Has any game series improved with every sequel?

[RedDeadFred]

I'm gonna get so much hate for this...

Morrowind was great, especially in terms of atmosphere, but the combat was shit, as was the lack of fast travel (a mechanic that was in earlier installments) something that should be in any open world game.

Oblivion was a huge graphical improvement and the combat was far superior. Story was slightly worse but pretty engaging all the same.

And Skyrim improved on Oblivion in every possible way

Why would you get hate for this? I agree 100%. Guess I'll have to think of my own answer now...

OT: Mass Effect is a pretty good example of this IMO (apart from the ending which even then, with the EC, didn't kill the series for me like it did for others). The first game had meh gameplay. The second one had pretty fun gameplay and I think the 3rd one was an absolute blast to play. Heck, even the multiplayer was a lot more fun than I was expecting.

The Witcher series is also a good example although I feel like this is cheating since there are only two games so far (although the 3rd looks bloody amazing so far).

 

[Evonisia]

Not sure how anyone feels about the gears of war franchise, but I've always felt that the franchise advances the story, gameplay and context nicely with each installment.

Gears 1 sets the stage.

Gears 2 is build up.

Gears 3 is a finale.

That...other spinoff I dont really count as part of them as part of the main franchise though.

I was actually going to write this as mine, it's just a shame that Gears of War 3 was the laziest installment in terms of the story. Oh well it's gameplay was pretty great, especially the beautiful Hammerburst iron sights <3

Yeah, with all the wavering in developers, storylines, and styles of gameplay, it can be a little tricky to objectively compare the whole series back to back.

I'll second that Downpour took things in the right direction though, and I'll readily defend Shattered Memories' as one of the better stories of the series.

Yeah it's near enough impossible, but when it comes to me it's easy.
Downpour took an aspect of each previous installment and made them better:
It took the weapon system from Origins but combat wasn't as common so it didn't feel like an overwhelming annoyance.
It took the Pyramid Head figure from Homecoming, but unlike Homecoming's totally-not-Pyramid-Head, Downpour's was not supposed to represent your guilt but your hate figure.
It took the chase sequences from Shattered Memories but you could explore most of the Otherworld and Downpour wasn't held back by the Wii mote deciding that enemies should be immune to flinging it about.

Shattered Memories has the better story imo, I just don't like that I can't explore the Otherworld without a flare.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

In terms of gameplay, each Persona game has represented a huge improvement over the last. Story is a bit more debatable, but P4 has, without a shadow of a doubt, the best combat system in the series and the better/more out-of-combat activities.

I'd say that each main SMT game has improved on the last, too, but SMT4 still isn't out here so I don't know about that one. Up to Nocturne, they've all improved at least.

I'd have to disagree with people saying MGS, just because I thought MGS4 was a pretty bad game. By far the worst of the main series, even including the MSX games.

 

[BanicRhys]

Diablo, Starcraft and Pokemon. Yeah, bitches, I went there.

Sure, you could argue against Pokemon seeing as each subsequent version changes very little but the jump in quality in Diablo and Starcraft's case is much more apparent.

 

[immortalfrieza]

Out of all series, I'd say that the Tales series of games is probably the only one I can think of that fits the bill. Each game is consistently better in gameplay, style, and story with each sequel without fail. My typical reaction to playing one is "Best. Game. EVER!" until the next one which tops it. I can't really think of any games in the main series that are really worse than the previous at all, though the few spinoffs are a bit iffy sometimes.

 

[Kingjackl]

Ratchet & Clank is a big one for me. I haven't played the most recent games, but everything from the original to Crack in Time has just been a slow, steady increase in quality. I admit they do get a bit samey, but the gimmicks and improvements they add with each game like the upgrade system and arena fights from 2 onwards, the war sequences in 3, and the time puzzles in Crack in Time are enough to make each game fun and interesting in it's own right.

 

[TheMigrantSoldier]

The Warcraft RTS series. The leaps made from Warcraft 1 to 2 and 2 to 3 were definitely noticeable in gameplay. I'd argue that the only thing keeping WC3 back is the upkeep. The lore also branched out quite a bit by the time of the TFT expansion for 3.

I haven't played Thieves in Time but I think the Sly series has definitely gotten better with each installment. The stealth felt smoother in 3 than both of its predecessors.

Metal Gear Solid to me is the one series where each game improves on its formula. They feel like proper sequels since each iteration improves over the last game and brings in interesting gameplay elements that fit the theme of the game for the most part.

True, if you leave Peace Walker out. It was more like MGS3 lite with base management. And even though they improved the gameplay elements in MGS4, MGS3 still kicked its ass.

Peacewalker was my second favorite probably because of the base management. I'd argue it was an improvement over Portable Ops.

