This Day in Gaming History: May 30

Sailing through the mid 2000’s to just a few years ago, we’ve got the blue box clearly moving through the timestream. Only a few bumps through June 1st, but that hasn’t happened yet. Agent 47 returns for one of the best titles of the series, Kingdom Hearts continues its side stories away from the lead consoles, and you’ll never see the blue shell coming the eighth time around; all on This Day in Gaming History!

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This Day in Gaming History is an editorial released 2-3 days per week, that takes you on a ride in its custom-built gaming history blue box. We take a look at titles all released on the same day throughout gaming history, while also giving extra facts and anecdotes as available or appropriate. Got a favorite game that you want to learn more about, or perhaps want to see featured on TDIGH? Send angel1573 a message on the forums, or leave a comment below!

HITMAN: BLOOD MONEY (PC/PS2/XBOX 360)

Released on this day in 2006, Hitman: Blood Money is a stealth game developed by IO Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive. The fourth game to be released in the series, Blood Money is widely considered one of the best games to carry the title. While the underlying stealth mechanics remained relatively unchanged from previous titles, the scenarios available to players helped to alleviate any repetitive feel; often facilitating multiple playthroughs to see all the kill methods. The soundtrack was also praised, driving you through each mission. The game’s soundtrack was nominated for Best Original Music in GameSpot’s Best and Worst awards of 2006.

A large portion of the title is played through a series of flashback sequences of Agent 47’s past year and a half (2004/2005) with a former CIA-turned-journalist “Jack”. The story eventually shifts to present day and further blood-filled shenanigans occur. The title was touted as the most violent of the game series to date, and yet it was its advertisements, rather than the game itself, that caused launch controversy. The most contentious of these, posed a woman in lingerie in bed as if asleep, but with a bullet hole in her forehead and tagged “Beautifully Executed.” Other ads featured similar slogans and images, such as “Classically Executed,” or “Coldly Executed”.

KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 DAYS (DS) [JAPAN]

Released on this day in Japan in 2009, the awkwardly titled Kingdom Hearts 358/2 is an action-RPG developed by h.a.n.d. and published by Square Enix. The fifth installment in the greater Kingdom Hearts series, the title takes place shortly after the end of the first Kingdom Hearts game and runs parallel to the Gameboy Advance title Chain of Memories; thus making it a prequel to Kingdom Hearts II. 385/2 Days follows the daily life of Roxas and his time in Organization XIII, including his relationships with fellow members Xion and Axel. The game was relatively well received, praising its graphics and gameplay, while lamenting the backtracking and storyline, within the greater Kingdom Hearts story. The cinematics from the game were rendered in high-definition and released with the Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix collection in 2013.

Unlike Chain of Memories which focused on card-building gameplay, 358/2 Days instead returns to a more ‘classic’ action style, more familiar to fans of the series. The title introduced the panel system, which allowed the customization of character levels, items, equipment, and abilities. It was also the first title to include a co-op mode. This mode was separate from the main campaign and was mission based; allowing up to four players to play different members of Organization XIII. Secret characters were also unlockable for this mode, outside the Organization members. 385/2 Days was the best selling game during May of 2009 in Japan, despite being released in the last week of the month. The game was also nominated for seven awards that year in Nintendo Power, winning all of them by reader’s vote.

MARIO KART 8 (WII U)

The eighth release in a long line of shell-throwing and banana slipping titles, Mario Kart 8 was released on this day in North America in 2014. Like other titles in the franchise, players take control of Mario characters from the greater Mario universe and participate in a variety of kart races over a number of track types. It was both a critical and commercial success, holding an average of 88%. It was the fastest selling Wii U game as of June 30, 2014, with 1.2 million copies sold within the first four days of release. The game continued to be modified via patches after release, introducing new characters, vehicles, tracks, and support for Nintendo’s Amiibo figurines.

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Besides providing more friendship-destroying ‘fun’ to be had, Mario Kart 8 is perhaps even better known for the “Luigi Death Stare” meme. Spawning from the automatic facial expression displayed by Luigi when he attacks or passes other characters in a race, his disapproving glare sent YouTube videos and GIF animations to viral levels. So much so, that Nintendo acknowledged it during the 2014 E3 Digital Event. It was praised in the media for acknowledging gamer culture, without attempting to monetize it.