Flying Shark / Hishou Zame no longer banned in Germany

[system11]

https://t.co/cHbxjeueGe

The arcade version of Flying Shark is being automatically removed from the prohibited media list in Germany. Yes seriously, that 1987 shmup was banned in 1992.

Does anyone know how it ended up on there in the first place?

[Bananamatic]

because it's trash

[d0s]

because it's trash

WOOP WOOP BAD TASTE ALERT WOOP WOOP

[BIL]

Does anyone know how it ended up on there in the first place?

Totally offhand, I'd guess either the game itself or its associated artworks strayed too near the ol' WWII. There's also the possibility of the AC original getting tarred with something from one of its myriad home platform versions. I notice its page shows the C64 boxart.

Interested to hear more, either way. German 80s/90s videogame censorship is the best.

[EmperorIng]

It must have been that bonus level where you mow down WW2 POWs. I thought it was ballsy, even for a Toaplan game - if not a little gratuitous.

That it's been lifted must mean the Nazis have finally won.

[KoopaTGR]

False advertising; there are no actual flying sharks.

[emphatic]

[Master O]

https://t.co/cHbxjeueGe

The arcade version of Flying Shark is being automatically removed from the prohibited media list in Germany. Yes seriously, that 1987 shmup was banned in 1992.

Does anyone know how it ended up on there in the first place?

Maybe it was banned because the MCU wasn't emulated at the time? [/sarcasm]

[Pixel_Outlaw]

Does anyone know how it ended up on there in the first place?

Totally offhand, I'd guess either the game itself or its associated artworks strayed too near the ol' WWII. There's also the possibility of the AC original getting tarred with something from one of its myriad home platform versions. I notice its page shows the C64 boxart.

Interested to hear more, either way. German 80s/90s videogame censorship is the best.

Looks like Germans had shark mouth nose art too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMLTx8Mjrv8

It's kind of a huge WTF when you consider a Japanese game company (Capcom) made 1942.
Japanese companies making you play as Allied fighters is a very strange thing.

Going a bit off topic here but damn I would love to see more realistic military themed shmups.
I really like the gritty semi-realistic style pixel art you don't see much of anymore.

I'll play as an infernal squealing chibi pilot to get my fix but sometimes a man needs a real biwing plane.

[omegaman]

German 80s/90s videogame censorship is the best.

We unpopped a bottle of the finest champagne when Blue Max was uncensored in 2010 (it had been banned for the full extend of 25 years)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Max_(video_game)

[TransatlanticFoe]

I'd guess it was the home ports. NES Sky Shark explicitly identifies your plane as a P-40 and the other home computer covers still show a plane that looks a lot like a P-40. That's enough to trigger it being WWII related and ties into the later date of 1992.

The arcade game is mostly biplanes but doesn't identify "sides" or specific models. Tenuous to ban even for Germany's old censorship practices.

[Samuray]

Oh, that's a relief! Now I can FINALLY import that FM Towns Marty version without fear of it getting confiscated. And I'm not even joking.

If I'll ever find it for a half-decent price, that is.

[d0s]

Oh, that's a relief! Now I can FINALLY import that FM Towns Marty version without fear of it getting confiscated. And I'm not even joking.

If I'll ever find it for a half-decent price, that is.

Honestly just get the board instead of paying out the ass for an inferior port, I paid $50 for Sky Shark on klov last year. It was an incredibly popular board in the US and there are tons of them still around, if you don't mind the different title screen (I think there are other extremely minor changes?)

[Vludi]

if you don't mind the different title screen (I think there are other extremely minor changes?)

According to Perikles the western versions have slightly easier recoveries.

[BIL]

It's kind of a huge WTF when you consider a Japanese game company (Capcom) made 1942.
Japanese companies making you play as Allied fighters is a very strange thing.

I remember a 2001 EGM interview with a Capcom staffer, who mentioned there actually was some controversy about that in Japan. He compared it to a theoretical US-made Vietnam War game, where players "beat the hell out of the Americans" as Viet Cong. Might explain why the Famicom version of 1943 dropped "Midway Kaisen" for "The Battle of Valhalla."

Oh, that's a relief! Now I can FINALLY import that FM Towns Marty version without fear of it getting confiscated. And I'm not even joking.

