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Astronōka (1998) — the same trap never works twice, and the praise arrived twenty years late
Episode 40 of “Today Is Release Day”: Astronōka, released by Enix for the PlayStation in Japan on August 27, 1998, at 6,800 yen. It was developed by MuuMuu and System Sacom, with game design and AI by Yukihito Morikawa. You grow vegetables in space, tuning weight, pattern and flavour on a crossbreeding machine to win contests, while defending the field against a pest called Baboo with a layout of traps. The twist is that the Baboo adapt: catch one in the same trap often enough and its legs grow stronger, or it sprouts wings. A genetic algorithm runs underneath — only one Baboo appears per day on screen, but at least ten generations turn over internally and the fittest individual is the one you meet, and the mutation rate rises whenever evolution stalls. The reception at the time was quiet, and Morikawa later described his shock that the AI was working properly and nobody gave it credit. The praise took twenty years: at the 2019 anniversary event, AI researcher Yoichiro Miyake called it the best game in the world built with a genetic algorithm.
Ecco: The Tides of Time (1994) — “easier than the first game” and “much harder than the first game,” written at the same time
Episode 39 of “Today Is Release Day”: Ecco: The Tides of Time, released by SEGA for the Mega Drive in Japan on August 26, 1994, at 6,800 yen, product code G-4123, on a 16-megabit cartridge. The first Ecco the Dolphin had arrived on July 30, 1993, about a year and a month earlier. You still swim Ecco through the sea and read your surroundings with sonar, but the sequel adds the Pulsar, a charged multi-directional blast, and the Metasphere, which turns Ecco into a seagull, a jellyfish, a shark, a school of fish or an enemy drone. New pseudo-3D stages send you swimming through rings into the distance. It was developed by Novotrade International in Hungary, with box art by Boris Vallejo. Reviewers split over difficulty: Electronic Gaming Monthly scored the Mega Drive version 7.25 out of 10, with two of its four reviewers calling it much harder than the original, while GamePro found it more approachable. Next Generation gave 3 out of 5, the Game Gear version scored 6.5 and the Sega CD version 7.6. Thirty-two years later, Japanese references still carry both halves of that argument.
Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009) — the day “licensed game” stopped meaning “bad game”
Episode 38 of “Today Is Release Day”: Batman: Arkham Asylum, released in North America on August 25, 2009, in Europe on August 28 and in Australia on September 3. It was developed by Rocksteady Studios in the UK and published by Eidos Interactive and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 came first; the Windows version followed in North America on September 15. The whole game takes place inside one asylum. Areas stay shut until the story moves on or you find new equipment, a structure the team drew from The Legend of Zelda and Metroid. Detective Vision shows enemies through walls, and the Riddler leaves 240 collectibles behind. The reception was warm: Metacritic averages of 92 on Xbox 360 and 91 on PlayStation 3 and Windows, 9.3 from IGN, 9.5 from Game Informer, 8 from Edge. Guinness World Records listed it as the most critically acclaimed superhero game ever, with an average of 91.67. It sold roughly 593,000 copies in North America over five tracked days, close to two million worldwide in three weeks, and 4.3 million by October 2011. The Japanese release came on January 14, 2010 from Square Enix at 7,980 yen, and GAME Watch called it a model for how a licensed game should be made.
Mafia II (2010) — a city built this well, with this little to do in it
Episode 37 of “Today Is Release Day”: Mafia II, released in North America on August 24, 2010 and elsewhere on August 27. It was developed by 2K Czech in the Czech Republic, published by 2K Games, for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows. The setting is the fictional Empire Bay, the years 1945 to 1951, and the lead is Vito Scaletta, home from the war. Eight years separated it from the 2002 original, and the LS3D engine was replaced by the purpose-built Illusion Engine. Three radio stations play licensed period music, and the PC version used NVIDIA PhysX for cloth and destruction. Opinion split hard: Metacritic averages of 75 for PC and PlayStation 3 and 74 for Xbox 360, with Game Informer at 9, GameSpot at 8.5, IGN at 7 and Eurogamer at 4. In Japan, GAME Watch wrote that the city is “so beautiful, so vast — and yet there is very little you can do.” Cut content became its own story after release; designer Daniel Vávra confirmed an entire Sicilian chapter had gone. The Japanese release followed that November from Take-Two Interactive Japan at 7,140 yen.
3D Lemmings (1996) — turning a flat classic into a solid, and fighting the camera
Episode 36 of “Today Is Release Day”: 3D Lemmings. It reached the Sega Saturn in Japan on August 23, 1996, published by Imagineer at 6,800 yen (product code T-15013G). The original Lemmings had arrived on the Amiga on February 14, 1991, developed by DMA Design and published by Psygnosis. The 3D version was built by the British studio Clockwork Games — the first entry in the series without DMA Design. Players steer four movable cameras around a solid level, and can drop into the eyes of a single lemming in “virtual lemming” mode. The one new skill is the turner, which bends walkers ninety degrees left or right. There are 80 main levels across Fun, Tricky, Taxing and Mayhem, twenty each, plus twenty practice levels. Opinion split. Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the PlayStation version 8 out of 10, and PC Gamer US named it Best Puzzle Game of 1995. GamePro panned it for a confusing 3D view worsened by poor controls, and Rob Allsetter in Britain’s Sega Saturn Magazine described catching himself changing camera angles with a split second left. Admirers and detractors were looking at the same thing: the camera. In Japan the Saturn version came first; the PlayStation version followed on November 8, 1996, from Sony Computer Entertainment at 5,800 yen. The series then stepped back from solid space with Lemmings Revolution in 2000.
