The Most Disappointing Video Game Sequels - Part Seven

There's little that hurts a gamer more than hearing that a sequel to one of their favorite games is coming out, it releases, and it turns out to be a dud. It's happened to the best of us. It's like having the rug pulled out from under you when a sequel you've been hyping based off of love for its predecessor does less than satisfy when it finally launches. Sometimes it's due to the formula being changed too much and not for the better. Other times it's because the game is missing what made the original so good.

Whatever the reasons may be, SPC is back with a look at six more disappointing video game sequels that failed to deliver or failed to satisfy for one reason or another.

If you're a glutton for punishment and want to think some more about what might have been, take a look at SuperPhillip Central's past installments for even MORE disappointing video game sequels with these convenient links:

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six

Dynasty Warriors 9 (PS4, XB1, PC)

We begin this edition of disappointing video game sequels with a series that already wasn't viewed in the brightest of lights by most in the gaming industry. Really, the Musou-style of game is a repetitive one, having players hack and slash through enormous waves of enemies. While repetitive and hardly generating and amassing critical acclaim, the genre and games are quite addicting and there's something intrinsically satisfying to be found within them. It's the very definition of comfort food gaming for some.

I have to give Koei Tecmo credit for wanting to change up its somewhat stagnant Dynasty Warriors series. It's quite commendable to have an established formula that works well for its fanbase and risk alienating said fanbase by doing something new. Unfortunately, Dynasty Warriors 9 was a case of poor execution. Instead of smaller battlefields, Dynasty Warriors 9's encounters took place in wide open, empty fields that mimicked and were clearly inspired by open world games. Furthermore, as a means to maybe welcome new players into the franchise with the new installment, Dynasty Warriors 9 featured much more basic combat, and the combat in past games wasn't exactly the deepest to begin with. In aiming to please newcomers, Koei Tecmo essentially made a Dynasty Warriors game for no one, as veterans didn't have much to enjoy with this latest installment of the long-running series.

Dead Space 3 (PS3, X360, PC)

Some games are disappointing not just because they aren't of a quality to one's liking, but more because of the after effects that come of a game's release. Electronic Arts and Visceral Games' Dead Space 3 is an example of this. Focusing less on the survival horrors aspects of the first two games and laser-aiming more on the action side of things, Dead Space 3 changed things up no doubt to make the game more entertaining for online co-op, a new mode added to this installment of the game.

While the game was still entertaining (very much so, might I add), Dead Space 3 offered a rather bloated adventure that went on for far too long, and was a disappointment because it failed to stick to its survival horror roots. But, more importantly, Dead Space 3 served as the end for not just the Dead Space series but the end for the developer of the series itself: Visceral Games. Soon after, the team would get dissolved among two EA studios. Another studio slain by the game publisher.

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 (NSW, PS4, XB1, PC)

This disappointing game hurts deeply, as I had the original Curse of the Moon as one of my top ten games of 2018. The game managed to mix its old school difficulty on modern gaming systems wonderfully. So, then, what makes its sequel, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2, so disappointing?

The answer is that Inti Creates went way too far with the difficulty this time around. The game has three runs you do, each changing a different element of the story and the characters you have to work with. The first run of the game is simple enough, offering a leisurely enough experience, though the challenge does spike upward at the end. But, by the second run, bosses deal massive amount of damage, especially their final gambit attacks which usually are hard to predict and dodge, and the game just is a much more frustrating experience. You have one less character to play as, and many times in the game you'll discover that checkpoints are few and far in between, unlike the original Curse of the Moon. It all adds up to a game that's the definition of "NES Hard", but in this case it's 2020, and my patience is much thinner than when I was a kid.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star (3DS)

With the relatively recent release of Paper Mario: The Origami King, and my rather glowing review of the game fresh in my mind, it seems like a good opportunity to look back on a less than stellar installment in the Paper Mario series, Paper Mario: Sticker Star. What Sticker Star marked was a drastic departure from the traditional Mario RPG formula: No partners, no experience points earned in battle, and a pale imitation of what made the previous Paper Mario games so great.

