7 Amazing Sequels That Rescued the Series from Total Disaster

Generally accepted wisdom is that sequels are never as good as the original, but occasionally a brilliant sequel swoops in, revitalises the franchise and saves a videogame series from disappearing into obscurity forever. Join us as we reveal these seven sequels that saved their series from certain disaster, and subscribe for a video like this every Thursday!
---
Official Merch Store! store.outsidexbox.com/
Become a member of Outside Xbox for exclusive behind-the-scenes videos, merch discounts and chat/commenter badges! / @outsidexbox
Outside Xbox brings you daily videos about videogames, especially Xbox games. Join us for new gameplay, original videos, previews, lists, Show of the Week and other things (ask us about the other things).
Thanks for watching and be excellent to each other in the comments.
Find us at www.outsidexbox.com
Follow us on Twitter: / outsidexbox
Follow us on Instagram: / outsidexboxofficial
#outsidexbox #7things #sequels

[@randomthunk]

I'm starting to get that feeling that Andy and Luke have actually locked the rest of the gang out of the studio.

[@Mr.-V.C-]

or in the basement like dungeon

[@Arrowatch]

Andy: Did you hear the news about Kindoms of Amalur? Luke: LOCK THE DOOR QUICK Andy: What about Jane and- -In the distance, twee squeels- Andy: Every man for himself.

[@readysteadywhoa]

it's actually Andy and Luke who are trapped... in Jane's content gulag

[@suicidalbanana5168]

Ellen is probably in pun jail. Mike as been in a tragic racing accident. Jane is monitoring Luke and Andy to make sure they don't step outta line with ankle strap explosives for extra insurance. It's why we never see their legs

[@rocknrollson9440]

they must have promised cakes were outside and then locked the doors cheeky

[@andymcp4752]

The Microsoft flight sim man talking about how realistic and stunning those Lego planes look is absolutely adorable Reminds me of when I’d play a new ps2 game thinking graphics had peaked and games could never possibly look better than this

[@harrypatatochips139]

reminds me of GTA 3when it first came out and thinking how real it looked.

[@EGRJ]

I remember feeling the same about Star Fox 64. And then Sonic Adventure.

[@duanegee7636]

any sports game, the fact i used to think they looked sooo real

[@JaneXemylixa]

Me with Heroes V and its Warcraft-like graphics.

[@jeremymitchem327]

I think the first time I had that thought was either RE0 or REmake.

[@notoriousbmc1]

Honorary mention: Hitman 2: Silent Assassin. Exceptional improvement in every way. Many hours spent with that game, and in a finite world, with an aging body, I don't regret any of them.

[@Leongon]

I fully agree with this.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

True, and then Contracts and Blood Money improved upon these more... until Absolution came along.

[@gregorysweet867]

@@michaelandreipalon359 i would say you remove the scoring system or change it so it’s like splinter cell black list with different score types so you can get a good rateing even if you John wick the place

[@q-tip4723]

@@michaelandreipalon359 Absolution was meh. It was my first Hitman game and it got me into the newer trilogy.

[@mac1bc]

Is this the game that is free on psn this month?

[@nicedaylfc]

Calling the game “John Dead Revolver” would have been a bit of a spoiler for how the game ends. You know, the bit where John used his revolver to make all the law men dead, and then lives happily ever after…

[@SJMcK]

He and his family live long lives running their ranch and staying the hell away from that one mission marker. The credits never roll but we've all got to make sacrifices.

[@archerthecreeperkiller636]

I wish red dead revolver could get rebooted

[@riveramnell143]

That truly is how it ends. I’m crying from joy, I promise.

[@alanscott2517]

Insurance fraud remains the best open world minigame. SR2 easily had the best character customization, too, mostly due to the much larger selection of clothes than SR3.

[@edwardling9614]

I don't know about best minigame I think ac syndicate's bare knuckle fighting is better

[@thanditurnerii7055]

@@edwardling9614 🧢🧢🧢

[@0ceanicify]

Saints Row 2 >>>>>>>>>> 1, 3 and 4

[@ElMarcoHoJ]

@@0ceanicify Saints Row 1 & 2 = the ONLY Saints Row games

[@Torlik11]

Ah yes, I do like insurance fraud.

[@jasonblalock4429]

Another one: Mega Man 2 on NES. The original Mega Man underperformed, and wasn't a critical hit either. Capcom didn't even want to fund a sequel. But the team believed in it so much that they made MM2 in their free time, fixing and tweaking the gameplay. The result was so good that it's still considered one of the all-time best NES games, and turned Mega Man into a juggernaut franchise.

[@RobertJW]

I still don’t know how they squeezed the good mega man game onto the Game Boy.

[@NormanReaddis]

Sadly it's not the case anymore. I'm still waiting for ML3

[@mattblood4201]

@@NormanReaddis Everyone is waiting for it including me but never beat them

[@mac1bc]

Basically all Capcom games at that time 😀

[@Sweldredge]

I loved the first MM. First game I ever beat. Blew my 12 year old mind.

[@zulubunsen9067]

Even Wolfenstein 3D itself is kind of an entry like this, even if id didn't make the original "Wolfensteins" (Castle Wolfenstein and Beyond Castle Wolfenstein, top-down stealth games).

