Games that serve as great "jumping in" points in a series

[scorptatious]

You know how some people suggest that you should start with the first game in the series that one game you had your eye on belongs too? With some games like Mass Effect, it makes sense, as your choices you make in the first game carry over to the sequels.

Other games however, even though they aren't the first in a series are pretty accessible story wise and sometimes gameplay wise too.

My examples:

Metroid Prime.

This game I feel does a wonderful job in bringing in players who are new to the Metroid series. Not only is there a system that points out the place you need to go to if you get lost for too long, (which can be turned off if you so choose) but you can also learn about Samus's backstory and her connection to the Chozo via the several... tablets? Scriptures? you can scan and translate. While it doesn't go into complete detail, I feel it really helps players connect to Samus despite not having played the other games.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Chronologically, this game is the first in the Metal Gear Solid story. You don't need to know about the characters and plot in the others to get what's going on in this game's story as it does a wonderful job at standing on it's own. Although there are a couple of nods and references to the other games for those who have played them.

So what about you guys? What games did you play that are great for jumping into without having to play the previous games in the series?

And no, games like Final Fantasy or Pokemon don't count as for the most part, the games aren't related to each other story wise.

 

[Keoul]

Hmm all that comes to mind is Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap.
It's a great way to get into a series with such a convuluted timeline, the only reasoning for it is that it's very self-contained and gives an intro that explains the backstory of the game. So essentially it's very self-contained but instead of giving a leaping off point to the other games in the series it gives an example of gameplay and what the story would generally be about and to quote yahtzee
"The princess finds herself in a pickle and needs to be unpickled".

 

[OpticalJunction]

Assassin's creed 2. It was my first assassin's creed and it made me go out and buy all the rest. The story at that point is still relatively straightforward, and the gameplay and setting is much improved from AC1.

 

[DoPo]

Heroes 5, for the Heroes of Might and Magic series. All existing story is wiped clean, and everything starts anew, so you don't have to worry about much of the plot, however, pretty much all of the original gameplay remains with updated graphics plus fixes and additions here and there so it all makes sense and is actually fun to play. The first expansion is OK, I suppose, the second is downright great and makes the game much better.

 

[Lugbzurg]

Call it cliché, but Ocarina of Time would definitely be a good place to start The Legend of Zelda series. Reason being that it's very general. It contains the overall mood of the series, and doesn't contain gimmicks, like later titles (masks, seafaring, twilight, flying, etc.) in the console series.

Hmm all that comes to mind is Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap.

If that were my first Zelda game, I probably would've assumed the series was a bit immature and somewhat shallow. That game is not a good "ambassador" for the series, nor much of an introduction. Zelda games are traditionally much deeper than that one, while still holding all of their lore together in a way that won't confuse newcomers. Their style works wonders for the Mario & Luigi games, but doesn't suit Zelda all that well.

Metroid Prime.

I completely agree. I played Zero Mission (and I know it's a remake of the original) and it really didn't do much for me. But playing Prime, I was sucked right in!

For the Sonic series, I would recommend Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Sonic Adventure, or Sonic Heroes. All of them have the really upbeat mood and style (though Adventure does have some darker subtext), with spot-on platforming.

In the case of Mario depending on what you're going for, Super Mario World and Super Mario Galaxy 1 or 2 would be safe bets.

Also, I am going along with it as such: Quake II. I started playing that somewhat recently, though I haven't played the original. As far as I'm concerned, this might as well have been the original. There doesn't seem to be anything missing. The beginning is still there, and there's nothing about what happened earlier that I feel the need to ask about. Plus, it's the only first-person shooter I've ever played that actually made brown environments work. (I haven't played any Serious Sam games, but BFE might be a good place to start, right?)

Oh, yes, and 007: NightFire. That was the game that got me into first-person shooters, and it did so very well. It's a solid game, shooter, and 007 adventure, leagues better than that of GoldenEye for the N64.

And I'm pretty sure Duke Nukem 3D is a given.

 

[Mohander]

Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

I had no clue about the series at the time. I was young, not educated about the games out there and it was on my first console, Nintendo64. Damn, those were the times. Waking up by my self at 5AM to play before school. Now I can barely wake up at 8AM.

 

[PeePantz]

Half Life 2 is a perfect example. One doesn't need to play the first Half Life in order to get the back story, etc. Also, it feels like most game series actually start when Half Life 2 (not sure if using in medius res or copying/capitalizing on HL2's success) does. Half Life can even be treated as a prequel, the way the series has been setup.

 

[thesilentman]

Assassin's creed 2. It was my first assassin's creed and it made me go out and buy all the rest. The story at that point is still relatively straightforward, and the gameplay and setting is much improved from AC1.

Oh heck yes, AC2. Such an awesome game.

I'm here to say that if you want someone to enjoy the Elder Scrolls, get them to play Skyrim. It's quite easy to pick up and play for newcomers, from what I can see.

Mario 3 also comes to mind, as that game was maddingly addictive and served as a good entry point for the 2D Marios.