10 Video Game Sequels That Made You Play The Original Again
6. Shenmue III
Though there was much excitement surrounding the revival of Shenmue III, let's be honest - it was always highly unlikely to be a masterpiece on par with its two dated-but-wonderful predecessors.
Even so, many weren't quite prepared for just how stubborn of a relic the third game was, scarcely moving the gameplay forward from the first two games at all in ways both charming and maddening.
Yet even if you could contend with Shenmue III's repetitive, often tedious task-driven gameplay, it committed the cardinal sin of picking up where Shenmue II's epic, 18-year cliffhanger left off and just... doing nothing with it.
Villain Lan Di only shows up for a briefest of encounters at the very end of the game before scarpering again, ensuring that hero Ryo isn't any closer to avenging his father's death, with the ending simply setting the stage for the probably-never-happening Shenmue IV.
If Shenmue III left you worried that you'd simply over-estimated the potency of the first two games, going back to them proved that the third actually feels like a regression in terms of its scope and especially its combat.
The first two games remain flawed masterworks, but Shenmue III had to settle for feeling like an ambitious fan-made project at best.