 

[Samael Barghest]

I think the WWE games were a good example of getting better with every game. That is until they decided that they no longer needed to put a story mode in. Look, I miss the days of old when I could win a belt then get stripped of it due to some made up clause about the title can't being defended in May. Or like that time when Steph propose to you and it caused Vince to hunt you down.

 

[Mikejames]

Downpour took an aspect of each previous installment and made them better:
It took the weapon system from Origins but combat wasn't as common so it didn't feel like an overwhelming annoyance.
It took the Pyramid Head figure from Homecoming, but unlike Homecoming's totally-not-Pyramid-Head, Downpour's was not supposed to represent your guilt but your hate figure.
It took the chase sequences from Shattered Memories but you could explore most of the Otherworld and Downpour wasn't held back by the Wii mote deciding that enemies should be immune to flinging it about.

Shattered Memories has the better story imo, I just don't like that I can't explore the Otherworld without a flare.

I'm on the fence with monster design. I appreciate that they keep it original instead of rehashing nurses, dogs, and Pyramid Head, but apart from seeing Wheelchair man eerily moving in the distance, I don't recall too many memorable designs. That mailman was enjoyable though, I would have gladly had Murphy deal with him more.

Can't defend the wiimote myself. Picked up Shattered Memories for PS2. I actually really liked the new theme of ice and being forced to watch everything freeze over the second you thought you were uncovering the truth, but I can see how the chase sequences could wear on people.

 

[Black Haze]

Off the top of my head I'd say the Civilization franchise, Roller Coaster Tycoon, and perhaps GTA? Have not played tons of the last one, but out of what I've played I like the newer installments than the older.

 

[Evonisia]

I'm gonna get so much hate for this...

Morrowind was great, especially in terms of atmosphere, but the combat was shit, as was the lack of fast travel (a mechanic that was in earlier installments) something that should be in any open world game.

Oblivion was a huge graphical improvement and the combat was far superior. Story was slightly worse but pretty engaging all the same.

And Skyrim improved on Oblivion in every possible way

Why would you get hate for this? I agree 100%. Guess I'll have to think of my own answer now...

Well if my theory on the modern The Elder Scrolls game is true, then all games get equal hate, therefore liking any of them more than the other will get you hate. Hate Morrowind? Bwuhh you just hate deep experiences and judge graphics. Hate Oblivion? Bwuhh you don't know how to have fun and don't appreciate bugs or beautiful in-game music! Hate Skyrim? You hate pretty things and fun!

I'm on the fence with monster design. I appreciate that they keep it original instead of rehashing nurses, dogs, and Pyramid Head, but apart from seeing Wheelchair man eerily moving in the distance, I don't recall too many memorable designs. That mailman was enjoyable though, I would have gladly had Murphy deal with him more.

Can't defend the wiimote myself. Picked up Shattered Memories for PS2. I actually really liked the new theme of ice and being forced to watch everything freeze over the second you thought you were uncovering the truth, but I can see how the chase sequences could wear on people.

Forgive my nostalgia goggles for trying to ignore the monster design (even if I only played Downpour for the fourth time like two weeks ago). If we exclude Origins and Homecoming (which just copied monsters from the Silent Hills 1-4: The Room), I feel both Shattered Memories and Downpour suffer in terms of monster design. Downpour's are dull, but I would love another game to have monsters mostly designed around another character's journey through Silent Hill (the Abstract Daddy from Silent Hill 2 is like the only Japanese example I can think of). Shattered Memories has one monster which just changes shape, but at the same time they aren't really symbolising much in their appearance, just through their actions. At the same time I would love another game to have monsters change appearances based on what you do (the Scraper from Silent Hill 3 is the closest Japanese example, given it's similar appearance to the apartment boss monster).

 

[irmasterlol]

The inFamous series has been on a pretty consistent upwards trend. Hopefully they haven't peaked yet, because they still have major issues to work out, but I think they're all pretty good and getting better with each installment.

 

[Phlogiston]

Off the top of my head I'd say the Civilization franchise, Roller Coaster Tycoon, and perhaps GTA? Have not played tons of the last one, but out of what I've played I like the newer installments than the older.

I think the spanner in the works for considering GTA is San Andreas vs 4...

