FINAL FANTASY ORIGINS
If you’re like any other gamer who came to the Final Fantasy series a little late to the party, you’re bound to have been a little confused about the numbering system of the early titles. Final Fantasy Origins contains a compilation of the Japanese Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II titles–not to be confused with the North American Final Fantasy I or II. While both Final Fantasy I titles were released in both Japanese and English, Final Fantasy II in North America was actually the fifth title in the series in Japan. And let’s not even get started on the FFVI/III debacle…Regardless, released for North American markets on this day in 2003 by Square Enix (when it was still SquareSoft) for the PlayStation system, Final Fantasy Origins featured enhanced and remixed soundtracks, enhanced graphics, and gameplay streamlining. This streamlining included some easter egg modification at the tomb of Elfeim (Elf land on the NES)–let’s just say Link from the Zelda series and Erdrick from Dragon Quest don’t do so well in the Final Fantasy universe.
TOM CLANCY’S SPLINTER CELL (PS2)
The first of a long line of military spy stealth games, Splinter Cell was released for the PS2 on this day also in 2003. Developed by Ubisoft Montreal, this first game was endorsed if not created by Tom Clancy himself. The game was released initially in November of 2002 for the original Xbox, but was ported to PS2 a few months later. Due to the technical limitations of the PS2 console, over the Xbox original, Ubisoft was forced to remove some material and reduce visual quality in the PS2 release of the title. That being said, Ubisoft compensated for these changes by enhancing heat detection, reflective surfaces, and focus blurring–creating a unique (at the time) visual experience that the PS2 could handle. The game ended up selling over 3 million copies across its release consoles, making it one of the best selling games ever on the Xbox. The game was also initially developed to be a sci-fi 007-style game, but ended up being adapted to be a Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty killer. While Splinter Cell’s 3 million came to be only half of Metal Gear Solid 2’s staggering 6 million in sales, they did manage to create a successful series still producing games today.
ASSASSIN’S CREED: DIRECTOR’S CUT (PC)
Also developed by Ubisoft Montreal, on this day in 2008, the action-genre redefining Assasin’s Creed released it’s Director’s Cut exclusively for PC. This unique experience featured four PC-only memories, including the “Rooftop Race Challenge,” “the Archer Stealth Assassination Challenge,” “Merchant Stand Destruction,” and the “Informant Escort Challenge.” Unfortunately for players, the Director’s Cut featured very little to justify the difference in game title. Other than the aforementioned challenges, no new major gameplay or other features appeared to differ between this and other versions of the title.
Some other titles released on this day in gaming history:
- Double Dragon (Japan) – NES – 1988
- Hamtaro: Ham Ham Heartbreak – Game Boy Advance – 2003
- Titanfall – Xbox 360 – 2014
- LEGO The Hobbit – 3DS/PC/PS3&4/Xbox360&One -2014
My Life, or Something Like It 