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Post by blackdrazon on Nov 16, 2018 16:38:47 GMT -5
Battle Clash > Metal Combat
The only thing connecting Battle Clash to its sequel Metal Combat is the latter's subtitle, "Falcon's Revenge." Which is still a stretch from a marketing perspective (really, your hook is the Falcon, the player's generically named tank?), nevermind inaccurate to the plot (it's the bad guys getting revenge!).
On another subject, it kind of bugs me that there's no indication that Phantom Hourglass is a direct sequel to The Wind Water. The Oracle games don't have that problem, Link Between Worlds doesn't have that problem, and Adventure of Link was the only other Zelda game at the time, but Phantom Hourglass?
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Post by phediuk on Nov 16, 2018 16:56:02 GMT -5
Spellcaster > Mystic Defender (Kujaku Ou 2 in Japan)
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Post by Snake on Nov 16, 2018 18:21:22 GMT -5
Then my friend, how do you explain.... THIS-is-is-is-is-is-is?!?!
I think Konami USA liked to embellish a bit. Just consider they went with their own sequel to Metal Gear with Snake's Revenge, instead of Metal Gear 2:Solid Snake. Did they have 2 distinct offices when they were running their alternate "ULTRA" label?
Game journalists don't always verify the facts. Not even on the Japan side. I still remember when Electronic Gaming Monthly ran their Sheng Long April Fool's Joke, and it got picked up as a story in Japan before they realized it was a hoax.
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Post by wyrdwad on Nov 16, 2018 18:45:13 GMT -5
Salamander/Life Force was definitely related to the Gradius series, but in the same way as Parodius -- it was a spin-off or a spiritual sequel, not an ACTUAL numbered sequel.
That said, the real Gradius 2 never got released in the West back in the day, did it? So it was kind of a Doki Doki Panic --> Super Mario Bros. 2 situation, in a way, whereupon an only semi-related at best game was promoted to full-on sequel status in order to fill a self-imposed gap in the series' Western chronology.
-Tom
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Post by derboo on Nov 16, 2018 19:24:17 GMT -5
This one has "Galactic Saga" in huge letters on the center of the manual cover, like all the games in the series. I wouldn't count this just because the disk label omits it. Galaxian 3 > Attack of the Volgear This is not really that either. "Attack of the Zolgear" was layouted as a sole main title on the promotional materials and manuals, but it was a conversion kit for the Galaxian 3 setups, so you'd still have the huge "Galaxian 3" banner above the entrance, and it also precedes the scenario title on the bootup screen. Technically "Galaxian 3" seems more like the name of the installation, and the original scenario had its own title too ("Project Dragoon").
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Post by Discoalucard on Nov 16, 2018 19:28:33 GMT -5
The NES/FC Life Force definitely felt closer to Gradius. But, the original arcade Salamander is a much different feeling game from Gradius, despite borrowing some of its weapons.
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Post by phediuk on Nov 16, 2018 19:52:30 GMT -5
Salamander/Life Force was definitely related to the Gradius series, but in the same way as Parodius -- it was a spin-off or a spiritual sequel, not an ACTUAL numbered sequel. That said, the real Gradius 2 never got released in the West back in the day, did it? So it was kind of a Doki Doki Panic --> Super Mario Bros. 2 situation, in a way, whereupon an only semi-related at best game was promoted to full-on sequel status in order to fill a self-imposed gap in the series' Western chronology. -Tom "Semi-related" is certainly understating it. They are most definitely, canonically related. Life Force is, at worst, a gaiden-sequel to Gradius (such as e.g., Zelda: Majora's Mask), and that was evidently enough for Konami to market it as a sequel back then. I mean, can you blame them? You literally play as Vic Viper, and it has the same selection bar system as Gradius, incorporating all of its signature gameplay mechanics (speed-ups, options, etc.), and its storyline is still considered canon in the Gradius series, to the point that Salamander 2 even used a number of Gradius bosses.
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Post by derboo on Nov 16, 2018 20:19:58 GMT -5
Then there was the whole Secret of Mana 2 situation where some magazine confused the upcoming Seiken Densetsu 3 with Secret of Evermore, simply calling the latter ”Secret of Mana 2”. They soon realised they were two completely different games... What's kinda interesting about Seiken Densetsu 3 is that everyone called/calls it Secret of Mana 2 including the title screen of the fan translation, but every sequel since was called Somethingelse of Mana (and have been included as subtitles in the Japanese versions), so I wonder what they gonna do with the title if they ever make a remake...
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Post by toei on Nov 16, 2018 20:53:49 GMT -5
Spellcaster > Mystic Defender (Kujaku Ou 2 in Japan) This one is technically not a sequel. Spellcaster was a loose adaptation of the Kujakou / Peacock King franchise, but it didn't follow the plot of the manga or the first OVA too closely. Mystic Defender, however, is directly based on the second Peacock King OVA, Kujaku Ou 2: Geneijo, and has the exact same title (it even uses art from the OVA on the Japanese box and manual). So it wasn't actually intended as a sequel to the first Sega Kujaku Ou game, but as an adaptation of an OVA that just happened to have "2" in its title. The Japanese wikipedia page cites a book that confirms this. It's called the "Mega Drive Encyclopedia". This is relevant because people sometimes say they wish it had included adventure segments like "the prequel", when in fact it didn't because it wasn't meant to be a sequel. Kujaku Ou also got a Famicom game, with mostly the same adventure segments (and a few more), but no side-scroller levels. This got a direct sequel, titled Kujaku Ou 2, on Famicom only.
