A great video game can be like lightning in a bottle. That one perfect game that comes out at the right time and place. A breakthrough title that rewrites the script and shatters expectations.

Then comes the sequel. With a publisher breathing down your neck and fan expectations sky-high, can any sequel really live up to that first legendary title?

Even the most revered video game studios have put out a blunder or misstep when it comes to their flagship franchises. Whether it's rushing a title to cash in on a lucrative holiday season or simply a limited budget or an unrealistic deadline - many video game sequels have left fans with a bitter taste in their mouths, either by missing the mark completely to just being "okay".

Obvious disappointing video game sequels include Duke Nukem Forever - a game that took 14 years to release to a triumphant "humph"; Nintendo's Metroid: Other M - a game with a laughably bad story and frustrating controls; Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link - a game that upended its predecessor and lost a lot of what made the first game so esteemed in the first place.

But, what are your most disappointing video game sequels? Did a sequel to a game ever resonate so poorly with you that you lost interest in the franchise altogether?

Let us know your most disappointing video game sequel in the comments below.

 

[ChanseyIsTheBest]

Kingdom Hearts: RE Coded...litterally useless plot wise outside of one cutscene at the end and even without it you wouldn't be that confused. imagine playing kh 1 again...twice...and worse. wow

Story is complete ass but I have a soft spot for the gameplay though combat is like BBS but less broken (surge spam) and the gameplay shakeup sections are kind of cool, and the chip system is super fun.

 

[Zangetsu276]

Kingdom Hearts 3

 

[SG854]

Pokemon sword shield

Game was a slog to get through

Post automatically merged: Oct 21, 2022

Kingdom Hearts 3

That too. It sucked

 

[Jayro]

Every "Wario" game, after the first one.

They took everything that made the first game great, and threw it in the trash... The power ups, the level design, the catchy and brilliant music, the look and feel of Wario himself, but most importantly, the physics are what made Super Mario Land 3: WarioLand such a great game.

That, and after receiving WarioLand II on the grey cartridge as a birthday gift, as of the game itself wasn't disappointing enough... They released it again in color. (Black cartridge.) I was pretty pissed off at that point.

Then a few years ago by, and after WarioLand 3, 4, and Shake It, they go and turn Wario into this gross-looking biker dude that hosts mini games? No... Just, no... Nintendo did my favorite badguy dirty. And I feel there's no coming back from this now, given how successful those shitty "Warioware" mini games are.

The last fun game staring Wario was his inclusion in Super Mario 64 DS, and even that was moot. They had something great going for them with his first game, and they should have just ran with it.

 

[pedro702]

A couple already posted here that came to mind, but here's a fraction of the ones that disappointed me-

Halo Infinite, weak story and bland open world that's missing a ton of weapons and game modes/features.
A lot of the Mario Parties.
Bioshock 2 and Bioshock Infinite.
Lost Planet 3. LP2 was such a fun co-op shooter with branching level paths, fun weapons and mechs, and awesome boss fights. LP3 stripped itself of all that and has no real identity, it's a mess.
I could go on about way more but I'll stop here.

i actually liked lp3 it was differente, heck every LP game is totaly diferente imo the only thing i missed from previous lp games was the weapons on the mechs but i liked the change imo the story and voice acting in lp3 were amazing imo.

lp1 is like typical jap mech action game
lp2 is like total over the top co op game
lp3 single player more dark and survival type of game

every game on that ip is great on their own right, just hope we could get lp4 but doesnt seem likely sadly.

For me the most disapointing sequel has to be mario party 9... taking away the individuality of players for a type of all on board everybody wins type of game of mp9-10

 

[DaFixer]

Dune 2000, Parasite Eve 2 and Final Fantasy 10.
I was so disappointed in FF10 when I got on release day (I dith a pre oder).
Call sick from work, rushing on my bike in the rain to get the game form the only gameshop in my home town.
Finally home, I putt the game in my PS2.
After 2 hours off playing I turn off my PS2, take out the game, putt it back in the case to never play it again.

 

[pedro702]

Pokemon sword shield

Game was a slog to get through

Post automatically merged: Oct 21, 2022

That too. It sucked

people always complain about sword and shield but for me sun/moon are the most boring ass games in the franchise, i finished every pokemon game ever, i finished pokemon sun and then i got ultramoon and i gave up half way there, serious the passing on those games is ten times worse than sword and shield imo. the combat the gym stuff and those wierd totem pokemons is just so bad imo, yes they can replace gyms, but not with something far worse... legends arceus replaced the gyms with something fun and imaginative, sun/moon didnt...

