The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s rating includes a first: alcohol

The ESRB published the rating for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild over the weekend, and it contains a first for the series: the "Use of Alcohol" content descriptor.

It's still rated E10+ the seventh of the series so rated, and that's not the highest age rating for the franchise either. (2006's Twilight Princess, and its 2016 remaster, were both T.) But it is called out for making a reference to booze, and "mild suggestive themes" involving the appearance of the fairies.

This is the third time the series has gotten tagged with a suggestive-themes content descriptor, which probably means the fairies seen in the other two games (Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time on the 3DS) to get that label are returning here. The ESRB said "fairies with moderate cleavage and/or exaggerated-size breasts," combined with some suggestive dialogue merit that flag. Interestingly, the non-3D versions of the games were not called out for this and were originally rated E.

Apparently the use of alcohol comes from some NPC being observed drunk and hiccuping. It's not clear if Link or anyone actually does drink or is shown drinking a beverage that is "definitely for adults," as the line goes. Either way, it shows the ESRB raters as strict as ever, particularly with a game expected to be played by children as much as its longtime adult fans.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild launches with the Nintendo Switch on March 3. It's also coming to the Wii U the same date. Below is 17 minutes of gameplay compiled by Polygon.