How Do You Make A Great Sequel?

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There's nothing like a second chance to make a first impression. Sequels come with baggage and can be even harder to make than the original game. Psychonauts 2 and Mini Motorways are very different games with very different development teams, but both found a path to becoming fantastic followups to Psychonauts and Mini Metro. How did they do it? Come on in and watch!
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Psychonauts developer notes series can be found here: • Psychonauts Retrospect...
Dinosaur Polo Club interview available at Twinfinite: twinfinite.net...
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#psychonauts #minimotorways #gamedesign

[@DesignDoc]

Download Core to play and create PC games for FREE at bit.ly/Core-DesignDoc

[@nevertrumpfromthejump]

Hey Design Doc, wanna let you know that I'm not a creative, I have no intention of ever working on a game, or any other form of art. I enjoy playing video games but that's it. And even still, your channel is absolutely fascinating to me and I deeply enjoy every video you make and put out for us to watch. Thank you for doing what you do, I hope it's paying the bills. Keep up the amazing work.

[@theEccentrician]

Same here, I find this channel and others like it an education in video game appreciation. These just make me enjoy games more and give me ideas to explore.

[@jasonreed7522]

Even if we may never work on a game or other work of "art", just learning the theory behind it can help you answer 1 very important question: "Why/what do I like/dislike about this game?" If you ever realize that you are having a bunch of fun or are unhappy while playing a game take a moment to try and figure out why, it will help you better choose games to play or just focus on the best part of a game.

[@reapertsaku989]

What a wholesome comment. I hope good things happen to you.

[@pancake891]

Same

[@arnoldfreeman2885]

Same here. This channel helps explain why I love the stuff I love I love.

[@chillmadude]

i think a very important thing to mention about psychonauts 2 is how it handles mental health issues way better than the first one

[@aladorhyde8192]

AGREED! the representation in the second game is soooo much better

[@SystemBD]

Yes, but as Yahtzee mentioned in his review, the message ends up being so positive that it is almost toxic. In the first game, the residents at that horrible asylum got fed up with the mistreatment they received and set the place on fire (with a special kind of milk, I might add). That "madness can actually be the solution sometimes" message is lost in the sequel and there are some of us who miss that rebellious aspect of the franchise.

[@chillmadude]

@@SystemBD how exactly is that toxic?

[@chillmadude]

@@bezoro-personal i wouldnt say it's handled like a teleltubbies episode, there's a lot of depth in 2 in 1 you fix peoples disorder, in 2 you help people cope with their disorder. 1 protrays it in a way that isnt realistic, and looks down on those with mental disorders, 2 recognizes them for the human beings they are

[@patrykzukowski7471]

Better? I didn't get far but it was terrible.

[@kemsatofficial]

Psychonauts was such a good yet infuriating game. I’m glad they made a sequel, and I can’t wait to get it.

[@donnylurch4207]

You won't be disappointed. I just played through it last week, every day after work until time for bed.

[@seanmcfadden3712]

I've played through Psychonauts 2. Definitely a good time, and it handles mental health issues a lot better than the original. Admittedly, that's probably due to dealing with "broken" minds rather than "insane" minds. I would like to point out that it also has the ... second best depiction of sensory overload that I've encountered in games. As something I've had to go through a few times, sensory overload is definitely difficult to properly show. In case you're wondering, the best depiction of sensory overload in a video game I've encountered is from the Overlord dlc for Mass Effect 2, which also has the best depiction of an autistic character I've encountered.

[@benedict6962]

I never played 1, but I took one look at 2 and could just feel the polish radiating off the figments and telekinesis mechanics.

[@SrNibb]

How was it infuriating ?

[@epicgamer-iz4ok]

@@SrNibb exactly, besides the meat circus level, the game isn't too difficult in my opinion.

[@MrJechgo]

Oh the irony that the company which initially shelved the series ended up buying the studio 🤣

[@AnotherDuck]

They realised their mistake.

[@miguelcom13]

@@AnotherDuck i mean it was during the 360 era so we know what type of executive were managing xbox at the time, its good phil is managing xbox now

[@nikkoa.3639]

@@miguelcom13 He's not the best studio head but you can definitely tell he enjoys gaming and wants to lead it in a better light

[@jannuarytrash]

> ... Mini Motorways, the potholes they could've fallen into... that got me too bad lmao

[@botaku12721]

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles really shows what a long way the Ace Attorney series has come throughout its 20-year history! While the first game was outstanding in its own right, pretty much all the major complaints with it have been tackled one-by-one throughout the subsequent instalments, paving the way towards TGAAC. While it takes the approach of telling a story from more than 100 years before the other games, almost completely disconnected from them, there are definitely times where it seems the developers have intended for you to be familiar with the earliest (and best-known) entries in order to set up some expectations that are later gloriously subverted! Not to mention that after a rough transition period, TGAAC is the first game in the franchise where the 3D graphics adopted a couple games earlier have risen to the level of the 2D spritework in the original trilogy :D

[@benedict6962]

Capcom's got a very interesting relationship with sequels, looking at the different series they've juggled.

[@Gillder]

In my opinion, the biggest improvement psychonauts 2 made, was utilizing the abilities more. From fighting enemies with different weaknesses to expanding on exploration. They used the abilities very well this time around and I had reason to switch them out more regularly.

[@afriendofafriend5766]

The gameplay is definitely better.

[@HenshinFanatic]

Just wish there was greater badge/pin variety for each Psi Power.

[@TheKarishi]

I love the idea of a 15-year-old getting to your bit about a mistake made 16.5 years ago and being like, "Yeah, relatable."

[@Andyman620]

One of my favorite sequels to talk about is Sly 2. The first Sly Cooper game was good, but it was pretty much just a standard 3d platformer with a little bit of stealth. it followed the format of hub worlds with disconnected levels within them, some being bad controls minigames (curse you piranhas). but with 2, each chapter is 1 open level with a series of missions that take place IN the level, and all of them are important because it culminates in an epic heist. very good game. makes you feel like a master thief way more than the original

[@FelisImpurrator]

It's the original Assassin's Creed, in a lot of ways. And still a lot better today than that series has become lately.

[@YorkJonhson]

Yeah, the first Sly Cooper wasn't outright bad, but it feels like a tech demo compared to how much Sly 2 improved on it in every facet. I miss having more of that series to look forward to.

[@TheJayman213]

Not only were the levels disconnected, but they were very linear too. Closer to Crash than Banjo or even Spyro in design.

[@gbzld]

I think I got stuck in 2 in the third world, but I played the third game a lot and loved it. It's one of my all time favorites.

[@mayahope8782]

Little Big Planet 2 is my favorite game of all time, and an amazing sequel. Thousands of new items and mechanics for level creation, and an amazing story mode filled with imaginative settings and characters. It took everything the first game did and expanded on it in the best possible way.

[@steamtasticvagabond474]

LBP 2 took a simple level editor and turned it into a 2.5d game engine. Then they kept going

[@onlyacomentarynothingspeci2419]

@@steamtasticvagabond474 but they never did it quite like 2 its the perfect LBP

[@steamtasticvagabond474]

@@onlyacomentarynothingspeci2419 lbp2 is peak LBP. Dreams is the peak create mode

[@raizeprime]

the more psychonauts videos i see on youtube the happier i get. so glad this underrated gem of a game is getting the attention it deserves!

[@nuggetsprime]

I completed NEO The World Ends With You yesterday. It’s amazing how good of a sequel it was! I didn’t think it was possible, but there it is. It’s never gonna be quite as unique as the original, but they didn’t have to be (I’m glad they noticed this instead of trying to force it like Solo/Final Remix). I really like the twist they brought to the gameplay, and the amount of detail in the game is staggering. The game isn’t without flaws, but it was definitely much better than I expected. It’s currently my second favourite game of the year, losing to another sequel in Yakuza 7.