[@stanmann571]

Indeed, and It certainly bears referencing

[@davela79]

absolutely, when I saw Wolf 3D in the "beware minor spoilers" list, I was sure they'd be going in this direction

[@fnsmike]

I'm not sure how you can't include it as a sequel to a mostly forgotten series that broke the mold entirely and invented the 3D shooter genre.

[@CannabisDreams]

Ehhhh

[@sokhasampiseth3477]

⁰

[@Stratelier]

"Sort out your naming conventions, Capcom!" Square: Hold my Final Fantasy XV

[@newageBoundhippie]

Square: Final Fantasy XVI might take a while....

[@jaredcrabb]

Its actually called Final Fantasy cause it was supposed to be the creators final game. It did so well he stayed on longer and the name stuck.

[@bloodhuntimintherabbithole3583]

What you mean ffx-2 or ffxIII-2 or ffxIII-3 lightning returns??

[@jaredcrabb]

@@bloodhuntimintherabbithole3583 No, final fantasy I.

[@bloodhuntimintherabbithole3583]

@@jaredcrabb oh I mean that I was talking about how stupid the names are

[@No1yuknow]

Now all we need is a sequel to this video to go full circle

[@legen_ddary]

And it should be uploaded on the outside Xtra channel, the "sequel" to outsidexbox

[@Delightfully_Bitchy]

It would have to be better than this video to be fully full circle... Better go to the comments 😃

[@maxvel0city906]

Man I love the casual conversations during the spoilers list.👍💜 I could listen to Luke and Andy talk movies and games all day long.

[@IamaPERSON]

Same

[@ryanseijuro5279]

Same. also the banter during an entry is always funny

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Boy, hope they'll discuss why Point Break is far superior than Bad Boys II, and why Hot Fuzz didn't need to debate on that.

[@redbasher636]

Watch Fact Fiend then, they do things similar.

[@zacharypendragon49]

Being a fan of both gta and saints row, the one thing i really really wish gta would’ve implemented from saints row was the ability to make your own playlists from the entire list of songs used in the game. Honestly it was the biggest plus for me in saints row just bumping my favorite songs in the game in the order i wanta hear them rather than shuffling through hoping to find a good song at the right time.

[@MrFutago87]

Devil May Cry 3 is what I immediately thought of. It's especially crazy as it was the same team that made DMC2, the game that put the series in jeopardy in the first place.

[@kyleshaw5186]

With DMC:Devil May Cry jeopardizing it a second time. Til we got DMC5 outta nowhere and I think most of us were pleased

[@jameskurk5178]

Granted the issues with DMC 2 can be namely chalked up to a horrible director and constant changing of the guard, which thankfully Hideki Itsuno (the director of the last six months of DMC 2’s development) bit the bullet and stepped in.

[@MrFutago87]

@@jameskurk5178 Well there was also the issue that development started before DMC1 was even released so the DMC2 team didn't know what players would like about the game to build off of that. And they were the Arcade division, not the console division so they were very inexperienced in developing longer and more involved games.

[@Icam_here]

i never realized how much i missed someone talking over that spoiler list till just now

[@philiphunn194]

I see Luke is subscribing to Jane's philosophy of blanking out anything disagreeable...

[@anarky1765]

Sadly, pretending something doesn’t exist doesn’t erase it from existence. As much as I wish the Star Wars movies didn’t extend past number 6, there’s nothing I can do about it. On the upside, Fallout 76 did give Oxhorn plenty of video content.

[@philiphunn194]

@@anarky1765 I actually liked 2/3rds of the sequel trilogy. Episode IX can burn in an eternity of hellfire, though.

[@mar_speedman]

@@anarky1765 What are you talking about? Fallout 76? Star Wars movies past Episode 6? Those surely don't exist!

[@anarky1765]

@@philiphunn194 Huh, usually people say Last Jedi was the worst one.

[@anarky1765]

@@mar_speedman **In Vader voice** Search your feelings, you know it to be true!

[@Amaritudine]

Luke deserves an internet BAFTA for his comic timing and delivery during the entire "hand trauma" bit.

[@thingusbingus8181]

You should do the Inverse. Sequels that practically killed the series. I'll go first because I'm still salty about The Force Unleashed II

[@intergalactic92]

Ah, the force unleashed 2. A sequel to a game that never really needed a sequel in the first place, and was so bad we all really wished they hadn’t bothered.

[@chefofthetrash]

@@intergalactic92 I liked swtfu2 I didn’t think people hated it lol

[@thewhitemonkey64]

Some love, some hate. I think it could have been better, but I’m sure there was a lot of background noise going on during development. The first was too big a success for its own good. Really well written and comprehensive and just plain fun. The second feels like… a soap opera writer took over from a true novelist. It drags around and takes a lot of time to not say too much about anything at all.

[@simul8rduude]

You completely meant "Alien's Colonial Marines" 😂

[@cyanimation1605]

$60 expansion

[@havcola6983]

13:30 The karma system wasn't new in Fallout 3 though, it's been a part of the series since the start.

