13 Video Game Sequels Better Than Their 'Classic' Originals

Hard as it is to believe, there once was a time when adventure games were king. And undoubtedly the King of kings was The Secret of Monkey Island.

Ron Gilbert's piratey-puzzler reevaluated how the point 'n' click genre should operate. Gone were the unavoidable instant deaths and frustrating dead-ends of Sierra efforts, and in their place was a cerebral, story-driven stunner which rewarded brains before fortune. Oozing in sardonic charm, Monkey Island exuded character, whilst being gorgeous to boot. It quickly came to be regarded as one of the finest games of its era.

As soon as The Secret of Monkey Island was released, production on its sequel began immediately—talk about confidence. Given the quick turnaround, the cynics naturally anticipated the hasty sequel to be nothing more than a rushed cash-in—fool's gold, if you will (a piratey pun, there. Or perhaps a 'pyritey' one).

Bloody wasn't though, was it? Now, I'll freely admit that Monkey Island 2 is my all-time favourite game, so it's difficult to mask my overwhelming bias. Partisanship aside, though, and it's an almost unequivocal fact that LéChuck's Revenge isn't just superior to its predecessor (which I love just as dearly), but arguably the greatest adventure game ever produced.

My gushing knows no boundaries on this matter, so I'll go on a bit more. The mordent wit was ramped up to an unequalled level, the locations expanded exponentially, the puzzles were more juicily devious without becoming circuitous, the...look, it's just jolly good, OK?