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[I AM JOHN!]

and whoever dares to put Waverace, I will hunt you down since I totally adore Bluestorm almost as much as the original.

Waverace 64 wasn't the first Waverace, duder.

 

[Manmademan]

God of War (2 and COO are still phenomenal)
Halo (as much as it kills me to say it, but I still love 2 and 3)
Devil May Cry (no brainer)
Crash Bandicoot
Soulcalibur
Nights
Sonic Adventure (im talking 3D Sonics)
Daytona USA
Virtua Tennis (as great as 2 and 3 are, they just didn't capture that same simplicity 1 has)
NBA Street (although 2 was damn good, 3 was shit)
Banjo Kazooie
Def Jam Vendetta
Final Fight

There's more but that's all I could think of. Obviously some other posters reminded of many of these.

:lol :lol

I was waiting for this one to show up. Soulcalibur was...all together now..NOT the first game in the series.

Soul Blade made it's debut a couple years before, with the home version incorporating a quest/mission mode, multiple real time endings (hidden ones that could be accessed by timed inputs during the default endings) and multiple weapons that alter stats. For it's time, I always thought it was the better game.

 

[LordAzrael]

Whole lotta rose colored nostalgia goggles in this thread. I played Half-Life when it came out, and HL2 is a better game. Anyone who says otherwise hasn't played the first in a while.

 

[The Jer]

Jumping Flash!

 

[pivot]

 

[CajoleJuice]

Actually, ignore this post.

 

[AniHawk]

I haven't read all the posts, but I take it this is the "Jak and Daxter appreciation thread" renamed by the mods. Pretty clever, guys.

 

[pivot]

i'm done. there are so many games with sequels that have been shittier than the original.


edit again:

ok adding two more

 

[Atreides]

Haha no.

The correct answer is

The later games in the trilogy may have been better games from a strictly-gameplay standpoint, but they never recaptured the magic of Sands.

Oh for Fuck's sake.

But that game is not the original:

 

[AAK]

OP had it right. DMC destroys all the others in the series despite how great they were.

 

[I AM JOHN!]

But that game is not the original:

http://i34.tinypic.com/107185v.jpg[IMG][/QUOTE]
Yeah but it's the first in it's respective trilogy and that counts as far as I'm concerned isn't this, like, the third time I've posted this, now I will end this run-on sentence with a smiley :|

 

[Fuu]

Yeah but it's the first in it's respective trilogy and that counts as far as I'm concerned isn't this, like, the third time I've posted this, now I will end this run-on sentence with a smiley :|

But this post is not the original.

 

[TheCardPlayer]

Gonna open up a can of worms with this one: Chrono Trigger

Exactly. What a sorry piece of shit after what is arguably the greatest jRPG of all time.

 

[MoogPaul]

Exactly. What a sorry piece of shit after what is arguably the greatest jRPG of all time.

I duno, I have to go replay it again. At this point, I'd like to think that I was too dumb to understand it the first time I played it.

 

[Tmac]

"Series where sequels never surpassed the original game"

Isnt that more like the standart than the exception?

 

[JayDubya]

(never played import sequels so yeah)

Ever play "Final Fantasy Adventure" on Gameboy? That was the original game.

Secret of Mana is Seiken Densetsu II (Legend of the Holy Sword II).

Seiken Densetsu III is fucking great but I never beat it. For some reason I tend to lose interest in emulator games and only dabble in them.

I really fancy the first one myself. I think I'd say I like it better than "Secret of Mana" and that's saying something. Better story, anyway.

 

[-tetsuo-]

Superior

heeeeeeeeeeeeeell no

 

[TheCardPlayer]

Confession: I think Legend Of Mana is the best in the Mana series. Sorry.

 

[Cartman86]

I wish we still lived in the day in which a man could challenge another man to a duel.

As a fan of the series:

NO.

For me Ape Escape was all about controller innovation. No other game used the dual shock (or analog controls) like it and honestly hasn't since. The sequels may be better objectively, but it was all about the impact.

I can play Resident Evil 1 & 2 and love em to death, but when you get to Resident Evil 3 and you are still playing basically the same game no matter how much better the artistry in it is you still don't care as much.

 

[Bill Squabber]

This
and HL2 > HL

 

[RyoHazuki]

Starcraft 2 isn't even out yet, but I already know.

 

[koam]

Half Life hasn't surpassed HL2...yet. That will change once Black Mesa Mod is released.:lol



But Super Mario 64 wasn't the original Mario game. Epic fail.

The question in the topic is "series" not "franchises". Mario 64 is the first of the 3d series of mario games, with sunshine being the sequel and galaxy being the third. For this same reason i consider Metroid Prime and Metal Gear Solid as valid answers.

As for me, my vote goes to StarFox

 

[Poimandres]

Ninja Gaiden 2 is the one least up for debate....