[@Gloomdrake]

I can't wait to get it, but I'm not going to for a while because Im not buying anymore games until Rune Factory 5 comes out

[@philiphunt-bull5817]

Don't shit on solo remix, its an amazing well done port.

[@nuggetsprime]

@@philiphunt-bull5817My criticism for Solo Remix is almost entirely on the combat, as that's what made the DS game so unique. Solo Remix is alright at best. They did the best they could making the combat work with one screen, but it couldn't capture what made the original stand out.

[@i8dacookies890]

Psychonauts as a concept is such a good one since it takes one of the most important things about the genre, the levels, and one of the most important things in any media, the characters, and smashes them together! Genius!

[@melonysnicket]

Danganronpa 2 is a good sequel. They pretty much redo a bunch of their ideas from 1, but manage to keep it always fresh and enthralling. Plus all the characters pop out that much more and feel more like a genuine friend group

[@ChinKiAye]

I think the best improvement for DR2 was the addition of being able to agree with statements. Mechanically, it's similar enough to the core of finding contradictions while having the player think differently. Storywise, it makes the characters feel more real as they notice the same things the player has and aren't constantly forced to be wrong to serve gameplay.

[@Stephen-Fox]

Honestly, I think 2 has the best cases of all three games.

[@Little1Cave]

Also the leveling system is a HUGE improvement from the previous game. In the first game, you could end up with a lot of Skill Points for trials, but little to no skills to spend those points on. In the second game, starting with a set number of Hope Fragments, having every single successful interaction give you an additional one, purchasing those skills from Monomi with the Hope Fragments, but having your ability to equip your skills limited by your level (which goes up by interacting with objects, people, and walking as opposed to fast travel) SIGNIFICANTLY encourages more exploration, more interaction, and a more fulfilling experience with the game. The interconnected systems work extremely well with each other in DR2, way more than DR1.

[@melonysnicket]

@@Little1Cave Same with the fixed number for Free Time Events - DR1 was weird with that. Characters like Sayaka only had two, but then there's Toko, who has a bunch for her and a bunch for her alter too. It was really imbalanced and didn't give nearly as much characterisation to the individual characters (and then there was Kirigiri, whose FTEs said literally nothing about her, or nothing the main plot didn't divulge). Then DR2 gave everyone an equal amount, so even the first chapter deaths had some nice character info (but you couldn't finish their FTEs in one go, which V3 fixed with an additional slot per chapter). Plus the FTEs themselves are mostly pretty well written: for example, many people complain about Akane supposedly not having a character arc, but those who did her FTEs and applied them to how she acted in the main story could see it more clearly

[@adiksaff]

I was in full on "IT'S SO PRETTY!!" while going through Psychonauts 2. Thank you for giving voice to how much better looking and better implemented the figments are!

[@theheroesofcrash311]

One of my favorite sequels is Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (which I was playing recently). It took the basic gameplay mechanics of the original, and added features that rounded it out well, such as: - Dixie's hair spin - New collectables to hunt for (like DK coins and usually-more-fair-to-find Bonus Barrels) - A fairly consistent pirate theme - Better animal buddy mechanics - More interesting bosses - And more!

[@toooydoeur]

Very true, 2 is amazing

[@allet8107]

I can't agree more with this sentiment. DKC2 is usually my go-to example of a textbook video game sequel, additionally though, I like to lump Tropical Freeze in the same boat with it as TF essentially did to Returns what DKC2 did for DKC1. Both had a much more focused theme while also having more varied level themes and design than their predecessors. I love all DKC games a lot, but I seriously struggle deciding between 2 and TF for my favorite as both are the apex of their respective styles of Donkey Kong Country.

[@toooydoeur]

@@allet8107 yup, tropical freeze and 2 are both the best

[@thesnatcher3616]

AND THE SOUNDTRACK MAN!

[@Tyrranis]

A series that is worth looking at in terms of its' sequels and how its' evolved over time is the Burnout series. The original was a basic street racing game with an interesting crash mechanic, where every time you crashed your car it showed a triple-replay of the crash in an attempt to make it seem more 'epic'. The problem was that sometimes the crash was so minor that the triple-replay seemed more patronizing than anything. In Burnout 2: Point of Impact, they doubled-down on the crashes with a new game mode where you tried to make the biggest crash you could, while also making improvements to other areas as well. Then, in Burnout 3: Takedown they came up with the titular takedown, where players were rewarded for causing the other racers to crash, and as such the races became much more aggressive and distinct from other racing games.

[@Runegrem]

Then you have Burnout: Paradise, which is one of my favorite racing games. It works really well for an open world game. I'm not much of a racing game fan, but that game I like.

[@lordeilluminati]

I think Revenge made the Takedown mechanic more engaging. It doesnt change the core mechanics thst much, but the track designs are a lot less flat than Takedown. I love Takedown, but the most times you did takedowns was pushing the opponents to the side walls, whereas Revenge have branching paths, cliffs and obstacles that can be used too (and even against yourself if you are not careful)

[@zekkikun528]

God, I LOVE the Psychonauts universe. Psychonauts 2 blew me away, especially! I'm glad the game's being used as an example of how to make a great sequel

[@georgeoswalddannyson6008]

Devil May Cry 3 and 5 deserve a mention for the genius ways they improved on the foundations laid by the previous entries in the franchise

[@callofgears91]

Recently I played both Ori games, and while The Blind Forest was great, The Will of the Wisps blew me away in every sense, it added some more elements to the gameplay, and the visuals were even more stunning, something I thought was really difficult to pull off since the first game looked so good already

[@Afuwall]

Neo The World Ends With You was a great sequel

[@mewblue3997]

As a sequel, it's amazing and it still knows how to stand on its own two feet. It definitely took some risks that paid off too, like the metal soundtrack since the idea of that "rebellious" attitude has changed quite drastically. It's so cool to see how Shibuya has changed too. My only complaint is that the relationships between characters seem more shallow, but maybe you could argue that's a little bit of social commentary

[@madelinemccoolname]

i’m gonna talk about this game until the end of time, the fact that they managed to put in a version of the first game’s combat system in is insane

[@indecisiveponderer643]

That's a dream sequel right there. There are a lot of stuff I wish it'd have done more similarly to the first game... But it still does a pretty good job with changing things up even though it's a direct sequel heavily reliant on its predecessor.

[@thebigchungus4515]

@@mewblue3997 I’d say the relationships are actually quite deeper than you’d think, but the game is a lot more subtle about this compared to the original. Rindo’s and Shoka’s relationship takes on a whole new layer once you go back and replay the game and a lot of the character dynamics are also quite intriguing as well.

[@mewblue3997]

@@thebigchungus4515 I more so meant with side characters rather than main characters, the main cast is pretty good, but other than Ryoji I can't really think of a side character that really stood out compared to the original. The prince, Ramen Don and the girls having that big argument over a day through Reaper Creeper just stood out to me more than, say, the Shinjuku ghost side quest

[@FelisImpurrator]

The figments are still occasionally bastards to find. See the infamous two in Bob's level. Still, visibility wise, they're usually great. It's just a couple of standouts that are incredibly hard to identify.

[@GamersOff]

I feel like Spelunky 2 was one of the best sequels ever made. The way it retained the feeling of discovery and adventure from the original made it feel like re-experiencing what made the first one a classic, but with much more content and diversity, which is rare for a lot of sequels.

[@RandomMcSomethin]

Risk of Rain 2. It refines the game's core down to a point and keeps the same aesthetic but just puts it in 3D.

[@Johnnyb3g00d]

And the jump to 3d comes with tons of positive and negatives. Definitely a good one to look into for a sequel, since it's much like the second example in the video; a heart transplant of the first game.