[@roguishpaladin]

I see where the confusion stems from, however. Since New Vegas dispensed with it, it's easy to think of factionality as the old-school way and karma as the modern Bethesda way.

[@OhNoTheFace]

@@roguishpaladin New Vegas used the karma system, like everything in new Fallout, better then the "main games" did. Since it was per faction and now some magical person judging all your actions

[@dagothurik1815]

@@OhNoTheFace You’re talking about the reputation system. Karma in new Vegas doesn’t affect much beyond the perks you can pick

[@jak1165]

Fallout and Fallout Tactics had the reputation system. Fallout New Vegas had both an overall Karma system and Faction Reputation But there was also Brotherhood of Steel.

[@purpleiguana208]

I found out about RE7 that, under the right circumstances, your lower leg can get cut off as well. An acquaintance said that a similar thing happened to them, only Jack sort of walked him through reattaching it in a very laughable way. Wish I would have seen that.

[@KeybladeMasterAndy]

It's random, but there is a good chance you can trigger it if you let him catch you in the room with the hatch that leads to the laundry room.

[@amagicalduck155]

I got that on my first playthrough. Probably one of my favourite parts of the game

[@purpleiguana208]

@@KeybladeMasterAndy It happened to my husband on his first playthrough in the salt mines. One of the molded got him when he was very low health. Then all of a sudden, he was saying, "My LEG came off!??" Then it was stick the two together, splash some health goo on it, all fixed! LOL

[@wednesdayapril5435]

@@purpleiguana208 i only got that once and it was on my last madhouse playthrough scared the sit out of me

[@TheMasterUnity]

The way to trigger this is in your first encounter with Jack. Grab the key to the hatch in the laundry room and go in that room. Then let Jack hit you and he will always cut your leg off

[@NexeL_NKC]

Titanfall 2 was pretty good. It actually had a story for one, and it kept the multiplayer of the original. And, there’s a Titanfall 3 coming sometime soon.

[@VeraTheTabbynx]

Well Titanfall 1 had a story campaign, it just wasn't singleplayer or particularly complex.

[@Freelancer837]

Titanfall 2 had a campaign, both games had story. Unfortunately, even though Titanfall 2 is an AMAZING game as is genre-defining, it's story and characters are just fucking awful and one-dimensional

[@VeraTheTabbynx]

@@Freelancer837 I certainly wouldn't say that. In fact I'd argue the opposite, Cooper and BT particularly have plenty of nuance and their story is told quite cleverly, evolving their relationship through gameplay rather than cutscenes. TF|2's singleplayer is stellar, a great experience I'm on my 8th playthrough of.

[@GriffinWolf]

Never played the original, but had a free copy of TF2, so gave it a go. One of my absolute favourite games now. Was playing at least 2 hours/day of multiplayer until a few months ago, and the campaign story is fascinating and repeatedly enjoyable.

[@ARCADE_EXE]

They had a sequel: Apex Legends

[@helloeverybodization]

Wolfenstein 3D was a... Game changing sequel too. To Silas Warner's Castle Wolfenstein and Return to Castle Wolfenstein.

[@Co2Fog]

It's honestly so refreshing to see the cuts back to the studio again 🤩🤩

[@wipplewopple1876]

Playing a flight game *without inverted controls*? This is *HERESY*!!

[@dustincameron787]

Saint's Row 2 was great for being over the top but just realistic enough that there were stakes involved. People died, important characters died, so when characters were captured or kidnapped it was gripping. Sadly all everybody remembered was how funny the side games were, so we lost all semblance of realism and just went further and further into the LOL so random. I would love to replay Saint's Row 2. Not really interested in replaying anything that came after that.

[@gilded_lady]

So basically Saints Row 2 is kinda like Yakuza. That'd be a good way to take the reboot.

[@mattyt1961]

Agreed, I enjoyed SR2..gave up on SR3 for that reason

[@artturisiikanen3843]

@@gilded_lady they are making the saints row reborn for people who like cursing at everything and playing in gang as a tool you can go join a gang irl but you cant become a worldwide brand boss or go to hell OR BECOME A PRESIDENT or go to space irl

[@Her_Imperious_Condescension]

Carlos' death messed me up when I first played it. It was a genuinely chilling moment where you could really see the normally flippant and psychopathic Boss silent and mournful. Similarly with Aisha's death (but not as impactful). They tried to do the same thing with Gat in the third but it just felt sour there. Made the whole game feel off.

[@dustincameron787]

@@Her_Imperious_Condescension Indeed. When Shaundi got kidnapped later on in one of the missions I was beside myself because we already knew that our gang members weren't immortal. There was no promise Shaundi was getting out of this one. And I agree, Gat's death in the 3rd was... Wrong. Gat in SR2 is a force of nature, even badly injured he was a massive threat. In the third he just... gets hurt once, and goes out like a punk? I spent the whole game waiting for him to make his dramatic reappearance because "There's no way they'd have such an amazing character get killed offscreen in such a pathetic manner." ... So I was wrong. Sounds like they couldn't get the voice actor for very long at the time so in their brilliance they decided to kill him off instead of just saying he stayed behind to look after the gang while the team was taking care of the threat in the new city.

