I’m not a developer, but allow me to make a theory. When a game company, or even a single person, decides to make a video game, there are a myriad of ways they want it to go. Obviously, they want it to succeed so that their hard work doesn’t seem like it was all for nothing. It’s also about art and bringing ideas to life. That’s what we all want in life right? Whether we take these creative avenues is another story. There’s another hope some developers may have with their work: Sequels. If something is successful, a sequel is bound to come around. If it’s reviewed poorly and subsequently sells terribly then a sequel is probably off the table.
Whether the former, or the latter is the case, most people hope that the sequel is going to be better than the first especially when it comes to a half-baked game. Now I could have easily written this piece as the worst games in a series since technically every game is a sequel. Mario, for example, has dozens. I decided to instead only count immediate sequels. Games that followed through with the original’s ideas and made them better, or worse. Most of these didn’t work out the way we wanted, but some are the finest examples of how you make a sequel. There are some leaps in logic I take in terms of how I count these, but that aside, let’s just get on with it.
30 Lamest: They Should Have Stayed Lost (Super Mario Bros. Lost Levels)
Did you know that the Super Mario Bros. 2 we got outside of Japan is actually not the real two? I’ve gone over that before. The first time the West got to see it, The Lost Levels, was in the SNES remake. After playing it I can see why Nintendo was hesitant to bring it over. Like the name suggests it’s just the first game, assets and all, but worse. These levels were scrapped for a reason and then recycled into a “sequel” for a quick buck. Mario is a beloved series now, but he had a rough time finding footing for his follow-up.
29 Best: Pokémon: Silver And Gold
When Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue came out they were the high-watermark for hand-hand-held RPGs. That is, until their sequels came out — which hit even harder. They introduced a hundred new Pokémon while still keeping the older ones. There were new mechanics like breeding and phone calls.
The best part was the secret second half wherein you travel to the original region, Kanto, and face off against old gym leaders (and the protagonist of the originals, Red). No sequel has done it better since.
28 Lamest: Ring Around The Cliffhanger (Halo 2)
On the whole, Halo 2 was good. It was exactly what fans wanted with another fun campaign and loads more multiplayer. The thing that bothers me is that the campaign is —or at least felt like it was— shorter than the original. Worst of all, it just sort of ends. It’s a cliffhanger, but one that drove fans crazy because they knew it would be years before the next game. As a game designer you always want your players craving more, but this was the wrong way to do it.
27 Lamest: Bro Down (Gears Of War 2)
Last year I bought an Xbox One and with it all five Gears of War games. So much praise has gone into this series that I figured I needed to finally play them. So throughout the next year, I played co-op on and off with friends — Gears of War 2 sticks out like a sore thumb in the original trilogy. Say what you will about Microsoft’s ‘bro shooter,’ but the first sequel is a real dud. The campaign is “more” in all the wrong ways — its multiplayer is, of course, fine.
26 Best: Rebirth Of The Creed (Assassin’s Creed II)
Assassin’s Creed was an excellent proof of concept and a great first start for the new generation (PS3 and Xbox 360). It was flawed, but there was potential. The second game was a home run.
Italy was gorgeous, Ezio’s story was harrowing, emotional, and fun, and while there were still some kinks in traversal and combat, it was a blast to play. It really felt like this series was going places. There’s a reason why there is an Ezio Trilogy available today.
25 Lamest: Going Down To Sub Par (South Park: Fractured But Whole)
It’s easy to dismiss licensed games, because nine times out of ten they are shameless cash grabs that are rushed through development. South Park, in particular, has had a bad track record, but The Stick of Truth broke that curse. It was my personal game of the year in 2014, so suffice it to say I was psyched it was getting a sequel. Unfortunately The Fractured But Whole didn’t capture the same magic. You explored the same town )albeit tweaked ever so slightly), but it didn’t live up to its predecessor. The combat was changed for the worse and the jokes just weren’t as punchy.
24 Lamest: Final Fantasy X-2… Really Guys?
Final Fantasy X is right up there with Final Fantasy VII in terms of popularity — and for good reason. A sequel seemed like a no-brainer. However, Final Fantasy X-2 was not what fans expected, or wanted. If it was a standalone game without anything to do with Final Fantasy X I think it would have been received better, but to go into an adventure with a ’two’ in the title and to find everything you loved gone, well, it was heartbreaking.
23 Best: Taking It To The Streets (Street Fighter II)
Did you even know there was an original Street Fighter? It came only to arcades and is vastly different from the games we know today. So that said my lack of praise is obviously leading to Street Fighter II.
This is the real king of fighters.
It let you choose your character instead of just playing as Ryu. The stages and music showed more polish. Best of all it came to consoles. It is THE fighting game and it was one of the reigning champions of multiplayer games for years to come.
22 Lamest: Chrono Chross
How do you make the sequel to the greatest RPG ever made? It simply isn’t possible, but even without the “dream team” Squaresoft decided to go ahead and try anyway. Chrono Cross is loosely tied to Chrono Trigger. If it was it’s own thing maybe I’d like it more, but expectations for a game with “Chrono” in the title are huge. Because of that, fans needed it to be a lot more than it is. It’s a name that unfortunately breeds false hope.