If you purely consider the numbered versions then yeah it's a pretty clear improvement and a good answer to the OP but between 3 and 4 were probably the two greatest from the series in the shape of Vice City and then SA. Sure the graphics are nicer in 4, the physics is more accurate etc etc...but as a game overall? I think most fans would choose SA over 4

 

[Mikejames]

Forgive my nostalgia goggles for trying to ignore the monster design (even if I only played Downpour for the fourth time like two weeks ago). If we exclude Origins and Homecoming (which just copied monsters from the Silent Hills 1-4: The Room), I feel both Shattered Memories and Downpour suffer in terms of monster design. Downpour's are dull, but I would love another game to have monsters mostly designed around another character's journey through Silent Hill (the Abstract Daddy from Silent Hill 2 is like the only Japanese example I can think of). Shattered Memories has one monster which just changes shape, but at the same time they aren't really symbolising much in their appearance, just through their actions. At the same time I would love another game to have monsters change appearances based on what you do (the Scraper from Silent Hill 3 is the closest Japanese example, given it's similar appearance to the apartment boss monster).

Silent Hill 2 was interesting because you start to realize that other people's otherworlds were bleeding into each other. Shattered Memories was unique, because the different characters started to reflect more about the protagonist than the monsters did. And you know, as much crap as Homecoming gets, I think it had fun with some of the non-copy paste monster designs. (A few of the bosses at least)

Either way, I'd second getting behind another psychological horror that shapes itself around your interactions. The genre isn't explored enough.

 

[lee1287]

Jak And Daxter. One was good, Two was great. Three is bloody brilliant. I'd also say Gears of war, excluding judgement of course.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

I'm gonna get so much hate for this...

...but the Elder Scrolls (single player, the MMO is the first time it's gotten worse).

Morrowind was great, especially in terms of atmosphere, but the combat was shit, as was the lack of fast travel (a mechanic that was in earlier installments) something that should be in any open world game.

Oblivion was a huge graphical improvement and the combat was far superior. Story was slightly worse but pretty engaging all the same.

And Skyrim improved on Oblivion in every possible way

And yet they are all downgrades from Daggerfall in pretty much every factor but graphics. The only thing that can really be said about the Elderscrolls series is that it's consistently gotten more accessible. Now sure that's "better" if you don't like complexity in games, but when the complexity of the game was what turned you on to the earlier games, then Elderscrolls could just as easily be argued as getting worse with every sequel.

And no, I'm not saying it's necessarily "bad" to "cater to casuals". Just saying that every sequel to Elderscrolls seems to remove something I really liked, most likely because it was deemed "too complicated" for most of the people playing the game. To me, Morrowind was the last really good Elderscrolls games. Since then, Oblivion and Skyrim are mostly only good because there's not much competition for RPGs on that scale.

 

[Guffe]

As a few have mentioned, the pokémon serier.
The monsters themselves you can argue all you want which are bad designs and which good, favorites and cool etc. But gameplay-wise those games are going forward with every new game.

Also the DBZ Budokai Tenkaichi series get better all the time. 3rd one still my favorite fighting game.

 

[InkySpines]

A very strong argument can be made for the Civilization series.

Civilization scratched a 4x itch many didn't even know they had.

CivII improved on Civ's mechanics and graphics, and its expansions added some very user friendly scenario building tools that produced countless quality fan made scenarios. 'Brown Man's Burden' was my favorite, in part for inverting Civ's imperialist outlook. I think I must have gotten at least 1000 hours of enjoyment out of Civ2. It also indirectly spawned Alpha Centauri, which would ruin my argument if it weren't technically a different franchise.

CivIII in added more depth and polish without bungling the spirit of the series. I probably got the least enjoyment out of this one, but only because I loved CivII so much. It is a much tighter game that not withstanding.

CivIV is often considered the deepest of the series, and also was the platform for the Fall from Heaven mods. If you like Civ or the fantasy genre but haven't played it, stop reading this and download Fall from Heaven 2 right now. IMO the best fan mod ever made for any game.

CivV wasn't initially as deep as IV in empire building mechanics, and created some fan consternation in its changes, but it seems internet consensus has come around to it as the most enjoyable and accessible installment, and that hexes and 1 unit per tile have improved (practically created) the tactical element. With the expansions, it arguably eclipses Civ4 in depth or at least comes close. Also, for the first time, it is a pleasure to see and hear rival leaders on the diplomacy screen (if not actually negotiate with them, CivV's only major blemish.)

Here's hoping Firaxis can navigate a similar trajectory for the reborn XCOM franchise.

 

[Best of the 3]

I'd say Torchlight. Considering first came Fate, and Torchlight being it's spiritual sequel and then Torchlight 2. All really good games.

 

[lord.jeff]

Ratchet & Clank is a big one for me. I haven't played the most recent games, but everything from the original to Crack in Time has just been a slow, steady increase in quality. I admit they do get a bit samey, but the gimmicks and improvements they add with each game like the upgrade system and arena fights from 2 onwards, the war sequences in 3, and the time puzzles in Crack in Time are enough to make each game fun and interesting in it's own right.

This was the first game series that came to mind for me but Deadlocked kind of ruins the trend.