[@SapphireCarbuncle009]

Kinda surprised there was no mention of Fire Emblem Awakening. Game was such a revitalization of the franchise when it was originally planned to be the last entry, that nowadays you can't go anywhere without someone complaining about how many Fire Emblem characters there are in Smash.

[@jardex2275]

Very true! The Fire Emblem series only had niche appeal outside of Japan, and sales had been declining for each subsequent entry. The developers treated Awakening as the final game in the series by including elements from all their previous games, including a customizable avatar, pairing units, having their offspring fight alongside you, and an added casual mode which revives your units after each battle. The game became an instant success, outselling every previous entry in the series, and ensuring that the franchise wouldn't be canned.

[@alanguillermo3145]

I feel like Dark Souls is to Demon Souls what Red Dead Redemption is to Red Dead Revolver. Demon's Souls is great, but it didn't exactly do gangbusters back in the day. Then Dark Souls came along and with a bigger marketing push, helped popularize "Souls-like" as a genre.

[@StraightOuttaJarhois]

Dark Souls is very similar to Demon's Souls in structure and gameplay. The difference is more akin to King's Field -> Demon's Souls.

[@pedrovalentino6684]

Demon Souls was also a PS exclusive when it came out, so it was more niche back then. Coming out on all consoles probably helped it explode.

[@andybrown4284]

Demons souls took a very long time to be released in the west which was mostly from folk pestering the publishers so they didn't have to learn japanese

[@cindychung7002]

Saints Row 2 is still my favorite game in the series and a total guilty pleasure to play!

[@cindychung7002]

@@RebelFoxChris I never played GooH, but I wanted to, so you might have just saved me some money lol

[@Mekora]

@@cindychung7002 GooH is even sillier than 4, there's no character customization, you play as either Gat or Kinzie rather than the Boss (You can import your Boss' look from 4 for the cutscenes), and overall the game is shorter. You gain demonic powers instead of getting powers from being in the matrix, with the main big addition being that now you can fly.

[@cindychung7002]

@@Mekora Ahhh... good to know. Doesn't sound like my thing then

[@sgtwhisker26]

Saints row is my favorite game series of all time.

[@Bitan78]

"Traditional turn based combat and tiny 2D sprites are really exciting." That's what the GECKo on my shoulder tells me to say.

[@connortheandroidsentbycybe7740]

Fun fact, Jim Hanks does a lot of the VA for Tom's characters in video games & such

[@KeybladeMasterAndy]

You may be confusing him with Jim Hanks. Colin is Tom's son. Jim is Tom's brother.

[@jakegray99]

This week on Hanks talk: Colin is also genuinely great in the Prime sitcom Life In Pieces, starring alongside Dianne Wiest and James Brolin. (Also, loving the return to the chair this past month! You guys have been helping me keep going this year, and it's great to see you all reunited!) ☺✨

[@natem.3336]

I'd argue two of the Assassin's Creed games could qualify. Assassin's Creed II introduced a ton of improvements to the core AC gameplay, had a far more interesting story than the original, and was basically the game that put AC on the map. The other is Assassin's Creed: Origins. After the tumultuous launch of Unity and the middling sales of Syndicate, Origins expanded on the lore, had an excellent story with amazing characters, and overhauled the hell out of the gameplay, bringing the series back from the brink.

[@mattblood4201]

Plus AC2 removed the kills stay with you that was in the first one

[@syafiqjabar]

The people making Assassin's Creed: Origins discovered a great solution to the franchise becoming stale: just be The Witcher 3!

[@mac1bc]

I was definitely expecting AC 2 on this list.

[@jeremymitchem327]

AC2 is amazing. First game I ever got platinum in. Couldn't stop playing it and still remember the pride and emptiness I felt knowing that there was nothing left.

[@i_m_ash]

@@syafiqjabar I wish they copied Witcher 3 but no they didn't.They just made a larger map, put camps far away and introduced Soulsborne mechanics.

[@huntermcclemens7436]

Andy: “that wasn’t even the final fight… fix your naming convention” Square-Enix: *slowly tries to hide all the Final Fantasy games

[@marhawkman303]

is there a box big enough for that?

[@smiegto]

it isn't a real problem till they reach game thirty and kids are gonna google ffxxx

[@Andreas_42]

Still a better naming convention than Microsoft has by naming new versions of their Xbox.

[@revo1verrock]

I started off confused why Resident Evil Village was on the spoiler list....now I understand.......we end up getting told hand trauma is involved....an important heads up ; )

[@marhawkman303]

Also.... I have to wonder how Luke doesn't remember Sherry Birkin....

[@chrisriley2321]

Or... hands up

[@MsKeylas]

@@marhawkman303 Because they are on the bullshit bandwagon hating on RE5 and RE6 which were amazing games. and evolution of series which was never about horror but about bioweapons and umbrella machinations. Because of that bandwagon hate they don't see what trainwreck of steaming pile of inconsistent garbage is RE 7

[@Dreadjaws]

@@marhawkman303 Sherry wasn't introduced in that game. He's talking about the characters that were, like Jake.

[@marhawkman303]

@@Dreadjaws perhaps... but he used a plural tense when talking about who he'd forgotten... and the only characters on screen were Jake and Sherry...