[@hoppy6437]

Portal 2 would be my vote for best sequel. The first game was already revolutionary with a unique concept, excellent tutorial levels, and a great story. The second game added more novel game mechanics and another great story line. I didn't have high hopes for it because I thought it would be a repeat of the first game, but I was blown away at how well they pulled it off.

[@teveloakes8851]

I like how Xenoblade Chronicles 2 handled itself. It managed to tie the stories together in a way that made it so you didn't miss out if you've never played the first game and it also adapted the gameplay to work better with the portable/handheld nature of the switch.

[@seanmcfadden3712]

Fire Emblem Awakening. It was my introduction to the franchise, and the game that may have saved it. How? Probably a lot of factors, but I think a big one was making Permadeath optional. Permadeath can definitely be intimidating for new players, and make them less likely to pick up the title, so making it optional made the game more accessible.

[@ycantiusegeorgiantextforhandle]

In a sense you could also talk about how Fates was a terrible sequel to Awakening. With it's terribly forced child mechanic and being so much easier than Awakening, where I'd say Awakening hit the sweet spot of being easy enough to not be daunting for new players, and challenging enough to be fun for them. Also going full one-dimensional anime character for most of it's cast, which made it harder for people to get attached to the characters.

[@seanmcfadden3712]

@@ycantiusegeorgiantextforhandle Oh, absolutely. Then Three Houses became great, and did the whole different stories for different factions thing way better. I'll admit that the academy setting and some of the connected mechanics aren't for everyone, but I enjoyed them.

[@Triforce_of_Doom]

One of my favorite sequels that came out recently is NEO: The World Ends With You. Take some hanging plot threads from the first game's updated rerelease, throw some brand new protags into said plot threads to give a fresh viewpoint so those new to the games aren't completely lost (which is appreciated since we waited 14 years since the original version of the first game), give us a great mix of both new songs & remixes of the OG soundtrack when the first game was praised for that aspect, translate the stylized 2D visuals of the first game into cell-shaded 3D models damn near PERFECTLY, & keep the combat combo focused while streamlining it in the right ways to not alienate either newcomers or veterans (as much as I love the first game there's no denying that the very unique combat controls makes it hard to get new people into it no matter which version you play). Easy contender for game of the year for me & it felt like I had never left that version of Shibuya when I booted it up.

[@UltraMegaShenron]

Sly 2 was an amazing sequel, taking what was made before, perfecting it, and building it into a new and original idea.

[@jake.klusewitz]

Hey Design, I’ve watched through most of your videos at this point, and wanted to let you know how much I’ve listening in! Keep up the good work! 🙂

[@arogustus3984]

When I get Portal 2, I will make a comment talking about Portal 2. Keep an eye out for that. Love to see the love Psychonauts 2 is getting, though. Rightfully deserved, too. You want a good idea for a topic? How about Simple Controls? Warioware Get it Together just came out with control that amount to control stick and one button, and did it very well. Compared to Balan Wonderworld, where it did it very bad. Why not talk about it?

[@fatyoshi696]

I was literally just playing this game when I got the notification and thinking about how worthy of a sequel it was to, from what I had heard, a 20-year-old cult classic

[@themadrat1495]

Zelda Twilight Princess was a good sequel to the zelda games that came before it. Link is more mobile in Twilight Princess, than he is in any game. He can perform special moves with the iron boots on to make the special techniques get executed quicker. You can run while slicing your sword, dashing against enemies who have melee attacks before they can land a hit. Every enemy has a chance to respawn, so no enemy goes extinct. And even items that seem useless outside their dungeons have a unique use: You can use the dominion rod as an emergency flare if your lantern goes out.

[@AnotherDuck]

I think that in this series, the best update to the previous was A Link to the Past, either if you compare it to the direct prequel (Zelda 2) or the original which is far more similar. But Twilight Princess is a very good sequel. Especially since it has Agitha.

[@themadrat1495]

@@AnotherDuck And the fact the rupee armor? It actually looks more badass when powered down, and you can use it as an set of non-magnetic iron boots. Plus in it's powered down state; it is actually more accurate to how actual knights armor functioned. You gave up mobility to put on a giant full body suit of armor, of course it's gonna be heavy!

[@AnotherDuck]

@@themadrat1495 Real plate armour was actually not that bad. It's easily comparable to what modern soldiers wear (when they wear the heavier stuff). You don't lose that much mobility, but you do lose some. However, what you lose the most of is endurance, since wearing that and fighting in it is tiring. Especially if you have fully armoured arms and legs, as those are the parts of the body that moves the most.

[@themadrat1495]

@@AnotherDuck Yeah. There IS a full body armor in the modern world that... I would say is overkill... The panzer division, the german division known for making tanks? Made an armor for common police officers. It had: Full head faceplating with a internal gas mask, an armored backpack with riot suppression gear locked with a key, shoulderplates, full on body covering, and was 35 MM thick. Someone tested an RPG-7 against it and the armor retained mint condition. I can only imagine how heavy it would of been if it finally saw service. It's simply known as tank armor, as most of the parts to build the armor were from re-using panzer tanks. This armor never saw service, and may have inspired several modern media classics.

[@AnotherDuck]

@@themadrat1495 Classic German overengineering. :)

[@Jikkuryuu]

Okay, so I love Transistor for its aesthetic and story and it's probably always going to be my favourite SuperGiant game. I'm biased. But if you look at Bastion, Transistor, and Hades as a series, each one is a similar but wildly different take on "custom loadouts." Bastion has great binary weapon customizations, giving each weapon essentially multiple modes. Players can mix and match weapon combinations like "short+long range" or "fast and weak+slow and strong" or "dumb easy+complicated awkward." Transistor makes every tool both a verb and an adjective and they all mix together. High experience levels start granting multiple copies so a newgame+ player can make previously impossible combinations. Mixing and matching is integrated into the lore, the gameplay, and the strategy. Hades focuses on making one build that grows over a single playthrough and then asks you to do it again, but different. You get some weapon customizing, and a whole lot of adjectives, and being a roguelite (with _juicy_ meta-progression between runs) simmers everything together into delicious comfy stew.

[@TheWordPlay]

For me that amazing sequel in recent years (besides Psychonauts 2) was Devil May Cry 5. After the decisive DMC reboot and the fourth game in the main series was back when the 360 and PS3 were new, the series future wasn't looking good. So to have it return with fanfare was amazing! The thing I wanted to highlight was Nero's devil breaker mechanic being an evolution to his devil bringer skill introduced in 4. It adds so much more variety and player customization to Nero's moveset, without sacrificing his core gameplay

[@Laf631]

Psychonauts is one of my favorite games of all time. I'm so sad the sequel isn't on the Switch.

