Why did you leave that out? Poor sequel decisions

This is for the omissions, missteps and poorly thought-out add-ons that come with sequels. This doesn't mean the sequels are bad - just that they left out something or added something that didn't click and hurt the game overall. I'll start with my big one, the one that nearly had me foaming at the mouth last night.

Starcraft II will not have LAN play.
FUCK. YOU.
There's a reason I have so many computers hanging around - for LAN play. I've always played Blizzard games over LAN. I play every cooperative and versus game ON LAN because I like playing with my REAL FRIENDS. It appears that Blizzard is trying to exploit more money out of us - I only have 2 copies of Starcraft but can get a 5-person game going on LAN, and Battle.net won't allow two of the same CD key on the network at a time, so basically I'll be forced to buy more than one if I want to play with my real friends. I don't know what the hell is wrong with Blizzard, but unless they reverse this decision, I will not be buying Starcraft II. And to think I considered it one of the Big Three PC gaming companies because they always gave us more than we wanted and ensured the longetivity of their games with modes that didn't require battle.net. What's next, are they gonna shut off battle.net for Starcraft beause they want to 'encourage' people to play the sequel?

Unreal Tournament 2003 and 3 - What the fuck were the people at Epic smoking when they decided we didn't need Assault? For 2003, they also decided to add stupid dodge moves and 'adrenaline', which created an unstable equilibrium - people who were losing had no chance at all, because the people who were winnning could become invisible or super-strong after killing them. 3 also ditched the large variety of settings UT was known for in order to focus on three planets - this was unwise, because it makes the levels, especially Deathmatch, lose a unique aesthetic and makes them seem more homogenous and interchangeable.

Insert every MYST fan's boilerplate prison books/prison ages rant here.

Ace Combat 6. Why did they leave out the plot? Oh sure, AC6 has something resembling a story, but many of the characters are terribly difficult to care about (honestly, I cared more about the other squadrons flying around that are only ever "on-screen" for in-flight radio dialog, although at least one small group of those characters got a couple of their own cutscenes) and while it hits some of the points of a good war epic while retaining the usual Japanese batshittery Ace Combat does so well, it just...never comes together. You only have one wingman and all he does is spend the entire game whining. Admittedly, what he's whining about isn't entirely unjustified, but his voice actor just can't pull it off. At all.

Contrast with Ace Combat 5, where even the annoying characters were still interesting, the plot moved at a decent pace, the presentation was spot on, and there was actually a cast of main characters we followed through the ups and downs of the war instead of three completely separate plot threads completely unrelated to each other.

"Nothing Else Comes Close" indeed.

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney-- Would it have killed Capcom to toss in a couple of characters from the Phoenix Wright games other than, well, Phoenix Wright (who was barely recognizable)?

Halo 2.

You took the scope off of my pistol.

You took the stopping power of my pistol.

You gave me a pea shooter whose only use was an heroing after the real guns ran out of ammo before being overrun by Flood.

And Halo 3 more or less left out The Arbiter. Which is unfortunate, because he was as much of a stone cold badass as Spartan OneOneSeven.

FFX-2 left out any decent characters, gameplay, or fashion sense. The halfway likable characters that remained were mangled to the point they became unlikable.

The Hardcore Black Magic Bitch became an expectant mother who didn't blow up anything that annoyed her. Wakka was just as hairbrained and half as tolerable. Rikku's hyper was brought from cute to extremely annoying. Auron was absent (however, that was kind of unavoidable given the stuff that happened BEFORE FFX took place), the gameplay blew camel dick, and the way these people dressed went from Retarded to Retardeder.

Not only did they dress themselves in the dark with items that looked like they came from Hot Topic, a Party Supply Store, and a goddamn clown college, but they made dressing like that a central element of the gameplay.

I'm sorry, I think that drifted a LITTLE bit off of the intended topic. Oh well, too lazy to hit the backspace button and fix it, I gotta hit the Send button RITE STAT NAO! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

aionis wrote:

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney-- Would it have killed Capcom to toss in a couple of characters from the Phoenix Wright games other than, well, Phoenix Wright (who was barely recognizable)?

