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Post by phediuk on Sept 30, 2018 10:01:29 GMT -5
This thread is for those series where one installment is vastly more popular and well-regarded than the rest. When people talk about the series, they are actually talking about this one game, which is near-unanimously considered the series peak. If there's any debate at all as to what the best entry in a particular series is (i.e. one game is more popular than the rest but another entry is still reasonably popular, or a significant minority prefers it), it doesn't belong here. And obviously don't post stuff like Final Fantasy or Zelda or any blockbuster franchise like them.
Star Control - SC2 is a stone-cold classic, unanimously considered one of the best DOS games ever--perhaps the best. The other entries in the series are Star Control 1, regarded as a decent groundwork but nothing too remarkable; Star Control 3, regarded as a horrendous piece of shit better left forgotten; and Star Control Origins, which just came out, and doesn't look like it will be changing the consensus at all. Lufia -- Lufia 2 is a guaranteed entry on any "best SNES games ever" list; the rest of the Lufia games have received a "meh" reaction at best--even the DS remake of 2. Toejam & Earl -- The upcoming game may change things, but until then, TJ&1 is regarded much more highly than its side-scrolling Genesis sequel and ill-conceived OG Xbox follow-up. Postal - 1 and especially 3 are typically considered terrible games. Postal 2, on the other hand, is more in so-bad-it's-good territory, having a loyal following to this day and still selling pretty well after 15 years. Duke Nukem -- Duke 3D is landmark game in many ways, a blockbuster hit and a big step forward for interactivity in first-person action games. The first two games are okay side-scrollers, but no one would put them above 3D; as for Forever and the various spinoffs? Garbage.
Perfect Dark -- the original; safe to say no one gives a shit about Zero or the Game Boy Color game.
Spec Ops -- The Line has utterly eclipsed the nine games that preceded it.
Age of Empires -- 1 and 3 are decent enough, but who on Earth prefers them over 2? Just look at how the AOE1 remaster came and went, while AOE2 is downright thriving, and no one cares if AOE3 comes back.
Rocket Knight Adventures -- The original Genesis game rocks. The pair of games called "Sparkster" are okay but both clearly a step down from the original, and the less said about the XBLA Rocket Knight, the better.
Painkiller -- first game is great, and the sequels are utter shite.
Crazy Taxi -- 2 is forgotten and 3 even moreso, while 1 is still the object of nostalgia. Remember when they added a jump button? No? Exactly.
Q*bert - Can you believe how many sequels and remakes there's been of this game? Wait, you say. Sequels?
Mount & Blade -- Warband. Both the original and With Fire and Sword are utterly obscure in comparison.
Star Wars: Battlefront -- I don't think I'll ruffle too many feathers here when I say that Battlefront 2 (2005) is the best one.
Heroes of Might & Magic -- Rare to see any entry other than 3 be acknowledged unless it's to compare them unfavorably to 3.
The Walking Dead -- First season swept GOTY awards, the subsequent seasons are footnotes at best.
F.E.A.R. -- First game is great. 2 and 3 are like direct-to-video sequels.
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Post by kaoru on Sept 30, 2018 11:48:39 GMT -5
No one really cares for Seiken Densetsu unless its Secret of Mana.
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Post by phediuk on Sept 30, 2018 11:51:32 GMT -5
No one really cares for Seiken Densetsu unless its Secret of Mana. 3 is generally considered superior by fans though.
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Post by spanky on Sept 30, 2018 12:12:43 GMT -5
No one really cares for Seiken Densetsu unless its Secret of Mana. 3 is generally considered superior by fans though. Is it though? 3 sounds better on paper but after playing both multiple times, I think I like SoM better and I've seen that opinion quite a bit more in recent years.
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Post by toei on Sept 30, 2018 12:28:26 GMT -5
Seiken Densetsu 3 is garbage. I'm convinced it was only regarded highly because it wasn't released outside of Japan and had pretty, late-SNES graphics, but it's incredibly tedious to actually play.
The Phantasy Star series gets respect as a whole, but I think 4 is largely regarded as being well above the rest (it is).