[@jasonreed7522]

A couple of series with noteworthy sequels, that show things done well. 3D Mario (64 -> Sunshine -> Galaxy -> Galaxy 2-> Odessey), keep the core idea of "Mario's Movement must be fun. 64 was all about the novelty of 3D, Sunshine had FLUDD for really fun acrobatics, Galaxy's had funky gravity and planetoids, Odessey had Cappy. Each is unique and fun to platform in with steadily improving storylines. Pikmin (1, 2, & 3) a console RTS about collecting McGuffins and murderizing things with your army of up to 100 pikmin. Each had a different time limit with the first being fix your ship by gathering 30 parts in 30 days (12 or 15min each) which is a speedrunner's dream. The second removes the timelimit and focuses on gathering treasure and introduces 2 new types of pikmin and caves (procedurally generated dungeons where time pauses on the surface) and gives you a second captain. And 3 which is super pretty, makes the timelimit influencable by the player, and has much more epic boss fights. The series is also notable for the depth of its sound effects are dynamic soundtrack. Pokemon, you know what its about. Generally they improve the plot with each generation but also make the handholding worse, everyones favorite is their first. An example of a series afraid to take major risk and suffering for it. Paper Mario series, mario as a self aware RPG where everything is obviously made of paper and the game is super self aware. never player the original but TTYD is amazing and follows closely in its footsteps. The rest of the series was hyped for each release, but avoided the rpg elements and generally lost the core of the series (super fun combat) much to their detriment. While Origami King has the self aware comedy its combat system is just a puzzle that had me bored by the time a reached the hub. I think that generally a good sequel needs to identify what the true core of the predecessor is (be it fun movement, puzzle solving, exploration, combat, collectathoning) and reuse that core. But then it needs to set itself apart in a good way, and with more than just graphics and quality of life. Think how Sunshine -> Galaxy kept the movement is fun idea but replaced FLUDD and normal gravity with spin attack/jump and space gravity. But then Galaxy -> Galaxy 2 mainly made minor changes (levels, smaller hub, story, yoshi) and to me it didn't have the same magic as Galaxy. (Also if you have a hub it needs to be fun and a place to run around like Delfino Plaza or the Observatory, not like the Mario Head ship) PS: i know my opinion of Galaxy 2 is unpopular but its genuine.

[@dancingwholeness]

As a creative with plans of making a trilogy of games one day, I absolutely LOVE how informative your videos have!

[@nicodetonado]

I gotta be honest. I love this channel so much. Sometimes I would like a more in depth analysis of the games in engine design choices. Like, we see the theory and philosophy of their design here... but what about when the design process helps to solve a problem instead of being the main vision u are trying to reach, u know? Great job as always!

[@thebookmaster6593]

Thank you for the Psychonauts. Very happy to see one of my favorite game series.

[@MoonSpiritChannel]

Ooh, the list of great sequels can stretch for so much for this. But Psychonauts 2 really has been a great sequel and could be my GOTY right now.

[@FelisImpurrator]

The Golden Bolt has a great retrospective on how Ratchet and Clank 2 is a great sequel, despite the flaws.

[@steamtasticvagabond474]

I feel like Borderlands 2 is worth mentioning. It seems to be seen as generally the better game. You don’t even need to play BL1 before jumping into BL2

[@Road_to_Dawn]

Definitely! I enjoyed the first game, but I have always had a really hard time going back to it after BL2. It just feels so dated in comparison, while even after The Pre-Sequel and BL3, both of which I loved, BL2 still feels fantastic.

[@Dominik-K]

Thanks a bunch for this video, it highlights a few very important points. I liked old sequels like Banjo-Tooie and others from the N64 era, but the score of art necessary and budget necessary was much smaller back in the day

[@Viviantoga]

Consider this a formal request for a "How Do You Make a Mediocre Sequel" followup video, featuring Banjo-Tooie.

[@DesignDoc]

You're not wrong to be honest. Tooie is definitely a victim of scope creep where they got so ambitious with the world and its size, that they overlooked the pacing where everything takes too long to do/figure out.

[@Wiimeiser]

@@DesignDoc Then there's Nuts & Bolts... Which would have been better if Banjo & Kazooie were swapped out for another character; I'd have gone for Boggy or Blubber, myself. Funnily enough, I read that it started because the scope creep escalated to the point where vehicles were needed to make the game fun, then things went off the rails from there.

[@Overdrive-_-]

With the recent(?) release of tears of the kingdom, I love the way it introduced a whole new map(the depths) while still having the original Hyrule feel new

[@gynesiseffect907]

Psychonauts does the best representation and accuracy of Mental Disorders, Conditions and Illnesses, it actually points out a lot of things that aren't really talked about in the Psychology Community and such, I'll bring out a few examples. (SPOILERS FOR THE PSYCHONAUTS 1 GAME BY THE WAY!) | | | V Edgar Teglee (Psychonauts 1) He represents the problem of OCD obsessing over his girlfriend and a prisoner of his rage against the man who took his love interest or simply put High School Crush, Lampita. He cannot get over the loss of his wrestling career when his OCD started to put him in harms way. His world or Black Velvetopia, is basically where people are trapped in one place which they cannot escape due to a bull, this is meant to represent Edgar's rage and OCD from his Teenhood. The bull that keeps everyone away from him and trapped by him is his own rage or El Odio (roughly translated to hatred or the rage, correct me if I'm wrong.) which is very ironic. Every time, he tries to get away from the memories it only ends up in him being more angry and angrier, until you or the main character makes him realize that he was never meant to be with her and he must let go of her, which he did. In the world, you have to fight 4 wrestlers, obviously being the people he has wrestled with in High School, and in the final part of the world, you have to fight the bull which later the character realizes that he is only worsening it and he must take out Edgar's sworn enemy, and also protecting El Odio. Gloria v. Gouten (Psychonauts 1) Gloria is basically the issues of Mood Swings caused by Bipolar Disorder, this was caused by her mothers suicide and her forcing her into a career which she did not want to be, in one of her dialogue she says the following "Do you think I wanted to be famous?" which caused her performances and such to be disrupted after her mothers death, which led her to be put in an Asylum. She is only comfortable when she is under a spotlight and happy, though when she leaves the spotlight she will become sad or angry, which is followed when Raz attempts to take her trophy which she comes closer and then the following dialogue "Hey... you're supposed to be dead!" Which Gloria mistakes Raz as her own mother. In her world or Gloria's Theater she has 3 people (4 if you count the younglings), The critic or the phantom (later revealed in the final part of her mind) is only focused on berating and taking away her confidence and her source of mood swings, and there is Bonito, or simply her youth is too afraid to perform because of the Phantom that always ruins her performances and lastly the Stage performer which is to represent her career, When you beat the critic her mood swings finally stop, you also work through her mind as to perform certain scenes in certain stages which represent her memories. Boyd Cooper (Psychonauts 1) Boyd represents Paranoia, as he always feels like he is being watched, when you first encounter him he seems like a conspiracy theorist, he is also a guard of the asylum you try to get in and promptly states dialogue referring to the "Milkman" and his milk of course being delicious and that everyone wants it. (Kind of weird when you think about it). When you enter his mind it is very divided and messed up, this is his Paranoia kicking in, you also have to find the Milkman in his mind. He is also cooped (pun intended) up inside his house refusing to leave since he is hiding from the Government Men or G-Men who are also looking for the Milkman. In his past he was fired from his job which set him to rage and burned down the workplace with molotovs disguised as milk bottles. He also feels like he has no privacy and that he is being watched everywhere he goes the main source of his Paranoia, though he is also implanted as the Milkman in his head which is also the reason he wants you to find the milkman to trigger his implant and burn down the asylum. Boyd also has no control of himself, which is why sometimes when you progress through him you will get dragged into a place (this could be him panicking or paranoia) where you will have to do a Mini Boss (only happens twice) When you beat the actual boss The Mother, his implant is triggered as his Milkman Persona is now who he is and now his task is to burn down the asylum (which he actually doesn't do he just stands there waiting to burn it down for something)

[@Cuiasodo]

A good example of course-correction in a chain of sequels in my opinion was Devil May Cry V. They took concepts from previous games, and turned them all of the way up. VI introduced the idea of playing as different characters with different combat styles. V improved on this by making those stories more-inter-connected, having character switching happen earlier and more often, and giving each character a distinctive thing that differentiated them - they all control pretty differently. They took the stylish intros and some of the otherworld look from the reboot and put it into the game for neat visual flourishes. And while the story is pretty simplistic, the emotional stakes and acting performance were ratcheted up from previous games. There was also a pretty big quality of life improvement in the form of game continues. Previous entries would boot you back to the start of a level if you didn't have extra lives in the form of yellow orbs. DMC V gives you the option to spend gold orbs, items that you unlock by either finding them on the map or getting issued for logging on, or spending red orbs, the in-game currency that you use to level everything up.

