Twitter has been an incredible place for nostalgia today. Multiple sequels of much-loved games have been trending, including titles such as Red Dead Redemption 2 and Portal 2. It's been a great trip down memory lane, looking back on many fantastic follow-ups, which in quite a few instances have outshined the original.
There have been numerous games that have managed to improve upon their predecessor, and today has been a celebration of such games. Assassin's Creed II, a vastly superior evolution of the formula, was one cited. Batman: Arkham City, which took the vigilante into the streets of Gotham, also received quite a bit of love. One of our personal favourites mentioned is Kingdom Hearts 2, which holds a soft spot from our childhood memories.
The list goes on and is ever growing as each year goes on and developers learn to expand on what makes their franchises great. It can be hard to pinpoint one, but we're going to push you to do just that!
What's your favourite video game sequel? You can only pick one, but let's share some of our favourite experiences when the next instalment absolutely blew the original out of the water.
Let us know in the comments below.
Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.
Comments 34
Ooooh... Portal 2 is a great choice; played through that one once solo and the co-op twice with Mrs VenomousAlbino. But there's so many good ones; Arkham City, Uncharted 2, Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Wolfenstein II all instantly spring to mind as sequels I particularly enjoyed.
mass effect 2
infamous 2
evil within 2
If I say FFX-2 I’m sure you’re all going to judge me soo I’ll go with FF XIII-2. That game basically improved every complaint the OG one had, but sadly gets overlooked.
Street Fighter II
Half Life 2
Guild Wars 2
Legend of Mir 2
If anyone knows that last game you have my respect.
Halo 2, Gears 2, and Uncharted 2
R&C Going Commando, God of War 2, and Halo 2 from that list specifically. But they could have listed better stuff like Spiderman 2, Silent Hill 2, Killzone 2, Dead Space 2, Lost Planet 2, etc.
Halo Wars 2 was a pretty great sequel that improved everything on the first game. Halo 2 was also a great sequel
There is nothing fantastic about Twitter.
Anyway, moving on, Street Fighter II had to be the biggest leap between a game and its first sequel ever.
As a child, the progression from Wonder Boy to Wonder Boy in Monster Land to Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap blew me away.
Another classic is Day of the Tentacle (the follow up to Maniac Mansion).
Others that were less revolutionary but still ended up being favourites of mine are DOOM II and Monkey Island 2.
Probably Kingdom Hearts 2 for me; incredible game. Though when I played it when I was younger I do remember wishing the prologue was skippable after the first play through.
There's so many to list, but I gotta mention Fable 2
Halo 2 and Uncharted 2 are tied for me. Both, in my opinion, have the best campaign experiences of their respective series. Super Smash Bros. Melee as well. And Mass Effect 2. Playing that again recently was still an amazing experience.
The real question is. Within a limited saga (3-4 games in a set storyline) which has the best finale?
I would in many ways count the original Halos (reach - 3) in a separate story from the newest storyline for this. Same with like the different Ratchet trilogies and so on.
For me it would either be Halo 3 or Ratchet and Clank Futures: A Crack in time.
Ninja Gaiden 2. Even though it went for linear level design and lacked the overall polish of the original, it absolutely nailed the combat. To this day I honestly don't think any hack/slash game has bettered NG2's combat engine. By far my most satisfying (and difficult) 100% completion.
Honourable mention goes to Project Gotham Racing 2. Back when XBL was in it's infancy PGR2 had an amazing community and there was zero toxicity. I had my best online gaming experiences ever with this game.
Gotta be Sonic The Hedgehog 2 😁
Silent Hill 2 takes top spot on the podium. If we have to stick to second parts then Burnout 2 although 3 was better still, and Mercenaries 2 would round out my top 3 sequels.
Red Dead Redemption II, Uncharted 2, Mass effect 2 - all completely blew me away when I first played them, and the memories have stayed with me ever since. RDR II is literally my favourite game of all time, and Uncharted 2 was for a while too.
I'd also like to mention The Last Of Us - Part II. Divisive to say the least, but few sequels - in any medium - attempt to do what this game did. A truly brave and bold sequel.
Of the games on that tweet, since I have to pick 3, it's Bayonetta 2, Metroid Prime 2 and Mario Galaxy 2.
Of course, Assassin's Creed 2 and Halo 2 are both phenomenal games. I am adding them to the top 5. InFamous 2 and Resistance 2 are also great games. The latter is particularly an improvement over its prequel.
I would say WarCraft 2 was miles better than the original and groundbreaking in its genre
@GoingTurbo1981 My exact thought! Sonic 2 is the ultimate sequel. Can never be topped.
Assassin’s Creed 2 is the ultimate sequel. It corrects everything bad about the first game whilst standing on feet so tall many still consider it to be the best in the series. I’d love a remake with a 1:1 recreation of Venice not unlike Paris from AC Unity.
Fable 2 gets a nod too for correcting the mistakes of the original and if Forza Horizon never existed it would be the best 1st party game on the 360.
@mousieone XIII-2 is one of my favourite in the whole series. Fantastic game.
I think X-2 is probably the worst in the whole series.
Surprised no one has said Borderlands 2 yet.
Nier Automata and Borderlands 2 are without question my top picks
@Tasuki me too! I’ve put far too much time into that game.
@RadioHedgeFund it’s sad thing that XIII-2 is a sequel to a game most don’t like. Thus it gets out in the FF XIII basket but it really is a much improved game. I really think the game stands on its own merits.
There really isn’t a “bad” one for me, but I’m least fond 6 comparatively. And that’s a lot of people’s favorite All relatively. I’m just a sucker for the Job system, and combat is just on point in that game.
@GoingTurbo1981 I can’t believe I didn’t think of Sonic. This has to be the top of most lists for anyone who played during that era. Sonic 2 is one of the best games of all time
@Odium I forgot about Borderlands! So many memories with 2. Smiled the whole time through and leveled like 6 characters to 50.
@xMightyMatt14x I’ve sunk so much time into that game on 360, One and on Switch. It’s my go to game if I have nothing to play or don’t know what I want to play, it never gets old.
This comes to my mind:
Super Mario Galaxy 2.
Dragon Quest Builders 2.
Suikoden II.
Hands down it's gotta be Red Dead Redemption 2
Argh ridiculously impossible to pick from Street Fighter 2, Half Life 2, Unchartered 2, Last of Us 2... list goes on. Does it have to be the second - does the third in a series count as a sequel to the second? So GTA 3?
And I just saw someone mention Day of the Tentacle! What a classic! Wish I could play all these games again for the first time
For me it's Doom 2 followed very closely by Left 4 Dead 2. For new games it would have to be Red Dead 2 or Uncharted 2.
So many to pick from but Dead Space 2, Fable 2, Dead Rising 2, Darksiders 2, and The Darkness 2 main ones which spring to mind.
Easily Mass Effect 2, and that's my favorite game of all time. But also Borderlands 2, Diablo II, Halo 2 and Bayonetta 2 are very good games.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...