Sequels are widely regarded as a part of life that most people tend to despise. Video Game sequels can sometimes fall flat in comparison to the original. The great thing about gaming is that sequels tend to not do as badly as movie sequels. Most of them are fairly mediocre. Though this is true, there are so many games that do much better than their predecessor.
Best Arcade Games That Became Console Mainstays
These are sequels that are the best of the best. They have proven to either do the best in the entirety of their franchise or propelled the series they belong to forward. Whatever the case is, they deserve to be praised for the strides they've made in the world of sequels.
10 Resistance 2
Resistance 2 makes the game series take on a much larger scale. This is done in both the game's narrative as it has players going across the globe as well as the size of bosses. When this game came out it had one of the largest bosses in gaming. It was so big it scaled over skyscrapers in the game.
Resistance 2 also does a wonderful job at introducing new weapons and grenade types to the game. This makes taking on the Chimera have some enjoyable differences. The multiplayer is also some of the best that gaming has to offer.
9 Batman: Arkham City
Batman: Arkham City opened the game quite a bit as instead of the game taking place in the Asylum it takes place in all of Arkham City. The gliding mechanic in this game has greatly improved since the last. It was quick and made for a fun way to get around the map.
There is a lot to do on the map with tons of Riddler challenges that unlock a particular Riddler area if all are discovered and deciphered. All the areas that players go into feel like dungeon crawlers as new items are gained that help the player traverse them. The bosses are also some of the best with unique fights that will have Batman using all the tools at his disposal.
8 Dark Souls
Before anyone gets confused as to what Dark Souls is doing on this list know that it'll make sense. Dark Souls was a spiritual successor to Demon Souls hence the big similarities in the naming. The only reason that Dark Souls had to change its name is that Sony owned the Demon Souls IP. Had this not been the case Dark Souls would've probably been named Demon Souls 2, so yes this is--in a weird loophole type of way--a sequel.
One of the greatest parts of this game is the scale and connectivity of it all. Everything in the game feels as though it is part of one cohesive world. The different settings are interwoven to where players won't realize how they randomly got into a cave. The only reason this game is not lower on the list is due to it only technically being a sequel and not being the truest sequel available.
7 Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee is a game that's done a lot for the series. The game introduced the series into the eSports world by having combat that was technical and difficult to master. The game is much quicker than its predecessor and a lot less clunky to play through. The game has 25 characters which is an addition of 13 from the first game.
Though the game is viable for competitive play it's also a lot of fun to play through with all the hazards and different items that players can use against one another.
6 Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2 is probably the best in the series. It added a mechanic where players could take their previous saves and add them to this game to continue the story with the choices that they had previously made. Interplanetary travel is some of the most entertaining in the genre as the game makes sure that none of the quests feel like a waste of time to grind out.
Each side quest usually takes place on its own planet that works like a semi-linear level. How conversations go makes it feel like the best playable visual novel available even though it's a Sci-Fi RPG.
5 Dead Space 2
Dead Space 2 came out 11 years ago, and it's still visually stunning. The enemy designs are just as terrifying and a lot of the open spaces feel as though they used to be lived in. Dead Space 2 seems to have refined every aspect of the original. Even the weapons in the first one look different and some have changed alternative firing modes.
The way Isaac, the protagonist, fights characters in this game also feels a lot better. He is more fluid in his movements allowing for more fair instances of dodging hits. This is a great example of how to create a survival horror sequel correctly.
4 Kingdom Hearts II
Kingdom Hearts II has to take the cake as one of the best JRPG sequels. The world designs of Kingdom Hearts were cool, but the mechanics felt clunky and out of place. This takes all of that and turns it upside down. The worlds are as awesome as ever and the improved mechanics are wonderful to use.
Everything feels fluid and there is an addition of form changes that makes the movements of the main character change. This makes it so that the fighting experience feels flashier and like there is a progression to getting your character to have more power. It also has some of the best worlds in the series.
3 Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves took what Uncharted gave players and managed to do it again much better. The adventure was apparent throughout the entirety of this story. It has some of the most cinematic levels in gaming like the train level. That level along with many others makes players feel like they're playing out something that they could have only imagined having happened in a cutscene.
There are so many twists in this sequel and the story feels better than the first. The characters had some time to breathe in the first one, so the story can captivate players right away.
2 Portal 2
Portal 2 is better than Portal and what's mad about that statement is that Portal is a near-perfect game. The levels feel a lot better in their puzzle solving. The portal mechanics are cleaned up and refined with new ways to use portals. Portal 2 also introduced a coop mode that is completely different from its single-player's story.
The great thing about the single-player and coop story is that they are both just as good as one another. They give more insight into the events that occurred in Aperture Science. They also have some Easter eggs for other games that take place in the same universe which adds to the immersive nature of the game.
1 Psychonauts 2
Psychonauts 2 was released about 10 years after Psychonauts came out. It's truly a perfect sequel. The game has a story that picks off right where the last one left off. It creates a hub world that's enjoyable to explore as it's full of other characters that players can interact with and secrets.
The combat has been made a lot more fluid and there is attention to detail to each of the main character's powers that weren't there in the last game. The levels are just as enjoyable to explore. All of them have themes specific to themselves that are based on the traumatic experiences of different characters. It's well worth diving into and what sequels should hope to be.