Great games are known to give rise to sequels, and although most sequels do their predecessors a disservice, there are times when video game sequels surpass the originals by far – as with these five awesome game sequels.
Street Fighter II
Street Fighter II is one of the only video game sequels to ever give off as many of its own spin-offs as it did. Street Fighter II was somewhat of a series all its own, and while most gamers can name several versions of this iconic game, most would be hard-pressed to describe the original Street Fighter game – and who cares, because it was totally overshadowed by its epic second installment.
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Bros. is one of the most memorable games of its generation, and while part two was a major disappointment, Super Mario Bros. 3 was the sequel that really took the Mario Bros. series to the next level. SMB3 took a huge leap in graphics, power-ups, map layouts, and even villains than the previous Mario Bros. games and is still considered by many to be the best retro Mario game.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ran leaps and bounds around the rather enjoyable first installment of the Sonic franchise with its diverse maps, the inclusion of Miles “Tails” Prower, better graphics, new mini games, and the ability to be able to rev Sonic up and quickly spin through the fast past platforms.
Halo 2
About half of the Halo fan base is split between whether Halo: CE or Halo 2 were better games, and I just so happen to fancy Halo 2 a bit more. The graphical improvements between Halo: CE and Halo 2 would have you believe that they were designed on different consoles, and the new maps, gameplay, and the addition of multiplayer matchmaking via Xbox Live makes it very easy for me see Halo 2 as the victor of the first two Halo games.
Diablo II
Out of any retro game that was ever created for the PC, I’d have to say that Diablo II is the one that consumed the most of my time. During its release, there just wasn’t anything like it, and I never got tired of raiding caves, slaying goblins, and collecting booty off of my defeated foes … in fact, I think that I’m going to fire up a game right now.