-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
Franchises that took a few entries to reach greatness
- Thread starter FloatOn
- Start date
ChackanKun
Member
After two awful entries they finally released a good game.
You have got to be shitting me.
Dmc1 was just amazing, and the best on the series.
I'm gonna say Killzone. Kz1 was a fluke, while Kz2 was the best fps last gen.
Lightning Lord
Banned
Everyone talks about how great Mega Man 2 is - and I agree that it's a classic but to me Mega Man didn't become great until part 4. This is when the charge shot mega buster gameplay mechanic became a thing. There was just something very satisfying about the risk/reward of charging and landing a well timed shot.
While I don't necessarily agree on the charge shot (I found it to be broken), and I think MM2 and 3 are excellent games as well, MM4 is my personal fav as well. Loved the Robother Masters and the soundtrack so much.
Another good choice is Mega Man IV for Gameboy. The first three games for the system were all rather unremarkable but then IV came out and it was great. Easily up there with the NES games.
-Mutsukki-
Member
People like Devil May Cry 1? That's surprising...
I'd say KOF is this, they only got it right the first time with 96
I'd say KOF is this, they only got it right the first time with 96
NinjaCoachZ
Member
I played DMC1 for the first time this year, even after playing Bayonetta 1 and 2.
Sure it's lacking in finesse and is a bit simple, but it has an excellent, really creepy atmosphere, and in some regards I think the simplicity works in its favour to make a straight, down-and-dirty game.
Sure it's lacking in finesse and is a bit simple, but it has an excellent, really creepy atmosphere, and in some regards I think the simplicity works in its favour to make a straight, down-and-dirty game.
This thread was a horrible mistake
Version 3.0
Member
Oh hell no. Zelda 1 changed my life.
Lil'DigiOp
Member
They never grew up with PS2.
Anyone worth a lick knows that DMC was the SHIT when it first came out.
ElectricBlanketFire
Member
Zelda NES is greatness. This thread is madness.
malboroking
Banned
I think that the Nes FF3 is much better than FF1. FF2 is weird and I wasn't a big fan. FF1 is aight.
malboroking
Banned
Other than some total bullshit like dungeon 8 being hidden in some random ass tree, Zelda 1 is still totally playable and a fun game.
eso76
Member
Yep.
If we count those, then Uncharted.
Otherwise GTAIII is the perfect example.
MGS..not sure. mg2:ss was a great game.
I agree. Dabbled in all the popular NES games (LoZ being one of them) at it wasn't until I saw LTTP did I go "I have to have this". Have gone back to play LoZ and Zelda II and..........thanks but no thanks.
Controversial pick....but I can see your point. IMO it was with 2 that showed how great it could be. That feeling of exploration and adventure would show up later with Mario 64, Sunshine and the Galaxy series.
My pick is GTA. 1 was ok. 2, never played it.
Agree with this too. This got better and Phantasy Star got worse.
One was already great to me, 2 was a misstep. The ship righted itself for awhile starting with ALttP. But I can agree with this.
And someone saying MGS? The franchise was great from Metal Gear to me. Solid just took it to another level.
GTA2 was a huge improvement over the first, but it still felt like a stopgap. After Driver, all I could think about was what GTA would be like in 3D and GTA2 wasn't that.
Acquiescence
Member
I get what you're saying, since Takedown is pretty much the pinnacle of the arcade racer, but Point of Impact was excellent in its own right too. Never played the first one though.
Peterthumpa
Member
Forza.
-Mutsukki-
Member
What are you going on about, I definitely grew up with the PS2 in my teens. But I'll be honest and say I had never heard about DMC until 3, so I assumed that the first two were just very niche. 1 is not garbage like 2, but I couldn't really get into it when I was playing the series, it just felt really clunky. Maybe that's the price for having played 3 before.
This is so fucking false. Fallout 1 & 2 were amazing.
Brawly Likes to Brawl
Member
Absolutely not. The posts in this thread are ridiculous.
It is kinda iffy because SMB1 is a solid game, but you're right that 3 and World were a whoooole 'nother level.
For a more niche answer to this thread, the Rune Factory series (Harvest Moon spinoff) was somewhat meh for RF1 and 2. Then RF3 and 4 were much more polished and a lot more fun to play
Rapscallion
Member
Persona
The series didn't hit acclaimed success until 3.
The series didn't hit acclaimed success until 3.
I don't know how that's possible. DMC1 was a big deal, it was the game (along with Silent Hill 2 a few weeks earlier) that kicked off the legendary PS2 Fall 2001 that people love to post that image of.
AdmiralMikey
Member
I think this is probably the majority of video game series. I think a more interesting thread would be games that launched with their best title and weren't able to recapture or exceed that greatness in any of the sequels.
