Once more unto the breach, we tackle this matter of age! The Pokepolice are getting serious this time though, because now we dive into the filth encrusted PEGI 12 category…

All of the following games below now have the same PEGI rating as Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow… You have been warned…

Speaking of warnings… Be aware that there are some spoilers for certain games below!

Near enough the entire Castlevania series

With the exception of the Lords of Shadow sub-series, every single Castlevania title has been given a PEGI rating of 12 or under.   This means that these games, that include such wonderfully iconic moments such as the giant beast that gets ripped in half and chases you in Rondo of Blood’s first stage, tons of animated blood and violence, plenty of nudity, bad language and more demonic imagery than you’ll find in an Eldritch novel, now all occupy the same place on the PEGI scale as Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow! Well, it serves ‘em right for the abominations that haunt Lavender Town!

Speaking of eldritch horrors…

Shin Megami Tensei 4

Yes! Shin Megami Tensei 4 is indeed a PEGI 12 rated game! That means that Mara sits alongside the rest of the pocket monster cast in the same category!

I did always think that Pokemon could do with more bad language, violence, cold blooded murder, religious iconography and condemnation, demonic worship, human sacrifice and suicide; and it seems that PEGI agree with me! So hop to it Game Freak! Learn from the monster masters from Atlus and make the most of that PEGI 12 rating!

EarthBound

Ahh Earthbound, the game that was inspired by what was thought to be a rape scene.  It’s probably a good thing that it was only released in Europe for the first time back in 2013, because it probably would’ve caused riots back in 1995 with its not so subtle drug references, an in-game appearance of a religious cult that bears more than a striking resemblance to the Ku-Klux-Klan, child abuse and some, quite frankly, utterly terrifying imagery that would probably have permanently scarred your children, much in the same way that Shigesato Itoi himself was traumatised by The Military Policeman and the Dismembered Beauty when he was a kid.

 Oh and Ness and his little band of friends get knifed by members of the mafia within the first hour of the game as well.  Fun!

 Another World

Long before Resident Evil 4 turned death scenes into an art form, Another World did it in style (and with a much lower rating to boot); but with almost as much questionable content! This is a very bleak game, with a dystopian look and feel to everything as ol’ Lester here finds himself inexplicably trapped within a world where everything (and I do really mean EVERYTHING) is out to kill him in brutal fashion.

Hilariously enough, its pseudo sequel Heart of Darkness is even worse in that regard and that got a 3-10 rating from the ELSPA back when it was released in 1998.  Thank goodness that PEGI had the sense to give Another World the same rating as Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow when the 25^th anniversary edition was released on Wii U and 3DS back in 2014, where would we be without them?

Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee – New 'n' Tasty!

Keeping with the tone of 90s cinematic platformers that originally never got released on a Nintendo platform, that subsequently got remakes on a Nintendo system, Oddworld Abe’s Oddysee is indeed a PEGI 12 release!

With such delicious fillings as cannibalism, extreme violence (with even more ways to die than Resident Evil 4!), institutional racism and bodily possession (better yet, it’s an actual game mechanic! You actually inhabit the bodies of your foes, the Sligs, and can lovingly lead them to their doom, or… if you just can’t be bothered to do that, you can simply hold down a button and they’ll self-destruct in a shower of bloody bits! Convinient!)

The original meat packing, slave labour simulator is now just as suitable for your children to consume as a helping of Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow! What an age we live in!

And finally… In what was perhaps PEGI’s finest hour…

We Dare

This rather unassuming little game was released for the Wii back in 2011, with a rather fitting advert that sets the tone for this game…

This, then brand spanking new game, was given a right thrashing by the public who were outraged over the idea that this was suitable for children.  But of course, PEGI knows best and for that, we are thankful that this light little party game was given the same age rating as Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow.

And there you have it! Another set of games that are every bit as suitable for your little pre-teen as Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow! This list is of course, far from exhaustive and there are plenty more titles out there that fit neatly within these lists.  Why not share some of your own on our forums? We’re more than happy to hear your suggestions for kid friendly games, because Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow are clearly child corrupting horrors and PEGI clearly never make mistakes…

 PEGI 12 too much for you and your kids to handle? Why not check out the previous articles to see more games that are much more suitible for your children than Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow! PEGI 3 PEGI 7