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[RScrewed]

Streets of Rage 2 vs 1.

Sega must have paid off game mags in 1990 because aside from the music, SoR 1 sucked. Shit graphics, horrible scratchy voices, repetitive gameplay, enemies and hardly any move sets. Yet eveyr mag gave SoR 1 9s and 10s reviews.

SoR 2 at 16 megs (SoR 1 was I think 4 megs?) was amazing. My bro was big into PC games and it's obvious Genesis was better at arcadey fast paced games at the time, but he never made anything out of it, since he preferred slower paced PC games. But when he saw SoR 2 his eyes popped out and even said something like "why can't my computer do that?"

I know I'm in the minority but I much prefer Streets of Rage 1 over 2.

The characters are smaller in the first, which I don't think is a bad thing. You can fit more enemies on screen and there's a bigger "chessboard" for strategic gameplay as a result.

Every song of SoR is unique and memorable, SoR2 has "Go Straight" and everything past that sounds like a downmix. Dreamer was fire though.

The bosses of 1 were better thought out, the strategy to each was different.

The OP didn't specify if the jump in quality meant gameplay or graphics, but SoR2 stole the show in graphics, sure, but it seemed like it sacrificed everything else.

 

[-MD-]

It's weird to see a negative spin on OP's main post just so you can shoehorn in your hate for TEW2 again.

It's weird that it bothers you enough to comment on it.

 

[Nymphae]

The thread title is
"What is the biggest jump in quality between two games in a franchise?"

Quality can be bad or good. The quality of 2 after 1 was terrible.

He's not wrong, I thought it pretty clearly implied a positive jump in quality, as per my OP example. I do appreciate the contribution and technically you are correct as well, but I wanted examples of the greatest positive jumps in quality, rather than a bunch of "this was so much worse than X game before it". Which is going to be very common and subjective, I was thinking more along the lines of unquestionably amazing leaps in quality, like Street FIghter 2.

 

[#Phonepunk#]

personally, i felt like The Curse of Monkey Island was a massive letdown from the high of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge. the first game was such an amazing bolt out of the blue, so original, and the second was even better, ending on a total mindfuck. then the third came out, had lame humor, reused bits from older games, and an ending which felt like a repeat of the previous game. not a fan.

 

[CRON]

Just Cause 2 to 3 is a huuuuge downgrade.

 

[BlackTron]

Rogue Squadron to Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader

 

[Helios]

I might be the only one who liked Witcher 1 best of all 3.

The later parts stripped away some of the RPG elements that made the first one unique for me. That and I absolutely hate the combat in Witcher 2 and 3. 1 is clunky but it has a rhythm that feels rewarding once you master it. 2 and 3 is just dodge/roll = win. The second one also had those awful forced stealth sections that put me off.

 

[Mista]

MGS1 to MGS2. That jump will forever be remembered

 

[Ulysses 31]

Donkey Kong Country -> Donkey Kong Country 2

 

[VDenter]

Skyward Sword to Breath of the Wild
Mario 3D World to Mario Odyssey

 

[Weiji]

I have to agree with GTA 2 - GTA3

If Street fighter 2 created the modern 2d fighter. I feel like GTA created the modern sandbox game. I’d argue the later was the greater defining moment in video games.

Certainly it was the greater defining moment for me personally as a gamer.

 

[plushyp]

It's weird that it bothers you enough to comment on it.

Again with the obnoxious passive aggressive comments. I ignored it before but let it go man. And to be clear, unlike you I can see the merits in both games but it's clear you won't listen to anything so no point in talking further or derailing the thread.

 

[-MD-]

Again with the obnoxious passive aggressive comments. I ignored it before but let it go man. And to be clear, unlike you I can see the merits in both games but it's clear you won't listen to anything so no point in talking further or derailing the thread.

Someone on the first page said 2 was better than 1, I wasn't upset by it and I didn't go after them. Let it go next time, it's just a video game.