More like Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney starring and featuring Phoenix Wright, co-starring Phoenix Wright with an appearance by some new guy and his annoying magical sidekick or some shit.

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

FFX-2 left out any decent characters, gameplay, or fashion sense. The halfway likable characters that remained were mangled to the point they became unlikable.

The Hardcore Black Magic Bitch became an expectant mother who didn't blow up anything that annoyed her. Wakka was just as hairbrained and half as tolerable. Rikku's hyper was brought from cute to extremely annoying. Auron was absent (however, that was kind of unavoidable given the stuff that happened BEFORE FFX took place), the gameplay blew camel dick, and the way these people dressed went from Retarded to Retardeder.

This this this this this.

Also, Xenosaga II was awful. HURR GUYS LET'S MAKE THE BATTLES A CONTEST TO SEE WHICH OF YOUR PARTY MEMBERS CAN MOP UP THE MOST DAMAGE BEFORE UNLEASHING A SUPER-ATTACK. Fuck that. Also it was like the voice director basically told them to deadpan their way through everything. I don't even understand how no one on the voice acting crew thought to take a step back and think 'damn, this blows something terrible'.

Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - Don't get me wrong, I like the train, but I wish I could get OUT of it and explore at places other than designated train stops. Exploring is one of the core elements of classic Zelda.

Chaltab wrote:

Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - Don't get me wrong, I like the train, but I wish I could get OUT of it and explore at places other than designated train stops. Exploring is one of the core elements of classic Zelda.

Let me get this straight.

You're complaining about the railroading.

In a game where the big selling point is riding a fucking train.

Electron Blue wrote:

Starcraft II will not have LAN play.
FUCK. YOU.

And right after I read an interview about how Blizzard said it was dedicated to pleasing its players... My lord, they're going to make a killing in South Korea with it, it's completely overboard.

TheHermit wrote:

Chaltab wrote:

Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - Don't get me wrong, I like the train, but I wish I could get OUT of it and explore at places other than designated train stops. Exploring is one of the core elements of classic Zelda.

Let me get this straight.

You're complaining about the railroading.

In a game where the big selling point is riding a fucking train.

I like eating ice cream but I don't want to fucking do it for 30+ hours straight.

Mafiosa wrote:

TheHermit wrote:

Chaltab wrote:

Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - Don't get me wrong, I like the train, but I wish I could get OUT of it and explore at places other than designated train stops. Exploring is one of the core elements of classic Zelda.

Let me get this straight.

You're complaining about the railroading.

In a game where the big selling point is riding a fucking train.

I like eating ice cream but I don't want to fucking do it for 30+ hours straight.

Then why did you buy 10 gallons of ice cream?! You aren't allowed to get upset at a game prominently featuring a train because you don't get to leave the rails. It's like complaining that GI Joe is too jingoistic. What did you really expect?

TheHermit wrote:

Mafiosa wrote:

TheHermit wrote:

Chaltab wrote:

Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - Don't get me wrong, I like the train, but I wish I could get OUT of it and explore at places other than designated train stops. Exploring is one of the core elements of classic Zelda.

Let me get this straight.

You're complaining about the railroading.

In a game where the big selling point is riding a fucking train.

I like eating ice cream but I don't want to fucking do it for 30+ hours straight.

Then why did you buy 10 gallons of ice cream?! You aren't allowed to get upset at a game prominently featuring a train because you don't get to leave the rails. It's like complaining that GI Joe is too jingoistic. What did you really expect?

A goddamn Zelda game. Which includes the ability to piddle around Hyrule/Termina/The Great Sea/Whatever the Hell It's Called This Time at your leisure. The very concept does not mesh well with a Zelda game. That is why it is bad and that is why people can complain. It's like buying Madden '11: The Maddening and only being able to play as the Bills. It's like buying Forza 4 and being able to take out other cars with fucking banana peels. It's like buying Mass Effect 3 and only to realize all of the dialogue is scripted out and you don't get to choose your responses at all.

Being railroaded like that is not what people expect or want in a Zelda game.

And just because you bought ten gallons of ice cream doesn't mean you have to eat it all at once. Maybe you want to eat some ice cream (play the "Main Quest" or whatever) for a bit, then go chase your cat around the room with the spoon (those dippy fishing Minigames and such).