Now, that wouldn't be an issue if the game was great on its own merits like The Origami King was, but in Paper Mario: Sticker Star's case, it wasn't. Between battles basically being meaningless if not downright bothersome was that you used one-time use stickers to do battle and only earned coins and other stickers for your effort. Furthermore, the game's boss battles required certain items called "Things" that needed to be used at very specific times or the battle would be unwinnable. Once you used a "Thing", it was gone and would need to be collected again, making for a great annoyance.
What Paper Mario: Sticker Star represented was the growing pains of the Paper Mario series into something more enjoyable today, as seen with The Origami King. Still, for fans of the old style of Paper Mario games, Sticker Star was the beginning of the end, and for them, that's the biggest disappointment of them all.

Sonic Free Riders (X360)

Moving on from a bad Mario game to one of many bad games featuring his former rival Sonic, we turn to an atypical racing game for an atypical gaming platform. The Sonic Riders series began on the PlayStation 2, GameCube and Xbox, and it featured Sonic and friends (and foes) racing on air-powered hoverboards on winding tracks in fantastical locations, all the while performing stunts and tricks. The series has since seen two other games: Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity and the game that probably killed the sub-series of Sonic games, Sonic Free Riders.

Sonic Free Riders was an Xbox 360 Kinect launch exclusive, using the peripheral to read players' movements. However, the consistency that it did so varied from player to player, working adequately for some and terribly to the point of being game-breaking for others. Despite a generous amount of content and modes in the game, this meant nothing if players couldn't access and enjoy all of it due to the poor controls. The fact that Sonic Free Riders has essentially retired the otherwise entertaining Sonic Riders sub-series only makes the game even more disappointing in retrospect.

Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly (PS2, GCN)

Our final look at disappointing video games this edition gives us Spyro the Dragon, who recently received an excellent remake of his first three adventures with Spyro Reignited Trilogy. While that game was a breath of fresh air for the series, things weren't always looking up for Activision's purple dragon.

I submit to the court Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly. The game's crimes? How about atrocious levels that grate and annoy, myriad bugs and glitches, and a short adventure that is both a pro and a con--a pro because it's mercifully short, but a con because it was a full price release back when it released?  Like Crash Bandicoot, Spryo the Dragon was an example of a PlayStation fan-favorite that changed hands and developers and came out worse in the end with a parade of poorly made sequels in the PS2 era. Fortunately, though, also like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro has since seen renewed success and spotlight with both the aforementioned Reignited Trilogy and his cameo appearance as a racer in Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled. Welcome back to the land of the living, Spyro!

The Most Disappointing Video Game Sequels - Part Four

Getting one of these games in your stocking might make most of you wish you would have gotten coal instead! Games disappoint for all sorts of reasons, whether they're low quality, broken either mechanically or technically -- whatever you can think of, but the ones that follow up games that you really enjoyed might be the toughest to swallow. Imagine loving a game so much that you yearn for a sequel, and the sequel given to you is... less than spectacular -- and that's putting it mildly. That's what The Most Disappointing Video Game Sequels is all about, and we've reached Part Four of our tour of mediocre sequels. This edition we delve in to three 2017 releases as well as some ghosts of game sequels past.

Once you check out the latest entries on this list, explore the past three parts of this ongoing series, and sound off on which games you'd like to see added to future installments.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

Star Wars Battlefront II (PS4, XB1, PC)

One's hype can be vanquished in an instant due to someone or somebody's greed. I was seriously hyped for Star Wars Battlefront II from EA and DICE due to the original PS2 Star Wars Battlefront games being my favorite Star Wars-related games of all time, next to Rogue Squadron. But like I said, hype can come crashing down to the ground in an instant like an AT-AT tied up by a snowspeeder's cable.

I have a select few multiplayer games I enjoy playing online. Star Wars Battlefront II looked to be one of them, but EA wanted players like me to fork out not just $60 to own the game, but even more money just to stand a fighting chance online. With pay-to-win loot boxes, that is exactly what EA had in store for players. It's a case of greed at its most distilled in gaming -- putting spending money over the actual balance of gameplay.

