Sequels. They should, in theory, build upon what has come before. They should be better, a consolidation of everything that made their predecessor great, with fresh takes, new ideas... but enough of what fans loved first time around.
That doesn't always happened. The history of gaming is littered with the husks of sequels which, for one reason or another, remain overshadowed by their forebears; they were just too similar, too different, or too bad.
Here are ten of them.
That doesn't always happened. The history of gaming is littered with the husks of sequels which, for one reason or another, remain overshadowed by their forebears; they were just too similar, too different, or too bad.
Here are ten of them.
HEART OF THE ALIEN
A Mega-CD-only sequel to the classic Another World, Heart of the Alien wasn't a bad idea in principle - retell the original story from the point of view of your alien chum, "Papoose" - but in execution it lacked polish and finesse. Having involved him in initial stages of Heart of the Alien's development, "creative differences" led publisher Interplay forged ahead without Another World's creator Eric Chahi. He later disavowed it as not being an official part of the Another World story.
Meeeeow! Chahi got clawz.
Meeeeow! Chahi got clawz.
FADE TO BLACK
Flashback was thematically and stylistically very similar to Another World, despite coming from the mind of someone completely different. The game's creator, Paul Cuisset, was at least kept around for development of a sequel.
Unfortunately, Fade to Black was a stark departure from its predecessor, swapping the slick, stylised, cut-scenes for ugly CGI, and replacing the side-on platforming with third-person, 3D shooting. It was reasonably forward-thinking for the time, but it irritated many fans of the original by tossing aside what made it so good. Thus: where dat game gone now?
Answer: Toiletland.
Unfortunately, Fade to Black was a stark departure from its predecessor, swapping the slick, stylised, cut-scenes for ugly CGI, and replacing the side-on platforming with third-person, 3D shooting. It was reasonably forward-thinking for the time, but it irritated many fans of the original by tossing aside what made it so good. Thus: where dat game gone now?
Answer: Toiletland.
NiGHTS: JOURNEY OF DREAMS
A more-or-less forgotten Wii-only follow-up to the cult Saturn title NiGHTS into Dreams, Journey of Dreams appeared to be superficially similar to its forebear... albeit shackled to a dreadful camera, and graphics which - by the time it was released - appeared dated. Similarly, the arcade-like structure was woefully out of step with the era, while the way the Wiimote was utilised made controlling the character a headache. Consequence: swept under the rug like a shrivelled-up old rat.
CRASH: MIND OVER MUTANT
Yeah, even I'd forgotten this had even existed too. It took the running-out-of-the-screen classic Crash gameplay, and... more or less completely forgot about it. Instead, it was an attempt to turn the franchise into a Mario-like free-roaming platformer, albeit having more in common - perhaps inevitable given its lineage - to the Spyro games. Not least in how easy it was.
It wasn't a total travesty, but has been proved by the success of the recent Crash anthology release... people want to see the Bandicoot in his default environment; Swansea.
It wasn't a total travesty, but has been proved by the success of the recent Crash anthology release... people want to see the Bandicoot in his default environment; Swansea.
BOMBERMAN ACT ZERO
Brightly coloured, fun, cartoonish... all elements associated with the Bomberman franchise. Bomberman Act Zero was a stark departure from the established baseline, a gritty reboot akin to making a new version of Teletubbies set in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic wilderness, where La La, Dipsy, Tinky-Winky and Po must fight to survive against bloodthirsty mutated rabbits, at the behest of a cruel alien sun god.
The blood shall run like Tubbycustard (tm).
The blood shall run like Tubbycustard (tm).
HALO REACH
It's not that Halo Reach is bad - indeed, I'd argue that it has one of the best endings of any game ever - just that it did, and still does, feel inessential next to the main Halo series. Tedious as that may be, with its po-faced mythology and general sense of self-importance.
MEDAL OF HONOR: WARFIGHTER
Whatever happened to the Medal of Honor series? This is what happened: Warfighter, a game which took the series' traditional WW2-set combat and attempted to compete with Call of Duty Modern Warfare by setting it in the present day, with glitchy visuals, numerous bugs, a bewilderingly unfocused storyline, and dated, linear, gameplay. There hasn't been a Medal of Honor game since.
SUPER MARIO SUNSHINE
Super Mario Sunshine is not bad... but in the wake of its groundbreaking predecessor, Super Mario 64, it sort of got a bit lost. It's a gorgeous game, and boasts the sort of ingenuity the series is famed for, but it also messed around with some of the tenets of the franchise.
With much of the gameplay built around Mario cleaning up sentient diarrhoea, and flying around on a water-powered jetpack, it was something of a departure. Hindsight suggests that it lacked some of the polish Mario games are known for. The sprawling, non-linear levels were a feature of Super Mario Odyssey, but at the time felt at odds with Mario's traditional focus.
It sold well at the time, but Nintendo admitted later that it had failed to live up to expectations. Consequently, it finds itself filed alongside Super Mario Bros. 2 as one of the less-remembered entries in the main Mario series.
With much of the gameplay built around Mario cleaning up sentient diarrhoea, and flying around on a water-powered jetpack, it was something of a departure. Hindsight suggests that it lacked some of the polish Mario games are known for. The sprawling, non-linear levels were a feature of Super Mario Odyssey, but at the time felt at odds with Mario's traditional focus.
It sold well at the time, but Nintendo admitted later that it had failed to live up to expectations. Consequently, it finds itself filed alongside Super Mario Bros. 2 as one of the less-remembered entries in the main Mario series.
DRIV3R
Here's a good idea; take your successful franchise, in which players have enjoyed driving around in cars, and release a sequel in which huge chunks of it are set on foot. And not just set on foot... but set on foot using really clunky controls. It's akin to making a sequel to The Fast & The Furious set around the world of speed running.
Worse still, it has become synonymous with a review score-fixing scandal dubbed DRIV3Rgate. You probably remember that; it became part of the justification for the embarrassing drip-stain on gaming history that is GamerGate.
Worse still, it has become synonymous with a review score-fixing scandal dubbed DRIV3Rgate. You probably remember that; it became part of the justification for the embarrassing drip-stain on gaming history that is GamerGate.
WII SPORTS RESORT
Few games have helped to sell a system as well as Wii Sports. Indeed, it's up there with both Tetris (Game Boy) and Super Mario World. As a standalone, non-pack-in, game, Wii Sports Resort needed to be compelling enough to shift copies on its own terms. There's no question it sold well - it's the third best-selling game on the Wii - but few would argue that it is anywhere near as iconic and console-definining as the original. And so, it has been airbrushed out of all but the most tenacious of memories.
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