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View Full Version : A good series never seems to last long. (Retro games)


Drakul
11-14-2008, 10:32 AM
Replying to BDCs thread on favourite games, I metioned Populous: The Beginning.
This reminded me about something I've been meaning to ask for a while.

Why does a good series just stop but the series that is far inferior continue?

Populous: The Beginning was excellent and to this day I love having a crack at it every now and again. I'm looking at the case right now, probably going to try installing it after this post.

I'm not sure how well it sold but it's just such a fun game that's easy to get to grips with and gives a real challenge after the first few stages. Yet, it was stopped and I have no clue why.
I can only imagin how amazing they could make it these days with all the power consoles and PCs have now. Online tribal battles, zooming in to ground level and out to a planetery view not to mention the amount of trees, wildlife, structures, warrior types and spells they could add in. Imagin having hundreds of warriors battling it out while you toss in fireballs and summon Angels of Death. They could even throw in an option for voice activated spells.
Place the cursor on the target and say "Taratunga!" or whatever and boom, lightening strikes. It's just sad that this series died.

On top of that, Zombies Ate My Neighbours and Maniac Mansion were both awesome. I know ZAMN had a sequal that was apparantly poor but I never played it. Never played the MM sequel either but surely both those series' were good enough (or at least, the originals were) to have them continue or be brought back. When EA and other companies bring out sub-par games and 12 months later release a sequal thats "better" for some, usually small, reason, why can't genuinely interesting series' carry on?

I guess it can be down to taste but, from my view point, it just seems a bit unfair and pretty typical that the good things end first. Don't get me wrong there are ALOT of five star series' out there but there are just as many excellent ones that ended far far too soon.

#BROKEN Hasney
11-14-2008, 11:33 AM
EA bought out Bullfrog and Peter Molineux left. EA had no desire to continue with Populous, and they had the rights to it.

Which is why Black & White was made for a god game.

jcmoorehead
11-14-2008, 11:40 AM
Speaking of Bullfrog/EA how about Syndicate too?

BigDaddyCool
11-14-2008, 11:42 AM
It kinda pissed me off when EA bought out bullfrog because Bullfrog's Theme series was the main compition for Maxis's Sim series. I miss Simcity, that was an awesome game. The new SimCity, that SimCity Societies, just isn't the same.

Well at least Microsoft's Tycoon series is kinda picking up where the Sim and Theme series left off.

#BROKEN Hasney
11-14-2008, 11:45 AM
Speaking of Bullfrog/EA how about Syndicate too?

<a href=http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/19/rumor-ea-has-starbreeze-working-on-new-syndicate/>Rumor: EA has Starbreeze working on new Syndicate</a>

BigDaddyCool
11-14-2008, 11:59 AM
I kinda hate how Sim games (not limited to the Sims, including them and City, Earth, Tower, ect) now have a cuties cartoon feel to them. I miss the retro-realistic feel.

Kane Knight
11-14-2008, 12:10 PM
I still can't believe we're on Final Fantasy 13 or whatever and Skies of Arcadia didn't even get a sequel. Not to mention the ass-tastic Tales series.

BigDaddyCool
11-14-2008, 12:16 PM
Techincally isn't it Final Fantasy 14 because like 11 or 12 had a sequal?

BigDaddyCool
11-14-2008, 12:17 PM
Sorry, check it out, Final Fantasy 10 had a sequal, which blows my mind.

Kane Knight
11-14-2008, 07:18 PM
There have been a million spinoffs now, too. Most of them from FFVII.

El Fangel
11-14-2008, 07:30 PM
How the fuck did Legend of Dragoon not get a sequel?

Funky Fly
11-14-2008, 07:43 PM
the ass-tastic Tales series.

No, you din't :foc:

El Fangel
11-14-2008, 07:45 PM
Final Fantasy got progressively worse since Final Fantasy VII

Kalyx triaD
11-14-2008, 07:59 PM
Power Stone 2, one of the most fun four player fighters ever - never got a sequel. Just a port on PSP of all things. Power Stone 3, with more stages and characters, would be a must buy.

And on Final Fantasy: the series has a unique aesthetic in that each game is not trying to top the previous entry or even beat peer J-RPGs of that release cycle. Final Fantasy just continues with separate stories and play systems, more art house-y "let's see what we can do now" than a typical game series. Ofcourse, the industry bug eventually hit the series with its first 'sequel' in FFX-2 and numerous FF7 spin-offs of debatable quality - a trend that will appear to continue with Square-Enix flatout saying that FF13 will have multiple entries within its Fabula Crystalis thing. So while I understand how people can see the FF series as stale, I respect its nature and look forward to 13 and 13-Versus.

LoDownM
11-14-2008, 08:06 PM
How the fuck did Legend of Dragoon not get a sequel?

I know they kinda wrapped everything up at the end, but shit, they coulda done a sequel that took place back during the war with the dragons or whatever it was against. Wayyy to long ago to remember.

LoDownM
11-14-2008, 08:12 PM
I Skies of Arcadia didn't even get a sequel.

I agree with KK. Such an amazing game.

U-Warrior
11-14-2008, 09:34 PM
Psi-ops really needs a sequel bad.

Big Fat Mike
11-14-2008, 10:48 PM
Final fantasy VII wasn't the turning point. FF games began being shitty after the mover from 16 bit to 32 bit systems.

I agree wholeheartedly about skies of arcadia. What a fucking tragedy.

Also, there have been like 14 FF games since 1995. Why the fuck has there only been 1 in the Chrono Trigger series? And Chrono Cross wasn't even that good. Fuck.

Kane Knight
11-15-2008, 12:27 AM
No, you din't :foc:Aw Hell Yeah, biyoch. It's on!

Also, Day of Reckoning was a solid gaming engine that was probably the best since No Mercy. Alll they needed to do was pump up the features and release it on a next gen system, and it would have been the goods.

I'm trying to think of other games that really should have had sequels or series that should see some more love.

Funky Fly
11-15-2008, 12:35 AM
DoR 2 was kinda broken, tho. Broken load times and freezing in some 4 player matches with all CAW combatants. Also, some CAWs had weird pixel crap on them in their intros. Plus, they actually took out more than they put in as far as CAW parts.

I really think that if they tried they could have fused the best of SvR and DoR into the ultimate 3D wrestling game.

.44 Magdalene
11-15-2008, 07:41 AM
Blackthorne

.44 Magdalene
11-15-2008, 07:41 AM
Motherfucker could shoot backwards

Kane Knight
11-15-2008, 11:33 AM
DoR 2 was kinda broken, tho. Broken load times and freezing in some 4 player matches with all CAW combatants. Also, some CAWs had weird pixel crap on them in their intros. Plus, they actually took out more than they put in as far as CAW parts.

I really think that if they tried they could have fused the best of SvR and DoR into the ultimate 3D wrestling game.

Indifferent Clox
11-17-2008, 04:26 PM
maniac mansion's sequel is amazing and way better than the original even. omg