If I'll ever find it for a half-decent price, that is.

I was considering the Towns port too, but quickly gave up on it. In case you've not tried it out - they cropped the viewable screen area, but didn't bother to reduce the active playfield. So you're forever exchanging fire with enemies in the phantom space above your monitor, often killing stuff without ever actually seeing it. Felt really chintzy - if not for that I'd probably have gone ahead and got a copy, it seemed pretty solid otherwise. It's basically what would've become of VING's later, excellent Saturn Rayforce had that port not included TATE.

[Samuray]

Honestly just get the board instead of paying out the ass for an inferior port, I paid $50 for Sky Shark on klov last year. It was an incredibly popular board in the US and there are tons of them still around, if you don't mind the different title screen (I think there are other extremely minor changes?)

I was considering the Towns port too, but quickly gave up on it. In case you've not tried it out - they cropped the viewable screen area, but didn't bother to reduce the active playfield. (...)

Thank you for the warnings but my mind is set on the FMT port nonetheless. For several reasons:

- I don't collect PCB nor am I ever planning on doing so. The main reason is maintenance of the boards....I can't even change a battery in a Nintendo cart, I have no idea how to solder, and therefore I suspect the PCBs would rot away in my hands, so to speak.

- consequently I don't have a Supergun setup.

- I got the FM Towns Marty primarily for this very game, cropped playing area or not. Also I love those nice big boxes.

- I'm in Europe so plenty of boards floating around in the US would only be of very limited use to me.

So I appreciate what you're saying but I, as a console-only gamer, would still prefer the FMT version. Tried to snatch it twice in some auctions but was always left (far) behind.

[MintyTheCat]

Germany does indeed have a pretty odd censorship situation and until very recently had some odd ideas about allowing people to listen to music on Youtube and that sort of thing, have a look at GEMA. It is as if Germany thinks it can protect itself from the rest of the world by insulating itself in a bubble.
Nearly all horror films are cut to such an extent that it will instantly piss most fans off. I personally bring my films in from the US for English and Austria for German as Austria does not censor that much.

But when it comes to porn, well not a lot is censored there. The way I see it:

USA: uncut horror, uncut porn - depends on the state.
Germany: cut horror, mostly uncut porn.
UK: mostly cut horror, mostly cut porn.

But it gets to be all rather silly over here and you tend to find the most boring, bureaucratic, "never had any fun ever", party-poopers working in those roles over here and they think nothing of charging you for imports, delaying your packages, confiscating for any minor reason and all round making life difficult for you and treating everyone like some kind of grand scheme criminal

I once had some homebrew PCB projects for PC Engine development - so hardly mainstream - come in and the chap had made the mistake of sending them along in a box from a popular electronics vendor - I think it was Digikey - they were convinced we were trying to dodge taxes and bring in highly expensive electronic goods You end up in these silly little situations far too often over here and most of them literally cannot think beyond the end of their nose. On that occasion they could not prove the electronic item's value, I had proof of its value on me and they under the usual delaying action had to let me take the PCB away with me without being able to charge me. On another occasion they wanted me to open a brand new, sealed game "to be sure" - I told them no way and they had to accept it but they think absolutely nothing of invading your space and hassling you and any privacy that your are entitled to.
I actually hate having to go down to the import office over here and especially my local one as they take forever and a day to let you know and then when you go down you end up waiting for ages whilst they dick about. Germany could do with a serious dose of customer-service, to appreciate the advances made through automation - yep, there is often a person behind many systems when often something automated would do the job better. But I suppose all this keeps people in jobs.

I mention the use of delays and such as from time to time if they cannot out right ban something they either make it very difficult for you to obtain or it simply delay, defer and so on. It is a lot like living in some kind of communist country in that regard.

I really found that anything at all remotely associated with WW2 or that contains even a hint of having a nazi symbol will not get through. I made the mistake of ordering a fictional WW2 game this year that had zombies in it and of course with the narrative being that towards the end of WW2 the nazi powers that be decided to unleash an army of zombies. Now, of course very few of us would regard this as being anything other than fiction but still, no, it would not install under Steam and I had to send the game back along with a letter to the company that sold the game to me in the UK. Essentially, this is just how it is over here.

