Sequels that destroyed their great predecessors
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LoZ:Windwaker, is not only my favorite in the series but also face slapps Majora's mask. However i also think Majora's mask beat the tights off of Ocarina of Time
Windwaker>Majora>Ocarina of time
bar none dude
Windwaker>Majora>Ocarina of time
bar none dude
I preferred almost everything in Kingdom Hearts 2 to the first one. Y'know, except Atlantica.
I know that a lot of the combat, especially with bosses near the end, revolved around pressing triangle for everything, but that combined with the revamped magic and the Drive system made combat feel a lot smoother and more like it flowed. Playing the first one again, everything just feels so much more clunky, with a lot of fights with flying enemies and bosses having you just jump and flail and hope you land hits.
Though I think I hold KH2 in such high regard for the sole reason that you get to go to Disney Castle. I don't know why it got me so hyped when I first got there, and I sure as hell don't know why I'd still get hyped if I were to play it through again.
I know that a lot of the combat, especially with bosses near the end, revolved around pressing triangle for everything, but that combined with the revamped magic and the Drive system made combat feel a lot smoother and more like it flowed. Playing the first one again, everything just feels so much more clunky, with a lot of fights with flying enemies and bosses having you just jump and flail and hope you land hits.
Though I think I hold KH2 in such high regard for the sole reason that you get to go to Disney Castle. I don't know why it got me so hyped when I first got there, and I sure as hell don't know why I'd still get hyped if I were to play it through again.
I tried to Play Final Fantasy 11 back in the day. Didn't like it one bit.
Took one look at Final Fantasy 14 and greatly dismissed it.
Then, Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn came out. Was going to dismiss it, played the beta...then joined the Escapist Final Fantasy 14 group here shortly thereafter and am one of their healers now!
So yeah, Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn.
[/moreoldschoolthanyou]
......god, I feel like I was born in the Paleozoic Era after saying that. >.>
Took one look at Final Fantasy 14 and greatly dismissed it.
Then, Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn came out. Was going to dismiss it, played the beta...then joined the Escapist Final Fantasy 14 group here shortly thereafter and am one of their healers now!
So yeah, Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn.
Oh yeah? Final Fantasy Legend 2 to Final Fantasy Legend. HA!ThriKreen said:
[/moreoldschoolthanyou]
......god, I feel like I was born in the Paleozoic Era after saying that. >.>
Yeah, pretty much this. I still really like Baldur's Gate, and it's the game that got me into RPGs, but Baldur's Gate II did everything it did bigger and better. Fewer companions, certainly, but there was so much more interaction with them and they got much more character development than in the first game. Prettier and more varied environments; better combat with lots more enemies courtesy of Icewind Dale and Planescape: Torment; and a story which blows the first one's out of the water. To me, it's the best Western RPG ever made.The Madman said:
Also, to stick with a theme, Icewind Dale II to the first game. IWD1 is good, certainly, but I did get bored of it, and playing the sequel made me realise that the first one is nothing but one massive dungeon after another, with nothing to vary the pace. IWD2 is so much better with the pacing and level design that it's very hard for me to go back to the first one.
Someone didn't read the OP methinks.OP was asking for examples of sequels that improved so much upon their predecessors that it's hard to go back and play the originals now.Not sequels that were worse than the originalsDarkhoIlow said:
OT:Assassin's Creed 2.The first AC game had some great ideas and I love the whole crusades time period but after playing the sequel holy hell is it a repetitive game with some terrible design decisions
Forbidden Siren 2 destroys Forbidden Siren 1, i like both but it is kinda hard to appreciate the illogical puzzles in Siren 1 and the controls leaves a lot to be desired when you've played Siren 2. Everything is just better in that game, even the atmosphere.
Assassin's Creed 2. Made the game a little less tedious and the swordplay a little more fun. Could have given Desmond more personality though, but we can't be perfect.