This discussion reminds me of Majora's Mask, a totally awesome game with the minor problem that it's called a Zelda game but really doesn't feel much like a Zelda game, so I'm compelled to ask; other than your obvious distaste for the train how is Spirit Tracks?

TheHermit wrote:

This discussion reminds me of Majora's Mask, a totally awesome game with the minor problem that it's called a Zelda game but really doesn't feel much like a Zelda game, so I'm compelled to ask; other than your obvious distaste for the train how is Spirit Tracks?

Majora's Mask is probably my favorite Zelda game because it didn't feel gimmicky or limit you and had one of the darkest premises in the series. The world to explore felt huge and you didn't have to do anything mildly annoying to do it. The train reminded me of the fucking boat in Wind Waker, so this might be one of those "love it or hate it" type deals.

Did you like the controls from Phantom Hourglass? Then you'll fair better with Spirit Tracks then I did.

e: actually it's pretty much the same game as PH except with a train. Drive to dungeon, kill dungeon, get map, drive to new dungeon.

Poor add-ons? Just about anything added to the Sonic series on the jump to 3D, besides the Homing Attack. The characters, save a couple exceptions, are lame as hell, the moves are useless or stupid, the story elements are wallbangers, the changes in tone are constant and equally annoying, the gameplay shift from ball-physics-based shenaningans and platforming to "Jesus christ" speed and set-pieces...
Even the cosmetic changes are crap. They can't seem to do Tails right any more. The monitors have been replaced with ugly capsules. The Badniks get crappier designs with each game. I could go on and on.

Mafiosa wrote:

TheHermit wrote:

This discussion reminds me of Majora's Mask, a totally awesome game with the minor problem that it's called a Zelda game but really doesn't feel much like a Zelda game, so I'm compelled to ask; other than your obvious distaste for the train how is Spirit Tracks?

Majora's Mask is probably my favorite Zelda game because it didn't feel gimmicky or limit you and had one of the darkest premises in the series. The world to explore felt huge and you didn't have to do anything mildly annoying to do it.

I still don't know why people don't like Majora's Mask. My theory is that, after the eight dungeons and huge areas of OoT, plus Adult Link, MM felt like a step back. Which is not really true if you take a closer look; Adult Link is replaced by three cool transformations, the field is much more fun to traverse (in contrast with the mostly-empty Hyrule Field), the world is much more "alive", with all the NPCs having their own schedules and actually doing stuff instead of sitting on their butts repeating the same lines over and over... it's the Zelda game to go if I want to have fun.

Exodia's Right Leg wrote:

Mafiosa wrote:

TheHermit wrote:

This discussion reminds me of Majora's Mask, a totally awesome game with the minor problem that it's called a Zelda game but really doesn't feel much like a Zelda game, so I'm compelled to ask; other than your obvious distaste for the train how is Spirit Tracks?

Majora's Mask is probably my favorite Zelda game because it didn't feel gimmicky or limit you and had one of the darkest premises in the series. The world to explore felt huge and you didn't have to do anything mildly annoying to do it.

I still don't know why people don't like Majora's Mask. My theory is that, after the eight dungeons and huge areas of OoT, plus Adult Link, MM felt like a step back. Which is not really true if you take a closer look; Adult Link is replaced by three cool transformations, the field is much more fun to traverse (in contrast with the mostly-empty Hyrule Field), the world is much more "alive", with all the NPCs having their own schedules and actually doing stuff instead of sitting on their butts repeating the same lines over and over... it's the Zelda game to go if I want to have fun.

I loved Majora's Mask, but it really could have used like two more dungeons. The exploration and complicated sidequests were awesome, and the atmosphere was great; I just wish I'd had some more time to groove with the main plot.

Nihilist wrote:

Exodia's Right Leg wrote:

I still don't know why people don't like Majora's Mask. My theory is that, after the eight dungeons and huge areas of OoT, plus Adult Link, MM felt like a step back.

My cousin never let me borrow Majora's Mask because she was too busy playing it. By the time she finished, I was just "Eh, fuck it." I still want to play it sometime, but my N64 controllers are too jiggly to be useful.

