Then again, I DID play Leisure Suit Larry back in the day. I just don't remember any swearing in it. I'm absolutely sure it had some, but it just doesn't stick out in my memory. Perhaps because it was a computer game, and these things were just expected.
"Spearmint flavored, ribbed, polka dotted lubber" is about as close as it got, heh.
In original text version if you type in "jack off" it tells you the point of the game is to stop doing that, lol. I don't recall any actual cuss words just innuendo and witty banter.
When it went point and click it lost alot of charm.
Gapporin
09-06-2009, 12:05 AM
Final Fantasy IV.
"YOU SPOONY BARD!"
Icarus Moonsight
09-06-2009, 01:49 AM
I heard curse words constantly growing up. My first word was the effenheimer! I don't even recall because it would not have made an impression.
MASTERWEEDO
09-07-2009, 08:58 PM
Toughman Contest, after you beat everyone Butterbean would get up out of the crowd and enter the ring with a loud "I'm gonna kick your ass!"........and he usually did.
Nirvana
09-08-2009, 12:25 AM
FFVII. Seriously, Barret and Cid both had serious issues.
Came into this thread thinking this. I was pretty young when the game came out, and not to mention some of Barret's dialogue right off the bat displayed what kind of character he was XD
PentiumMMX
09-08-2009, 12:31 PM
A poor fan translation of Fire Emblem Gaiden provided the first time I saw a swear word in a game, and it was actually quite amusing because that was the only word there; everything else was a jumble of random letters, numbers, and symbols.
BetaWolf47
09-08-2009, 03:05 PM
I've got a few. I forgot which was first.
Emulating Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension. After Freiza defeats Piccolo, he says the S word.
Also, the golden fly on Breath of Fire 2 fires the D word after you defeat him. No idea how that game got away with being E-rated.
While I was cleaning my NES, trying to get a game to work, I got a hilarious graphics glitch on SMB/Duck Hunt. The game booted albeit glitchy, and I pressed start on Super Mario Bros. However, it brought me to Duck Hunt. Right where it said "GAME A 1 DUCK", the D was flickering between D and F.
A little note, but some tank game for FDS contains the F word. When you start the game, it says "PLEASE INSERT THE FUCKING SIDE B" or some odd Engrish.
brusnes
09-08-2009, 03:27 PM
I'm pretty sure it was Megaman 7. It really caught me off guard as a kid
garagesaleking!!
09-09-2009, 01:42 AM
i would have to say when i played gta III on ps2 at a friends house would be the first time.
ScourDX
09-09-2009, 01:55 AM
Scarface for cussing too much. As for classic game, Friday the 13th NES Game Over screen. Nintendo would've censored the word DEAD, but didn't.
HurricaneAndrew
09-09-2009, 06:08 AM
I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Leisure Suit Larry.
YES... I was thinking that myself! Leisure Suit Larry would have to be the earliest bit of naughtyness I saw in a game.
BUT... There were actually X-rated games for the Atari 2600. They were manufactured by Mystique.
Bachelor Party
Beat 'em & Eat 'em
Custer's Revenge
I'm sure there is some that I am forgetting.
SparTonberry
09-09-2009, 11:06 AM
A little note, but some tank game for FDS contains the F word. When you start the game, it says "PLEASE INSERT THE FUCKING SIDE B" or some odd Engrish.
Bakutoshi Patton-kun.
TURN DISK TO SIDE B AND INSERT TO FUCKING BOX.
What makes it even more amusing is that the text is colorful in the literal and figurative sense. :D
Breath of Fire 2 was also the first I noticed.
Tempest
09-09-2009, 12:15 PM
As long as we're on the subject of Sierra adventures, didn't Police Quest have a few Damns or other light cursing in them?
Tempest
bombman
09-09-2009, 11:19 PM
Bakutoshi Patton-kun.
TURN DISK TO SIDE B AND INSERT TO FUCKING BOX.
What makes it even more amusing is that the text is colorful in the literal and figurative sense. :D
XD, gonna have to look that up some time.
Just remembered an even earlier game: Rise Of The Dragon for the Sega CD. It came up on another forum and I thought about this topic.
So yeah, Rise Of The Dragon was the earliest for me. >_>
From memory, Final Fantasy VII was the first time I really noticed foul language in a game.
vintagegamecrazy
09-10-2009, 01:48 AM
First for me was Rambo for the NES when the colonel says "you have 36 hours to het the hell out of there"
Astrosmash
09-10-2009, 10:21 AM
Both already mentioned, but for me it was probably either Bionic Commando or Rambo (NES).