21 Lamest: Dante Made Me Cry
How do you create a crazy, in your face character like Dante from Devil May Cry and screw him up in the second game? It’s like he’s a different person. It feels like a Dante from another dimension and an easier one at that. Thankfully they course corrected the series with the third game, which should basically say, “we’re sorry” on the box. I guess that was the secret behind the special edition released later on. Read between the lines.
20 Best: Call Of Gundam (Titanfall 2)
Titanfall was created from ex-developers from Infinity Ward, one of the Call of Duty studios. It felt like that series, but with mechs. It was cool, but because it was multiplayer only it didn’t really hook me.
The sequel not only improved the multiplayer, but also created a memorable campaign that can hang with the best of them. It is vastly underrated and —in my opinion— was the best shooter of the year when it came out. Don’t skip Titanfall 2!
19 Lamest: Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War
Middle-earth: Shadow of War should be renamed as Shadow of More-dor, or Shadow of More War. Get it? Because it’s just more of the same except in a bloated sense of the first game. While it wasn’t my favorite, the Nemesis System was truly remarkable. You can’t strike lightning twice. Also, the story convoluted the narrative even further in a hilarious, but truly awful way. Why is Shelob an attractive woman? I mean I know why, but seriously, why? You blew it Monolith.
18 Lamest: Fan Service At Its Worse (Attack On Titan 2)
Like South Park, I was surprised by the quality of the first Attack on Titan game. It wasn’t my game of the year, but I enjoyed it a fair deal. It defied anime video game logic and Omega Force, the Dynasty Warriors team, made it. There was a lot to be cautious about, but it was phenomenal. The sequel, eh, not so much. Despite the two in the title it really isn’t a sequel at all. You’re following the exact same events as the first game, but in this time you make your own character to interact with the cast. Cool?
17 Lamest: Dishonoring Its Sequel
I’m kind of still shocked by how bored I was with Dishonored 2. The first game was a thrill, but I think the real catch here is that there were now two characters to play as with two vastly different power arrangements. It felt like they were splitting the narrative and gameplay loop to make half a game. Another reason for my lack of enthusiasm probably lies on it feeling like rehashed content. Whatever the case may be it was a dud in my book.
16 Best: Dude Raider (Uncharted 2: Among Thieves)
The first Uncharted was a good launch-ish title for the PS3. It proved Naughty Dog could handle more than just cute platformer like Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter. It was solid, but not mind blowing. The second, on the other hand, is just stupendous. I beat that thing in the stretch of two days.
Doughnut Drake for life!
It hooked me from minute one. The graphics, story, gameplay, locales, and everything in-between felt like the vision they imagined for the first but better. It is widely regarded as the best in the series and with good reason.
15 Lamest: Lords Of Shame (Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow 2)
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was an okay game. It proved the series could have potential in 3D despite its poor track record prior to this. The sequel washed away all that was good about the original, unfortunately. For starters, it added stealth into a game that did not need it. Who doesn’t loath when games do that ? That’s just one out of hundreds of other issues plaguing it. It was a total back dash into lame town. Was it Mercury Steam’s fault, or did Konami meddle too much?
14 Lamest: Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link was a crazy sidestep for the series. Back then Nintendo seemingly didn’t know how to capitalize on a good thing. It happened with this, Mario, and so many others. It’s not so much bad as it is disappointing. I like the idea of a Zelda game with real RPG mechanics and Metroidvania like dungeons, but the execution was crazy frustrating. With my Zelda hacks piece I discovered an easy patch that made the game more tolerable, but that’s the key word here: Tolerable.
13 Best: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty
It’s time for Metal Gear Solid 2, baby! Yes, technically Metal Gear Solid is the third game and two would then be the fourth, but it is the sequel to the first game in the Solid franchise.
Part of what made Sons of Liberty so good were the graphical upgrades, the wealth of tactical options be it passive, or aggressive, and the new gripping boss battles. Need I go on? I could really dish on this for hours.
12 Lamest: Crackdown 2 Doesn’t ‘Get’ Crackdown
I may have slammed Dynasty Warriors earlier when I brought up Omega Force, but make no mistake. I love those games. I just know where they fall in the grand schme of video games. A fun game doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good, kind of like Nicolas Cage movies. That’s how I feel about the first Crackdown. It was the Dynasty Warriors of third-person shooters. The second game is irredeemable though. It took what was great about the initial run and mutated it into an abomination.
11 Lamest: Would You Kindly Not (BioShock 2)
BioShock 2 gets more unjustly hate than it deserves, but I sort of agree with a lot of the negative comments too. It was a game that didn’t need to exist, as the first game told a complete story. This was another take, but set in virtually the same landscape so that shock and awe from traveling undersea for the first time was lost. It was also more of a shooter than a survival horror type adventure, which is fine, but not necessarily what fans were looking for.. On that note, the combat did feel tighter. What good is that in a story devoid of an emotional connection though?