It was a decision that made me completely forgo looking into getting Star Wars Battlefront II, and I certainly wasn't alone in that decision either. The situation got so bad for EA that it decided to take loot boxes out of the game temporarily. To my cynical mind, it's merely to buy time for EA to decide a "better" solution that doesn't draw the publisher as much ire and bad publicity. Despite knowing that the actual gameplay of the newest Star Wars Battlefront is of good quality, I also know that I can't trust EA with its handling of this game.

Mass Effect: Andromeda (PS4, XB1, PC)

Together, EA and BioWare have seen a lot of success with the Mass Effect franchise. The trilogy sold remarkably well and was a critical darling. Until Mass Effect: Andromeda, the last Mass Effect game released was Mass Effect 3 in 2012. All the waiting, all the excitement, and all of the hype around the newest game in the Mass Effect franchise led to...

A dud. Mass Effect: Andromeda has become one of the big jokes of 2017, unfortunately, and primarily so due to being mired with a look of inconsistency. The game isn't broken from a gameplay metric, thankfully, but it can definitely be argued that it was initially from a technical one. From its one-week-early release to EA Origin members, myriad clips, videos, and GIFs poked fun at a plethora of creepy and bizarre facial animations that brought up some serious uncanny valley imagery. Bugs, glitches, and freezes plagued Andromeda from its release as well, making the massively budgeted Mass Effect: Andromeda another tale of an AAA game that was too big of a production for its own good.

As a series now, Mass Effect is in a state of limbo as a result of the negative commercial and critical reception to Andromeda. It would be quite a shame to see a franchise that seemed to always be of high quality get put on a long hiatus because of just one game. Then again, as we've seen with studios closing and franchises ending, all it takes is one game in this era of the video games industry.

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite (PS4, XB1, PC)

With this next game on the edition of Most Disappointing Video Game Sequels, we finally leave EA alone and focus on Capcom. Well, Marvel and Capcom, to be exact. The latest game in the fabled fighting game crossover, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite released this past fall, and it has a lot of good parts to it. The new improvements to the core mechanics of the series, such as the updated means to tag in allies, meant new means in increasing combos and damage output. The addition of the Infinity Stones added some new ways of interacting with opposing fighters and incorporating differing strategies as well.

However, not all was well with the new Marvel vs. Capcom, as evident by Infinite being on a list of most disappointing video game sequels. The most obvious of issues plagued every trailer and screenshot of the game. It was its presentation, offering drab visuals, "off" character designs, and just a flat look to it -- completely spitting in the face of what past Marvel vs. Capcom games possessed, whether the sharp 2D visuals and animations in Marvel vs. Capcom 2, or even the most release, the gorgeous cel-shaded comic book graphics of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

Then, there was the starting roster that was just begging to be ripped to shreds by critics and fans alike. Notable omissions like the 20th Century Fox-owned characters and even those Marvel vs. Capcom characters that were present in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 but mysteriously absent from Infinite's roster also disappointed. Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite made for a package that was not hard to take a pass on at launch with its full MSRP, and it seems that many did just that according to Capcom's missed projected sales target for the game.

Star Fox Zero (Wii U)

Now this one hurts for me to add to this list. While I personally enjoyed Star Fox Zero on the Wii U, it's no question that many people couldn't get their heads around using both a TV screen and the Wii U GamePad for different viewing angles. With the TV, Fox McCloud's vehicle such as the flight-based Arwing was shown, and with the GamePad, the vehicle's line of sight could be altered in a way otherwise impossible with a standard control setup. You could physically (and slightly) move the Wii U GamePad to alter the aim of your Arwing, Landmaster, or what have you. No longer did you have to point the tip of your ship towards enemies. You could unleash missiles and laser fire on them even if they were off the TV screen, a difficult proposition in Star Fox 64.

However, in using such a complex control, movement, and aiming scheme, Nintendo and Platinum Games really isolated many players from having full enjoyment with Star Fox Zero. This led to not only poor critical and fan feedback but also less than stellar sales, and we're already talking about a game that released on the already struggling Wii U that was furthermore on its way out.

