what do you think is the best numbered entry in most games?

[TheObscureGamer]

To me it would be without a doubt 3.I mean you have Tekken 3,Mario 3,Guitar Hero 3,Zelda 3(Link To The Past),Devil May Cry 3, Tony hawk's Pro Skater 3,(an unpopular opinion but) Mario Kart Double Dash!! amongst other games.So what do you think is the best numbered entry in most games?

[Rybags]

You might be onto something there. Add Puzzle Bobble 3 to the list, IMO by far the best of the first 4 in the series.

 

Can't quite say the same for plenty of movie series though:

- Lethal Weapon 3, a bit piss-poor vs 1 and 2 but overshadowed by the fact LW 4 is even worse.

- Mad Max 3: Thunderdome. Most of the good parts of that movie are just rehashes of parts of chase scenes in MM 2: Road Warrior.

- Star Wars: either way you look at it, Episode 3 or Episode 6 (3rd released). I'd put Ep 6 in front by a matter of millimetres but both are well behind Ep 4 and 5, though much more bearable than 1 and 2.

- Police Academy 3: 1 and 2 were actually pretty good movies. 3 marks the start of the decline, IMO everything after that is a disaster to be avoided.

- Star Trek 3: With TOS based ST movies at least, the even/odd theory applies with the odd numbered ones generally falling way behind the even ones.

Edited March 14, 2015 by Rybags

[godslabrat]

I would tend to think the second game was the one that really hits it home. It refines the formula without getting derivative. Mortal Kombat II, Mega Man II, Dragon Warrior II, Double Dragon II.

 

The third game is always a mixed bag. It might knock the series out of the park (SMB3) or it might be a sign that the series is going in the wrong direction (Ninja Gaiden III, Double Dragon III).

[BillyHW]

Street Fighter II. Mega Man 2. Mortal Kombat II. Civilization II. Streets of Rage 2. Pitstop 2. Final Fantasy II.

 

Does Ms. Pac-Man count?

Edited March 14, 2015 by BillyHW

[Rybags]

The GCC and Bally/Midway Pacman games aren't really part of the series - though that said, Ms and Jr are much better games than the original.

 

IMO Pacman was flogged to death, it was pushed well beyond it's usefullness but you could say the same for a lot of the Mario games too.

[+chicgamer]

I'm with those who are for the second game in a series, since at least three of my favorite games of all time fall into that category: Streets of Rage 2, Phantasy Star 2, and Silent Hill 2. For me, it also holds true with Golden Axe, whether we're talking about the arcade (Revenge of Death Adder) or the Genesis/Mega Drive sequel.

[Reaperman]

I can't think of a single bad game ending in '2084.'

'98' has its ups and downs but is a generally safe number.

I find most games ending in '2000' or '64' to be best avoided.

Your mileage may vary.

 

I also come from the school of thinking that understands the value of adding the word 'super' to the front of the title. Those games are always way better than the non-super sequels.

Edited March 14, 2015 by Reaperman

[Rhomaios]

I can't think of a single bad game ending in '2084.'

QFT.

[jhd]

Final Fantasy is perhaps an exception as most titles do not get so many numbered "sequels".

 

I'm especially partial to 7 and 12; 3 was the only # of 1-12 not playable on a PS 2.

[Nebulon]

That's a tough one. From my own experience, the second installment is usually as good, if not a bit better:

 

- Defender II

- Mr. Do's Castle (pretty much a tie with the original)

- Discs of TRON (again, I love 'em both)

- Frenzy (I really do prefer it over Berzerk)

- Time Pilot '84 (both are great)

- Space Quest II

- Double Dragon II

- Mech Warrior II

- Mech Assault II

- Street Fighter II

- Impossible Mission II

- Donkey Kong Jr.

- Ms. Pac-Man

- Pole Position II

- Questron II

- RoboCOD (James Pond 2)

- Galaga (if Galaga is the second chapter to Galaxian)

- Gauntlet II (although the first is awesome as well)

- Bioshock 2

- Modern Warfare 2

 

Of course, there are exceptions, like the very disappointing Joust 2 and Thexder: Firehawk.

Edited March 23, 2015 by Nebulon

[CGQuarterly]

Streets of Rage 2.

 

/thread

[moodorf]

For me personally I'd say 3. For two reasons:

 

1. If a series makes it to #3, it's probably popular and usually that means there's something appealing about it. Unless it's Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle.

2. Most games are changed/altered for the 2nd game, and the game's devs can learn from those alterations. They know what to tweak slightly (or drastically) and what to leave alone. If the 2nd game is more popular than the first then usually they make further adjustments, however if the 2nd game gets less praise they often make the 3rd one closer to the original.

 

Silent Hill 3

SMB3

Fallout 3

Twisted Metal 3

Duke Nukem 3D

Call of Duty 3 (when CoD was still cool)

Contra III (as good as the original imho)

Mega Man 3

Edited March 29, 2015 by moodorf