Having witnessed UK's stand on Horror films and how the state tried its up most to blame Horror films for every issue known to the Western world it does not come as much of a surprise but still, it does grind a little.

[OmegaFlareX]

Thank you for the warnings but my mind is set on the FMT port nonetheless. For several reasons:

You forgot the nice CD BGM.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5GlcGGMh5E

[Samuray]

You forgot the nice CD BGM.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5GlcGGMh5E

Indeed I did but that's because I don't know it yet! How could I, without ever having played this version of the gane?
But it's nice to know it has great music!

[ELabit]

Thank you for the warnings but my mind is set on the FMT port nonetheless. For several reasons:

You forgot the nice CD BGM.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5GlcGGMh5E

I can't stand the arcade OST, the FMT music is the best part of that port

[Xyga]

False advertising; there are no actual flying sharks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFgyFLbLejE
That's high enough for me.

[Bradbury]

Here is a a documentary about that censorship authority in Germany from the early 90s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehz7bNK70FA

at 5:40 they are playing a commando clone.

It is somewhat paradoxical. They fail within seconds and begin to curse. Then they let a child play for them because they have to play through it to prohibit it. Even through the whole thing is acually because of youth protection and that game was for adults only anyway.

[atheistgod1999]

What I find hugely ironic about Germans constantly being ashamed of other people in their country having done some awful things is the fact that wasn't one of the main issues with the Holocaust the fact that they were generalizing the Jews (yeah, other groups, I know, but that wasn't generalizing) and saying that because some did something, all of them need to GTFO of the country? They're generalizing themselves by thinking that because they're German, they're responsible for WWII or some shit. Looks like Germany didn't learn anything from WWII .

And what the fuck is with the safe-space shit with censoring every goddamn thing having to do with WWII because it might trigger some Germans or whatever?

Also: While the US gets tons of flac, we got that First Amendment, bitches; no media banned here

[Master O]

What I find hugely ironic about Germans constantly being ashamed of other people in their country having done some awful things is the fact that wasn't one of the main issues with the Holocaust the fact that they were generalizing the Jews (yeah, other groups, I know, but that wasn't generalizing) and saying that because some did something, all of them need to GTFO of the country? They're generalizing themselves by thinking that because they're German, they're responsible for WWII or some shit. Looks like Germany didn't learn anything from WWII .

And what the fuck is with the safe-space shit with censoring every goddamn thing having to do with WWII because it might trigger some Germans or whatever?

Also: While the US gets tons of flac, we got that First Amendment, bitches; no media banned here

Yet in contrast, Japan, whose military committed equally unspeakable atrocities against both China and Korea (Nanjing, Unit 731's experiments, Comfort Women, etc), gets a pass on their militarist past.

[Bananamatic]

when you click on shmupsfarm and end up on /pol/

[Bradbury]

WW2 references are not generally prohibited but concrete nazi symbols are. (Only in video games)
Flying Shark was probably banned because they saw a glorification of violence in it by the time.

The stone began to roll because there was a lot of stupid software like concentration camp simulations hate games again minorities and the politics who was not so into this kind of new media saw itself forced to to something against it.

Although games like Flying Shark was banned, it was not forbidden buying and playing it.

[MintyTheCat]

WW2 references are not generally prohibited but concrete nazi symbols are. (Only in video games)
Flying Shark was probably banned because they saw a glorification of violence in it by the time.

The stone began to roll because there was a lot of stupid software like concentration camp simulations hate games again minorities and the politics who was not so into this kind of new media saw itself forced to to something against it.

Although games like Flying Shark was banned, it was not forbidden buying and playing it.

Yes, under the rules it is fine to use Nazi symbols in documentaries and historical works but it is pulled up for most other things. I forget what the rules but I am aware of what symbols are banned.

I had no idea that they had a concentration-camp sim - deary me!

Atheistgod: get yourself some history books and read them and please, for heaven's sake don't rely on a forum to give the layout for WW2. You learn the most from history I find.