You talking the original NES game?

Ninja Gaiden 2 on NES is the best that series has offered in my opinion

 

[Fenderputty]

I don't necessarily think the following games were worse, but none of the GT series ever caught a hold of me like the first did. Again .. all of them were great, but for me not as good as GT1.

 

[braves01]

Paper Mario

 

[Ganondorfo]

I have three sega games

Sonic the hedgehog (genesis)
Shinobi (master system)
Jet grind radio (dreamcast)

 

[Johann]

posting this on a new page:


I don't know, Half-life 2 just didn't seem as cleverly designed as the original.

The scripted sequences felt old hat, like the kind you see in FPS's that try to rip off Half-life.

The combine AI was busted and even through Episode 2, it still doesn't seem up to par with the marine AI in the now 10 year old original game. We may never know what happened there.

Vehicle sections dragged.

The level design was good but didn't have many spots that really tried to be risky or break ground. One exception I can think of right now was traversing the support structure underneath the bridge - that was good. Also, there weren't any levels that had any real verticality to them, like the cliff in HL1 (I remember hearing that was part of the reason Lost Coast was made). Between that cliff, Xen, and the more traditional areas, HL1's level design not only went from side to side, it went down, up, and down again.

There weren't many new enemies and the ones that were introduced weren't very interesting. Antlions - cool when they're on your side, not so much when they're not. Stalkers, while undeniably an awesome, striking looking enemy, weren't very fun to fight. Unloading 12-15 rockets into an enemy - yawn. Maybe cool the first time around, but very tedious on multiple go-arounds. This problem was addressed though in Episode 2 with the sticky bomb - much better and much more fun.

Also, the game made use of some video game conventions that I didn't like and frankly, that I thought Valve was above - infinitely respawning enemies (antlions when you stand on beached ground) and infinite ammo boxes (the ones placed in an area when you need to take out a flying enemy or stalker). Not only does it break the immersion, it just seems cheap and primitive as far as video game conventions go. Again, just not as cleverly designed.

Also this is just personal preference, but like someone mentioned in this thread, the feeling of isolation in the original game was awesome. Hearing the Black Mesa PA announcer as you're roaming the halls of the facility was incredibly effective and atmospheric for some reason.

Also like I said in the OP, the enemy variety is amazing.

Yeah, the enemy variety was great in Half-Life.

I was also hyped for what they would do with the AI in Half-Life 2. In the original, you had the extraordinary Marine AI, the instinctive Tentacle AI, and the social AI of the Houndeye. It was quite a disappointment that Half Life 2's AI was behind even that of other FPS games at the time.

 

[koam]

i'm done. there are so many games with sequels that have been shittier than the original.

You fail sir:

 

[Azure J]

I'm gonna go against the blind fanboy child inside myself for a second and nominate StarTropics (NES) for this title. While Zoda's Revenge brought a whole lot to the table in terms of controls and overall NES awesome, it also downplayed a bit of the platforming elements from the first, removed some of the charm of the series and threw in an ending outta nowhere. If you played the first one you should know what I mean.

I still love the fuck outta both games though. :lol

 

[Oblivion]

Thread needs more drama (and yes, I know it's not the first in the series, but it IS the first 3D game):

Haters destroyed.

 

[DeadGzuz]

Halo

 

[Giard]

^Game was so brilliant, then the PS2 games lost that loving feeling.

I'm not saying it's better, but AC 4 Answer is really good.

 

[Wollan]

The most standout example is in the OP.
Half-life 2 has done so much right and some clever design choices and clever techniques (eye focus, lip sync, patient buddy a.i) and the atmosphere is (or rather was in 2004) interesting with it's east block feel. The original however was just balls out incredible when it came out and had much fiercer situations compared to the land trek feel of the sequel, the combat in the original is still better today. Half-life 2 is a smarter game in many aspects but it doesn't take you on a ride like the original did, both games feel very unlike each other. Valve also needs to realize that the gravity gun is getting very old by now (though hopefully they will now introduce the portal gun into the main HL series, not to mention satisfying everyday army weapons).

 

[TheExodu5]

You fail sir:

I personally think Contra 4 is awful. This difficulty from Contra 4 comes from 2 factors:

1) Dual screens (it's hard to watch a game vertically for moving projectiles, especially when they screens are seperated by an inch of space)

2) This is the big one: sprites and projectiles are barely distinguishable from the background. It feels incredibly cheap when you get hit just because enemies and projectiles are not visible enough.

To me, Contra III is the tops.

 

[DeaconKnowledge]

I have to agree.

The worst part about this is that I can't for the life of me point to what makes the first one so amazing.

 

[manueldelalas]

Thread needs more drama (and yes, I know it's not the first in the series, but it IS the first 3D game):

Haters destroyed.