[@Deathkyun]

I'd like to add the tremendously enhanced support for Keyboard and Mouse in DMC5 over the other installments. This was a godsend for me.

[@lpfan4491]

You mean IV, right?

[@Cuiasodo]

@@lpfan4491 No, I mean V. IV was pretty decent and introduced the concept of playing multiple characters, but it had a decent amount of flaws which probably contributed to the DmC reboot happening years later.

[@lpfan4491]

@@Cuiasodo No, you said VI introduced something and V improved it...somehow, because an earlier number can do that.

[@Cuiasodo]

@@lpfan4491 Ah, so I did. My mistake!

[@juanrodriguez9971]

I always saw sequels as an opportunity for rework the non-story elements, taking away what didn't work and expand upon what did, while also experimenting with new stuff to do, like, if we take a game that was really popular by its exploration but got tedious because the map was big then it needs a fast traveling option, and the reverse can apply too, imaginé making a really fun to explore game that has a fast travel option, but you discover almost none of the players used it so it leaves you with 2 option, rework it so it is more appealing to use or directly remove it and use the space for more explorable areas.

[@Rablazone]

If you ever do a second one of these, definitely look at TWEWY's follow-up, NEO: The World Ends with You. The original team from the DS game fourteen years ago came back to do a sequel, and they did a lot of work on creating the game's combat; since they couldn't do the same thing due to the control methods, they focused on emulating the feeling and the mechanical depth of the controls into a new system, so even though the two games play differently they feel like they belong together. Lot of interviews with them to reference online to read more about the choices and background into the combat system, even up to how it incorporates part of their original vision for the first game that they ultimately scrapped due to not being feasible on the DS.

[@Salsmachev]

Wow Playframe literally did Mini Motorways as a bonus episode before starting Psychonauts 2 and then here they both are together again.

[@corvidaeae]

My one problem with how they redid the figments is that the figment album now groups together all figments of the same image instead of listing them all out individually. Plus figments don't show up until you find them at least once. It makes looking at the album much neater, but now it's almost impossible to figure out which one exactly you're missing.

[@555Soupy555]

Simple fix, have it work like it does until you clear the mind, listing every figment even if none collected, so that none are spoiled during normal play but giving you the resources you need after for 100% While we're at it add a figment finder that points to the nearest one, maybe a pin or a gadget from Mentallis.

[@bitnewt]

@@555Soupy555 There's a camera filter which makes everything grey scale except collectables but it wasn't as useful as I expected. Maybe it should have made them visible through walls, too?

[@dbzgamer72486]

Sequels are great, but is there going to be a video about remakes/remasters? I'm thinking things like Pokémon, comparing both remakes like Red/Blue into FireRed/LeafGreen and further into Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee. There's also Pokémon's "third versions", like Yellow, Crystal, and Emerald, where the existing game is remade with enhanced elements and story tweaks. Not quite a sequel, but also not a complete remake. How does one even decide if a game needs to be remade? What distinguishes a remake from a port or remaster? How faithful do the remakes need to be and how much can they add? Do you use a remake as a chance to do all the things you didn't get to do in the original? Do you simply want to breathe new life into an old favorite? Are there cases where a remake is a bad thing? (Warcraft 3's remaster actually ruined a lot of what made the original great, like worse storytelling, legal nonsense in the editor, and the fact that it replaced the original so you can't even go back and play the old version) I'd love to see your take on this recent trend of re-releasing old classics with a new paint job, rather than creating new games or sequels.

[@platformingames2967]

The play station two’s exclusive games history with sequels

[@gbzld]

I loved that you showed Chrono Cross bc it is one of my favorite games and playing Chrono Trigger right now, makes me value it more and less at the same time. I love how the game works with a big number of elements to get away from MP bars and allows for auto healing after battles, and it also gives a greater focus to your party story arches then to the world. But Chrono Trigger did so many things right that it's hard to beat.

[@Deathkyun]

Megaman Legends 2 from MML1 took a great game and made it so much greater. It breathed new life by expanding the word to multiple continents and you got to experience a much deeper narrative. Sadly, I don't remember much from combat improvements, but I still feel like it should be mentioned. Ditto for Golden Sun 2 from GS1.

[@benedict6962]

Combat was a plain upgrade. Turn and run is a terrible control scheme for third person shooters, but basically everyone did it because that was what was available at the time. I recall that the weapons allowed for more varied and generally useful styles, but the addition of random encounters and global difficulty ratings leaves me on the fence. Some of the special effects like the green smoke ailment also put more effort into being new and interesting compared to actually being fun to experience. The MML3 demo put its focus on traversal and melee combat. Traversal was neat and had the potential to make really big bossfights interesting, but the melee was....basic.

[@Serlock4869]

The worst factor about MML combat is how tap shot is so strong early game that abusing it feels like necessities, especially in MML2 where many boss fights involve time and you're lacking firepower at that point

[@TheOnyxGemini]

"Hylics 2" Is an incredible sequel to the first "Hylics". The dev Mason Lindroth made everything better the story, gameplay, the stop-motion animation, and the music which just got an expansion "Moonage Lobotomy" which is fantastic. Just all round a great sequel.

[@D3stinySm4sher]

Bug Fables, though. Goddamn. What a great spiritual successor. It took everything about og Paper Mario and developed in it in great ways. In terms of literal sequels, Smash Bros. Melee was so impressive for its day, in and of itself, but was SUCH a leap over its predecessor despite not that long a gap inbetween.

[@bboyninja8244]

A really good sequel is Endless Ocean 2. It takes all the same ideas from the first game and expands them into more realized gameplay elements

[@skirdus367]

TTYD and Half-Life 2 will always be the most near-perfect sequels to their predecessors in my eyes

[@JoshuaEisenbart]

Yeah, I never played Half-life, and played TTYD years before I touched the original Paper Mario (though I haven't actually beaten either, only just got to the final dungeon in each). I can tell you that TTYD was a major improvement for the tutorial alone (plus the level-up system, the writing, the graphics, etc.). In Paper Mario, you have already fought (and lost to) Bowser before getting the hammer (which lets you do something OTHER than jump), and have beaten the game's first boss (Goomba King), before getting the Lucky Star (which actually lets you interact with the mechanics). It's been half an hour, and I haven't interacted with the game's combat AT ALL. It felt more like I was watching someone else play Paper Mario. I LOVED TTYD, and was pretty sure the action commands were coming (who would make a sequel to something so boring?), but I was seriously doubting whether or not I should stick with Paper Mario. It didn't help that the total lack of interaction made me feel like I was barely scraping through each battle, and was powerless to do anything other than manage my mushrooms.

[@DarknessChampion]

Sweet Monkey Ball music in the background 👍

[@kevin_andrews735]

Possible sequals to Mini Motarways- air traffic, pedestrian traffic, mail room, bike couriers...

[@shaiglatshtein7093]

sneaky psychonauts background music is the best :D

[@Soma_Shotgun]

To me Doom Eternal is a perfect sequel. Doom 2016 was such an awesome and fresh experience and they upped it so much with Eternal by making it feel more like a character action game but as an fps.

[@ElectroVenik90]

The GOAT sequel is Half-Life 2, of course))) Not sure I can call Mass Effect 2 a sequel, since it's more of a continuation of a series, but it was a great 2 of the more modern times. Personally, the only other one I can think of right now is Ori and the Will of the Whisps.

[@onlyacomentarynothingspeci2419]

I mean in your opinion 🤷‍♂️

[@thesnatcher3616]

Yeah WOTW! Sure it felt a little jagged at parts(map takes longer to load, etc), but it improved EVERYTHING else. The music is a lot more heavy with its heart-pounding orchestra, the story somehow manages to be just as if not MORE tear-jerking than the original, the atmosphere is thicker, the level design generally flows better and is a lot more creative, the new boss fights are exhilarating, made better by the satisfying combat system and the world has a lot more variety when it comes to its aesthetics.

