Are sequels ever really worse than the originals?

migo

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Jun 27, 2010
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I've noticed in a lot of cases the sequel is unquestionably better than the original, even if it isn't received as well. If the game was good to begin with, the sequel ends up being better, and the only case of a sequel seeming worse is if the game originally rode on hype or just had something that seemed cool for the time and wasn't actually that good to begin with.

So, are there any games where the sequel is actually bad, and the original is still good when you go back and play it years later?
 

Ekit

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Super Mario Bros. is far superior to Super Mario Bros. 2.
 
Jul 22, 2009
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Depends if we are talking about games with one sequel or tilogies.

Generally sequels are all right. But the second in a trilogy sucks.

Of course some games break that mould. Bioshock 2 kind of sucks.
 
Feb 13, 2008
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migo said:
I've noticed in a lot of cases the sequel is unquestionably better than the original, even if it isn't received as well.
Seriously? I can count the number of sequels that better the original on the toes of one hand.

Well...possibly Alien.

Sequels, in general, tend to be far worse.
 

Kialee

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My usual fallback for "Good game, bad sequel" is Deus Ex and its sequel, Invisible War.
The sequel doesn't even begin to compare to the original.

Not that I disagree with the idea that games do often have better sequels. Half-Life 2 against Half-Life, Morrowind against Daggerfall, etc.
 

SL33TBL1ND

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I think they're usually about the same, but we expect it to be of far better quality compared to the original making it seem worse.
 

Joe Matsuda

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no no no

usually 1 and 2 are good, then 3 bombs

4 tries too hard to make up for it and by 5 everyone has given up...usually...ish...
 

Swarley

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Sometimes they can be amazing, where they really do improve on everything, and other times disappointing.

Ekit said:
Super Mario Bros. is far superior to Super Mario Bros. 2.
Yeah but Super Mario World 2 > Super Mario World.
 

imaloony

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I didn't enjoy Fable 2 as much as Fable 1, but I still liked it.

Oh, and 4th Gen Pokemon? Fuck it.
 

ChromeAlchemist

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Perfect Dark, Perfect Dark Zero.

Sometimes sequels either claim to "improve on the original", and change it to the point that it's unrecognisable, or they keep it "true to the original" and they don't change enough. PDZ was neither (the ones who made the original great weren't part of development).

But that's just a few, most sequels tend to do a better job than the original, even if they don't capture the same magic as before.
 

era81

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The original Syphon Filter was far better than the second one the original Mercenaries was better than the sequal it happens alot.
 

Pearwood

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Joe Matsuda said:
no no no

usually 1 and 2 are good, then 3 bombs

4 tries too hard to make up for it and by 5 everyone has given up...usually...ish...
Thinking of Silent Hill by any chance? :p or Resi for that matter.

Well a non-gaming example of a sequel being undoubtably worse would be Predator. Or The Grudge.

Gaming examples - Monkey Islands 3 and 4, Red Faction 2, Tomb Raiders 4 and Underworld (think that's number 7?)
 

Harlemura

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I much prefer the first Ty the Tasmanian Tiger game to the first. The game's pretty unheard of so I'm not sure what the overall opinion of the situation is, but I found the original to have a way more memorable storyline, and preferred the simpler gameplay style.
No going to shops for keys for suits and crap. Plus no driving around in Shazza's truck thing to go pretty much anywhere.
And as for the story, I just didn't follow. Boss Cass is still there, but there's some lizard chick as well? And then there's some guy who was your rival and now's your best pal? I dunno...

But yet, talking about it makes me want to play it again. Can't have been that bad then, I guess.
 

LetoTheTyrant

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Well with films yeah; but with games I think there's more cause for saying sequels are better. Quite often sequels just tweak and gradually improve games.

But still a lot of the time game sequels just get it all wrong. Bioshock, Deus Ex, more recent Silent Hill games are the ones I can think of right of th top of my head that got it all very very wrong.