Sekai Project’s The Grisaia Trilogy (developed by Frontwing) has been denied classification in Australia, banning it from sale.
The successfully Kickstarted trilogy of adult visual novel titles includes The Fruit of Grisaia, The Labyrinth of Grisaia, and The Eden of Grisaia- all three ending up fully translated and released on various platforms. This also included several spin-offs and side stories, including The Leisure of Grisaia, The Afterglow of Grisaia, and The Melogy of Grisaia. The game’s sex-scenes were also removed on certain platforms.
The games see the protagonist involved with several girls in an elite private school setting, each with their own traumas and dark pasts. The protagonist then aids these girls getting over their issues and “saves” them, among a backdrop of more sinister intrigue. As part of the run-down puts it:
“A single male student enrolls into Mihama Private Academy, a mysterious school surrounded by tall walls on every side.
His name is Yuuji Kazami.
Tired of being controlled by a sinister destiny, and a “job” that offers him no purpose in life, Yuuji takes some time away to get a taste of the student life.
The only other students enrolled at the school are five girls.
As Yuuji gets to know the girls, and gets used to their unique personalities, he begins to unravel the reasons for their enrollment.
He may not think of himself as anything special, but he may just be the salvation the girls need to save themselves from the darkness that looms over them.
Bound to a past that keeps catching up with him, Yuuji’s battle begins as he encounters a series of events that will change the unwritten laws of his world.
This is the story of the six Fruits of Grisaia fighting back against the world… “
Nonetheless, the Australian Classification Board have granted the trilogy a Refused Classification, preventing it from being sold in Australia. This is most likely due to the game’s sexual nature- as even the censored versions on consoles have an ESRB rating of Mature 17+.
Other games to recently get banned in Australia include Mary Skelter 2, We Happy Few for the second time, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance, despite initially having a rating of R 18+.
Back in July 2018, Australian Senator and leader of the Australian Liberal Democrats David Leyonhjelm proposed a bill to the Australian government to prevent video games from being banned in the region.
The Grisaia Trilogy is available now on Windows PC (Via Steam*), PlayStation Vita, and Nintendo Switch. The adult version of the game is also available with other online retailers.
* Editor’s Note: Steam does not carry The Grisaia Trilogy, but each game as a stand-alone product. You can find a bundle of all the aforementioned Girsaia games on Steam here.