[@chapersdm3342]

Andy Nooooooo!! I'd just this minute forgotten that Chet Hanks existed! 😢

[@Viktor_Von_Doom]

I've gotten to the point where hearing the do-do-do-do opening theme in these videos actually reduces my anxiety and I love it.

[@coffeeaddict9605]

The opening to these videos, and Luke singing "Show of the Weekend" makes me smile.

[@cotybolton3071]

"And there were no more fallout games!!" love it

[@slcchina]

THAT’S BECAUSE THERE WEREN’T.

[@dtly50]

@@slcchina 76 is a copy pasted fallout 4 with everything that made fallout fallout removed and everything that makes (bad) MMORPGs borked added in. So yeah it does'nt work. Or exist.

[@midierror]

'Weird Lines in The Sky' is my favourite fictional band

[@MrDalisclock]

Also the best Pink Floyd album

[@midierror]

@@MrDalisclock Yes, one of their best fictional works of the 3070s

[@aardbei54]

Ya think they work like shooting stars?

[@MystFox1314]

Fire Emblem Awakening It's the thirteenth game in the series (including remakes but not side games/crossovers) and was originally planned to be the last game in the series But it blew up and sold so well that they continued the series and I'm very glad they did, as Fire Emblem is my favourite series ever

[@marhawkman303]

And most importantly it means more Fire Emblem characters for them to add to Smash Bros. :p

[@GinkgoPete]

But had it not the series would've never had the stain of fates on it.

[@MystFox1314]

@@GinkgoPete but we got Echoes and Three Houses, which are nice enough, especially compared to Fates

[@marhawkman303]

@@MystFox1314 yeah, more games means you might get good ones, you won't get good games if you get no games!

[@CTheng]

While not exactly a sequel, Fire Emblem Awakening on the 3DS was supposed to be the last game in the series but ended up making the series popular in the west and completely revived the series. Now we have people complaining about FE characters in Smash partly because of that.

[@poisonmantis4191]

awakening came out at such a good time too- a bunch of people had a 3ds and if i remember correctly i bought it bc i wanted a game before animal crossing came out and then it was amazing and i ended up playing it 6 times

[@little_valkyrie]

FE:A was exactly the game I thought of when I saw this video. One of my all-time favourite games. I didn't even like turn-based strategy games before I played it.

[@jardex2275]

The main reason I bought Awakening was because Club Nintendo held a promotion that if you bought Awakening and SMT IV, you'd get $30 of eShop credit. It started both my tradition of playing Fire Emblem, and buying physical copies of Atlus games for the pack ins, despite the fact that I'm not going to finish the game itself.

[@craaig9118]

I like resident evil 5. And I was going to say that 6 wasn't that forgettable, but then 10 seconds after hearing his name, forgot if it was Jake or Jack..

[@lemoncobra6485]

Resident Evil 5 was one of the greatest and most fun co-op experiences in video games. Resident Evil 6 was a decent action game, not bad at all, just not like a Resident Evil game.

[@jaredcrabb]

@@lemoncobra6485 5 was good with another player but solo sucked. 6 felt way more like resident evil than 7 did.

[@dontmisunderstand6041]

Resident Evil 5 is legitimately one of my favorite video games. So are RE1, RE2, and RE4. I don't consider 4 or 5 to be Resident Evil games at all, though. To me, Resident Evil means survival horror. It both coined the term *and* created the genre. And there's very little that is less terrifying than always being secure in the fact that you will never be in a situation you can't handle head-on.

[@robstuart8474]

Guys! I've got a really good feeling that Duke Nukem Forever is going to make this list!

[@sporf_sporf]

Ah, good old Duke nukem forever, the reason Duke nukem 3d isn't on the list. Duke nukem 1 and 2 were side scrollers.

[@justforkicks5112]

Sequels that rescued the series: Outside Xtra Just kidding I love all of the Oxboxtra

[@quintinnowak-wolff7658]

The saints row games are actually pretty fun to play, especially the 1st and 2nd games, and ironically instead of it copying gta, GTA copied 3 and 4 and gave us the oppressor Mark 2, and a super tank

[@shoezomaku]

Raise your hands if you also liked Resident Evil 5 non-ironically. Wait, given the new Resi's proclivity for hand trauma, maybe just give a gentle nod.

[@Greenwood4727]

i quite liked 6 5 was tougher waves and waves but it was ok satisfied my zombie killing urge luckily 2020 happened and i can do it again. .... what they are not zombies oh erm forget that last bit

[@GrimmShadowsII]

I thought was OK maybe even pretty good. The story actually felt like it was adding lore to the series, maybe even more then 4. RE4 is a good game but it doesn't quite connect to 1-3 like 5 and Revelations 2 do.

[@jaredcrabb]

@@GrimmShadowsII I actually didnt like revelations 2, 1 was much better. 5 was okay, sucked single player but was good multi, and 6 had a few things added that every game should have had, like the ability to use your fists and feet and better use of a knife. Though the dodging bullet sponges did suck.

[@kamen.rider.decade]

I was not expecting and yet do totally welcome the Chet Hanks burn within the first five seconds of this video.