Final Fantasy VII was kind of a novelty when it came out though as having the highest degree of profanity I'd seen up to that point.
NayusDante
09-10-2009, 10:40 AM
The earliest profanity in a game that I can remember hearing is in Day of the Tentacle. Hoagie often responds to Look At X with "Bitchin'!"
There's also quite a few damns in DOTT, but I didn't catch them until years later when I played the game on a decent soundcard that didn't muffle the speech. Waking up Dr. Fred with the coffee through a funnel causes him to exclaim "DAMN GOOD COFFEE!!!" Also in the future, there's a rather funny line:
Laverne: Damn that Dr. Fred.
Zed: Hey, she knows the Edison family motto!
I also picked up some colorful language from Total Distortion. Granted, "suck" and "turd" are more 90s-relative slang than actual profanity.
On the subject of games with profanity not getting a T or higher rating, The Dig is certainly an enigma. It has casual profanity throughout, and even a scene where someone's arm is sawed off, and it still had a K-A rating. Sam & Max had just as much profanity, and the violence wasn't as serious, but I'm pretty sure it got a T.
BetaWolf47
09-10-2009, 12:56 PM
Bakutoshi Patton-kun.
TURN DISK TO SIDE B AND INSERT TO FUCKING BOX.
What makes it even more amusing is that the text is colorful in the literal and figurative sense. :D
XD That's it, thanks. Imagine if that game was ever presented to an English-speaking audience back in the day, by Nintendo, during a huge convention.
Rickstilwell1
09-10-2009, 01:34 PM
Ah I was raised a Nintendo kid with the only non-Nintendo console being the Genesis until I was a teenager. So the first dirty words I heard were on Perfect Dark when you kill somebody: You Bitch!
Except Renegade on NES did have mean characters when you died:
"Get lost punk!"
"Beat it scum!"
shopkins
09-10-2009, 03:13 PM
For me it was probably Hitler at the end of Bionic Commando, too. Him cussin' at me really pissed me off and fired me up to beat him. Not that it really did a lot of good because it took me a terribly long time to beat the last boss and get the timing right to make his head asplode, but at least when it did it was very, very satisfying. Still my favorite game ending ever.
Astrosmash
09-11-2009, 12:13 AM
For me it was probably Hitler at the end of Bionic Commando, too. Him cussin' at me really pissed me off and fired me up to beat him. Not that it really did a lot of good because it took me a terribly long time to beat the last boss and get the timing right to make his head asplode, but at least when it did it was very, very satisfying. Still my favorite game ending ever.
Yep - Bionic Commando was actually two firsts for me; not only (possibly) the first profanity I remember in a game, but my first exploding head as well.
vivaeljason
09-11-2009, 12:21 AM
The Oregon Trail on a school computer. Someone else chose to play as "F***er" and I happened to cross his tombstone.
JohnnyBlaze
09-11-2009, 12:30 AM
For me, it was Metal Gear Solid.
"So, you killed the chief, YOU BASTARD!"
jcalder8
09-11-2009, 12:59 AM
Barkley Shut Up and Jam on the Genesis
I don't remember what was said but it was damn or shit when the ball went out of court. I was pretty shocked at the time so I remember that it was some swear word
Haoie
09-11-2009, 02:55 AM
Censorship sure has come a long way, no?
Push Upstairs
09-11-2009, 04:29 AM
The Oregon Trail on a school computer. Someone else chose to play as "F***er" and I happened to cross his tombstone.
That really isn't a very creative name.
Ben Dover would not be amused!
Golgo 13 had the "H" word in it I think. :D
Tanooki
09-23-2016, 05:09 PM
You mean Golgo 13? What H word? horny? ;)
You mean Golgo 13? What H word? horny? ;)
I think they said Hell, lol!
BlastProcessing402
10-18-2016, 05:15 PM
What, nobody played Q*bert?
:argue:
Not a word, but an odd one on NES era NOA's part, in the manual for Kid Icarus, the drawing of the Syren has the boobs uncensored. I guess it's okay if they're blue and on winged monster females. They're also topless in the game, but it's not as blatant, since they don't appear to have nipples unlike in the manual.
goldenband
10-18-2016, 06:48 PM
Leather Goddesses of Phobos, maybe? I don't remember if they use any obscenities in that one, or in Leisure Suit Larry.