Summary
For video games, the term “director’s cut” can be a synonym for a flashy re-release or remaster. But a few got so many tweaks, additions, and bonuses that they made their original releases look plain by comparison. Rather like how most people have likely seenBlade Runner’s director’s cut over its theatrical edition.
Yakuza 0: Director’s Cutis certainly banking on making a splash, celebrating its 10th anniversary by expanding its story and adding a fancy PVP online mode. But only time will tell if the title will manage to join these games, whose director’s cuts and extra editions added so much that they became their definitive installments.
1Security Booth: Director’s Cut
Humble Security Guard Ends Up Dealing With More Than Their Pay Grade
Starting with a simple one,Security Booth: Director’s Cutis aPS1 horror game throwbackwhere players have to match the license plates of cars to their registry. If they make a wrong move, they could end up regretting it, as the Nova Nexus laboratory isn’t any old science facility. Something strange is going on inside, and it’s all going to come to a head during the player’s shift.
The original game was a free indie entry available on Itchio, which was still fun, but only offered so much. For a few bucks on Steam, the Director’s Cut offers more challenges via its randomized cars, alongside perks like a widescreen mode, controller compatibility, and extra lore that’ll help players get into the story. Or at least understand its endings better, as it now offers 7 different finales for them to achieve, each based on the choices they make.
Disco Elysiumcaused a stir on release, as it was an RPG that replaced standard combat with the power of dialogue trees and skill checks. If players made the right choices and had luck on their side, they could blow open the conspiracy linking a murder in Elysium to a wider resistance plot, and figure out the past of the protagonist, Harry. If not, things wouldget a little trickier for them.
It also meant no one playthrough was the same as the other. Players could end up going down different paths. Particularly inDisco Elysium: The Final Cut, which added more visions to chase, letting players learn more about its surreal, dreamy world and its citizens, complete with full voice acting for all characters. They’re not the biggest additions on paper, but they do make it much more immersive and expansive.
TheStreet Fighterseries is no stranger to re-releasing its old games with tweaks. Though the constant revisions ofStreet Fighter 2are a mix of light tweaks and remakes.Street Fighter 3: Third Strike? It’s actually a sequel toSecond Impact. As wasSuper Street Fighter 4, which people likely missed playing afterUltra Street Fighter 4gave them the Sisyphean task of overcomingElena and her Healing Ultra.
The biggest turnaround in the series might go toStreet Fighter 5via itsChampion Edition. It went from having a tiny roster, lackluster options, and no Arcade mode, to being jam-packed with content and characters. Characters had multiple costumes, V-Skills, and V-Triggers to choose from, with the latter becoming more varied than the sparkly fists of the original release. Granted, it might be hard to go back to the game withSF6being the new hotness in town, butSF5: CEis a more worthy contender nowadays than back in 2016.
Being (in)famous for his love of cinema, even outsideMetal Gear’s cutscenes, it’s no surprise that Hideo Kojima also got into the concept of director’s cuts, so to speak. TheMetal Gear Solidgames each got tweaks across their different regional versions.Snatchergot a proper third act and finale added to it for its Sega CD, PS1, and Saturn releases.
Death Stranding: Director’s Cutdidn’t get such drastic changes, though PC players will likely appreciate its new 4K visual options. PS5 players would get new haptic feedback for their DualSense controllers. Both would have new combat skills and new weapons to help Sam take down Mules, alongside replayable boss battles,a racetrack with extra vehicles, and other extras that give players more bang for their buck. But it came at a cost, as Sam no longer drinks Monster Energy in his downtime like in the vanilla release.
Jin Sakai’s original quest to repel the Mongol hordes threatening the island made the game a hit, with its mix of stealth action, head-on melee combat, and expansive, open-world gameplay.
Much likeDeath Stranding,Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cutoffered more graphics options, but with unlocked frame rates and ultra-widescreen support. That, and it comes with the extra story campaign on Iki Island, offering more insight into Sakai’s past. It even offered accurate lip-syncing to the Japanese dialogue, making it a less distracting experience for Japanese players or a more authentic one for samurai movie enthusiasts.
Every great series has its humble origins, and compared to its sequels,The Witcheris quite humble. Geralt of Rivia’s first video game wasn’t bad. It just wasn’tThe Witcher 2or3, where the titular monster hunter came into his own. But thanks toThe Witcher: Enhanced Edition, players who got into the series via the sequels would have an easier time going back to the past.
It revamped the gameplay with a whole host of quality-of-life improvements. Most of the dialogue was redone to fix errors, and it added more NPCs for variety, complete with new, more realistic animations. Loading times were reduced, combat controls were more responsive, and the inventory system was streamlined, with alchemy ingredients getting their own sack. As such, it’s one of the few re-releases to live up to its subtitle.
With the big headstart the PS2 had over its rivals, it’s no surprise that many people’s firstFinal Fantasygame wasFinal Fantasy 10. Tidus’s dream quest through Spira and beyond left its mark on many young fans. North American fans even got an improved version of the game that had fewer glitches than the Japanese release, and some little improvements here and there.
Then Japan gotFinal Fantasy 10 International, which became the basis for the PAL port. It has 8 new abilities, 4 new weapon abilities, an extra Expert Mode Sphere Grid, and 8 new super bosses in the Dark Aeons. In turn,all the bosses were rebalanced, often making them stronger but fairer. US players might’ve gotten the last laugh, though, as these features were included in the HD remaster, and at a full 60FPS frame rate too. It only took about a decade or so to reach their shores, too.
FF10wasn’t the only game that saw North America get shortchanged. Hideo Kojima and his team seem to have gotten itchy fingers while preparing the PAL conversions ofMetal Gear Solid 2and3, as they ended up giving both games extra content. But they would get access to them via their re-releases, withMetal Gear Solid 3: Subsistencebeing the best of the two.
It had the extra content of the vanilla PAL game, like the 2 bonus Monkey Missions, Duel Mode, etc. The game even offered an online mode, which still lives on today via fan servers. Yet its best feature was its new camera, which replaced the limited top-down view with a rotatable camera a laSplinter Cell, Hitman, etc., that made sneaking through its more open areas less of a struggle. After that, it was hard to go back, as the camera would be brought back for every subsequentMGSgame.