[@coffeeandrain6860]

I respect and enjoy Andy Farrant and his content, but if I ever met him we would clearly have to have a serious argument about which the best movie in the Step Up-franchise is... 2? Really Andy?

[@mattyt1961]

Not that it matters, dance movie sequels peaked with Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo

[@kingboom56]

Its obviously step up 3

[@faizfuad8361]

@@kingboom56 three was trash

[@lilceser11]

Nah Step Up 2 was the best! It introduced Moose (best character) and that final rain dance scene was epic 👌🏽

[@Rosyna]

The best Step Up is clearly Bring it On with Kirsten Dunst!

[@HC_Constance]

I know the original Mass Effect is a lot of people's favorite in the series, and it definitely has more rpg elements, but you have to admit that Mass Effect 2 was huge step up in graphics, gameplay, and character development.

[@Matt-md5yt]

And it wasn't an Xbox exclusive. I played ME 2 first before even touching the original

[@wolfsimien2483]

On the other hand it replaced the interesting if admittedly tedious mako exploration system with the less interesting and even more onerous probing system, I honestly don't understand why the mako is still getting flak compared to that.

[@Her_Imperious_Condescension]

And a step down in level and world design. Seriously, I know the Citadel was confusing to navigate in ME1, but it doesn't even feel like the same place in ME2, and the Presidium is reduced to what you can see from Anderson's office.

[@jaredcrabb]

I disagree. Graphics look the same to me, character development felt the same to me, and while gameplay was better for a shooter I liked the gameplay of 1 better.

[@dontmisunderstand6041]

No, I don't, because it wasn't. It was a massive step down in gameplay and world building with a minor improvement on character development and graphics. Mass Effect 2 is objectively the worst entry in the franchise. And yes, that includes Andromeda.

[@warmlettuce9317]

4:17 you don't need to ask for trust, Andy. Because you hit the nail right on the head. As an avid fan of Step Up 2 and 3 I was quite puzzled after watching step up 1

[@themussile3335]

I loved red read revolver so funny and silly. On this list you could fill it with Assassins Creed and Tomb Raider sequels

[@buffpingu4280]

Re7 is definitely one of them, it is my favourite re game

[@ddjsoyenby]

same.

[@coffeeaddict9605]

Man, I missed this, All that off camera banter between them is one of my favourite parts of these videos.

[@delloda]

4:30 I don't remember streetfighter one's graphic being so bad when I played it in the arcades all those years go but everything looks amazing when you are 12yo.

[@suicidalbanana5168]

Luke telling Bethesda how it is has gotta be the best thing about this 😂

[@adamroc123]

Great list, albeit I gotta admit, Tomb Raider: Legend not being included kinda surprised me. While TR: The Angel Of Darkness wasn't completely terrible (best plot and atmosphere in the series, fight me), many people saw it as a point where the series stagnated and remained unable to successfully reinvent itself. Had Legend been anything but absolutely stellar, we might have been forced to say goodbye to the gaming's queen 20 years ago.

[@Ronan34753]

It's kind of strange. Legend to me is a game that managed to both save & kill the Tomb Raider franchise. I mean it's one of my favourites, and the only TR game by Crystal Dynamics I hold in high regard. But in a way it's success prevented Core Design from ever making a comeback with their "Anniversary Edition". And led to Crystal stagnating the franchise, with no one to keep them on track or compete even (leading them to turning Tomb Raider into 2nd rate Uncharted).

[@smoglesgames9333]

"...like Ghostbusters 2 or Chet Hanks" I guffawed a full 10 seconds later when I processed the burn.

[@HavocHounds1988]

It's funny, when I was in the Army I knew someone that was basically the real life Johnny Gat, for one his name was even Johnny, he was Asian and before being in the Army he was a gangster. He wore glasses and cussed all the time as well. Although the Johnny I knew was quite a bit more chill than Gat lol.

[@ethanmorgan7823]

Saints row is one of my favorite game series’s, even above gta and I think it deserves a great amount of respect. The story of the first two games is amazing.

[@dozzszz]

Couldnt agree more

[@moneymike5549]

Are you amped for the reboot?

[@Jonathon_Hennessey]

Doom 2016 saved it's franchise the game was a critical and commercial success and would later receive a sequel of its own titled Doom Eternal.

[@bilateralrope8643]

Though that's complicated by Doom/Doom 2 still having an active modding community. Including custom maps that, when run using a source port that removes limits, can make modern machines struggle.

[@Greenwood4727]

I like that wolfenstein and doom were similar, in game play, but the modern remakes went two different ways, stealth in wolfenstein and super brutal action in doom..I liked doom 3 the dark survival horror the monsters from the dark

[@smward87]

@@Greenwood4727 Stealth was actually a key gameplay element in the original Wolfenstein games before Wolf 3D. So New Order being focused on stealth (which is only half true. You could easily ignore stealth entirely thanks to the skill trees and focus entirely on the Run and Gun style instead) was simply a return to form.

[@Greenwood4727]

@@smward87 we dont count the originals only wolfenstein 3d,, that was the furthest from stealth

[@smward87]

@@Greenwood4727 How very arbitrary of you. But ok.