Thus, not only may the Star Fox series not get a new sequel in the near future due to low sales, but what we even got out of Star Fox Zero was yet another retelling of the original Star Fox's story. It was hardly uncharted territory for the series, and going through the same story meant that no major new plot threads were expanded on. Now, we'll have to hope Shigeru Miyamoto and whomever else at Nintendo have a will to continue on with the series. So while I might have enjoyed Star Fox Zero personally, it wasn't worth taking on a brand-new, highly controversial control scheme to put the series' future in possible jeopardy.

Mega Man X7 (PS2)

One thing you can count on with the classic Mega Man series is that each entry is of assured quality. Sure, I might have my reservations with Mega Man 9's penchant for throwing spikes and pits everywhere as a means to make the game more difficult in a cheaper way, but all in all, the series is consistent in quality. I wish I could say the same about Mega Man X. That's a sub-series of games that I prefer over classic Mega Man, but it also has two stinkers in the bunch. I'm going to focus on X's jump into the third dimension and the PlayStation 2 generation with Mega Man X7.

X7 is a project of poor design and even worse execution. It attempted to bring the Mega Man X series from 2D to 3D, and in using both as the design foundation, it failed at doing either competently. In 2D sections, the gameplay and level design are substandard compared to the fluidity and placement of objects, enemies, and obstacles in the traditional sprite-based Mega Man X games. Meanwhile, the 3D portions are harmed by a wonky camera, the same camera that isn't serviceable enough to make the transition between 2D and 3D segments of levels without some hangups.

Then, there's the fact that the titular character isn't even available right from the start. You actually have to unlock X as a playable character, instead using a duo of Zero and newcomer Axl, who got bombarded with hate for taking X's place early on in the game, as well as being associated with the "Mega Man X7" name in the first place. It's commendable that Capcom tried to do something new with the Mega Man X sub-series, but the company wouldn't find a better solution until the game installment after.

Bomberman: Act Zero (360)

Sometimes trying new things with old franchises is good. Sometimes it's not. Definitely not. When you try to take a colorful cartoon mascot like Bomberman and turn him into a mature character meant to excite edgy teens or whoever, the end result is Bomberman: Act Zero, rated "T" for "Totally idiotic." Retro gaming fans know all about the world and characters of the Bomberman series: cute animals, explosive gameplay, terrific multiplayer, tight controls, dystopian future, dark hero with realistic proportions... Wait. What the heck did you folks do to Bomberman!?

"Negative" is almost too kind to describe what people who played Bomberman: Act Zero actually thought of the game. With load times long enough to write a comprehensive list of better Bomberman games you could playing at the moment instead of Act Zero, solid characters and objects that can pass through one another with no regard for collision detection, repetitive textures that make being stuck in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean looking at vast amounts of water seem more exciting, AI that is too good in one moment and just plain awful the next, and the inability to save your progress -- as if Konami was laughing at you for wasting your time on its game -- and you have a Bomberman game that was a total misfire. It was on a console where Konami perhaps thought maybe a Bomberman title could work if the game completely stripped itself of its own identity and followed the dark, gritty nonsense of the time. Thank goodness that Xbox 360 owners still had Bomberman Live!

The Most Disappointing Video Game Sequels - Part Three

There are plenty of bad feelings in this world that are far worse than stuff in the gaming world -- stubbing your toe, rear-ending the driver in front of you with your car, texting a sexual message to your mom or dad instead of your girlfriend or boyfriend, etc. In the gaming world, there are some bad feelings as well. For one, being excited and greatly anticipating the sequel to one of your favorite games only for it to simply and completely suck. It especially hurts if it's a game that has been long in development.

That's what The Most Disappointing Video Game Sequels series of articles talks about, and now we've arrived at Part Three! To read up on the twelve sequels discussed in past entries, look no further than these links:

Part One
Part Two

Duke Nukem Forever (Multi)

Let's make one thing perfectly clear here: I'm here to bash on the worst video game sequels and chew bubblegum, and guess what -- I'm all outta bubblegum. We begin this edition of The Most Disappointing Video Game Sequels with perhaps the most disappointing video game sequel of them all, if purely for how long in development this starting game on this edition was, and just how horrible it ended up being.

