We live in a politically correct society where we’re all created equal, inclusiveness is the new cool, and we all bleed the same red blood–but it wasn’t always that way. Turning back the hands of time in both the real and gaming worlds reveal universes filled with ideas that aren’t exactly the most P.C. and sometimes outright offensive.

From misogyny to outright racist imagery, video games have walked the dark side when portraying certain groups. Here are a few of the more memorable politically incorrect moments in 2D games.

Double Dragon
Even if you weren’t a child of the 80′s, there’s a high probability that you’ve played one of the many, many iterations of Double Dragon, as its sequels/remakes have appeared on just about every console and handheld. We all remember the rough and tumble action, post-apocalyptic setting, and Abobo, but do you recall the incident at the beginning of the game that pissed off the Lee brothers? Click here and then jump to the 0:11 mark.

A girl in a mini-skirt is gut-punched and tossed over a hood’s shoulder, her panties are exposed to the world. I don’t even want to expand on what probably came next, but I suspect that it’s none too pleasant. Good stuff, Technos!

Square’s Tom Sawyer
Based on the Mark Twain’s classic The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Square’s Tom Sawyer is a RPG from the house of Final Fantasy that didn’t see a stateside release. It may have been licensing issues, it may have been the question of whether or not kids wanted to play a game based on a book, or it could’ve been due to, y’know, the photo you see here.

Apparently the Japanese programmers’ only experience with African-Americans came from blackface images, as Jim’s skin is as dark as shoe polish, and his lips are the size of Ballpark franks. Excellent work, Square!

Chew Man Fu
When my friend’s half-crazed father relates tales of his time spent in ‘Nam, the one constant that burrows through his stories (besides the camaraderie that he felt with his fellow soldiers stationed in that hell hole), is the term that some Americans used to describe the enemy combatants: rice-eaters. The term is blatantly stereotypical, and makes any person with an ounce of caring and compassion wince. It’s the same feeling that came over me while playing the Turbo Grafx-16′s Chew Man Fu. The plot, from Wikipedia:

Chew Man Fu has set a curse to rob the world of fried rice, egg rolls, and all its other favourite foods

The bad guy steals egg rolls from Asian people–oh noes! Thanks, Hudson!

Punch-Out!!
From arcade to home console, every entry in the Punch-Out series (a franchise known for its family-friendly boxing fun) featured hefty amounts of not-too-subtle stereotypes of the world’s various cultures.

There’s a Frenchman with poor fighting skills (Glass Joe), an Italian named after food (Pizza Pasta), a drunken, Cossack dancing Russian dressed in red (Soda Popinski/Vodka Drunkinski), a mystic, carpet-riding Indian (Great Tiger), and many, many more. Nintendo has upped the stereotype level in the last version of Punch-Out!! by allowing you to literally knock ethnicity-related items out of a boxer–like the croissants that fly out of Glass Joe when you rock his knot. Good job, Nintendo!

Crime Fighters 2
Vendetta is a fairly forgettable side-scrolling Genesis beat ‘em up that would’ve been far more memorable had the unedited version of the game made its way over from Japan (where it’s known as Crime Fighters 2).

Removed from the American version are leather-clad, semi-effeminate characters that mount your brawler and proceed to dry hump the life out of him…from behind. That’s right, the homosexual baddies are also rapists (skip to the 0:25 second mark). Grand happenings, Konami!

Fortunately, these games are relics or holdovers  from the ’80s and ’90s, which may signify that developers’ outlooks have expanded in contemporary times to be more sensitive to others.