ROCKIN’ KATS
Rockin’ Katz was first released in Japan on April 5th, 1991 by Atlus Software Inc. on the NES/Famicom system. Also known as “N.Y. Nyankies” in Japan, players take control of Willy, an up and coming jazz musician on the dangerous streets of New York City. Willy has his girlfriend Jill kidnapped by local dog mobster Mugsy, and players find themselves on a mission to save her through seven different levels. These levels each feature their own theme, baddies, and bosses–all mimicking different television channels. Armed only with a punch gun (think Zelda-style hookshot), Willy fights his way through a carnival, a moving plane, a park, and a “shopping channel,” along whatever path he chooses to finish first. Additional “hardmode”-style levels are provided the player at the end of the game to test their mastery of Willly’s abilities.
LEGO STAR WARS: THE VIDEO GAME
We may be inundated with Lego games these days, but that wasn’t the case back in 2005. While several Lego games had made their debut in the gaming world before Lego Star Wars, this action-adventure title would be the grassroots model for the subsequent boom of franchised Lego titles–including numerous other movie series like Indiana Jones or the DC and Marvel Universes. While the initial release date for the Traveller’s Tales title was set to be March 29th, 2005, the game did not launch on Xbox, Playstation 2, or PC until this day in 2005. Griptonite Games developed for the Game Boy Advance version, released later in the same year. Versions were also launched by Aspyr for OS X in August as well, as GameCube in October. The thirteenth best seller of that year, it is no wonder that this title is touted for not only revitalizing the Star Wars franchise, but also the Lego brand itself. All of this thanks to a model which is considered to be endearingly addictive in its simple gameplay and age-range accessibility.
THE WITCHER: ENHANCED EDITION (MAC)
Last of all, four years ago on this day in 2012, The Witcher: Enhanced Edition was released on OS X. While the original game launched in September of 2009, the Enhanced Edition of the hack-and-slash action RPG offered significant improvements on the original title. These included over 200 new animations, additional NPC models, recolours of NPCs and monsters, expanded and corrected dialogue sequences, improved stability, reformatted inventory, improved load times, and generally provided a vastly improved experience for players over the widely loved original. In addition to the enhancements, the title was also released with a “making of” DVD, CD game soundtrack, a CD of ‘inspired-by’ music, the short story “The Witcher” from the book The Last Wish, a high quality map of Temeria, and the official strategy guide. The game, as well as the box extras, were made available as a free download to all owners of the original version who registered their game on the official forum. By 2010, the original Enhanced Edition sold around two million copies.
Some other titles released on this day in gaming history:
- Tropico -PC- (2001)
- NBA Ballers -PS2- (2004)
- SWAT 4 -PC- (2005)
- Rythm Heaven -DS- (2009)
Images © Atlus, CD Projekt and LucasArts
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