[@NoOne-yc4wl]

One of those early MS Flight Simulators had one where you were flying a bomber with exactly 0 feedback(at least as I recall). I remember pulling up and seeing enemy fighters in the bombing view dancing around the crosshair.

[@Kirafr0]

If dmc 3 isn't on this list I'm gonna be mad I'm mad

[@sergentboucherie]

Duke Nukem 3D made sure we forgot about the non 3D Duke Nukem Marathon was ok, but Marathon 2 was much better, Bungie still have not done anything better than Marathon 2

[@Spawnofwitches]

The Chet Hanks line was INCREDIBLE

[@johnfletemeyer8706]

Luke and Andy's commentary was perfect. Loved the whole video.

[@shinyoctane3089]

Ugh, thank you for mentioning saints row 2. It’s the perfect blend of whacky mixed with serious. I wish the new saints row coming out was more like Saints Row 2 rather than what they’re going with, but I guess I’ll try it out.

[@frodobaggins7710]

The Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy managed to bring Crash back to his original platforming roots after the whole Skylanders, Crash of the Titans and Mind Over Mutant phase. We even got a brand new Crash 4 last year which was a really good game

[@mediarare2386]

Is it just me or does it feel like ages since we last saw the spoiler warning screen?

[@Grandmas_Table]

Luke talking about the hand trauma at 17:52 killed me lol. Such great delivery.

[@sarawilliams3190]

The Chet Hanks burn just made my day

[@Michael_Lindell]

Has everyone forgotten about Fallout 5 through 75?

[@bilateralrope8643]

We do not talk about Fallout 69

[@Michael_Lindell]

@@bilateralrope8643 I thought that one was pretty nice...

[@DirgeTV]

I think Resident Evil 7 single handily did way more to mess me up with anything involving bodily trauma then anything else (Which is saying something considering that I watched the saw movies, watched the Bioshock trailer where the guy gets his hand drilled right through, saw that Outlast game where fingers were cut off and watched a stream of that one FPS game where you watch your arms get pulled right off from first person perspective by this giant mech and then get beat with them). Basically, I cherish my hands alot more then I did before and I was already messed up from watching Crono's Finger nail get ripped out in God of War 3. Also, can we mention the cleverness in the current naming of the latest Resident Evil Games, specifically in how clever they utilize the Roman numerals in the text (The 7 in "Resident Evil" and then 8 in "Village"? Feel like I'm gonna have way too much fun trying to guess the next title just based on that clever play.

[@coffeeaddict9605]

Maybe, Resident Evil Extinguish? Light up part of the E and the X to make ix? Or any of the many cool sounding words that start with EX?

[@oriolgonzalez9328]

"Feel like I'm gonna have way too much fun trying to guess the next title just based on that clever play." It's gonna be a kart racer spin-off. Resident Evil: Grand PrIX

[@DanL21]

Holy crap right out the bat with the Chet Hanks diss, I absolutely love it.

[@Danimal4114]

Right, awesome list but what got me was the music starting at 14:42 I could listen to that for ages!

[@alhena11]

Assassin's Creed series actually pulled this trick at least three times - with AC 2, Black flag and Origins. Now with Valhalla loosing breath, everyone is wondering if they can pull it off again. Place your bets!

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Hmm, they better end the series somewhere.

[@bossd3815]

I see why pepople think it was AC2 that made the franchise (because it did establish core mechanics at least untill Origins), but for me the best game was original AC. Since AC2 it was linear mission-based adventure with side quests, collectibles and other typical activities in open world, a lot like GTA or something. AC1 was much more immersive in a lot of ways. The best part was that you could complete the entire game with UI completely disabled, without map, all you needed was vantage points and eagle vision. Also much more liberal approach to story progression, where you are basically left in a city with a target, and it's up to you what side activities you will partake to get closer to it, or not doing anything, just trying to track it blindly with eagle vision. Also you had (almost) actual historical assasins and templars in their proper setting, and untill the very end all the eternal assasins-templars struggle with aliens involved thing was just subtle clues keeping you interested, not batshit crazy stories of following games. But that's just my opinion, and I know it's not very popular)

[@raoul5714]

does it save the serie if its this flaky though, or is it just a mediocre serie with some good games?

[@KOU-ZAI]

Saints Row 2 was indeed awesome. Not sure what to think about this upcoming reboot though.

[@Matt-md5yt]

Same here, I will try the reboot out and see if I like it or not

[@tomfallon4440]

This is one of the best oxbox videos I've seen in a long time - very funny well done

[@cabotfisher7208]

With that Tom hanks joke, Andy woke up and chose VIOLENCE

[@russellconn]

Panicking slow motion, yup that describes my red dead experience exactly.

[@vinnysantangelo9805]

What no persona 3 or 4. Those were the games that reinvented their whole games

[@josjawillems3708]

14:30 The moment I heard this, I started to hear something along the lines of "...from a location where it is, to a location where it isn't"

[@daughterofluthien]

The return of the talking over the spoiler warning gag! Big fan, 10/10

[@ZellyTheFangirl]

Can we just give an honorable mention to NEO The World Ends With You? It's a sequel no one saw coming to a game that came out *fourteen years ago*. If that's not a comeback idk what is.

