imageepoch's Yoichi Shimosato and Takashi Kuroki detail the differences between the Japanese and US releases and also discuss how the anime was handled.

Yoichi Shimosato on how Sands of Destruction's difficulty was balanced before its release in the US:

The main reason why you most likely felt that the beginning part of the game was rather difficult and then it just got easier toward the end is that in the Japanese version the encounter rate was so frequent that you just built up your strength [quickly] and you got used to the battles as well, so towards the end of the game it just felt a lot easier. But as we indicated earlier, for the US version the frequency rate is tuned and more balanced out. The gamers will not have that same experience.

frostyhudson via otakuxgamer.com »