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.

 

[IC_]

What about it? Just curious.

Ever since the series became "mainstream", I feel that the community went from being a moderately nice one to things like "Selling Raymond in maid dress 10 million bells uwu", "[Random megacorporation] island now open come visit us and buy our products!!", and just a lot of dumb things in general, with all the new people that haven't played or even heard of the previous games. It's hard for me to associate myself with this community now.

 

[Robika]

Star Wars The Force Unleashed 2, first of all no PSP version. An it was weak, short and again no PSP version.

 

[Deleted member 194275]

The third bioshock for sure.

But when I was a little kid I hated the direction of 3D mario and 3D Zelda (Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time). I swallow the bitter first impression and played those just many years later. They are indeed not up to their Super Nintendo counterparts but are awesome games anyway.

 

[sley]

Xenoblade 2, I didn't like the shift from the old artstyle to the generic anime one at all and the character designs didn't make it better.

 

[KeeperCP1]

Super Mario Bros. 2
Doesn't feel like the other mario games, unlike the OTHER SMB2 (aka The Lost Levels)

 

[UltraDolphinRevolution]

Ever since the series became "mainstream", I feel that the community went from being a moderately nice one to things like "Selling Raymond in maid dress 10 million bells uwu", "[Random megacorporation] island now open come visit us and buy our products!!", and just a lot of dumb things in general, with all the new people that haven't played or even heard of the previous games. It's hard for me to associate myself with this community now.

Sounds like it became more popular.

 

[stanleyopar2000]

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

SquareEnix completely fucked up pre-release on all fronts with that pre-order bullshit. Also what was up with that "Augs lives matter" shit? Top it off with a completely cliff hangered ending with an unsatisfying conclusion (they were already working on the 3rd game when the 2nd finished) and you have the outcome of a shelved IP. Let's hope THQNordic can release the final game.

Super Mario Bros. 2

You mean Doki Doki Panic Official NintendoMod sprite swap? ...or the hard as balls Lost Levels?

 

[The_Monado_Satyr]

Luigi's Mansion 3

 

[scroeffie1984]

a plague tale requiem

 

[tr3vk4m]

Mass Effect 3. Not just because of the ending, which I don't think is bad because of choices but because it felt rushed.

Starchild sucked - not as a concept necessarily but because it always involved some slow, unskippable scene.

I felt like the stakes were raised so ridiculously high that they had basically painted themselves into a corner - how can Shepard really be going on missions and collecting crew etc. when the Reapers are literally already destroying the earth?

Fewer squadmates, very little sense of exploration. Every conversation essentially about the same thing.

The entire game felt like I was trying to meet some arbitrary deadline. Totally the opposite of my idea of fun.

brining me to my next choice

Majora's Mask. I know a lot of people like this game but I don't because it sucks.

1. Zelda isn't in it - that makes it not actually a Zelda game
2. I hate having to redo things I have already done.
3. I hate the pressure of a time limit on everything I'm doing.
4. "but you can play the reverse...." STFU. It sucks.
5. The moon looks stupid, not scary - just goofy and lame.
6. The masks make it so you aren't really even being Link.

 

[Luke94]

Would Jazz Jackrabbit Advance even count? I guess not MOTHER 3,Mobile Commander Keen,Sonic the Hedgehog(2006),Hong Kong '97(had no videogame series of sequels),I guess for some people Streets of Rage 4,Duke Nukem Forever might be disapointing,tech demo of Conker the Quirrel in Holo-Lens,Doom VFK(well maybe),Metroid Other M,Unreal Tournament 3,Mass Effect Andromeda,Matrix 4(movie).

 

[linuxares]

Oh I just remembred a game. Doom 3! I mean it was fine and all but what a disappointment compared to Doom 2.

 

[UltraDolphinRevolution]

Zelda isn't in it - that makes it not actually a Zelda game

Zelda appears in a cutscene in MM. By this definition, several Zelda games might not be Zelda games. Are there Metroids in all Metroid games? (I do not know)

 

[Issac]

This is a really interesting topic, and I am really struggling to come up with good answers.
I want to start off with saying that Zelda 2 is one of my favorite NES games, even though I can see why some people dislike it. To be completely honest, I think Zelda 2 is a lot more fun to play compared to Zelda 1.

I think the most disappointing sequel I can think of right now has to be Actraiser 2. It got rid of the "simulation" part of the game, and the action stages felt just wrong to play, especially if you come straight from Actraiser 1.
From the instant classic that Luigi's Mansion was, Luigi's Mansion 2 was very disappointing. The third game in the series was really fun though, it was just the 3DS installment that I disliked - mainly because of the controls I would say.

In more general strokes, where a series just went downhill:
Silent Hill after 4.
Pokémon after Gold/Silver (highly personal opinion, the magic was just gone for me).
Hmm, I can't really think of any others right now, although I know it has to be more

 

[The Frenchman]

To be brutally honest when Zelda II came out as the sequel to Zelda, nobody thought it was bad. It's only after Zelda 3 came out and younger people went back that Zelda II aquired a bad reputation.

It's much better than Zelda 1 in my book, Link to the Past truly showed how the original formula could be used to create masterpieces. Adventure of Link had very good fighting and exploration and good quests.

It's such a good action game.

 

[Luke94]

I think videogame fans of Jazz Jackrabbit were disapointed with Jazz Jackrabbit iOS Kismet Tutorial.

 

[tutruong16]

View attachment 333039​

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.

Halo 5: Guardians
Borderlands 3
Pokemon Sword and Shield
Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalyse

 

[Luke94]

Metroid Federation Force,Fortnite Battle Royale,Rayman Raving Rabidds,Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery.

 

[Trojaner]

Well, clearly from the FF Franchise Final Fantasy VII Remake. Was a nice move if you interested in destroy a much Fan loved favorit title. For this they should just Burn in Hell. Not only that you won't even get a full Remake, just some brocken down game. They are only interested anymore in Milking the Fans of the Series.

 

[Luke94]

Death of Aerith remains of mystery in remake/reboot of Final Fantasy 7 Remake of original one. Final boss with Sephiroth wasn’t the same like in original videogame series industry of modern entertainment.