Best Direct Sequels in Gaming

[mαrkαsscoρ]

This is probably the only technically correct answer. Everything else is arguably subjective (mind you, subjective answers I don't disagree with), but Gold and Silver did something I've never seen before or since. They took the entire game, made a sequel to it that was bigger and better in every way, and then put the original area of the first game in

I think Dragon Quest III did something similar, and that game was way earlier

 

[Zinger2099]

I think Dragon Quest III did something similar, and that game was way earlier

I'm not familiar with Dragon Quest, so I'll take your word for it!

People are also saying Tears is technically superior to Breath in every way, so it may be along the same vein, but I dunno, unless it added a WHOLE NEW MAP, while keeping also the old map as a separate area, I'm not sure I'd put them in the same cateogry as Pokemon and (according to mark) Dragon Quest.

 

[Chevywolf30]

unless it added a WHOLE NEW MAP, while keeping also the old map as a separate area

It did not do that, it added 2 new maps and kept the old one.

 

[Zinger2099]

It did not do that, it added 2 new maps and kept the old one.

Woah!

 

[Princess Abigail]

The only correct answer is Pillars of Eternity 2

Or Mass Effect 2

 

[thePlinko]

It did not do that, it added 2 new maps and kept the old one.

It kept an old map, dotted a few islands above it, and put a very monotonous cave underneath it.

 

[RamboBambiBambo]

It kept an old map, dotted a few islands above it, and put a very monotonous cave underneath it.

I am also kind of annoyed that The Depths seems to be only two biomes, being Fungal Forest and Lava Fungal Forest in a small area of the map.

But honestly I think the devs may have been inspired by Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, given the fact that The Depths seem to be heavily inspired by the Mushroom Forest and the music of the Wind Dungeon has a lot of similarity to the musical score of that movie.

 

[ExLight]

reminder to watch out for stuff that may be considered spoilery in TotK, which includes environmental stuff

 

[Pokémaniac13]

Say what you want, but Tears of the Kingdom is a masterpiece! In my opinion.

 

[Mima_sama]

Both sequels to Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand are absolutely fantastic games and expand upon the story from the first game. It's a shame we never got 3 overseas, but there is a fan-translation.

 

[Grogson]

Adventure of Link is fantastic as a sequel. I love how the threat is directly related from Link's actions and victory in the first game, as well as what he stands to gain being related to his former accomplishments too. The gameplay feels very focused on him as a character with the levelling up and learning spells and sword techniques and having already been through one big adventure with this particular Link growing along with him in this way is extra satisfying.

I'm only at the beginning of Majora's Mask, but I've always thought of that as specifically being a good sequel. It builds off of things from OoT but in a new and interesting way, gameplay-wise and story-wise. The odd atmosphere and the unusual things the game does works especially well in relation to the base of sorts that OoT formed for it.

Going from the first The Sims to The Sims 2 was absolutely mindblowing when it came out. Also, it seems the developers paid close attention to how most people played the first game. That one was more challenging, more of a strategy game, whereas The Sims 2 allows for more focus on the sims as characters, family dynamics, relationship drama and those sorts of things I believe most players want from a sims game, along with better building tools.

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

I was spending more time thinking about it and while earthbound definitely isn't the best sequel, it's still an objectively good one and one of my favorite games, so I'd like to give it an honorable mention here

Wind waker is also an incredibly underrated sequel because Majora's mask always steals the sequel spotlight

It's hard to even think of sequels but the uncharted series functions well as sequels and does good work expanding on their character motivations

 

[A Link In Time]

The original Halo trilogy is a rare example of 3 games that completely redefined gaming.

Halo Combat Evolved brought a much better control scheme to console shooters and one of the best campaigns in the genre, Halo 2 introduced online play to console shooters, and Halo 3 brought a suite of creative options with Forge.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is better than the original in terms of gameplay variety.

Majora's Mask went in a completely different direction than Ocarina of Time and pulled it off stunningly.

A Link Between Worlds and Tears of the Kingdom used the overworlds of their predecessors but made enough changes to ensure they felt fresh.

Pokémon Gold/Silver not only featured a completely new region but also allowed players to return to Kanto.

Uncharted 2 has some of the best set pieces in gaming history with a great story and clever puzzles.

 

[RamboBambiBambo]

Dead Space 2 was a perfect sequel to the original. It is unfortunate that DS3 was unable to make it a perfect trilogy.

GameBoy Advance was a perfect successor to the GBColor.

Xbox 360 was perfection, minus the Kinect.

Windows 7 was peak.

 

[thePlinko]

I guess I should also probably say Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box is a terrific sequel. Pretty much every aspect of Curious Village is expanded and improved upon, and both games do a great job foreshadowing Unwound Future.