Why is Breath of the Wild rated M? [closed]

Solution 1:

In the US's rating standards, Breath of the Wild is rated E 10+. (very mild spoilers in this link, as they quote certain dialog lines to explain the rating)

In Europe, it is rated PEGI-12.

In Australia, it is rated M

Australia's classification body tends to be a bit more strict than the US or European bodies. For a borderline title like Breath of the Wild (moderate violence, alcohol usage, mild sexual allusions, etc), it's not surprising that Australia applied a slightly stronger rating to the game.

It's not about being dark or scary. It's mainly about the intensity of the combat, and also somewhat the mildly controversial nature of some of the events portrayed in the game.

If it makes you feel any better, the previous two Legend of Zelda games, "Twilight Princess" and "Skyward Sword" also received "M" ratings in Australia. It's also worth noting that "Ocarina of Time" is not rated "G" in Australia, but "PG", which is only one step down from M in the Australian system.