Did a game just go backwards?

[AdmanUK]

I remember long ago when the coolest console on planet earth was ye olde playstation 2 (in my opinion it still is) and I wasted a summer away playing Heroes of Might and Magic: Quest for the Dragonbone Staff. A summer well spent me thinks.

Anyway as everyone is aware of, the xbox 360 was released eventually, my gaming interests changed and I forgot about that loyal old game like a dead pet from childhood. Until recently when I accidently found it again! Unfortunately I had sold my playstation 2. Curious if any other games had been released I looked up the series and saw that yes more had been released since! I was ecstatic and ordered the latest one immediately. It arrived, I installed it and...what the fuck is this?

Now this is not a case of nostalgia, as I have done more research into the game I remember and in every way it was just better. The story was better, the characters were better, the fights were better, the world was better. Now it's gone from gritty fantasy to cartoon/fairy world!

As this ever happened to anyone else? I am thinking a lot of Final Fantasy will be mentioned...

 

[Zaik]

Star Ocean 3 -> Star Ocean 4 was a pretty huge leap back in basically every catagory.

 

[Chamale]

Yeah, some games have terrible sequels, just like many movies. I know the problem's not quite as bad with video games, since the technology keeps improving, but you'll see a lot of responses in this thread dealing with that.

I'm usually fairly happy with video game sequels, but there have been some exceptions.

Crackdown 2 was terrible compared to the first, though it had decent moments. Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, Pearl, and Diamond all had less content than Gold/Silver. Silent Hill games have been going downhill for a while now.

Be thankful the video game sequel situation isn't nearly as bad as the one in Hollywood.

 

[Dexiro]

Yeah, some games have terrible sequels, just like many movies. I know the problem's not quite as bad with video games, since the technology keeps improving, but you'll see a lot of responses in this thread dealing with that.

I'm usually fairly happy with video game sequels, but there have been some exceptions.

Crackdown 2 was terrible compared to the first, though it had decent moments. Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, Pearl, and Diamond all had less content than Gold/Silver. Silent Hill games have been going downhill for a while now.

Be thankful the video game sequel situation isn't nearly as bad as the one in Hollywood.

The new Pokemon games had less content but that doesn't mean they were worse. 3rd Generation was completely forgettable but I personally really liked the 4th.

Bad game sequels either come when Activision takes control of a franchise or when a developer is too scared to innovate.

 

[Chibz]

The new Pokemon games had less content but that doesn't mean they were worse. 3rd Generation was completely forgettable but I personally really liked the 4th.

Bad game sequels either come when Activision takes control of a franchise or when a developer is too scared to innovate.

Um... There is NO conceivable way you can honestly claim that Gen 4 games have less content than Gen 2 or (mighty Rah preserve you) gen 1.

 

[ThePizzaGuy556]

I remember that game to! wasted so many days playing it. Actually the reason why its so different is because its actually a spin off of heroes and might and magic. Both were totally different games. One was adjusted for pc and one for console. Console being more memorable tbh

 

[Dexiro]

The new Pokemon games had less content but that doesn't mean they were worse. 3rd Generation was completely forgettable but I personally really liked the 4th.

Bad game sequels either come when Activision takes control of a franchise or when a developer is too scared to innovate.

Um... There is NO conceivable way you can honestly claim that Gen 4 games have less content than Gen 2 or (mighty Rah preserve you) gen 1.

Well I was just quoting the other guy. I think he meant the newer games had less content because gen 2 let you go to johto and kanto in the same game.

 

[loc978]

Star Ocean 3 -> Star Ocean 4 was a pretty huge leap back in basically every catagory.

As I see it, the Star Ocean franchise evolved once and then devolved twice. Kinda like Final Fantasy on a much smaller scale. Instead of:

-1.good and somewhat ground-breaking --> 2. better --> 3.worse --> 4.waaaay better --> 5.just a little worse, but still great --> 6.much better --> 7.a little worse, but still good --> 8.a lot worse --> 9.a little better --> 10.a bit worse --> 11.WTF? No. The series has died --> 12.still dead --> 13.still dead --> 14.still dead.

it's:

-1.good and quite groundbreaking --> 2.a little better --> 3.worse, but still good --> 4.WTF? No. The series has died.

