Games that were better than their sequels

[ZtH]

So recently I replayed Digimon World, which to me is a classic game from my childhood. I haven't played anything quite like it since and I loved it as a child. The game actually did have sequels, but they were almost universally regarded as worse than the original.

So Escapists, are there any games that you played that you thought were much better than their sequels? Why do you think the sequels weren't as good?

 

[Wayneguard]

Condemned: Criminal Origins was much better than Condemned 2. Condemned 1 had believable environments and a cool, "Seven"-esque atmosphere. Condemned 2 did away with all of that in favor of battle-axes and bears... >_>. The first two stages of Condemned 2 were great, sure, but the rest of the game was awful.

 

[BoredDragon]

Bioshock and the the original three Halo games (as opposed to the last two or three halo games depending if you count Halo Wars). In both cases, a lot of it has to do with the story being a lot more interesting in the first installment(s). The later installments also put a much higher emphasis on multiplayer which caused the singleplayer experience to suffer.

 

[Jackstick]

Donkey Kong Country.

I couldn't enjoy any of the DK games after that one. I still need to give DKC Returns a try, though.

 

[Sjakie]

Deus Ex.

More depth then it's sequel

 

[veloper]

too many to list
example:

deus ex
DA
supcom
bioshock
fable
gabriel knight
empire earth
sacred
UFO:EU

 

[Gizmo1990]

There are quite a few
Bioshock
Knights of the old republic
star wars the force unleashed
Dragon age origins
Halo
Fable

The last few Final fantasy games have been crap (anything after Final fantasy X) but they are not direct sequel's. Although now I say that FF X-2 was a direct sequel and the only good thing about that was the secret ending because I like the happily ever after endings.

Devil may cry is odd. The 1st was good, the second was unbelievably bad the 3rd was as good if not better than the 1st and the 4th was OK.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

So recently I replayed Digimon World, which to me is a classic game from my childhood. I haven't played anything quite like it since and I loved it as a child. The game actually did have sequels, but they were almost universally regarded as worse than the original.

So Escapists, are there any games that you played that you thought were much better than their sequels? Why do you think the sequels weren't as good?

I loved Digimon World 3. Best one in my opinion.
OP: Recently? Mass Effect. The story and narrative were far superior to Mass Effect 2. I preferred the gameplay of 1, but the story is my main gripe.

 

[ZtH]

So I see Halo in here a lot. What in particular made the first one better than the sequels? I've only played through 1 & 2 so I'm not entirely sure what part of it you guys liked better in the original.

 

[Gizmo1990]

So I see Halo in here a lot. What in particular made the first one better than the sequels? I've only played through 1 & 2 so I'm not entirely sure what part of it you guys liked better in the original.

The Halo story was never exactly amazing and the game play did not really change at all. Halo 2 was just more of halo 1 but without the assault rifle and mega pistol.

 

[Al-Bundy-da-G]

I know it carries the CoD label but Modern Warfare sat on a golden throne whilst it's sequel was content to shine his shoes.

 

[Mister Benoit]

Donkey Kong Country.

I couldn't enjoy any of the DK games after that one. I still need to give DKC Returns a try, though.

Ugh lol, that comment makes my blood boil >.>

I don't really see why some folks really like DKC aside from the music. DKC2 on the other hand is better than the original in every way. The levels are more varied, characters have specific roles, music is better, more animals, more levels, more secrets.

This is only my opinion but it just boggles my mind.

DKC:R is great although difficult for the wrong reasons at times. It's definitely its own thing.

I like the original Roller Coaster Tycoon & expansions over the sequels.

 

[Arisato-kun]

Dragon Age: Origins is gonna get a metric assload of mentions in this thread.

Xenosaga I was better than Xenosaga II. More appealing art style, better story, better gameplay, etc.

 

[UltraDeth]

Army of Two. I said this before and I'll say it again, the first AO2 was incredible. It had the potential to become a cult classic franchise. The sequel had the potential to be as good as Terminator 2, it was more like Highlander 2

 

[Jamboxdotcom]

Knights of the old republic

In fairness, KotOR 2 was worse in some ways, but far better in others. KotOR 1 had a better story (especially since it was actually finished), but KotOR 2 had much better gameplay.

OT: I'd say originals are better than their sequels more often than not. It's actually a rare sequel that surpasses the original. One particular example of a sequel being worse than the original (in my opinion), while we're on the topic of Star Wars, is Battlefront 2. Adding playable Jedi was horribly unbalanced, but even worse was the level design. Everything was much too dark and cluttered, so half the time you couldn't tell where you were or what you were shooting at (assume that by "you" i mean "me").

 

[MisterMaster]

I would say Resident Evil. The series progressively gravitated away from its survival horror roots culminating in the abomination that is RE4.

I didn't even recognize the RE games after 0. So yeah, definitely better than the sequels.

 

[Drakos.Amatras]

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidō Kuzunoha VS King Abaddon, the sequel to Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidō Kuzunoha VS The Soulless Army.

[Inhale...]

And Namco's Tales series seems to improve upon its subsequent installments, particularly impressive within the past few years.

 

[ScoopMeister]

So I see Halo in here a lot. What in particular made the first one better than the sequels? I've only played through 1 & 2 so I'm not entirely sure what part of it you guys liked better in the original.

I know a lot of people disagree with me, and I respect that, but I personally think that the Halo games have actually got progressively better (bearing in mind that I've loved all of them).

 

[demoman_chaos]

Total War. Rome is the best gameplay wise. The AI was the most stable (while not the smartest, it at least didn't lose its brain near as much as the more recent ones). There were the unbalanced units of course, but must factions were strong enough to win most match ups.
M2 was good, but not as good. Empire and Napoleon were complete trash. The AI in those 2 lost its brain more than I lose my train of thought (which is every few minutes it seems).
I have only played a little of Shogun 2's custom battle, but the AI never even moved. It stood there and forced me to come to it. When I reached its army, it still stood there doing nothing for the most part.

 

[ALYKZANDYR]

Red faction.

although i really enjoyed Guerrilla, i wish they had gone back to a first person perspective for Armageddon, and ditch all those futuristic weapons/gadgets, i prefer conventional guns and explosives. I really enjoyed RF 1, it was the first game i ever played with destructible terrain. I also liked the style of it, the architecture, the weapons, it had a certain look and feel to it that its sequels lacked, RF2, although having cool boxart, just wasn't as good as RF 1, the environmental destruction was basically gone, and it just wasn't as memorable.

Gran Turismo.

GT2 was several kinds of awesome, GT3, with at the time, awesome PS2 graphics was just as awesome, GT4 was slightly less awesome, it was good, and added to the much lacking car list of GT3, but didn't deliver much else that was new.

and im glad i decided not to pull the trigger on a PS3 for GT5, IN MY OPINION it turned out to not be the game i was wanting/expecting it to be. basically a long delayed RErelease of GT4 with a 200ish car addon, graphics bump, and most of the classic tracks taken out. although i hear that the physics were greatly improved, so i guess they got one thing right.

Im glad i skipped that one, but i eagerly await news on GT6. I really hope GT6 turns out to be good. as a fan of the old GT games i really really want it to be good, and if it is the game i want it to be ( and the game it needs to be) I will buy it. put in all he tracks from all the previous GT games, all the cars from the previous GT games ( all in equal detail with cockpits), put in a menu similar to GT2, and a rockin sound track like GT2's + a even better car physics than GT5, and you've got the game that is required to make the GT series legendary again.