 

[Viri]

Perfect Dark Zero, Resident Evil 3 Remake, and Star Craft 2.

 

[TylerSGman]

Mafia III

 

[KingBlank]

Roller Coaster Tycoon 2, in theory it is better but I preferred the art style and vibe of the first game.

 

[BaamAlex]

Prototype 2 for example. That was a bummer imho.

 

[Jayro]

I do occasionally see it around and want to give it a go (hard to understate how much I enjoyed 1, and 2 was not bad either but the direction it took was not my favourite, can keep pre sequel) but I see stuff like this, and prices of it second hand being less than the handsome jack collection and then continue to skip it. Hopefully we see a total conversion or something.

Anyway... I usually judge worst by failed potential more than out and out not nice to play/watch/read/whatever.
I am not a fan of what they did to Heroes of Might and Magic -- while I am of the 2 gold is best heroes persuasion I can still enjoy 3. Anything beyond that...
I have softened a bit on Resident Evil 6 in as much as you can just about have your own fun there. 4 and 5 were way better though and 7 and beyond are different games.
Later splinter cell games got a bit over simplified for my taste but there was still something there.
I have not softened on the Ninja Gaiden modern series sequels (be it 3 or Yaiba. Comparing 2 to black is also tricky). How they screwed that franchise up so hard is impressive in and of itself. Many other times I might not care for a franchise any more the games I can at least see as being tolerable (don't care about Halo post ODST, give or take 13 and a fondness for 12 then post 9 final fantasy does nothing much for me, post PS2 GTA has its moments but never recaptured it for me, prince of persia never recaptured sands of time but were still playable enough and improved things along the way).

I assume we are discounting mobile phone games of classic 16 bit era things lest it become a list of that -- Dungeon Keeper Mobile, Cannon Fodder 3, whatever that James Pond thing was...

Not really one in my properly played things but I will be curious to see if PS2 things are anything worth considering in this -- the fate of Parasite Eve tends to elicit some strong reactions in the past.

Have to agree with you there on the Resident Evil front... 2 and 3 we're the last good games in my opinion. The restricted camera angles were part of why it was so fun and immersive in the first place. I didn't even like Code Veronica, as much as they tried with it. The semi-restricted camera worked well, but the male protagonist was just trash, and I don't feel the hardware was up to snuff for what Capcom was going for. RE4 was an entirely new game, 5 and 6 we're just poopoo, and like you said, 7 and 8 are just... Totally different. I feel Resident Evel lost it's charm along the way. They're just action games now. Nevermind all the in-between games like mercenaries, revelations, and those weird on rails shooters from the Wii era

 

[SG854]

people always complain about sword and shield but for me sun/moon are the most boring ass games in the franchise, i finished every pokemon game ever, i finished pokemon sun and then i got ultramoon and i gave up half way there, serious the passing on those games is ten times worse than sword and shield imo. the combat the gym stuff and those wierd totem pokemons is just so bad imo, yes they can replace gyms, but not with something far worse... legends arceus replaced the gyms with something fun and imaginative, sun/moon didnt...

I liked Sun and Moon

 

[ChanseyIsTheBest]

I liked Sun and Moon

Sun and Moon are good games like the region, the new designs but I never want to replay unless someone comes up someway to speedup the text and skip the cutscenes because they are so ungodly slow. Pacing is garbage because of it.

 

[lolcatzuru]

the shit of us 2

 

[Lostbhoy]

Contra III: The Alien Wars
This game might be popular, but it sucks compared to the original.

Agreed but I loved that game although I had no clue it was Contra 3 as in uk we got Super Probotector and the Contra guys were robots! Mind blown moment when i booted Contra 3 usa in a emu!

 

[eyeliner]

Metroid Prime 2. One of the games that actually made me quit because of boredom.

 

[Noblige]

Any mainline Pokemon game after the DS

 

[vecst]

Diablo III

 

[GunzOfNavarone]

Ni No Kuni II. I loved the first but the second just didn't stick the landing for me. I gave it several hours but the charm just wasn't there.