That game is none other than Duke Nukem Forever, a game that was in development for over 15 years, rightfully earning its one-time moniker as complete and utter vaporware. And what did the 15 years of on and off again development bring players with the final product? Why, awful loading times, repugnant visuals, lackluster controls that made players think Duke was perpetually wandering around in a pool of feces, humor that was so awful that it makes my jokes here on SuperPhillip Central sound like winners in comparison, and design that may have worked fine in a world when the game originally started development but not when in modern-day. Duke Nukem Forever is a game that will always be one of the most disappointing sequels in gaming history... and probably forever, ironically enough.

Assassin's Creed: Unity (Multi)

When you end up having to create a formal apology to both fans and consumers about the quality of one of your biggest releases of the year, you know you've messed up somewhere along the way. But that's exactly what publisher Ubisoft needed to do after the horrific launch of Assassin's Creed: Unity, chiming in a new generation of Assassin's Creed games on new hardware. The most egregious of these launch problems was the almost disturbing graphical bugs and glitches, turning many character models into the stuff nightmares are made of.

While the gameplay was worthwhile in Unity, it didn't do enough to distinguish itself from past games, leaving a "been there, done that" feel to players. Despite the gameplay lacking a significance of new gameplay types, Unity was still worse in the gameplay department thanks to controls that didn't have enough time in the proverbial oven, granting an unsatisfying feeling in controlling Arno Victor Dorian, the main character of the solo campaign. Thus, with all of these problematic troubles with the game, Assassin's Creed: Unity just might be the most disappointing sequel within the whole Assassin's Creed franchise.

Street Fighter V (PS4, PC)

Street Fighter V appeared on both the PlayStation 4 as a home console-exclusive as well as PC. The main selling point: the intricate battle mechanics, combos, and in-your-face fighting antics were all present and accounted for at launch. However, what wasn't, and was something that doomed the game right out of the gate, was Street Fighter V's lack of substantial content, especially for solo players. This was so obvious of a fault that Capcom's Yoshinoro Ono even admitted that the company didn't release a complete game to put on the market. Combined with server issues at release, and Capcom and Street Fighter V had some serious problems to solve with the game.

Unfortunately, the problems didn't end there for Capcom and Street Fighter V either. Subsequent DLC such as stages, characters, and costumes were deemed too expensive for the market, showing off another one of Capcom's own inadequacies with the game and reading the current market. These overarching issues from Street Fighter V have led to certain gamers and the press anticipating Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite to be a bit more hesitant in jumping in on next week's launch for the crossover fighter. Nonetheless, there's nobody else to blame for this hesitation than Capcom itself.

Resident Evil 6 (Multi)

We go from one major tentpole Capcom release to another with a cornerstone in the survival horror genre of video games, the Resident Evil series. Nonetheless, Resident Evil 6 was an entry that tried to do too much, and in doing so, almost ruined the series altogether because of it. While skin-deep aspects of the game like the story and visuals were highly regarded by critics, everything else went off the deep end.

Resident Evil 6 consisted of four major campaigns, each featuring a prolific member of the Resident Evil mythos (well, except newcomer Jake Muller, of course, but he did have a tie to series villain Albert Wesker). Each campaign offered a different type of experience, whether the total action of Chris Redfield's, the best survival horror experience in the game with Leon S. Kennedy's, and the greatest combination of action and survival horror with Ada Wong's campaign.

The biggest issue with the game -- which obviously didn't bother too many perspective purchasers since Resident Evil 6 would go on to sell upwards of 9 million copies worldwide -- was that it pretty much planted itself firmly far away from the series' survival horror roots. This became such as a pronounced issue among critics and players that the next installment of the series, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, would return Resident Evil back into its original survival horror identity without question.