Chrono Trigger (1995) — acclaimed in North America, 290,000 copies sold
Episode 35 of “Today Is Release Day”: Chrono Trigger. It appeared in Japan on the Super Famicom on March 11, 1995, and the North American version followed on August 22 of the same year. It was built by the “Dream Team” of Hironobu Sakaguchi, Yuji Horii and Akira Toriyama: an RPG that moves between eras, where reaching into the past changes the landscape of the future. Enemies are visible on the map and fights start without a separate battle screen; there are twelve endings, and a replay mode that carries your strength over. Reviews were excellent — an A from Electronic Gaming Monthly, 5 out of 5 from GamePro, 4 out of 5 from Next Generation, 34 out of 40 from Famitsu’s four reviewers — and Nintendo Power called it “revolutionary”. Sales told the opposite story: an August 2003 Square Enix document lists 2.36 million copies in Japan against 290,000 abroad, roughly a tenth of the 2.65 million total. Europe never received the Super Nintendo version at all; its first official release was on Nintendo DS in 2009. Eighteen days after the North American launch, the PlayStation arrived in North America and the 16-bit era began to close. A Steam version followed on February 27, 2018.
Dragon Ball: Final Bout (1997) — 245,000 copies in Japan, “the worst PlayStation fighting game” abroad
Episode 34 of “Today Is Release Day”: Dragon Ball: Final Bout, published by Bandai for the PlayStation on August 21, 1997 (5,800 yen, product number SLPS-00949, developed by TOSE). It was the first fully 3D fighting game in the series, built around the Meteor Smash — knock the opponent away, then enter a command on the beat to continue the assault — and around beam clashes settled by who presses faster. Eighteen fighters are playable, but six of them are alternate forms of Goku. The English-language reception was harsh: GameRankings averaged 50.00%, Next Generation (March 1998) called it “inarguably the worst PlayStation fighting game ever made,” and IGN concluded that fans “might as well go out and buy all the toys — at least they’re more controllable.” Electronic Gaming Monthly (December 1997), by contrast, split four ways, with Sushi-X praising it as “a ‘guru game’.” Sales came to 245,000 in Japan and 19,564 in North America, where the initial run was only around 10,000 copies — 264,564 in total. The opening animation was commissioned from Toei Animation, Kenji Yamamoto wrote the music and Hironobu Kageyama sang four new songs. A budget edition followed on July 23, 1998, after which Dragon Ball was absent from PlayStation until Budokai on PS2 in 2002.
Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2 (2004) — The Sword You Forged Yourself Breaks Mid-Fight
Episode 33 of "Today Is Release Day": Summon Night: Craft Sword Monogatari 2, published by Banpresto for the Game Boy Advance on August 20, 2004 (Famitsu's release schedule lists 5,800 yen before tax). Developed by Flight-Plan. The hero is not training to be a summoner but a Meister — a smith — shaping swords, axes, spears, knuckles and drills out of Shapestones and infusing ores and materials to add offense, defense and elemental effects. Battles play out in real time on a 2D side view; you can carry up to three weapons and swap between them mid-fight. But weapons have durability, and when it runs out the weapon breaks and cannot be used until it is repaired at the forge — repairing is new to this second game. Famitsu's cross review gave it 8, 10, 8, 8 for a total of 34/40. Atlus released it in North America on October 17, 2006, and a budget Value Selection edition appeared in Japan on February 2 of that same year. English-language scores varied: Metacritic averaged 79 from ten reviews, with IGN at 85, GameSpot at 73 and GameSpy at 70. RPGFan's Patrick Gann (December 11, 2006) gave it 86%, calling it easily the best 2D GBA game in the graphics department while pointing out that at least half the soundtrack was carried over from the first game.
Suikoden IV (2004) — The Day the Series Put to Sea and Was Told the Sailing Was Tedious
Episode 32 of "Today Is Release Day": Suikoden IV, published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 on August 19, 2004 at 6,980 yen before tax, developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo. It is set roughly 150 years before the first Suikoden, and its stage is not a continent but a scattering of islands in the open sea. The hero is a young knight of Razril who inherits the Rune of Punishment — a rune that eats away at its bearer's life each time it is used — and is then blamed for the death of his commander Glen and driven off the island. A ship becomes his headquarters, and the series' hallmark hunt for 108 companions is carried out at sea. Famitsu's cross review gave it 8, 7, 8, 7 for a total of 30/40 and a Silver Hall of Fame place. It sold 303,069 copies in Japan within 2004, short of the 377,729 of Suikoden III. North America got it on January 11, 2005, and GameSpot's review scored it 6.7, with one line in the cons column: time spent sailing is tedious, and there is a great deal of sailing.
