Sequels. One of the most divisive topics in the gaming community. Some people think sequels are automatically signs of unoriginality and cheap cashing in, others merely relish the opportunity to play a new and improved version of a beloved older game. Even Yahtzee, our community's very own game-reviewing pirahna, has mixed feelings- while he loudly denounces sequels to all and sundry, his all-time favourite games include Silent Hill 2, Spider-Man 2, Half-Life 2 and Portal... which is getting a sequel that Valve say will be their best game ever. This may lead you to determine that sequels can be divided into "good sequels" and "bad sequels", but I hold out there is a third subdivision- "failed sequels".
A good sequel is supposed to do one of two things. 1: It's supposed to do pretty much the same things as the previous game, but with enough improvements and interesting features to make you want to play it and enjoy it more than the original- in other words, the same but better (examples include Civilization II, Shadow Hearts: Covenant and Dynasty Warriors 3). 2: It's supposed to technically be a sequel, but does things radically differently to the extent that it can be assessed on its own merits, rather than automatically compared to its predecessor (examples include Half-Life 2, Street Fighter III and pretty much ANY Final Fantasy game).
In light of this, a "failed sequel" is a type 1 sequel which is basically the same as its predecessor but when you play it you cannot say that it is better than the original. If you have ANY reason to go back and play the original again when you own the sequel other than to reexperience the story or specific levels for nostalgia value, then the sequel has failed. I coined this term when playing what I consider one of the most blatant failed sequels I have ever owned- Super Smash Bros Brawl. Now I may be pilloried for this, but although it has new characters, new content (Subspace Emissary et al) and a bunch of other new stuff, it simply doesn't PLAY as well as Melee. The action was slowed down, all the characters' jumps are too floaty, the character balance was utterly shot to hell and I'll NEVER forgive the idiot who introduced the "randomly slipping-and-falling-on-your-face" mechanic. Melee came out two years after the original Super Smash Bros and absolutely blew it out of the water, being one of the best sequels ever. Brawl came out seven years after Melee, but I simply don't think it's as good. That is what makes it, in my mind, a "failed sequel".
Other failed sequels include Modern Warfare 2, Devil May Cry 2, Supreme Commander 2 and if Yahtzee is to be believed (I haven't played it) Bioshock 2. Yahtzee in fact went into quite some depth about this phenomenon in his Bioshock 2 review when he noted that Bioshock 2 wouldn't even appeal to fans of the original since it brought nothing really good to the table and instead actually degraded the first game by its existence.
Note that a "failed sequel" is not necessarily a "bad game" (although it can be). Brawl is a good game. I'd even go so far as to say that it's a great game. But it still "fails" as a sequel because it's not as good as the absolutely stellar Melee. Also please note that the following are not "failed sequels": type 2 sequels that try something radically different which isn't as fun as the original (like Dawn of War 2 or Xenosaga II) or expansion packs (of COURSE Half-Life: Blue Shift isn't as good as Half-Life- it's an expansion!)
What are YOUR failed sequels?
A good sequel is supposed to do one of two things. 1: It's supposed to do pretty much the same things as the previous game, but with enough improvements and interesting features to make you want to play it and enjoy it more than the original- in other words, the same but better (examples include Civilization II, Shadow Hearts: Covenant and Dynasty Warriors 3). 2: It's supposed to technically be a sequel, but does things radically differently to the extent that it can be assessed on its own merits, rather than automatically compared to its predecessor (examples include Half-Life 2, Street Fighter III and pretty much ANY Final Fantasy game).
In light of this, a "failed sequel" is a type 1 sequel which is basically the same as its predecessor but when you play it you cannot say that it is better than the original. If you have ANY reason to go back and play the original again when you own the sequel other than to reexperience the story or specific levels for nostalgia value, then the sequel has failed. I coined this term when playing what I consider one of the most blatant failed sequels I have ever owned- Super Smash Bros Brawl. Now I may be pilloried for this, but although it has new characters, new content (Subspace Emissary et al) and a bunch of other new stuff, it simply doesn't PLAY as well as Melee. The action was slowed down, all the characters' jumps are too floaty, the character balance was utterly shot to hell and I'll NEVER forgive the idiot who introduced the "randomly slipping-and-falling-on-your-face" mechanic. Melee came out two years after the original Super Smash Bros and absolutely blew it out of the water, being one of the best sequels ever. Brawl came out seven years after Melee, but I simply don't think it's as good. That is what makes it, in my mind, a "failed sequel".
Other failed sequels include Modern Warfare 2, Devil May Cry 2, Supreme Commander 2 and if Yahtzee is to be believed (I haven't played it) Bioshock 2. Yahtzee in fact went into quite some depth about this phenomenon in his Bioshock 2 review when he noted that Bioshock 2 wouldn't even appeal to fans of the original since it brought nothing really good to the table and instead actually degraded the first game by its existence.
Note that a "failed sequel" is not necessarily a "bad game" (although it can be). Brawl is a good game. I'd even go so far as to say that it's a great game. But it still "fails" as a sequel because it's not as good as the absolutely stellar Melee. Also please note that the following are not "failed sequels": type 2 sequels that try something radically different which isn't as fun as the original (like Dawn of War 2 or Xenosaga II) or expansion packs (of COURSE Half-Life: Blue Shift isn't as good as Half-Life- it's an expansion!)
What are YOUR failed sequels?
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