While I agree that this is by far the best 3D Zelda (and IMHO I think it is the best Zelda overall), it is not the first in the series.

Let's try to keep on topic (or someone could start saying Castlevania SOTN because it is the first metroidvania, or stupid things like that).

I'll add Tales of Phantasia.

 

[FFChris]

Haha no.

Half Life 2 is filth in comparison to the glory of the original.

 

[Azure J]

I have to agree.

The worst part about this is that I can't for the life of me point to what makes the first one so amazing.

This is really the perfect sentence to describe the entire Prime series. Prime 2 was amazing in a lot of ways, but was missing some weird indescribable charm the first one had. Prime 3 felt very shooter inspired and was made to take advantage of this with it's new controls.

But at the same time, the series as a whole didn't suffer from these differences. Kinda crazy, huh?

 

[jeremy1456]

Except that's not the original.

You fail.

 

[andthebeatgoeson]

Still the best snowboarding game in my books. Sequel was just a mess, and whoever dares to put Waverace, I will hunt you down since I totally adore Bluestorm almost as much as the original.

Sorry duder, but Waverace has not been exceeded. I like Poo Storm just as much as the next guy but each and every course of Wave Race was designed phenomenally. All the courses stand up to time. All man, remember that shitty course in Blue Storm running thru the canals between buildings. Not that great. And the one at night next to the ships. Mediocre.

You are correct on 1080. All that powder just felt good to push thru. Both of those games nailed great controls and a great tactile feel. Must have been the controller.

 

[Wii Will Rock U]

This.

 

[Troidal]

Diablo (I preferred the more simplistic game)

Halo (even the story was the most decent one of the three)

Final Fight (if you consider the console sequels to be actual sequels)

Devil May Cry (although its not saying much!)

Final Fantasy VII (haha I went there! All the spinoffs can burn to hell! except Crisis Core maybe)

 

[Spirit of Jazz]

Deus Ex wins as I dare say it's the one we'd all agree on.

Fuck the Ninja Gaiden 2 haters, it was a technical mess but the combat was so much better than the first one on Xbox.

 

[Burli]

whoever dares to put Waverace, I will hunt you down since I totally adore Bluestorm almost as much as the original.

You just said it though... Is it possible to hunt yourself?

 

[Automatisch]

You fail sir:

Are you joking? Contra 4 is not that good, especially compared to the original NES version.

 

[Allan Holdsworth]

I personally think Contra 4 is awful. This difficulty from Contra 4 comes from 2 factors:

1) Dual screens (it's hard to watch a game vertically for moving projectiles, especially when they screens are seperated by an inch of space)

2) This is the big one: sprites and projectiles are barely distinguishable from the background. It feels incredibly cheap when you get hit just because enemies and projectiles are not visible enough.

To me, Contra III is the tops.

Never had this problems, or rather I got used to it. Contra and Super C are WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more cheap.
Contra III is harder than 4 too.


My picks:

I haven't played the Nuts & Bolts, but it was better than Tooie and Grunty's Revenge (and Banjo Pilot of course).

I liked 2 and DS, but the original was superior.

Everyone says 3 was the best, but my favorite is the first.



Everyone who says Mario Kart probably hasn't played more than the first.
And Kirby :lol

 

[TheCardPlayer]

I personally think Contra 4 is awful.

I hate you sir. Good day.

Are you joking? Contra 4 is not that good, especially compared to the original NES version.

You too. I hate your guts. Have a nice afternoon.

 

[Kadey]

I thought the first Suikoden was the best. It was a culmination of every great aspect of gaming, except the visuals but it was still ahead of many at the time.

 

[Milabrega]

Though X2 and X3 were good, they couldn't top the original.

 

[SCReuter]

Respect your elders.
http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/197462.asp?q=goldeneye

The music, variety of level design, and clever skill level system were really good.

Edit: GoldenEye even had a (primitive) cover system! Something that other FPS wouldn't adapt for long time until Gears of War (?).

And Stoney, that better not be sarcasm. (Edit: I see by the 2nd message you were not being sarcastic.)

Finally, somebody notes the cover system! For those who don't remember, by holding down the R trigger and pressing the C buttons, the player could quickly pop out from behind a crate or wall, fire off a round of bullets, then just as quickly duck back behind cover. Always thought the mechanic resembled Time Crisis myself. ("ACTION!" *Bang, bang, bang!* "ACTION!")

But what are we saying? GoldenEye 007's visuals are slightly blurry, the framerate isn't locked, and apparently the FPS genre already existed prior to the title's release (wish I'd been informed of this sooner). Because of these factors, the Nintendo 64 game is automatically rendered trash -- old and archaic the day it launched -- and anyone who disagrees must be a brainwashed fool. (My attempt at sarcasm, folks.)

Edit: Definitely agree about the original Mega Man X. It's basically perfect.