I'll second Arkham City, only because I felt it was a bit more Batman than the first. Nothing like being a rooftop perching psychopath locked in with a whole mess of other psychopaths. Plus Catwoman, Robin (which we should have had more of) and Nightwing (who should have had a playable side-story). Can't all be perfect though. Not to mention the storyline and surprise shocking end... Which since its a comic-book game can be retconned later by way of ambiguous convoluted explanation #125.
Seriously though I do feel Arkham City was more of what I liked about AA with better combat and more opportunity to be the Bat in his "element". Plus the sidestory's did set up a lot of material for the next chapter, soon as Rocksteady decides to unveil it. Also can't wait for Arkham Origins, just because.
Master of Orion 2, just felt like a sequel worthy of more praise.
Star Control 2: I don't know what genre to classify this as, but was an absolute gem.
EDIT: Ninja'd on this one, dammit.
Zelda: A Link to the Past, one of my all time favorite games and I really do love LoZ and Zelda II
EDIT: I don't include OOT, MM, Windwaker or Skyward Sword because of the style changes, those are set apart as games on their own.
I'll second Arkham City, only because I felt it was a bit more Batman than the first. Nothing like being a rooftop perching psychopath locked in with a whole mess of other psychopaths. Plus Catwoman, Robin (which we should have had more of) and Nightwing (who should have had a playable side-story). Can't all be perfect though. Not to mention the storyline and surprise shocking end... Which since its a comic-book game can be retconned later by way of ambiguous convoluted explanation #125.
Seriously though I do feel Arkham City was more of what I liked about AA with better combat and more opportunity to be the Bat in his "element". Plus the sidestory's did set up a lot of material for the next chapter, soon as Rocksteady decides to unveil it. Also can't wait for Arkham Origins, just because.
Master of Orion 2, just felt like a sequel worthy of more praise.
Star Control 2: I don't know what genre to classify this as, but was an absolute gem.
EDIT: Ninja'd on this one, dammit.
Zelda: A Link to the Past, one of my all time favorite games and I really do love LoZ and Zelda II
EDIT: I don't include OOT, MM, Windwaker or Skyward Sword because of the style changes, those are set apart as games on their own.
Assassin's Creed was a shitty, boring game that tried new things most of which sucked. I mean WhoTF thought of the horse riding/disguise bollocks? Altair was a rubbish, uninteresting character. AssCreed 2 was a very good game that took the bits that worked (ie. the running/climbing), lost the shitty parts of the first that didn't and gave us an interesting, well realised character.
BG2:SoA/ToB over 1. Better engine, larger world and ability to level beyond 8
GTA: Vice City was much better than its predecessor and truth be told, its successors too. It nailed everything one expects from a sandbox GTA game.
Far Cry 3 is a great sandbox that improves on both of its predecessors in most ways.
Games where the opposite is true
Crysis 2/3 turned a unique, cutting edge PC shooter into a console MMS complete with handholding, checkpoints, set pieces and "staying frosty". After such a stellar title, the sequels were crushingly disappointing.
Dead Space 3 ruined and likely killed off the "franchise" entirely. There's almost nothing good about this game, except possibly...no, nothing.
Dragon Age II, while not a terrible game, was far from a great game. A rushed game with so little in common with its predecessor. Instead of a "spiritual successor" to the legendary Baldur's Gate, and the fantastic premise of the Origin stories, we got WoW gameplay mechanics, barely coherent, uninteresting story, copy/pasted levels and more DLC than can be reasonably counted.
BG2:SoA/ToB over 1. Better engine, larger world and ability to level beyond 8
GTA: Vice City was much better than its predecessor and truth be told, its successors too. It nailed everything one expects from a sandbox GTA game.
Far Cry 3 is a great sandbox that improves on both of its predecessors in most ways.
Games where the opposite is true
Crysis 2/3 turned a unique, cutting edge PC shooter into a console MMS complete with handholding, checkpoints, set pieces and "staying frosty". After such a stellar title, the sequels were crushingly disappointing.
Dead Space 3 ruined and likely killed off the "franchise" entirely. There's almost nothing good about this game, except possibly...no, nothing.
