"Zombies", or "Zombies Ate My Neighbours" had to face problems right from the start. Just as all those console games that were not entirely child-friendly, there were concerned parents mounting the barricades, especially because of all the monsters/killers that originated from horror mives with a pretty high rating. Since a rating system was not yet established back then, the only authority were the publishers themselves who could print recommendadtions on the games' boxes. For this game, the publishers thought that it was okay for kids from 8 upwards. Naturally, many parents considered this to be a too low rating, especially because you have to face Jason Vorhees or Chucky every now and then. Konami - who published the game in Europe - bbowed the pressure and censored the European version.

Altered Titelscreen
For the European version, "Ate My Neighbours" had to be taken out of the title.

Uncensored US Version:	Censored European Version:

Altered Background when Choosing your Character
In the background of the character selection screen, Jason Vorhees' chainsaw was replaced by an axe (those sprites which would hinder you from seeing the background were deleted for this picture).

Uncensored US Version:	Censored European Version:

Altered Jason Voorhees Enemy
Of course, the ingame chainsaw (which also makes typical chainsaw noises in the original version) was replaced by an axe in the European version.

Uncensored US Version:	Censored European Version:

Altered Level Titles
Due to the replacement of all chainsaws by axes, all the level titles which hinted at chainsaws had to be altered as well.


Level 4:

Uncensored US Version:	Censored European Version:

Level 34:

Uncensored US Version:	Censored European Version:

Level 46:

Uncensored US Version:	Censored European Version:

Altered Game Over Screen
The blood which runs down the "Game Over"-screen already had to be colored for the US SNES version (there, it's purple). For whatever reason, Konami decided to color it green in the European version.

Censored US Version:	Censored European Version:

Game Over Screen of the Genesis Versions
Even though all the censorship of the European SNES and European SEGA Genesis version are identical so far, the SEGA Genesis versions still differ in one crucial point (besides the worse sound and image quality) from the SNES versions: both the US and the European Genesis version both have red blood during the "Game Over"-screen.

Uncensored Game Over Screen:


In the end I want to take some time to invalidate a few rumors about the censorship which you can find on the internet:



Day of the Tentacle Level
Due to rumors, the level "Day of the Tentacle" (which of course is homage to the same-named Lucasarts game) had to be taken out of the European version due to copyright issues. In reality, the level itself is a bonus level in both the US and the European version which means that you will not always be able to play it every time you play through the game.





The Flamethrower
Another rumor says that the US version actually offered you the possibility to use a flame thrower as a weapon which was taken out of the European version. The truth is that the flamethrower was programmed, however, never made it to the final game - neither the US nor the European version. What is possible though is using a code in the European version to unlock the flamethrower.