 

[TriggerHappyAngel]

The latest Golden Sun game is awesome, but it is nothing if you compare it to the first two games.

 

[kypsilon]

Elder Scrolls Morrowind to Oblivion. The graphics are better sure, but magic is next to useless and so many things were removed when they made Oblivion. Too bad, here's hoping Skyrim is better.

 

[Chibz]

Well I was just quoting the other guy. I think he meant the newer games had less content because gen 2 let you go to johto and kanto in the same game.

Granted, you could enter Kanto in Gen 2, but that's less "more content" and more "dragging the story mode out needlessly".

Plus, need I point out the fact that gen 4 has easily double the number of pokemon?

Elder Scrolls Morrowind to Oblivion. The graphics are better sure, but magic is next to useless and so many things were removed when they made Oblivion. Too bad, here's hoping Skyrim is better.

They mostly removed things that made me puke blood in rage. Why are my pauldrons seperate items? Why is the inventory system in morrowind so awful? It gets worse after that...

D&D from 3.5 to 4.0. It became pretty much a tabletop version of an MMORPG. BLEGH.

 

[AdmanUK]

I remember that game to! wasted so many days playing it. Actually the reason why its so different is because its actually a spin off of heroes and might and magic. Both were totally different games. One was adjusted for pc and one for console. Console being more memorable tbh

Ahhhhh! Thanking you kind sir although I wish they would have took lessons from the console version, it's way better than the two more games they have released since for the PC.

 

[The Wykydtron]

Don't people say that the new FFs kinda suck compared to the older ones? (7 in particular)

Personally i view most games in a haze of butterflys and rainbows so i rarely dislike any games i play... Except Far Cry 2, fucking shitty map system...

 

[Andrew_Mac]

The new Pokemon games had less content but that doesn't mean they were worse. 3rd Generation was completely forgettable but I personally really liked the 4th.

Bad game sequels either come when Activision takes control of a franchise or when a developer is too scared to innovate.

Um... There is NO conceivable way you can honestly claim that Gen 4 games have less content than Gen 2 or (mighty Rah preserve you) gen 1.

Well I was just quoting the other guy. I think he meant the newer games had less content because gen 2 let you go to johto and kanto in the same game.

Need I remind you people about Heartgold and Soulsilver? They had all the 493 pokemon, as well as a lot of new crap.

I did feel that things just... stopped once the league was over. The second time I mean. Even though there isn't really motivation to do it again.
Beat Red on Mt. Silver. Then you can't do anything else.

 

[MASTACHIEFPWN]

Spiderman on the PS.

Eel nats (Stan lee backwards)

 

[Zaik]

Star Ocean 3 -> Star Ocean 4 was a pretty huge leap back in basically every catagory.

As I see it, the Star Ocean franchise evolved once and then devolved twice. Kinda like Final Fantasy on a much smaller scale. Instead of:

-1.good and somewhat ground-breaking --> 2. better --> 3.worse --> 4.waaaay better --> 5.just a little worse, but still great --> 6.much better --> 7.a little worse, but still good --> 8.a lot worse --> 9.a little better --> 10.a bit worse --> 11.WTF? No. The series has died --> 12.still dead --> 13.still dead --> 14.still dead.

it's:

-1.good and quite groundbreaking --> 2.a little better --> 3.worse, but still good --> 4.WTF? No. The series has died.

Dunno. Some stuff was done better in 2 than 3, sure. Arguably the story, I guess, some people didn't like it. Imo if you don't like the story there's a highly convenient scene skip option which 1 & 2 didn't have. Actual combat though, was way more fun, hands down. I don't really like the stats based blocking system, mainly because it wasn't like there was a wide variety of gear you could select that would affect it, everything fit into a sort of tiered system where the next town has better gear than this one, or items crafted with the magical rasp are always better than ones that aren't, etc.

The only real draw to the Star Ocean games was that you actually played the battles instead of instructing bouncing statues to shoot attacks at the space between them and the enemy bouncing statues with a list like
FIGHT
MAGIC
ITEM
RUN
The whole Fury system had made it a lot more interesting, at least for me anyway.

 

[LittleJP]

Forged Alliance to Supreme Commander 2.

I felt like it became way to arcadelike, and the unique way of managing my economy was lost, which was really what made Forged Alliance shine for me, that, and it's spiritual ancestor, Total Annihilation.