[@BubblingBrooke]

Bug Fables and Sly 3 are my go to for this sort of thing. Bug Fables improved everything in the paper Mario formula with every similar mechanic it copied over. Cooking is even more of a breeze, backtracking is super easy and you unlock things as you go when you need it. Creepy Steeple, and Shy Guys Toy Box and their backtracking aggrivation just don't exist. The party system is way more refined and 3 instead of 2 adds way more elements of strategy. Each party member being distinct w development helps a ton too. Its my favorite game of all time right now for a good reason. So many little qol updates that make the experience just amazing. Sly 3 is my favorite of the sly games. I know most people say 2 was the peak, but I disagree. While its plot was great and there were notable upgrades to sly 1, 3 refined it even more so with its only major problem being a lack of clue bottles. The writing is at its best and the plot is tight. Nothing outstays its welcome (did Jean and Rahsaan need 2 chapters each???) I also found myself enjoying the gameplay way more in 3 as there's a few sections in 2 that just suck on a replay every time. Sly 3 takes was wasn't broken from 2 and then adds new things only when necessary and it totally works 99% of the time.

[@komaytoprime]

The first sequels that come to my mind are Kingdom Hearts 2 and Portal 2, which just so happen to be 2 of my favorite games of all time!

[@salsathemonkey22]

Someone in Steam reviews for Psychonauts 2: "It's the Shrek 2 of gaming."

[@Stephen-Fox]

Refinement/expansion sequels - I think Sims 2 is one of my favourites here. The original Sims caught on for good reason, but mechanically it wants to be entirely around crises management (at least, in the base game) - find an equilibrium that has enough room for development to progress your Sim to the next promotion criteria, get a promotion which results in your sim having more money... And a completely different work schedule which often requires going to work a few hours after getting home leading to you needing to deal with another crisis throwing your equilibrium completely out of whack before you can even find a new one for that sim. Sims 2 really nails down what the fun in the sims is (aside 'drowning people by removing pool ladders') - telling stories - and adds mechanics to enable that better - ageing, the wants/fears system (fears got dropped for 3, wants and aspirations got further refined) that mechanically incentivizes you to do that. (Sims 3... Was a sideways step there, for me, it's harder to do some kinds of story because the game poorly handles swapping between households, mid file, but locations outside of the house being loaded in the same map as the house means that storytelling within a single household was better integrated. The loading times when you got more than about 2-3 expansions just got silly, though.) Sidestep sequels - I'm going to go with Startopia as my example. What's it a sequel to? Theme Hospital. Sort of. It's an early example of 'half a studio leaving en mass due to EA buying the studio they work for and forming a new studio' and in tone and mechanics it feels like What The Theme Hospital Devs Did Next, and I think shares more DNA with theme hospital than Dungeon Keeper does. And one of the early levels in the campaign, the one that introduces the greys, feels like 'Theme Hospital In Miniature' since it's focused around the Grey's core building of 'they run the med-bay' - Cure 100 patients before 10 die before any of the game's other mechanics are around to distract you so you're just focusing on keeping your Grey workers happy while curing a bunch of patients.

[@turtlepack2023]

One thing I appreciate about Kingdom Hearts 2 is how much smoother it feels. One of the biggest issues for the original Kingdom Hearts 1 is the unskippable cutscenes. These made losing to a hard boss pretty punishing, because you had to watch the cutscene again... and again... and again... (I'm looking at you, Dragon Maleficent!) This was fixed in Final Mix and later installments. In addition, KH2 fixed the magic system, so you can't just spam Cure. It expanded the Gummi Ship system, something that felt like wasted potential in KH1. It also improved on the progression system for movement. In KH1, you got Dodge Roll, High Jump, and Glide, and that's it. In KH2, you get several upgrades as the game goes on, giving you that sense of "overpowered" at the end of the game that is so, SO satisfying. In all, KH2 is, in my opinion, the overall best game in a great series.

[@Gloomdrake]

True, though I think World design peaked in KH1

[@lpfan4491]

There is a good amount of things KH2 does worse than KH1 in my eyes tho. Sure, it's subjective, but a lot of things are.

[@turtlepack2023]

@@lpfan4491 I will confess that I much prefer the KH1 coliseum, for a variety of reasons. (My favorite coliseum is the one in BBS, which I think took the best aspects of KH1 and 2.) And kind of like Design Doc talks about in another video, I do miss the Tech system. Are there any others?

[@lpfan4491]

@@turtlepack2023 The story in KH2 is pretty crap outside of Roxas and even puts into question if the first game is actually good plotwise when it shares some of the same issues to a minor degree. Progression is a lot more weird with less branching paths and optional stuff being weirdly put to the side. Pacing is worsened with stuff flowing less naturally. Leveldesign was already mentioned. You mentioned the colloseum. Limits and Drives are good, but it's almost the entire use for the partymembers if one doesn't use them for a niche cheese, they are moreso materials than actual participants of the fights. Misc-stuff that are hard to explain really. Like how rewardprogression feels less satisfying to me. It is pretty cool to beat a challenge either in the story or optionally and just get the little message that some item was optained or a magic was strenghened. In KH2 onwards, it feels a bit more disconnected due to how getting some rewards is handled and how the presentation ingame changed.

[@turtlepack2023]

@@lpfan4491 While I agree that the stories for the individual worlds in KH2 feel more disconnected from the main plot than KH1, KH2 implements the necessity to return to those worlds to access more of the plot. Once you're done with the story of a world in KH1, you can mostly forget about it after that. Another point I will grant is the level design is better in KH1, but with the exception of Cavern of Remembrance in Final Mix. That place takes Kingdom Hearts platforming to the next level. That being said, I do believe that KH2 also expands on the synthesis system in a better way. In KH1 it felt a bit hidden off to the side with the single spot to go for it, but for KH2 it's more broadly integrated. I'll also grant that the side quests can feel a little bit thrown in, but at the same time I think they round out the individual worlds even more than is seen in KH1. As for your party members, I agree that it feels like there isn't a large difference between fighting alone and fighting with your party, but I think it's because Sora is so much more influential in combat, rather than Donald and Goofy being less so. In all, I think KH2 succeeds in zooming in on what makes KH1 great (again, except for the arena), and fills it out wonderfully despite its flaws.

[@eduardopena5726]

For a sequel, assuming the first game was at least good, I would use a general rule of thumb and go for quality of life improvements and more polish first. Then I would add a couple to mechanics so the gameplay is expanded. Everything else depends on the genre of the game. If it's a narrative-heavy game, dive deeper into the struggles of the characters and touch on deep topics, etc. A great example I can think of is Pokemon Gold/Silver, basically improving in every aspect of the original game: more Pokemon, a new region (while keeping the original one), expanded story, better graphics, and sound design, etc. Another example of a great sequel would be Super Smash Bros Melee. The jump from the original to Melee is astronomical. Many types of single-player activities were added, tons of collectibles, unlockable characters, stages, and way better graphics. Also, added a lot of mechanics that, while some not intended by the developers, made the game one of the most played at a competitive level to this very day.

[@DHTokyo3915]

Arc the Lad 2 comes to mind. There are 3 games (I repeat : there are ONLY THREE games !) and the second one is the most highly regarded.

[@BonaparteBardithion]

Ooh, I thought the first spin-off was alright. There are no other games. What's interesting about the first two games is that the first one narratively acts more like the first chapters of AtL 2. It's only about ten hours long - fifteen if you do all the side-quests. But they significantly changed the interface and navigation between the two entries so they feel distinctly different.

