Weird 2

[phediuk]

www.hardcoregaming101.net/weird-2-dark-age-of-jrpgs/

This entry observes that there doesn't appear to be a Weird 1. This is, oddly enough, not the only example of a game with a "2" in the title that isn't actually a sequel to anything. In addition to the noted Metal Soldier Isaac II, other examples include the following:

Power Punch II for the NES: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Punch_II  (it was supposed to be a Punch-Out sequel but they couldn't get the rights)

Anubis II for the Wii: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anubis_II

Sprint 2 (arcade): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprint_2 (because it's 2-player)

Arcy 2 for DOS: www.mobygames.com/game/arcy-2

The title screen of Apidya (Amiga) throws in a gratuitous II: www.lemonamiga.com/?game_id=1191

And there's at least one "3" example with Fury3: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fury3 (probably supposed to indicate "cubed", i.e., 3D)

and I know there's more where those came from.

[dsparil]

You would think Fury³ is the sequel to Hellbender with Terminal Velocity as the first game, but it's Terminal Velocity, Fury³ then Hellbender with TV being not officially related (different publishers).

[blackdrazon]

I feel like I should know another game with a "2" that isn't a sequel to anything, but failing that, I'll come up with some print examples, like the debut of Captain Marvel in Whiz Comics #2 (#1 basically does not exist) or the confounding history behind Gary Gygax's Lost Temple of Tharizdun, aka "WG-4," despite there never officially being a WG 1-3.

On the subject of the usability, this article made me realize that the new site doesn't show you whether or not an article belongs to a category, or what those categories are? For example, Weird 2 made me want to re-read the Dark Age articles now that they're on the new site, so I searched Weird 2 for a tags or categories section, but found nothing. I tried the search feature, but it only gave me some of the articles. It was only after the fact that I found the series listed in the "Features" section in the top bar. A casual reader probably wouldn't go even as far as that.

[mainpatr]

How about Galaxy Force 2 and After Burner 2 then?

[Haruka]

I'm glad this column got revived! Fantasian, Mugen no Shinzou 2, The Screamer, Xanadu, and Hydlide 2 were pretty much the highlights of 1985 when it came to JRPGs. Eiyuu Yamato Takeru might be an interesting game to cover from that year (I haven't played it myself) but it looks like it has that annoying battle system from Aspic. Arks Road has really cool looking enemies but the game balance is awful. I can't think of any other memorable RPGs from 1985 (Tritorn, maybe?)

Regarding Weird 2, it's possible the first one was released on PC66. I don't think that system, unlike the PC88 and FM7, has a database listing all of its games. So it's possible it might have flown under the radar of the internet. Another possibility is that "Weird 2" refers to something within the game's storyline, but I'd have to play the game/check the game's manual to find out whether that's true or not.

[phediuk]

Seikima II for the Famicom, named after the band of the same name: www.mobygames.com/game/nes/seikima-ii-akuma-no-gyakush

[dsparil]

Jul 17, 2018 14:06:06 GMT -5 mainpatr said:

How about Galaxy Force 2 and After Burner 2 then?

There is a Galaxy Force (1) but GF2 subsumed it entirely. They're more like v1 and v2. After Burner is the same way although I would say AB1 has more presence than GF1 due to greater general popularity.

[Discoalucard]

Jul 17, 2018 13:53:17 GMT -5 blackdrazon said:

On the subject of the usability, this article made me realize that the new site doesn't show you whether or not an article belongs to a category, or what those categories are? For example, Weird 2 made me want to re-read the Dark Age articles now that they're on the new site, so I searched Weird 2 for a tags or categories section, but found nothing. I tried the search feature, but it only gave me some of the articles. It was only after the fact that I found the series listed in the "Features" section in the top bar. A casual reader probably wouldn't go even as far as that.

Hmm, you're right. Normally the tags are stuck in the sidebar, but since we're using a different template, they simply aren't displayed at all. Looks like I'll need to put them in manually.

[blackdrazon]

Jul 17, 2018 14:45:07 GMT -5 Discoalucard said:

Jul 17, 2018 13:53:17 GMT -5 blackdrazon said:

On the subject of the usability, this article made me realize that the new site doesn't show you whether or not an article belongs to a category, or what those categories are? For example, Weird 2 made me want to re-read the Dark Age articles now that they're on the new site, so I searched Weird 2 for a tags or categories section, but found nothing. I tried the search feature, but it only gave me some of the articles. It was only after the fact that I found the series listed in the "Features" section in the top bar. A casual reader probably wouldn't go even as far as that.

Hmm, you're right. Normally the tags are stuck in the sidebar, but since we're using a different template, they simply aren't displayed at all. Looks like I'll need to put them in manually.

Thanks, that will do it!

[Bumpyroad]

Not really site related, but what's an actual prequel to Razor 2: Hidden Skies? And we have a case of Strength of the Sword 3, which since have been re-released as Ultimate. I remember reading a story, why devs shot straight to number 3, but i can't find it now.

[mainpatr]

There's also games like Crimson Sea 2 for PS2,where it's a sequel to a game on a different system so PS2 gamers wouldn't know that it's a sequel to a Xbox game. Koei should have just re-released the first Crimson Sea on PS2 to go with the sequel.

[Woody Alien]

TvTropes to the rescue: it also lists Pepper II by Exidy (named thus for the absurd reason that players would have thought "if it's a sequel, it's certainly good enough"), Time Cruise for PC Engine which was named Time Cruise II in Japan, and Rig Racer 2.

[phediuk]

And in an inversion of sorts, there's Worm War I for the Atari 2600, which has no sequel:

www.mobygames.com/game/worm-war-i

[Haruka]

If I have a question regarding how to get this game working. I have the disk image, which boots up just fine. However, whenever I try to make a party, the game seems to freeze. Judging from the article, I should be able to bypass that problem by just picking the party that's already recorded on the disk image. However, when I try to load a save file, it says: 登録されていません (not recorded). Any idea what the problem could be?

[Discoalucard]

Sept 29, 2018 9:57:10 GMT -5 Haruka said:

If I have a question regarding how to get this game working. I have the disk image, which boots up just fine. However, whenever I try to make a party, the game seems to freeze. Judging from the article, I should be able to bypass that problem by just picking the party that's already recorded on the disk image. However, when I try to load a save file, it says: 登録されていません (not recorded). Any idea what the problem could be?

This is the disk image I used (I think), give that a shot:

www.hardcoregaming101.net/weird2.zip