It did look different from OoT, which is one of my favorite games. But then, I like vast expanse and hard-as-fuck dungeons. I'd rather play that again if my controllers worked, to be honest. Maybe it's nostalgia kicking in- because I can't be bothered with many video games these days. Not enough time to really sit down and enjoy, and it's just not my thing anymore. That and I go "This $50-60 would be better spent on food." It's a month's worth of chow. On a video game.

Although I want to get into Star Trek: Online once the money starts rollin' in

Well, since we're wary about piratin' and stuff round these here parts, I won't bother telling you how awesome an emulator can be.

GTA IV... I can kind of accept their sliding back in terms of customizing and other random shit to do so that they could focus more on fixing that damnable graphics/physics engine they'd been using since 2001, but it's still disappointing.

The game is fantastic, don't get me wrong. But I miss the massive amount of clothes/haircuts/tattoos you could give your guy. I miss being able to buy property, too. And I miss the countryside. The city is diverse and huge enough, but I miss in GTA: San Andreas when your multiple towns and cities were even more different, the "world" was just bigger, and you had mountains and countryside and secluded towns and things like that to explore.

Oh, and one more thing - the hidden packages. In all previous GTA games, they were little statues or figurines (in Vice City they were little Maltese Falcons - win!) hidden around the world that you just picked up. Usually there were 100 or so. In this game, instead of literally picking up packages, the "hidden packages" are pigeons that you have to shoot. You have to shoot them to 'get' them, and this will almost always alert the cops and lead to an annoying chase - major pain in the butt if you're trying to get them all. Oh, and there are 200. *sigh*

All that said, though, it's still a wonderful game and well worth the money. Still want to pick up the 'side-game' to it soon now that I've almost got 100% on this one.

TheHermit wrote:

This discussion reminds me of Majora's Mask, a totally awesome game with the minor problem that it's called a Zelda game but really doesn't feel much like a Zelda game, so I'm compelled to ask; other than your obvious distaste for the train how is Spirit Tracks?

Pretty good. The dungeons are well done and I like this incarnation of Princess Zelda. The bosses aren't quite as good as those in Phantom Hourglass.

And it's not that I dislike the train, I just wish it was a smaller part of the game. More like Epona in Twilight Princess than the boat in Wind Waker.

Chaltab wrote:

Pretty good. The dungeons are well done and I like this incarnation of Princess Zelda. The bosses aren't quite as good as those in Phantom Hourglass.

And it's not that I dislike the train, I just wish it was a smaller part of the game. More like Epona in Twilight Princess than the boat in Wind Waker.

To be honest I'm pretty sick of the vehicle gimmick now, myself.

Bear with me when I say:

Metal Gear Solid 2.

Yes, I loved the game and played it over and over, but come on, man. It felt just like that Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney game: the main character is a blithering, whiny idiot novice who can't do anything right until the VERY END and has to be constantly guided by his mentor, who knows everything and can do everything perfectly all the time. What is the point of a main character when a supposed "supporting" character does ALL THE DAMN WORK?

/rant

I'd say the only thing Apollo and Raiden have in common is an inexplicable tendency to put trust in people they really shouldn't at all.

Penguin wrote:

I'd say the only thing Apollo and Raiden have in common is an inexplicable tendency to put trust in people they really shouldn't at all.

Oh boy, that about sums up Phoenix until he was disbarred, though he became the proverbial sage on the mountaintop afterward.

I still say Raiden and Apollo are idiot whiners until the end when they suddenly have super game-breaking skills <_<

Miss Prince wrote:

Chaltab wrote:

Pretty good. The dungeons are well done and I like this incarnation of Princess Zelda. The bosses aren't quite as good as those in Phantom Hourglass.

And it's not that I dislike the train, I just wish it was a smaller part of the game. More like Epona in Twilight Princess than the boat in Wind Waker.

To be honest I'm pretty sick of the vehicle gimmick now, myself.

Does that count Epona?

Because you need SOMETHING other than walking to get from one side of Hyrule Field to the other when whatever warp dealy in the game isn't an option.