The last sentence of your post is equally obnoxious, even though I thought 2 was a disappointment I still enjoyed my time with it and participated in lots of debates between the two games, I'm not interested in doing that with you though.

 

[DilWSTS]

GTA 2 and 3

 

[plushyp]

Someone on the first page said 2 was better than 1, I wasn't upset by it and I didn't go after them. Let it go next time, it's just a video game.

The last sentence of your post is equally obnoxious, even though I thought 2 was a disappointment I still enjoyed my time with it and participated in lots of debates between the two games, I'm not interested in doing that with you though.

Now you're being petty and repeating the same thing. And again you've derailed the thread with your need to control rather than moving on. Nymphae also said something about his intent on creating the thread about positive jumps and you clearly ignored it. Debates can be only done with people who are able to listen to differing viewpoints and given all your posts, you are clearly not that person.

 

[LostDonkey]

Witcher 1 to 2 was quite a jump.

 

[Bullet Club]

Conker's Pocket Tales to Conker's Bad Fur Day

 

[pottuvoi]

Honorable mention to Star Control to Star Control 2.

SC1 was a fine yet simple combat game, SC2 took the combat and added space exploration similar to Starflight and much more.

 

[PharaoTutAnchAmun]

Thats easy, the new God of War

 

[NiiloPielinen]

Does Shadow Warrior 1997 -> Shadow Warrior 2013 count?

edit: also, Wasteland 1988 and Wasteland 2 2014

 

[Bankai]

Withou a doubt: Bioshock 1 => Bioshock 2... Haha no way, just kidding

I thought Shinobi III was really amazing compared to Revenge of Shinobi, gameplay is so much better/smoother and production value is 10x better. Nevertheless, I still love Revenge of Shinobi as wel!

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Mass effect to Mass Effect 2. Everything except the main plot was so much better.

I couldnt agree less with that. I found Mass Effect 2 a step back in regards to being an RPG.

 

[Neo_GAF]

links awakening to ocarina of time
super mario world 2 to super mario 64
super metroid to metroid prime
Punch out to Punch out wii-version
kid icarus from gb to the 3ds version


in General, everything coming from 2d to 3d was a huge Thing.

 

[Prison Mike]

Links awakening. .... ocarina of time

 

[n0razi]

Pretty much every franchise that went from PS1->PS2 or N64->Gamecube

 

[#Phonepunk#]

Duke Nukem II

Duke Nukem 3D

 

[Breakage]

MGS to MGS2

I still can't believe how it managed to be that polished despite coming out so early in the PS2's lifecycle. Its clean visuals and distinctive art direction still look great today.

 

[Ulysses 31]

Doom 2 -> Doom 64

 

[shenmue mugen]

The OP already answered the question.

 

[Ulysses 31]

Doom 2 to Doom 3. That's a pretty sizable jump in graphics fidelity. Oh, quality of game, not quality of graphics.

Why would you ignore Doom 64?

 

[peronmls]

Wow, no ones mentioned Nier -> Nier Automata.

Nier was quirky, a bit clunky, but had a cult following. Nier Automata was just so polished, and much easier for people to jump into.

2 different teams though. Not like the original team did any improvements. only Platinum.

 

[petran79]

personally, i felt like The Curse of Monkey Island was a massive letdown from the high of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge. the first game was such an amazing bolt out of the blue, so original, and the second was even better, ending on a total mindfuck. then the third came out, had lame humor, reused bits from older games, and an ending which felt like a repeat of the previous game. not a fan.

I think it did well in the graphics and music department. I think they nailed the aesthetic of the previous games. But the biggest drawback was giving voices to the characters and the same actors continued in the sequels. Monkey Island humor worked best at mute dialog and reading text.
Even when I played MI1 and MI2 remake with voice acting, it did not feel funny at all.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

What a art!!

 

[LegendOfKage]

Has this been posted yet?