Dragon Age II, while not a terrible game, was far from a great game. A rushed game with so little in common with its predecessor. Instead of a "spiritual successor" to the legendary Baldur's Gate, and the fantastic premise of the Origin stories, we got WoW gameplay mechanics, barely coherent, uninteresting story, copy/pasted levels and more DLC than can be reasonably counted.
Fallout 3 & Fallout: New Vegas
I always had problems with Fallout 3 story, to be honest I found it boring, and even playing as a evil sadistic femfatale who would sell her own brother (if she had one) into slavery, got boring after a while.
Fallout: New Vegas however is a joy to play, not least for the different factions but how your reputation changes with various groups depending on your actions, making it a different game everytime you play.
I always had problems with Fallout 3 story, to be honest I found it boring, and even playing as a evil sadistic femfatale who would sell her own brother (if she had one) into slavery, got boring after a while.
Fallout: New Vegas however is a joy to play, not least for the different factions but how your reputation changes with various groups depending on your actions, making it a different game everytime you play.
List one I havn't seen and is probably only experienced by me; Saints Row The Third flogs Sainst Row 2. Sure SR2 had some nicer narrative quirks, but from a technical standpoint the game is far superior. Better looking, better handling, better in my opinion.
It's sort of why I can 'forgive' the recycling of SR3's content in SR4. Mostly because they change up the gameplay so much (super powers and jumping around as opposed to driving around throwing all the grenades) that the game feels at home in the series, but doesn't make the last game 'obsolete' in a way. Apart from the added customization options, if you could patch those into SR3 Volition, that'd be great.
It's sort of why I can 'forgive' the recycling of SR3's content in SR4. Mostly because they change up the gameplay so much (super powers and jumping around as opposed to driving around throwing all the grenades) that the game feels at home in the series, but doesn't make the last game 'obsolete' in a way. Apart from the added customization options, if you could patch those into SR3 Volition, that'd be great.
Mass Effect 2,
Half Life 2,
KoTOR II(it was just so much more than KoTOR I was(with tslrcm)),
Shogun 2,
Dirt 2(I am still amazed by how a) nice the game looks and b) how well optimized it is),
Payday 2,
Team Fortress 2,
Guild Wars 2(the only MMO I ever played for longer than two weeks, and considering it is me, that's quite something)
Borderlands 2,
...and I think that's about it for now, bear in mind, that list is limited to games I have played.
Half Life 2,
KoTOR II(it was just so much more than KoTOR I was(with tslrcm)),
Shogun 2,
Dirt 2(I am still amazed by how a) nice the game looks and b) how well optimized it is),
Payday 2,
Team Fortress 2,
Guild Wars 2(the only MMO I ever played for longer than two weeks, and considering it is me, that's quite something)
Borderlands 2,
...and I think that's about it for now, bear in mind, that list is limited to games I have played.
How could I forget these? D:Ryleh said:
The first game might be marginally better than the fifth, but the other four games blow them right out of the water.
So much <3 for Brad Dourif.
Going oldschool, Syphon Filter 2 over SF.
You get your hands on a third person stealth shooter that isn't Metal Gear Solid, and you have a blast playing through it. Then, the sequel comes out which lets you use analogue sticks and you wonder how the hell you clunked through the first game with the d-pad alone.
You get your hands on a third person stealth shooter that isn't Metal Gear Solid, and you have a blast playing through it. Then, the sequel comes out which lets you use analogue sticks and you wonder how the hell you clunked through the first game with the d-pad alone.
Kingdom Hearts 2 (especially the Final Mix version) improved over everything (except the story, and that's debatable) Kingdom Hearts 1 did. I recently had a look at KH1 (having gotten the 1.5 HD remix) and it is impressive how much what I remember from that game differs from what is actually there (small clustered world, slow and clumsy combat, very finicky platforming).
Honestly oblivian after playing skyrim oblivian didn't meet up with my nostalgia for it because it was just so bland comoaeed to even vanilla skyrim and the fameplay was meh too though thars an eldar scrolls problem for all the games