[@drunkdeer6923]

we could make it work it harder, make it better, do it faster, make the sequel stronger

[@kinokochan]

It's not quite the same problem as making that first sequel, but the longer I continue into my career, the more I am impressed by series that release a new installment that totally innovates on the original mechanics and adds something new. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Fire Emblem: Three Houses come to mind as recent successes that elevate an already stellar legacy. BTW, not sure if I've said this before, but as a professional UI Artist, your channel gives me life. I can easily point friends who are unfamiliar with the industry to your videos and tell them "that's what I do, right there".

[@aladorhyde8192]

not sure if this would count but Rhombus of Ruin was also really good. It was a pretty short game, mostly to test out VR mechanics and shit but it was so good and actually had impact on the story for Psychonauts 2. I'm not really sure how the controls are though mostly because I don't have a VR headset but to those who have VR and have played it, do tell me how it was!

[@landis9767]

locoroco 2 comes to my mind. it took the original game's incredibly solid gameplay foundations and built a world around it, with its lore and story instead of being just an abstract collection of levels. plus the crafting and metroidvania-like mechanics actually pushed you, without ever forcing you, to do the levels again, finding all the collectables and beating your high scores. it's such a complete esperience that made the first game just obsolete in my eyes.

[@xReflamed]

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Darkness/Time/Sky had a TON of improvements compared to Blue/Red Rescue team. The game just felt a lot more polished and smooth and the story is and characters are amazing. The first Mystery Dungeon game is still great to play, but you can feel that they're not 100% sure what to do with it. With Darkness/Time/Sky they just went all out. Sadly the games after that, just haven't been that great.

[@hylianbran7273]

One of the most impressive sequels to me is Klonoa 2, and a lot of that is because of how complete the first Klonoa is. It pretty much exhausted every scenario for the mechanics without repeating itself, and that's the biggest reason I keep replaying the thing. That combined with the crazy woooaah twist ending made me think that Klonoa 2 would feel super redundant because I couldn't really imagine what else to do with the game. Yet somehow Klonoa 2 sticks the landing and possibly even better than it's predecessor. On the most basic level it is clear that the game has added new enemies which each vary up the game in all of the best ways, forcing you to approach stages in fresh ways that you wouldn't get in the previous game. There has also been an increased emphasis on next-gen-in-2001 spectacle that lends the game an even stronger cinematic flair than the previous game. Obviously the environments can't help but feel a bit dated here and there, but the game more than makes up for it in scale, which lends it a decidedly different feel than the previous game. The levels in the previous game were pretty small in terms of actual on-screen geometry, which granted is certainly a concession to keep 60fps at least to some degree, but I think it also forwards the dream-like atmosphere. Klonoa 2 doesn't have this and thus can't help but loose a degree charm but I think it's admirable how the game still has that abstract dream-like feel in it's environments while also managing to show off the artist's prowess to this degree. It communicates those same emotions despite the changes and I think that goes for the whole game, really. The story is a quite literally about emotions, and the way the game presents it makes it feel kinda down and melancholic which, again, can't help but loose a bit of charm from the last game, but it still lifts the game up in a bold new way. I keep saying "feel" and for a good reason. I, uh, feel like that's the most important thing to making a sequel justified and fresh. I'm not the kind-of person who subscribes to the Mega Man type of sequel, where the only real factor in me deciding which to replay is "which one do I like the most?" Yakuza is about as iterative as it gets but I'm fine with it there because each game feels sufficiently different. Also there should totally be a Design Doc video on Devil May Cry 2 that'd be great

[@roxanepineda3609]

I think the Trails series does amazing sequels, they add new gameplays mechanics that are also attached to the story and helps to keep the games interesting, along with a story that becomes even better that the first game (the first game of each arc it's like a long prologue to set up the world and characters, and then go wild with story, drama and gameplay). I really loved Cold Steel 2 for adding the mecha battles and the arcus improvements, along with the ride in motorbike, it's like exploring Erebonia again but different, and Sky 2 was a great sequel with new gameplay and the best story so far of the saga (I haven't played CS 3 and 4 and Azure). Falcom really puts heart and love with this saga

[@ozmaozmaozmaozma]

Drop some bad sequels in the replies here! It would be a pretty fun not only talk about sequels that understood the original and improved on it, but also those that didn’t and pushed the franchise in a weird direction.

[@thesnatcher3616]

In terms of anything? Back to the Future 2. Not necessarily a bad movie, but it lacked the clear-cut focus of the original. All of its ideas seem half-baked and weren't used to their full potential, and the character arc they tried to add to Marty is something as juvenile as "being a chicken". While Marty in the first film didn't necessarily have an arc, his parents most certainly did, and it was incredibly satisfying to see its fruition in the form of a healthier marriage. Simple, enjoyable, and relatable, all of which is not done nearly as well in the sequel. Oh and I guess there's Pvz2 in terms of video games. And someone is probably gonna mention Sticker Star here somewhere.

[@cassidy8307]

Sly 4. It's not absolutely terrible, but it killed the chances for any more games in the series, and it changed the personalities of multiple characters for the worse. DMC2. Haven't played it myself, but i've heard a lot about it. Mario and Zelda 2 were both very controversial.

[@Deathkyun]

Golden sun 3, god damn Golden Sun 3 with its point of no return in a game where you would like to have all the collectables (that do have quite an impact in gameplay).

[@aheghaugheggeyahg]

-Marvel vs Capcom Infinite, bad character models and art style, lack of lineup characters, but the story was kinda decent i'll give you that -Fate/Extella Link, it isn't really the worst Fate sequel i've seen so far but the story was really plain and predictable, other than that the game is alright -Layton's Mystery Journey, I didn't really like the idea of splitting the cases into chapters, the puzzles are very easy and not as challenging as the previous games, and the plot twist and story in general doesnt hit as much as the previous games, i'm still waiting for a new Layton game -Devil May Cry 2, the combat was very boring, Dante's Rebellion attacks are slow, only the last fight was interesting, Dante throughout the whole game is also really empty unlike his other selves, but i'm not sure if that's really an issue if you know the plot, him just not being funky just doesn't sit right with me, DMC:Devil May Cry is actually a good game by the way, I really like the combat, but it is definitely a bad DMC reboot, also the dialouges are really weird

[@crystallizer77]

cant forget bomberman act zero, specially on the topic of bad sequels

[@Johnnyb3g00d]

A good one: Paper Mario TTYD versus two of it's sequels: Super Paper Mario, which took a wild spin, and Sticker Stars, which is a huge failure to capture what the original was about. An interest case of sequels.

[@AlexxxMYLSince2013]

I really hope that Psychonauts 3 realeases someday

[@darkuaza1069]

Trials of mana fixed every single issue i had with secret. Just a better game overall imo, more replayable, and visually beautiful.

[@AnotherDuck]

Didn't have multiplayer, though. That's the single thing that made the original more enjoyable to play. Would've been better even with one of those shoddily duct-taped multiplayer features like Hyrule Warriors have. But that aside, a very good update.

[@cecillewolters1995]

Pokemon Gold and Silver are amazing improvements to Red and Blue/Green I love those sequels, both og and remakes

[@StepBaum]

Really awesome and inspiring video :)

[@GerritTV187]

Perfect dark ✌️

[@TeamSoraPresents]

Honestly, some really great sequels you could add to this video's 'sequel' were already shown; Sonic 2 and Metroid Prime 2, for example. Speaking of which, it's easy to see how much Metroid has improved and evolved with each sequel (maybe not so much the second one, but that's more due to the Game Boy's limitations).

[@Demedich1]

You could prob do an entire separate video on JROG sequels. From franchises that keep improving like Persona, Shin Megani Tensei, and Disegia, to the dozens that tried to make the transition from turn based to action RPG, and classic long standing franchises like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.