[@joelnicholson]

Far Cry 2 - arguably still the best game in the franchise before the formula set in, and a massive improvement on the janky and borderline unplayable original. Just Cause 2 - the addition of the iconic grappling hook saw this sequel take the mediocre original and tie it to an exploding barrel, launching it hilariously into the stratosphere. Dark Souls - not a sequel to Demon Souls, naturally, but definitely the installment in the Souls franchise which saw it take off into world domination as a series and, indeed, genre. Duke Nukem 3D - very much the zenith of Duke's story, taking the 2D platform and shooting into a bloody, catchphrase-laden, new dimension (... and then the nadir of Duke Nukem Forever can go on the follow up list of sequels which destroyed their franchise). Hopefully one of these might make Commentator Edition, but a great list to begin with.

[@ssvensic]

Far Cry 2 hands down the best in the series. Could be a standalone franchise

[@Jonnyargles]

That season of Dexter where he played a serial killer, and the end of Jumanji (the rebooted one). . . .

[@heleneandersson7649]

Wolfenstein new order is my current game, first one I've played since I moved apartment so I wanted an action game for once. Really didn't expect to end up on the moon 😂 good surprise though

[@tomread8748]

It's a great game, but I don't understand why there wasn't a moon boss fight. It would've been a perfect backdrop for amazing visuals, but it's one of the only parts of the game where there wasn't a particular set piece battle, which I thought was a really big missed opportunity.

[@hi_tech_reptiles]

That Fallout bit killed me lol. "ALL THE FALLOUT GAMES"

[@Onlytoview1]

Just here to say that, yes, Step up 2 was the one that really nailed down the formula for the rest of the movies.

[@dylanchapman1691]

its always nice to see someone talking about red dead revolver everyone forgets that game

[@rootsandbonesart]

I see two of the entries on this list were basically excuses for Andy to talk about his favourite games ;)

[@Cunnysmythe]

I was surprised he didn't do the Fallout segments

[@kirbymerby]

Saints Row the first was a great time man great time

[@uredbulldawg]

No spider man 2? You literally died from going below a certain aerial level in the first one while you could smash up enemies on the ground and hang them from a lamp post in 2. Not to mention the second one is narrated by Bruce Campbell. You know, Ash Williams?

[@Herowebcomics]

Wow! it is awesome to see how far games have come!

[@mooniejohnson]

Andy can't mention "That Thing You Do" without me singing it and putting it on repeat. Curse you, Farrant!

[@craigwood9520]

Saint's Row remembered to include the humour and satire that made earlier GTAs fun while GTA decided "realism" was the way to go with GTA IV. Just too bad Saint's Row didn't remember to do that with the radio stations.

[@michaelpaz1656]

That "Let me show yall something" Cracked me up

[@jediprotector216]

Sad that Mortal Kombat 9 isn't on this list after the sad disappointments of MK vs DC and Armageddon made the fighting game into a joke.

[@tuffpuppy2699]

I’ve always thought Saints Row 2 was better than GTA IV 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@dagrimmreepa]

I've always thought 4 was the best GTA 🤷‍♂️

[@psychogoreman198]

@@dagrimmreepa GTA IV was definitely a benchmark point for the franchise and is on my top fave games.

[@TinKnight]

SR2 is a better "game" & more "fun," for sure! But GTA IV is a better piece of interactive art, even if Rockstar has never met a laugh it can't bludgeon to death.

[@ddjsoyenby]

sr2, 3 and 4 are amazing games that did something unique with gta.

[@orderneo]

I played all the GTAs and hated 4s main game only saving grace was BOGT, over all played SR2 much more.

[@LAnimeMaster]

The Assassin's Creed franchise has been around long enough to have two sequels do this. Assassin's Creed 2 is what truly cemented the series for a lot of people thanks to Ezio's story. And when the series seemed to be reaching it's end with fans, Assassin's Creed Origins was a breath of fresh air that reinvigorated the series.

[@davidvega462]

Whenever I see that scar on Luke’s face I imagine it’s because someone hurt him, which makes me want to hurt them. Luke seems like such a nice young man. We must protect Luke at all costs.

[@ChrisOsberg]

Hahaha, that advertisement for Microsoft Flight Simulator has aged like fine wine!

[@Loki_Firegod]

I was gonna suggest Gothic 2 and the Addon "Night of the Raven", however then I remembered Gothic 3 and its "Addon", and whatever Arcania is called these days - Gothic 4? A Gothic Story? Just Arcania? The not-so-open-world RPG? Plough anything that was established earlier? Anyhoo. Also, the first Gothic may have been underrated and difficult to get into, but I still think that kind of gritty, realistic-ish fantasy setting can be very intriguing. The follow-up series of Risen and Elex prove that point, as do other games following in a similar vein. Then again, to this day Gothic 1 and 2 remain criminally underrated in most of the world. I hope the upcoming remake of the first one will right that terrible wrong, supposing it'll be any good :D

[@dylanthevillain1513]

Honestly ive always hated the fact that Saints Row is just the GTA "clone" SR1 and SR2 expanded on everything San Andreas did while simultaneously makimg it all more enjoyable. Yeah I said it, both of them are better than San Andreas, and I think that merits a better title than "Clone" JUST SAYING.