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (360)

Our next game takes us back to the last generation of game consoles, particularly the Xbox 360 in this instance. Unlike most of the games featured in this segment, the disappointment players experienced from Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts had nothing to do with it being a bad game, a glitch-fest, or the game lacking any semblance of content. In fact, Nuts & Bolts had none of those problem. No, instead of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts being a bad game, it was just a bad Banjo game.

The Banjo-Kazooie series has always been about 3D platforming with a heavy focus on exploration rather than pure running and jumping like, say, Super Mario 64. The original Banjo-Kazooie remains one of my favorite games of all time, and it was a game that sparked the imagination of millions of players who grew up with the game. Hence, the heavy support towards the Banjo-Kazooie-like Yooka-Laylee when it was being Kickstarted.

With the Xbox 360, players yearned to see several Rare IP get iterations on the Xbox 360. However, with Banjo-Kazooie, this was more of a monkey's paw wish. Sure, we got a new Banjo-Kazooie, but its gameplay style had nothing at all to do with why fans fell in love with the bear and bird duo. What was once a series focused on running, jumping, and exploring complicated environments turned into an Xbox 360 game featuring creating vehicles, solving challenges, and traveling through sparse worlds with little to do in them (except the hub world of Showdown Town, that is). Again, while Nuts & Bolts turned out to be a fun and great game, the arrival of Banjo-Kazooie on the Xbox 360 was sullied by the game not being what fans were expecting at all.

Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash (Wii U)

The Mario Tennis series had already seen a decline in quality. The Nintendo 3DS entry used a dismissed Simon Says-like chance shot mechanic. This forced players to move to where the ball was landing on their side of the court and hit the ball with a specific shot to inflict maximum velocity on the ball towards your opponent's half of the court. While I didn't mind this as much as other critics, I still yearned for a Mario Tennis game anywhere as awesome as the Nintendo 64 original, the Game Boy Color and then Advance entries, and the GameCube iteration of the series.

Instead, what Wii U owners got was Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash which delivered traditional tennis as well as the returning chance shot mode of the 3DS's Mario Tennis Open. The gameplay was one of the Mario Tennis franchise's best; it was everything else that failed to impress. The most striking aspect was just how content-barren the game was, featuring only one stadium with differing court types, limited modes, limited characters, and just a limited amount of replayability and longevity. Ultra Smash was released near the end of the Wii U's life cycle, which made it apparent that this was just a game to throw a bone to starved Wii U owners. Out of bounds, Nintendo. Out of bounds.

The Most Disappointing Video Game Sequels - Part One

We all have them-- games we very much enjoyed but then their sequels came up short in some way. The six games featured on this inaugural edition of The Most Disappointing Video Game Sequels fit the bill precisely. Now, they might not be bad games by any stretch of the imagination (though, some definitely are), but they did have to disappoint in some aspect of the game. Maybe they weren't as fun or creative as their predecessors, were rushed out to market, or some other reason. After scoping out and reading through SuperPhillip Central's picks, feel free to bring up those sequels that you wish turned out better than they actually did.

Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3, 360, PC)

One of the times that critical acclaim and its Metacritic score just bewilder the hell out of me, Grand Theft Auto IV was a massive disappointment compared to the PS2 and Xbox's San Andreas. For one, IV lacked so many features that were present in San Andreas, some due to GTA IV's greater focus on realism over actual fun. The handling of cars felt extremely wonky in IV, the mission variety was limited at best and boring at worst, the almost complete lack of customization was highly disappointing, the map was all city and too segmented to be enjoyable, and the abundance of annoying phone calls by people who wanted to hang out were tedious to respond to. Perhaps if just taken as an open world game and not comparing it to past GTA games, Grand Theft Auto IV wouldn't have chafed my opinion on it so much, but as it is, GTA IV was a tremendous disappointment which would be thankfully remedied with Grand Theft Auto V's variety, customization, and more.

Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, 360, PC)

The structure of Final Fantasy XIII confuses me as a player and someone interested in game design. Generally, a game starts out with open expanses and then when budget constraints eventually come in, the game becomes much more linear in design to make up for lack of funds near the end of development. With Final Fantasy XIII, the opposite happened design-wise. The first half of the game is devised up of extremely linear dungeons and areas that occasionally fork (and that's being generous) for a side path to get some treasure. The second half, however, is very much wide open once Lightning and companions reach Gran Pulse. Instead of leading with the game's best foot forward, Final Fantasy XIII forced players to agonize through boring, linear dungeons before getting to the real meat of the game. For many, the multiple chapters of doing this made for quite a sense of tedium. Yes, XIII is as beautiful as any other Final Fantasy game has an enjoyable battle system, but those alone do not make a great RPG. The entire package does, which Final Fantasy XIII did not reach its full potential.

Devil May Cry 2 (PS2) 

As we've seen already, a game can be a disappointment to some and still perform fantastically commercially. That was indeed the case with Capcom's Devil May Cry 2, but for many fans of the original and the series in general, Devil May Cry 2 is seen as the weakest game of the Japanese-developed entries in the franchise. Between weapons that seemed to have zero major differences between them and bosses that required little to no strategy, the overall difficulty of Devil May Cry 2 was made much easier, which ruffled the feathers of many a player. Levels went for more of an open approach, sacrificing graphical fidelity in the process, which also made the level designs not as compelling to play through,  Then, there is Dante's total change of personality, which made many miss his cocky demeanor from the first game. With all these problems, Devil May Cry 2 wasn't as an enjoyable sequel for many Devil May Cry fans with some even calling the game a total failure. Thankfully, Devil May Cry 3 very much righted the ship for the franchise-- well, before it went off course again with Ninja Theory's entry.

Perfect Dark Zero (360)

This game, a launch title for the Xbox 360, is one example that shows that a game can still be enjoyable despite it not living up to its predecessor. Indeed, Perfect Dark Zero is an example of a disappointing sequel when compared to the original Perfect Dark, a Nintendo 64 classic that would get its definitive version on Xbox Live Arcade. The original PD is one of my favorite FPS shooters ever made, so to go from that to Perfect Dark Zero was quite the gut check. While the multiplayer and gunplay were rather good, things like the campaign, the story, and especially the horrendous voice acting (Americanizing Joanna Dark and performing some revisionist history on the series were not good moves in my opinion) made for a game that didn't come close to reaching the same highs as the Nintendo 64 classic. While I wouldn't call Perfect Dark Zero a bad game per se, it was, in fact, a poor sequel and huge disappointment coming off of the greatness that was the original Perfect Dark.

Mega Man X6 (PS1)

The first of the Mega Man X series that was truly terrible, Mega Man X6 seemed rushed out of the gate, releasing close to a year from X5, if not less. I remember seeing Mega Man X6 on a store's shelf wondering to myself, "When the heck was THIS announced?!" Regardless, Mega Man X5 was supposed to be the conclusion of the X series, and maybe it should have been considering how poor X6 and then the attempt to bring the series to 3D with X7 were. (Though, X8 was of a considerably greater quality, thankfully.) Between the poor level design (such as facing a mini-boss in Blaze Heatnix's stage no less than 5-6 times in one go), awfully implemented Nightmare System which randomized certain elements of levels to lame effect, and the worthlessness of most of X's weapons, and you have a game that started the X series' slide into mediocrity, one that, again, would not be rectified until Mega Man X8.

Animal Crossing: City Folk (Wii)

The Wii's Animal Crossing: City Folk gives us an example in a sequel that is pretty good as a game by its lonesome, but as a sequel it's not much improved at all. City Folk released a couple of years after the Nintendo DS's Animal Crossing: Wild World, and in essence, City Folk is just Wild World on a console with better graphics and a city thrown in. That's pretty much it. Well, don't forget the privilege of paying full price for Wild World 2.0. Not only a disappointment for veterans of the series for how little was improved from past games, but it was a disappointment in 2008 being Nintendo of America's table scraps for more dedicated gamers that holiday season when the focus was on Wii Music. That said, if you've never played an Animal Crossing game before, then City Folk wouldn't be disappointing at all. It's just putting it in a specific context where it does end up being less than amazing.