[@dhi_holo]

The praise on the improvements between Psychonauts and its sequel kinda makes me hope they go back and make a "Psychonauts 1.5", which takes the Psychonauts 2 engine and aesthetic, and recreate the original to create a more enjoyable experience for new players, without making returning players feel it's just a hd paint on the original with one or two quality of life changes, like the auto target. I'm not sure how they could do it, but I think it would be cool, would be enjoyable to play both for the first time, I was really interested in the game when I saw a streamer play the first bit (basically up to the tutorial for pyrokinesis iirc), and something like that could be cool to bring even more players in

[@Trianull]

Would you count Ocarina of Time as a sequel to Link to the Past, Doc? I'd love to see you talk about the 2D and 3D Zelda games and their respective strengths and weaknesses at some point.

[@bryantlebron6163]

I’d like to see what you have to say about paper Mario as a whole(do it however you wish) and then talk about one or more of it’s spiritual successors. I understand if you can’t though.

[@jasonreed7522]

I loved TTYD as a kid, (still do) and while i never played the original from the wikis it looks like it was very faithful with the obvious next generation improvements. And then i played Origami King when it came out and i very quickly realized its greatest flaw; OK's combat is insanely boring, it completely lacks the showmanship of TTYD and the variety of it. Its just spin to win, i was bored by the time i got to toad town (the hub world), but atleast it tried to keep the humor the series is known for. PS: i highly recommend any fans of TTYD watch 8Bit Music Theory's Chromatic Notes video, he uses game music to teach aspects of music theory and it just massively helps you appreciate a game's soundtrack.

[@themadrat1495]

1. make the combat more fun and less stiff than your previous game. 2. Introduce new abilities that aren't only combat oriented but enviromental. 3. HAVE EXPLORATION. 4. Make the worlds and levels bigger with more content and reward those who stray off the commonly walked path. 5. SUBVERT. EXPECTATIONS! 6. Overhaul the UI. 7. Overhaul the combat. 8. Stay faithful to the original source material. 9. Give it an HD touch. Bloom doesn't always = HD, it just helps the player see better. 10. Do not sell out using micro transactions, NO MICRO TRANSACTIONS!!

[@AnotherDuck]

Just remember to do all of these with a purpose. For instance, subverting expectations for the sake of subverting expectations doesn't lead anywhere interesting, and only makes the through-line fuzzier. Exploration needs an interesting world to explore. Overhauling UI and combat needs to make the experience smoother and better fit the theme of the game. Micro transactions are for games that are free to play, not games you buy.

[@themadrat1495]

@@AnotherDuck "Micro transactions are for games that are free to play, not games you buy." - The game "Unturned" has a gold membership and it's completely cosmetic. Too many free games get a pass with BLOATED micro transactions though cause they're sponsored: Raid shadow legends for example? Terrible game, great advertising, and the sponsors are more than happy to blindly defend it despite it being MOBA as sin with wait timers, premium currency, and adding arbitrary costs to things like needing to PAY MONEY or PREMIUM CURRENCY to unequip your heroes weapons.

[@AnotherDuck]

@@themadrat1495 Unturned had extra save slots or something? But that's mostly advertised as donating to the devs, especially since the game was free before. Not sure how it is now. Anyway, that falls under BOCTAOE. Saying microtransactions are for free games doesn't mean they should be used as aggressively as possible. The one thing Raid has going for it is that it does sponsor a bunch of content creators, which at least is something.

[@themadrat1495]

@@AnotherDuck If I were to make a game, it would be single player, open world, have biomes and resistances, and be as huge as breath of the wild and biomutant combined. (P.S. I find biomutant is just a better version of breath of the wild), I'd also implement a new game + feature, with optional boxes to check on new game +; like maybe you wanna reset your stats, or maybe you want +1,000 vitality, to as simple as having all items you would previously. I'd also make sure to make an isolated boss called the "Boss Of Regret", which warns you 5 times in 5 different rooms to not face it. A boss with literally 9001 googolplexes of health, 9.5 googolplexes of attack, 7.5 googolplexes of defense, and 5.5 googolplexes of armor. There would be terminals inside each room which are legal agreements and health & safety warnings, the boss room would even have safe havens on the edge of it's arena (which have a 6 second cool down when attempting to attack), and unlike other bosses? You can bail, or save your progress mid fight any time. Finally defeating it after blocking it's VERY lethal but VERY telegraphed attack, would reward the player with a divine revolver and divine blade which glows a golden light, has infinite ammo and durability, one shots anyone or anything, and has both the "unholy", "divine" element attached to it; so not even bosses can resist it, and gives you an armor set which is 9.9 googolplexes of defense, with a %200 increase to find 8 Times the loot in containers you usually would and gives you a %777 discount on weapons and repairs. Of course, getting these items would require... A LOT Of patience, thus why this boss must be isolated, and locked behind a literal ingame representation of terms of service to agree to; and it's fitting name: "Boss of regret", the boss doesn't regret anything: the player though... Other than that it would be a game for both hardcores and filthy casuals like me, with different difficulties, free DLC, an self-radio which is basically a player radio that can have up to 16 .WAV files inserted into it, and would be a fan take on what biomutant was going for; so yeah: AAA quality, but also... full of furry characters.

[@AnotherDuck]

@@themadrat1495 You had me until the last line. And how far are you in making that game? :P

[@boilerfeast2561]

Personally, I think that changing the entire style of a game can make or break a sequel. A few examples I've noticed were with Risk of Rain and Helldivers, where going from 2D and top-down respectively to third person shooters made the game infinitely more fun while keeping the soul of the original. With Risk of Rain specifically, they did a good and bad sequel, with Returns feeling like a "same game more stuff" sequel and RoR2 feeling more like a faithful reboot.

[@Barquevious_Jackson]

I'd love to watch this video but I'll have to put it in my watch later and complete psychonauts 2 unspoiled before I do. Sorry, thanks for your understanding.

[@mountainhorse9419]

FYI The video showed gameplay and talked about general starting premise, used an example character to talk about a mechanic but in a very vague way (ie I know a character like this exists, but not who they are), then a lot about the way skills and collectibles were handled. And that story beats tie together better, but nothing about what those beats are. Having not played the game, I don't feel like anything at all was spoiled.

[@Zahri8Alang]

I mean, Nier Automata is a staple of successful sequel, not just in terms of gameplay in fact

[@aeonixhope8383]

Feel like there is a lot more to Cassie's library than just it being a library, what with how connected the books are to each part of her life, the focus on the concept of archetypes with the new Psi-Power Mental Projection, and the area itself is portrayed nicely what with the inky waters and many characters representative of the books she collected. It may be the most simple concept used to portray a character, but I rather a simple concept done well than a complex one done poorly, and Cassie's Collection is a simple but good representation of who Cassie is. Otherwise, this was a great video about improving upon sequels.

[@vinsplayer2634]

Little Nightmares 2 is a sequel that when compared to Little Nightmares is similar to Mini Motorways compared to Mini Metro

[@Torqegood]

I don't like how psychonauts 2 took away from some of the abilities though. Like the float from levitation is objectively worse. It fizzles out. And from my experience you MAAAAYBE can use it to cheese something, but most of the times it just makes normal platforming less fun. Like I get giving limitations but like I honestly loved the flying mechnic in yooka laylee, the pure freedom of it. The fact I can't have a float that doesn't cut out after a few seconds feels so bad. Also the fact that I can't hurt any enemies with the levitation upgrade in 2, while the wreckingball in 1 would always hit an enemy. Like I get changing it a bit but I have tried, with a lot of windup, and havn't been able to hit a single enemy. It's not even like it'd be overpowered if it worked.

[@xarlo12]

So be it, buying Psych 2 and Mini Motorway right now. Tales of Arise can wai then.