Also: While the US gets tons of flac, we got that First Amendment, bitches; no media banned here

To be honest, it is generally a better idea to have the freedom of speech. Without it you tend to find that first of all the nastiness goes underground and festers into something worse and secondly if you allow all to present their notions and ideas equally the weaker beliefs and notions tend to be ridiculed and thrown out and it is usually the more fragile of systems that ban freedom of speech - think what went down behind the Iron-Curtain, Iraq under the Baath party and Saddam Hussein, etc. I agree with you: freedom of speech is a better position to take than blanket banning everything and it barely serves its intent and purpose. There is the idea that once you set forth exactly what the rules and limits are people will simply work out how to circumvent those rules. As an example of this circumvention have a look at this album cover:

Spoiler

I don't know for sure but I bet that this guy worked out how to bend the rules without breaking them and thereby 'get away with it' and pretty much illustrate that hard and fast rules hardly serve their purpose.

[Shepardus]

Also: While the US gets tons of flac, we got that First Amendment, bitches; no media banned here

Except, you know, plenty of things.

The German ban on Nazi symbols and Holocaust denial has nothing to do with "safe-space shit" and the fact that that even pops into that addled head of yours demonstrates to the world that you ought to pop open a history book as Minty suggested and avoid spewing opinions on political issues you're clearly undereducated on, especially not in Shmups Chat where even well-informed political opinion doesn't belong.

[Xyga]

@Minty: And the more freedom you give to the inherent evil of stupidity, ignorance and hatred, the more likely these things are to prosper and devour the very freedom that allowed the shit to be.
Rules that set limits to things that are too toxic and destructive to society are a good, they're the mark of civilization, and the knack of never setting too few or too much is the wisdom that maintains prosperity and peace. Healthy countries/people should be counscious of that.
2016 should have served as a lesson, but we know it actually didn't because it is probably too late now, absolutes and fucktardiness apparently are the new thinking.

Best example has been muricans with the constant "we're absolutely free and freer than anyone, no limits!" bullshit that makes me laugh every time, it's such an immature thing to believe considering the shit it brings them and how their reality is so much not reflecting that idea. I've met few people in my life bitching more about morals, religion, all kinds of society matters and demanding all manners of restictions apply. So much it's hilarious to hear the innemurable references to 'freedom' mixed in the speeches.
"Battle royale with God as the silent referee" would be the more accurate social-darwinist/randian description of it, so yeah if you win and stand are the top, with the imaginary superbeing father figure giving the nod, well of course you're free lol.
The european definition is mostly kind of the opposite and heavily the consequence of World Wars; legal democratic authority acting as parent/tutor-like to protect its people from fighting with each-other or self-harm, ensuring a peaceful organized system being the more effective way to provide individuals actual freedom and not having shit lives in a creepingly, chaoticly unequal system that would bring resentment and wars all over again. Unfortunately money's power has left too many people unattended and they're more and more to lose faith, and unfortunately swaying towards the dark side of old. The weakness of the more managed society is that it crumbles if you fail for too long at managing it decently or become too dumb to do so, much like any kind of large organization actually.

So yeah, all that to say I'm pretty happy with my country and most in Europe setting reasonable limits to what's tolerable to say and do without using something so extremely contradictory like the USA do, even though some laws like that German censorship over everything nazi ends up backfiring after a while and being used by fascists for their ever-rhetorical bullshit propaganda against everything that forbids them even a tiny bit to reopen concentration camps.

PS: lol though on a lighter note as a French I love when I visit Germany how most things in everyday life are some degrees more efficently organized and structured, it's relaxing compared to the relative chaos my own country often feels like.
Though after a while it somehow gets kind of suffocating and you wish you could release some tension. Up until the turn of the 2000's France was still in pretty good economical and social health, quite happy, so I definitely enjoyed living there more than I would have in Germany (at the time I was living with a German girl and was often going there to spend some time with her relatives) but not so much today as shit hit the French fan hard, so I'd actually think of escaping to Germany for a few years if that fascist Putin lapdog Le Pen wins the election in May, but I'm blaming myself hard for having never learned to speak German (I was relying on my GF and English) damn.

EDIT: shit I didn't realize this is indeed not the off-topic forum. Sorry for the rant. :p

[atheistgod1999]

I actually did study WWII in History class last spring, and got a perfect score on an in-depth essay about it.