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Post by dsparil on Sept 30, 2018 13:44:52 GMT -5
SD3 is amazing! I've actually beaten with every main character but have never been able to get through SoM once if that.
Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrels is a good action RPG, but I think the change in genre was off putting to fans of the original plus it had been so long since the last one which itself wasn't all that great.
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Post by Serah on Sept 30, 2018 13:56:23 GMT -5
I always feel like Toejam and Earl: Panic on Funkotron gets unfairly overlooked. I can see why, though. The original was so unique and then they followed it up with a platformer, the mid-90s equivalent to a Destiny clone or Battle Royale game. But it was a really good platformer! I really loved the big, explorative levels and the slightly collectathon, slightly kill-all-humans style gameplay. It looked and sounded amazing, too. The voice samples are amongst the clearest on the console (I think only the "Hey, catch!" soundbite has the signature Mega Drive crackle) and the music gives me real Herbie Handcock vibes with its grooves.
To actually contribute to the thread the original Flashback is considered to be light years beyond its sequel and remake.
And it might be slightly more controversial but there is a pretty large consensus that Streets of Rage 2 is better than the other SoR games.
I think Suikoden 2 fits as well.
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Post by JoeQ on Sept 30, 2018 14:00:16 GMT -5
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords aka PQ1 is generally considered easily the best game in the Puzzle Quest series, though I haven't played the f2p games.
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Post by Bumpyroad on Sept 30, 2018 15:19:54 GMT -5
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords aka PQ1 is generally considered easily the best game in the Puzzle Quest series, though I haven't played the f2p games. I've been playing Gems of War for more than a year now, PQ1 randomization engine seems better balanced to me still 👌
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Post by phediuk on Sept 30, 2018 15:35:57 GMT -5
Seiken Densetsu 3 is garbage. I'm convinced it was only regarded highly because it wasn't released outside of Japan and had pretty, late-SNES graphics, but it's incredibly tedious to actually play. The Phantasy Star series gets respect as a whole, but I think 4 is largely regarded as being well above the rest (it is). I would say PSO far eclipses the rest in popularity.
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Post by X-pert74 on Sept 30, 2018 15:47:41 GMT -5
- For awhile, this was the case with the X-COM series, with UFO Defense being regarded as clearly superior to pretty much everything else that came afterward. Firaxis' reboot series has generally been really well-received though, and has since largely eclipsed UFO Defense in popularity.
- I guess this could apply to the River City Ransom/Kunio series (at least as far as the beat-em-ups go). A lot of people like River City Ransom on the NES, but aside from that, the other games are either Japan-only, or aren't held in quite the same regard, like the Game Boy Advance game.
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Post by toei on Sept 30, 2018 16:01:25 GMT -5
Seiken Densetsu 3 is garbage. I'm convinced it was only regarded highly because it wasn't released outside of Japan and had pretty, late-SNES graphics, but it's incredibly tedious to actually play. The Phantasy Star series gets respect as a whole, but I think 4 is largely regarded as being well above the rest (it is). I would say PSO far eclipses the rest in popularity. Everything from Online on is just a different series with "Phantasy Star" tacked on. Phantasy Star IV is considered a classic of the 16-bit era.
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Post by phediuk on Sept 30, 2018 18:01:08 GMT -5
Landstalker -- The original is the only one as far as pretty much everyone is concerned. No one cares about Ladystalker or Timestalkers.
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Post by ZenithianHero on Sept 30, 2018 18:04:17 GMT -5
Considering Shining has around 30 games in the series, only games you hear about are Shining Force 1 and 2. 3 is highly requested for an English rerelease, that's about it. Zone of the Enders. 2nd Runner is where it is at. The first game is alright. Nobody remembers the GBA game. Frogger. Suffers from the same problem Q'Bert faces. The original arcade game and maybe the 1997 Playstation game are recognizable. Everything else? I never knew existed myself. I like the 3DS one personally.
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Post by phediuk on Sept 30, 2018 19:07:18 GMT -5
Supreme Commander -- the first game got a lot of attention for being the successor to Total Annihilation. The sequels were pretty much met with a shrug.
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