 

[MayauMiao]

Here is another big jump for a franchise, from graphics, sound, and gameplay.

 

[Ian Henry]

Controversial take incoming:

Jak & Daxter => Jak 2. A really good sequel honestly.

 

[EverydayBeast]

I believe gen 6 to 7 showed great leaps in quality with games and their sequels.

 

[Grand Theft Scratchy]

Conker's Pocket Tales to Conker's Bad Fur Day

Good one. 2D handheld to 3D console, family friendly to offensive, negative to positive critic reception.

 

[TheGreatYosh]

Op nailed it. Street Fighter 2 is the answer. Killzone 2, Witcher 3, A Link To The Past are all very big jumps though.

 

[EDMIX]

Lots of good ones. I'd say from Final Fantasy VI to Final Fantasy VII or from Fallout 2 to Fallout 3

 

[cartman414]

Across generations it's a lot easier to see massive jumps in quality, especially with early Nintendo games. Metroid 2 to Super Metroid is a massive upgrade, as is Zelda II to Link to the Past.

Another one I don't think I've seen mentioned yet is Star Fox to Star Fox 64. The game went from a low framerate, flat-shaded 3D game to one of the best on rail shooters of all time. It also introduced glorious force feedback with the rumble pack, feeling the impact of crashes or enemy fire for first time in gaming in the comfort of your home blew everyone's minds.

64 lacked the pureness of the original. The guided charge beam was a step too far.

 

[3March]

Infamous 1 to Infamous 2. From a somewhat repetitive game, with bland characters, and cruddy performance to a goddamn masterpiece.

Dark Souls 2 to 3.

Uncharted 1 to 2.

Devil May Cry 2 to 3, and 4 to 5 (Yeah, I don't like DMC4).

 

[AndrewRyan]

Warhawk (ps1) to Warhawk (ps3).

Also, the original Prey vs the one released in 2017.

 

[hunthunt]

Gta2 to Gta3, from a obscure and niche 2d action game to one the most seminal games of the last 20 years

Resident Evil 3 to RE4, the saga went from a poor and rushed sequel to re2 to the most influential game of the last 20 years

 

[Cookiecuttershark]

Witcher 1 to Witcher 2 - from a clunky, quirky game using BioWare's Aurora engine to an ARPG classic that laid the foundations for Witcher 3, a once-in-a-generation masterpiece.

Link's Awakening -> Ocarina of Time might also deserve a mention.

I like super mario 64 but in my opinion the game is full of boring fetch quest collecting 8 red out of the way hard to find coins is not fun it just leaves you bored for awhile . Once you beat the game you get to see yoshi and get 120 lives but it's not the type of game where you would play after completing the final level . The open world concept is good but is kind of boring to me. The game is not in 3d , if it was in 3d you would need 3d glasses to play the game . I just got my n64 with sm64 2 weeks ago and super Mario 64 is so overrated

 

[zcaa0g]

Why would you ignore Doom 64?

Because it still used sprites and wasn't a big jump from Doom 2.

 

[Clintizzle]

Metal Gear: Ground Zero to Metal Gear Solid V in terms of play time.

 

[Fuz]

I was talking about Street Fighter 1 today and started thinking, Street Fighter 2 has got to be the single biggest jump in quality from one game in a franchise to the next. SF1 is unplayable garbage. Forgettable music, stages, frustratingly precise requirements for inputs, no character select.

YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH.

SF1 is a fantastic game.

 

[Nymphae]

YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH.

SF1 is a fantastic game.

lol it really isn't. An important game, yes, but not one many people care to spend much time with these days.

 

[MeatSafeMurderer]

Probably one of the bigger ones that comes to mind is Soul Edge / Blade -> SoulCalibur. As much as I love Soul Edge it's pretty janky. Movement feels stiff, 8WR still wasn't really a thing and balance is all over the place. SoulCalibur is much more polished.