10 Video Game Sequels That Made You Play The Original Again
For better or worse, these games had everyone returning to the source.
Sequels are of course the lifeblood that helps the gaming industry keep chugging along. If a game makes bank, it’s virtually guaranteed that a sequel will come along sooner rather than later - with just a few exceptions (looking at you, Fez).
At their best, game sequels can not only surpass what came before, but actually remind fans why they fell in love with the series in the first place, in turn sending them back to the original article and starting the series all over again.
Equally, though, there are also those dreadful sequels which have players revisiting the original for entirely different reasons, to administer themselves a much-needed palate cleanser and remember how great things used to be.
And so, for better or worse, these sequels all compelled players en masse to go back to the beginning and see how things were once upon a time.
It’s certainly all gravy for the publishers, who evidently convinced you to double-dip on a new digital version - or even a remake or remaster - of the original game you felt such an intense urge to play again…
10. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5
There are bad games that make you revisit the originals just to wash the damn taste out of your mouth, and then there's whatever the fresh hell fans did to deserve Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5.
Even though the legendary skater series' best days seemed long behind it by 2015, that Activision allowed such an obviously curled-out dud to be deemed fit for player consumption was absolutely infuriating.
Granted, the writing was very much on the wall in the months leading up to THPS5's release, with lackluster marketing suggesting that the publisher was squeezing the title out before their contract with Hawk expired.
And indeed, THPS5 remains one of the most embarrassingly incompetent sequels in any beloved franchise. It looks dated, the skating doesn't even feel good - something the series mastered in its very first entry - and it launched jam-packed with glitches.
After years of so-so Tony Hawk's games and increasingly desperate attempts to make the series relevant again, this was the last straw - a cynical turd dumped in stores with all the enthusiasm of a late tax return
It quickly had fans going back to the incredible original trilogy in particular, something Activision themselves apparently recognised a whole five years later, when they belatedly released the brilliant Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 remake collection.