It’s already rare to see a movie franchise with only one good film, but it’s even rarer to see a video game series with only one good instalment. Even with a lot of series, a sequel is typically good on its own, even if it’s inferior to the original.
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However, there are cases where all the other games are just flat-out bad, and only one title is worth playing. It’s not always the original game, either, as sometimes it’s the latest instalment that finally got it right. After all, high game sales don’t equate to a good title.
8
Siren
Third Time’s The Charm
After leaving Konami, Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama made Siren, a first-party PlayStation-exclusive horror series by the non-defunct Sony Japan Studio. The first Siren in 2003 had a lot of promise, but it was a big disappointment. The game design itself was broken, focusing too much on cryptic puzzles that required a guide. Sure, Silent Hill had tough puzzles, but they were doable, at least.
The sequel Forbidden Siren 2 wasn’t much better and didn’t even release in North America. Siren: Blood Curse on the PS3 was when the series got good. A fantastic full-blown remake of the original; it played so well, being a mix of traditional survival horror and the more stealth-focused ones, and it was terrifying. Too bad, most didn’t play then as it was a US digital-only PS3 game in 2008.
7
Zone Of The Enders
One Of The Greatest Video Game Sequels Of All Time
In a perfect world, games like The Callisto Protocol and Slitterhead should get sequels, as you can take what worked in the original title and expand it to create a fantastic game. Look at Zone of the Enders. The original game felt more like a proof of concept than a finalized vision and was completely forgettable. It only sold like gangbusters because it came with the Metal Gear Solid 2 demo.
The GBA spin-off wasn’t very good either, but Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner ended up being one of the greatest action games of all time. The series slogan, “High Speed Robot Action,” describes Zoe 2 perfectly as it’s one of the fastest action games you’ll ever play. It’s so exhilarating, and the action game rush here is something very few titles duplicate.
6
Parasite Eve
You Can’t Beat The Original
One of the greatest RPGs on the PS1 has to be Parasite Eve, and that’s saying something considering the PS1’s stellar RPG catalog. While many consider it a survival horror RPG, it’s frankly just an RPG but horror-themed. There’s nothing wrong with that because the original title has a fantastic battle system, a great story, and awesome characters.
Parasite Eve 2, on the other hand, basically threw away everything that worked in the original to make a bad Resident Evil clone. The 3rd Birthday was released on the PSP and offered some fun action gameplay, but the story ruined the entire experience and ruined Aya as a protagonist. Only the first game is worth your time.
5
Onechanbara
Saving The Best For Last
Onechanbara started as shovelware Japanese PlayStation 2 games until the third title was released in the US on the Xbox 360. Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad was horrible and incredibly repetitive for an action game. It was marketed largely on its T&A, like Dead or Alive Xtreme, but at least that game has fun minigames and funny English voice acting. There was a sequel on the Wii, which was more of the same but with motion controls.
The latest instalment in the franchise did release in the US, and Onechanbara Z2: Chaos managed to do the impossible. Tamsoft actually made the game fun. For once, the combat was pretty solid and remained enjoyable throughout the entire time playing. Z2: Chaos isn’t anything great, but it’s recommended if you can get it for cheap, for a fun, good action game experience.
4
Perfect Dark
Only One Perfect Game
While the upcoming Perfect Dark reboot looks incredibly promising, for now, Perfect Dark only has one game you need to play. The original N64 title is the spiritual successor to GoldenEye 007, and it’s one of the best FPS games ever made. The jam-packed single-player campaign has so much replay value and tools to play with that it results in a game you replay every year or so, akin to Resident Evil 4.
There was a Game Boy Color spin-off that wasn’t great, like most of Rare’s handheld catalog, but an actual second instalment came in 2005 with Perfect Dark Zero. Zero had effectively nothing that made the original so great. The gunplay felt bad, the movement was sluggish, the single-player was way too hard, and the prequel story here just didn’t need to be told.
3
Conker
Another Bad Game Boy Game And Sequel
You may think Conker only had one game, but you’d be wrong. Conker’s Bad Fur Day, the incredible comedy-focused platformer released on the N64, was actually the second Conker game to release. The first one was Conker’s Pocket Tales on the Game Boy Color, a very bad top-down view adventure game that’ll have most players quitting within minutes. There was also a sequel to Bad Fur Day, well, kind of.
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That game was Conker’s Big Reunion, an episodic title within Project Spark. Only the first episode was released, with the rest being cancelled, and the game itself was a Metal Gear Survive-level betrayal that’ll make any Conker fan fuming. Most have forgotten about this game, and that’s for the best.
2
Red Steel
Ubisoft’s Wii Action Game Duo
Who can’t forget the amazing marketing campaign for the launch of the Wii? Nintendo representatives came to houses and said, “Wii would like to play,” followed by sweet gameplay. One of those titles shown was supposed to be a killer app for the console: Red Steel. An action game with motion-controlled shooting and sword combat, it had a lot of people excited, only to be followed by disappointment.
The motion controls didn’t feel good in the slightest like many hoped for. The sequel, on the other hand, killed it. Red Steel 2 not only had far better graphics using cel-shading, a preferred art style for the Wii, but has far superior motion controls using Wii MotionPlus. It plays so much better than the original and remains one of the Wii’s best action games.
1
Rage
A Series That Shouldn’t Have Been
The original Rage was a technical marvel at release. The graphics and environments looked really good, and even the character animations were far above anything in the FPS genre at the time. It was also an open-world FPS title with many areas to go to, but it still contained traditional levels, a structure fresh in 2011. Even though it’s far from perfect, Rage 1 remains fun to play.
The unnecessary 2019 sequel, however, was a total dud. In 2019, there were so many games like Rage, with its visual look and structure, that the uniqueness is completely gone in Rage 2. The visuals and animation quality were noticeably worse, and the game’s criminally short compared to the original, which had a beefy single-player campaign with tons of levels.