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Post by phediuk on Nov 16, 2018 22:12:38 GMT -5
Spellcaster > Mystic Defender (Kujaku Ou 2 in Japan) This one is technically not a sequel. Spellcaster was a loose adaptation of the Kujakou / Peacock King franchise, but it didn't follow the plot of the manga or the first OVA too closely. Mystic Defender, however, is directly based on the second Peacock King OVA, Kujaku Ou 2: Geneijo, and has the exact same title (it even uses art from the OVA on the Japanese box and manual). So it wasn't actually intended as a sequel to the first Sega Kujaku Ou game, but as an adaptation of an OVA that just happened to have "2" in its title. The Japanese wikipedia page cites a book that confirms this. It's called the "Mega Drive Encyclopedia". This is relevant because people sometimes say they wish it had included adventure segments like "the prequel", when in fact it didn't because it wasn't meant to be a sequel. Kujaku Ou also got a Famicom game, with mostly the same adventure segments (and a few more), but no side-scroller levels. This got a direct sequel, titled Kujaku Ou 2, on Famicom only. Well, ok, but Mystic Defender does play very similarly to the side-scrolling parts of Spellcaster, right down to the central gameplay conceit of having to charge up your spells. It's certainly not the only time a sequel has removed gameplay styles that were in the previous game: see Thunder Force 3, Actraiser 2, etc.
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Post by eatersthemanfool on Nov 16, 2018 22:45:52 GMT -5
IIRC the reason Soul Edge was changed to Soul Calibur was because of a copyright troll.
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Post by phediuk on Nov 16, 2018 23:00:38 GMT -5
IIRC the reason Soul Edge was changed to Soul Calibur was because of a copyright troll. The PS1 version was renamed to Soul Blade outside Japan, specifically to avoid legal trouble from the Edge Games guy.
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Post by toei on Nov 16, 2018 23:03:05 GMT -5
This one is technically not a sequel. Spellcaster was a loose adaptation of the Kujakou / Peacock King franchise, but it didn't follow the plot of the manga or the first OVA too closely. Mystic Defender, however, is directly based on the second Peacock King OVA, Kujaku Ou 2: Geneijo, and has the exact same title (it even uses art from the OVA on the Japanese box and manual). So it wasn't actually intended as a sequel to the first Sega Kujaku Ou game, but as an adaptation of an OVA that just happened to have "2" in its title. The Japanese wikipedia page cites a book that confirms this. It's called the "Mega Drive Encyclopedia". This is relevant because people sometimes say they wish it had included adventure segments like "the prequel", when in fact it didn't because it wasn't meant to be a sequel. Kujaku Ou also got a Famicom game, with mostly the same adventure segments (and a few more), but no side-scroller levels. This got a direct sequel, titled Kujaku Ou 2, on Famicom only. Well, ok, but Mystic Defender does play very similarly to the side-scrolling parts of Spellcaster, right down to the central gameplay conceit of having to charge up your spells. It's certainly not the only time a sequel has removed gameplay styles that were in the previous game: see Thunder Force 3, Actraiser 2, etc. They're pretty similar, but you don't have to charge up your basic attack in Spellcaster. You can, but it's not very useful because you have to stand still to charge them and the damage isn't worth it. Your actual spells cost MP, which you recharge with enemy drops. Mystic Defender has multiple basic attacks that you can switch between at any time, but no spell, and you need to charge them to actually use them, except for the first shot.
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Post by kingmike on Nov 17, 2018 2:10:02 GMT -5
IIRC the reason Soul Edge was changed to Soul Calibur was because of a copyright troll. Yep, in the late 2000s EA took him down when he sued over Mirror's Edge, countering he was making trademark claims when he hadn't made a real game since 1994.
I know the closest Gradius II got to a US release was an announcement for the Turbo-CD in 1993, but yeah, it was probably too late for Konami's taste at that point. I do not remember if the Famicom version was announced for an NES release. I'm feeling that it was at some point but maybe they were pushing their luck too far beyond what Nintendo was allowing with the Ultra Games fake brand (I think the fact they had the same mail address as Konami USA confirms them an alt, rather than like LJN which I read was TECHNICALLY a different company than Acclaim). I thought I heard somewhere that Bio Miracle Upa was considered for a US release as Babyland or something (I'm feeling that wasn't it, but I think it was Baby-something) but NoA said no.
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Post by Ace Whatever on Nov 18, 2018 3:40:50 GMT -5
We should probably mention Namco x Capcom > Project X Zone here, though I guess they do share the letter "X", much as Contra and Super C share the letter C. For those to whom the reason isn't obvious, they probably decided on the name change because calling it Namco Bandai x Capcom X Sega would be too much of a mouthful.
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