Game Sequels That Are Better Played As Standalone Titles

Video game sequels always give you a way to return to one of your favorite worlds. Sometimes, the sequel will explore a different part of a familiar place, while other times, it expands on the story of characters you know and love. However, there are some titles that don’t do their series justice or take the gameplay in a different direction entirely.

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These are the games that are better when they don’t have the expectations of the series weighing them down. While some may say these were bad games within their series or that they are odd when compared side to side, having them become standalone titles shows off that these games do in fact work on their own.

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Dark Souls 2: Scholar Of The First Sin

A Seemingly Disconnected Sequel

Dark Souls 1 and 3 have a more direct connection to each other than the second game. However, Dark Souls 2 encompasses the entire cycle of the series’ story into one seemingly unrelated game.

What really ties everything together is the item descriptions, souls, bosses, and story beats. Take it all away and Dark Souls 2 stands on its own, despite not having the smoothest combat that the series has to offer. Dark Souls 2 may not be the best Dark Souls game, but it has a special place in the hearts of many fans due to its unique story and range of level design, making it a good choice as a standalone experience.

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Resident Evil 6

A Resident Evil Unlike The Rest Of The Series

Resident Evil 6 signaled the series’ full departure from its survival horror roots into the action horror genre. With a lack of challenging puzzles and plenty of monsters to shoot at, it no longer felt like Resident Evil anymore.

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However, without having to carry the legacy of the series on its back, Resident Evil 6 is not a bad game at all. It has more action than a Michael Bay movie, with helicopter crashes, explosions, and a vast array of finishing moves you can perform by tackling stunned enemies.

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Dead Rising 4

A Festive Game Better Off On Its Own

Dead Rising 4 did away with Frank’s character development, the psychopath boss formula, and plenty of other staples of the Dead Rising series. However, even bad games have some silver linings. In this case, there are plenty of zombies to hack and slash your way through and a snowy ambiance perfect for the holidays.

You also have a good variety of combo weapons to create that can be festive or destructive year-round. As much of the distaste comes from the fact that it is supposed to be a Dead Rising game, you can disconnect it from the series and enjoy it for what it is rather than what it could have been.

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Super Mario Bros. 2

It Was A Stand Alone All Along

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Super Mario Bros. 2

Systems

Platform(s)

Nintendo Entertainment System
, SNES

Released

September 1, 1988

Developer(s)

Nintendo EAD

ESRB

e

Super Mario Bros. 2 is one of the strangest mainline Mario games of all time. For starters, jumping on enemies doesn’t do anything. Instead, you need to pick them up and throw them. You can also choose between four different characters that each have their unique abilities.

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However, Super Mario Bros 2 can work as a standalone game because it originally was. Enter Doki Panic, the original title underneath the Mario paint. While having plenty of influence on Mario as a whole, it also serves as a standalone game not tied to any series.

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Zelda 2: The Adventure Of Link

A Fun But Unique Experience

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Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Systems

Released

December 1, 1988

Developer(s)

Nintendo R&D4

ESRB

E For Everyone Due To Mild Fantasy Violence

When it comes to strange Zelda games, Zelda 2 takes the cake. This game acts as more of an RPG than any of the other Zelda games that came afterward. Link travels from town to town while having encounters on the overworld with enemy mobs.

This triggers a sidescrolling minigame where you need to exit the encounter by traveling towards the edge of the screen. Killing monsters rewards you with XP, which helps you level up and strengthen Link. This style of gameplay has never been recreated in another Zelda game since, making this an entry that could stand on its own if it were to be disconnected from the series.

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Call Of Duty: Infinite Warfare

When Call Of Duty Became Star Wars

There was an era between 2012 and 2016 where Call of Duty started ditching the historical and modern setting for a more futuristic vision. This eventually culminated in 2016’s title, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare to ditch Earth entirely in favor of taking war to the stars.

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With zero-gravity gameplay, jetpacks, and laser guns, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare looks nothing like any Call of Duty game before it or ever since. It’s also the first to let you have dogfights in space during the campaign. Looking back reveals that the game is a solid title, but not one that needed to be connected to Call of Duty as a whole.

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Titanfall 2

Watching Them Fall From The Sky

Titanfall 2 is the sequel to one of the coolest first-person shooters to come out during the Xbox One era. It also made many changes to the formula, such as adding more variety to the Titan classes, new maps, and even a campaign.

Titanfall 2 makes the original game feel like an unfinished title to the point where the sequel is better off as the standalone game to kickstart the series. Titan classes allow you to choose between bulky but heavily protected Titans or smaller ones that are faster to get around in. It simply does everything better.

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The Last Of Us Part 2

A Sequel With No Limits

Systems

Released

June 19, 2020

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs

What makes a game mature? Is it its ability to make a player think or does it simply mean making the title as dark as possible? The Last of Us Part 2 follows up on Joel and Ellie’s journey after escaping from the Fireflies, with Joel dying and Ellie going on a quest for revenge.

However, it also does plenty to rewrite what many players enjoyed about the first game, such as the complexity of Joel’s decision to save Ellie and the shift towards focusing on a new character. This is one game that might have been better received had it been a standalone title and allowed to experiment with fresh characters.

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