Wolfenstein (2009) — The Day It Reached Shelves With No Scores Attached
Episode 31 of "Today Is Release Day": Wolfenstein, released by Activision in North America on August 18, 2009 for Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (August 19 in Australia, August 21 in Europe). Raven Software developed it on an enhanced version of id Software's id Tech 4. It is a first-person shooter based out of a German town in the Second World War, in which you push open the "Veil" — the barrier between Earth and another dimension — to slow time, see what is normally invisible, and strip the shields off protected enemies. The odd part is launch day itself: what TechCrunch published on August 18 was not a verdict on the game but an article about not being able to find any reviews. The scores that arrived over the following days scattered widely — 7.5/10 at GameSpot, 7.25/10 at Game Informer, 5/10 from Edge for the PS3 version — and the game sold about 100,000 copies in its first month. Activision laid off staff at Raven Software afterwards, and this became the last Wolfenstein the publisher ever released.
Air Fortress (1987) — The Shoot’em Up That Finishes on Foot, Inside the Fortress
Episode 30 of "Today Is Release Day": Air Fortress, released on the Famicom on August 17, 1987 under HAL Laboratory’s own label, priced at 5,300 yen. The first half is a side-scrolling shooter in which you fly a lightship to the fortress airlock; the second is an action stage where you move through the interior on a jetpack, destroy the core and escape. Energy and items collected in the first half carry straight over to the second, and inside the fortress every shot — bullet or bomb — pushes you backwards, so firing in the opposite direction is how you travel fast. That near-zero-gravity handling is the game’s great quirk. The North American version came out through HAL America in September 1989, and Nintendo Power, VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, Computer Entertainer and Germany’s Play Time all left reviews of it. As for HAL Laboratory, the company that published this cartridge filed for composition five years later, on June 22, 1992.
Soul Reaver (1999) — The Action-Adventure That Stacked Two Worlds on Top of Each Other
Episode 29 of "Today Is Release Day": Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, the PlayStation action-adventure developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos Interactive in North America on August 16, 1999. Raziel can move freely between the material and spectral realms, and the geometry itself warps as he shifts — one mechanic that carries the combat, the traversal and the block puzzles alike. 91 on Metacritic, Editors' Choice from both GameSpot and IGN, 9.3 from IGN. More than 1.4 million copies sold worldwide by 2001, and the first game in the series to join Sony's Greatest Hits line. In Japan, however, the PlayStation version Capcom was to publish was cancelled; it did not reach a Japanese console until the remaster arrived on July 10, 2025.
Chrono Cross (2000) — The Day a Story About Parallel Worlds Reached Another World
Episode 28 of "Today Is Release Day": Chrono Cross, the PlayStation RPG Square released in Japan on November 18, 1999 and in North America on August 15, 2000 — exactly twenty-six years ago today. You travel between two parallel worlds, Home World and Another World, gathering a cast of more than forty companions. Famitsu scored it 36/40; in North America GameSpot gave it a perfect 10 and named it its Console Game of the Year for 2000, while IGN gave it 9.7. Players hoping for a direct sequel to Chrono Trigger, on the other hand, were left puzzled. 1.5 million copies shipped worldwide by 2003 (850,000 in Japan, 650,000 abroad). Europe never got it at the time — it had to wait for the 2022 remaster.
Madden NFL 08 (2007) — The Release Day When Times Square Partied Like New Year's Eve
Episode 27 of "Today Is Release Day": Madden NFL 08, the American football game EA released in North America on August 14, 2007 — the 18th installment in the series. The night before, Times Square even hosted a countdown event recreating the New Year's Eve ball drop. First-week US sales: roughly 1.8 million copies and close to 100 million dollars. Meanwhile, the gap between 60 fps on Xbox 360 and 30 fps on PS3 sparked a major controversy — the 360 version outsold the PS3 version more than four to one that week. And this game remains on record as the last GameCube title released in North America. Exactly nineteen years ago today.
Death Crimson (1996) — thirty years after "since I'm here"
Episode 26 of "Today Is Release Day": Death Crimson, the "dark" light-gun shooter École Software released for the Sega Saturn on August 9, 1996. It scored 13 out of 40 in Famitsu's Cross Review and finished 297th out of 297 in Sega Saturn Magazine's reader race — yet its line "Since I'm here, I choose this red door!" became a catchphrase among Japanese players, and the game spawned sequels. Thirty years ago today — and for the anniversary, the line's actual meaning has finally been explained.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (2003) — The Summer We Brought Four GBAs
The 25th installment of "Today Is Release Day" is Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, released on August 8, 2003 for the Nintendo GameCube. It was the first Final Fantasy on a Nintendo home console since Final Fantasy VI in 1994, and the first original Final Fantasy released after the Square Enix merger. Its four-player mode, which required as many Game Boy Advance units as there were players, divided critics — yet the game took the Grand Prize in the Entertainment Division of the 7th Japan Media Arts Festival. Today marks exactly 23 years.