I personally can't think of any franchises where that was the case unless you consider Chrono Trigger/Cross a franchise.
I personally can't think of any franchises where that was the case unless you consider Chrono Trigger/Cross a franchise.
Elitist1945
Member
Yeah this.
Pejo
Gold Member
This is a good pick. I think my first one was the first Persona, and if I recall correctly, you spend about 90% of the game as a polygon dot on a stick walking around a polygon city or high school or something. It was pretty shit. Battle system was neat though.
I'd also argue Fire Emblem, though I haven't played any of the earliest entries. Also I'm sure some people don't like the casualized waifu stuff in the most recent 2 games, but I still feel like the series has gotten better over time.
deadscreensky
Member
This is the only example I've seen in this thread I can agree with. DMC1 was good at best, it's filled with rough edges (ex: those first-person sections), with much of its inflated reputation coming from an excellent release window. DMC3 was an amazing step forward for the series, a legitimately deep, excellent game. The initial US release was botched, unfortunately, but that's not the actual first version of the game so it's unfair to hold that against it.
(I disagree that "Stylish Hard Action" is actually a separate, distinct genre rather than Capcom Japanese marketing -- it's a 3D beat-em-up and takes all of its mechanics from similar earlier games -- but I'm probably in the minority on this and that's okay.)
Most of the examples in this thread feel like an age issue more than anything else. Nothing wrong with being younger, obviously, but series like Fallout, Metal Gear, Zelda, Final Fantasy, and Metroid were incredibly beloved and influential from the start. You personally coming to them late doesn't change that.
And protip for some posters: "a few" nearly always means 3-4.
Slamtastic
Member
Mortal Kombat: 9 entries
You must not have played it recently. It's not only the worst game in its series, it belongs on the bottom of the genre.
-Awful water sections, clunky combat, fixed camera which messes up your control during fights, repeated boss fights, Nightmare, awful back tracking, and for an action game the final boss was a star fox 64 level.
Give me the "inferior" enemy designs and atmosphere over the garbage that is DMC 1.
petran79
Banned
Castlevania 1 and 2 were ok games. Gameboy versions were not so good. We had to wait till Castlevania 3 for the series to reach greatness.
Killzone 1 had the best offline multiplayer of any FPS game back then. Two players could team up and fight against bots. This option was dropped in the sequels
Killzone 1 had the best offline multiplayer of any FPS game back then. Two players could team up and fight against bots. This option was dropped in the sequels
DiipuSurotu
Banned
Ultima
Ludger Kresnik
Member
Project Diva kind of has this going on. The first game was badly designed and hella rough, while 2nd completely overhauled the whole thing. Then they really started stepping up their charting game in Extend, the third game. Then everything fell into place and we were blessed with F.
just threw up in my mouth a lil bit
Calm Mind
Member
BULLSHIT.
JimJamJones
Member
Zelda's first 6 titles included the original, LTTP, Link's Awakening, OoT (the GOAT) and Majora.
That's pretty unbelievable.
That's pretty unbelievable.
Lan Dong Mik
And why would I want them?
I'd have to go with the Souls series, but this is just my opinion because I know a lot of people swear by the first games. I did not like Demon's Souls and didn't like Dark Souls 1 or 2. However I absolutely loved Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3.
JonnyDBrit
Member
The Elder Scrolls.
Like, whatever one's opinion as to how well the series has gone from one title to the next after its jump to 3D, its pretty undeniable that there are reasons that most of the fan debate over which is the best game in the series start with Morrowind. Namely, in that what comes before Morrowind... wasn't exactly great, and is actually kinda hard to revisit with just how substantially the franchise formula has been improved since.
Like, whatever one's opinion as to how well the series has gone from one title to the next after its jump to 3D, its pretty undeniable that there are reasons that most of the fan debate over which is the best game in the series start with Morrowind. Namely, in that what comes before Morrowind... wasn't exactly great, and is actually kinda hard to revisit with just how substantially the franchise formula has been improved since.
DrunkShogun
Member
Witcher 3. Might be the issue with not having console ports available but 3 was when the developers got noticed.
Not a very good choice when Innocent Sin was incredibly well regarded and Eternal Punishment was well-liked as well.Entry:
Shpeshal Nick
aka Collingwood
These threads are fantastic for highlighting posters that have either terrible taste or no fucking clue what they're talking about.
Fatal Futanari
Member
Halo? Devil May Cry? Really people?! Lmao
I would have to say the Hyperdimension Neptunia games (it started getting good on Victory).
I would have to say the Hyperdimension Neptunia games (it started getting good on Victory).
SolVanderlyn
Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
The shade towards other people's opinions in this thread is hilarious.