Mission Pack Sequel: Difference between revisions

 

{{examples}}

* Besides the license involved, all the [[Lego Adaptation Game]]s pretty much fall into this. There's been some interface changes throughout them, but they remain similar enough that you could buy one based on which of the licenses you like best and not be missing out on anything. On the other hand, they're all [[Rule of Fun|a damn good time]].

* The ''[[Ninja Gaiden]]'' trilogy for the NES were all developed on the same engine, although the sequels made some subtle changes to the original game system and each installment had at least one exclusive power-up (namely the somersault attack in the original, the red shadow clones in ''II'', and the sword extension in ''III''). Oddly enough, ''III'' is the only game in the trilogy that doesn't have the pseudo isometric perspective as the first two games.

* The 2003 ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (novel)|Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]'' based video game on the [[PlayStation 2]], [[GameCube]] and [[Xbox]] (not to be confused with the other, earlier released, five+ video games with the same name on other systems, all of which are totally different games) is an odd case of being one for the 2002 ''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (novel)|Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]'' based video game on the same systems.

 

* The arcade version of ''[[Double Dragon|Double Dragon II: The Revenge]]'' was essentially a heavily modified version of the first game. The biggest change was in the game's controls, which used directional-based attack buttons instead of the punch and kick buttons from the first game. The level layouts were also changed with different enemy placement and new traps, most of the returning enemy character were given a few new attacks in addition to their new looks, some of the weapons have different properties and all of the stages have a new end-boss.

** On the other hand, the NES version of ''Double Dragon II'' used a completely different game system from the first one.

* ''[[Final Fight]] 2'' is essentially the SNES port of the first game with nation-themed stages (Hong Kong, France, Holland, England, Italy and Japan), but it also justifies itself by adding a 2-player co-op mode, a feature from the arcade version that was missing from the SNES port, as well as having a full 3-character roster in one cartridge (as opposed to having a second version with a character replaced, as was the case with ''Final Fight Guy''). The sequel even brought back Rolento, who was the only boss character from the first game missing in the SNES port.

 

* The ''Fast and the Furious'' arcade game from Raw Thrills received a Mission Pack Sequel in the form of ''Fast and the Furious: DRIFT'', which added some new Japan-themed tracks, improved the graphics, and added in some new cars on top of some returning cars. The tracks from the original game all returned, and gameplay was mostly the same.

* One can easily argue that the various ''[[San Francisco Rush]]'' arcade games are Mission Pack Sequels of the original; while the tracks and graphics have changed, the fundamental gameplay and emphasis on real-world physics does not. Averted with the home console versions, which add additional modes that don't involve racing around a track.

** Same for ''[[Ridge Racer]] Revolution'' on the original [[PlayStation]].

 

* The various ''[[Street Fighter]]'' sequels, after the first version of ''Street Fighter II'', tended to be Mission Pack Sequels of the highest degree. At least the ones that were Mission Pack Sequels were labeled as such.

 

* The second ''[[Brothers in Arms]]'' game, ''Earned In Blood''. The first half are different takes on the same mission as the first game, or missions that occured in-between. The rest of the game is completely new.

* ''[[Doom (series)|Doom II: Hell on Earth]]'' is a good example of this trope being done right. The game engine is identical, it plays the same and there's only one new weapon and seven new enemies, one of which is a [[Palette Swap]] (compare to the original game's eight normal monsters and two bosses). The main attraction is the 32 new levels featuring sublime design, which is one of the reasons many ''Doom'' fans consider ''Doom II'' the best game in the series.

** In turn, ''Final Doom'' was a Mission Pack Sequel to ''Doom II'', but only contained new levels.

** The first game also had the 20/10 Level Pack, which would introduce 20 new single player levels, 10 new multiplayer maps, and the shotgun. The Level Pack was never actually released as intended, though; it added so much that it was released as ''Marathon 2: Durandal''.

* ''[[Left 4 Dead]]'', meet ''Left 4 Dead 2''. New characters, new levels, but same gameplay. To Valve's credit they added chainsaws, frying pans, and an updated Director which can change levels around and trigger weather effects. That still didn't stop the [[Internet Counterattack]] [[Flame War]].

* ''[[Serious Sam|Serious Sam: The Second Encounter]]'' is an interesting case. The game itself followed this trope—same engine, additional weapons, enemies and environments—as well as [[Humor Dissonance|a greater abundance of lame jokes from the companion AI]]. Yet despite being called ''The'' '''''Second''''' ''Encounter'', the next game in the series, which ''did'' contain major changes to the style, gameplay and atmosphere, was called ''Serious Sam'' '''''II''''', causing some confusion with the other game whose subtitle suggested the same thing. It can be confusing when looking for information regarding both installments, and it's easily to completely overlook one or the other for this very reason.

 

* Any "standalone expansion", like the ''[[Half-Life]] 2'' episodes, ''[[Company of Heroes]]'' expansions or the various ''[[Guild Wars]]'' campaigns, straddles the line between [[Expansion Pack]] and self-admitted Mission Pack Sequel.

* Many, many low-profile games have a Mission Pack Sequel. To name just a few, ''Age of Wonders'', ''Warlords Battlecry'', and the various ''Caesar III'' spin-offs.

* Come to think of it, this is practically endemic to certain genres, like [[RPG]]s and [[Interactive Fiction]] games. However, as many times it is not - as the trope description says, merely using the same engine and assets does not mean it's a Mission Pack Sequel.

 

* ''Warriors Orochi 2''. While the rest of the ''[[Dynasty Warriors]]'' series just barely avoids this trope by using new character models and maps for each iteration, even if they all have the same story, ''Warriors Orochi 2'' is literally a Mission Pack Sequel of the first ''Warriors Orochi'' with some new characters thrown in for good measure.

** It turns out that [[Warriors Orochi]] 2 was, in fact, an expansion, whereas [[Warriors Orochi]] 3 - titled Musou Orochi 2 in Japan, is the true sequel. Thanks for the confusing name scheme, Koei!

 

* The ''[[Armored Core]]'' games are notorious for doing this. Every game with a number at the end of it are brand new games, but every game with some kind of [[Word Salad Title]] is just a Mission Pack Sequel built on the numbered game's engine with a few minor additions or subtractions. This was how From Software managed to put out one ''Armored Core'' a year for a decade. Now that they've started making games for the [[Play Station 3]] and [[Xbox 360]], they're putting more effort into individual games, hence why there was only one Mission Pack Sequel to ''Armored Core 4'' and it's taken three years to go from it to ''Armored Core 5''.

* The ''[[Super Robot Wars]]'' series, albeit this merely in terms of overall concept, which is pretty identical in all incarnations (turn based strategy with big robots as units). Otherwise, the game engine has undergone revisions and the list of series and the plots vary from game to game.

 

* All the later ''[[Mega Man (video game)|Mega Man]]'' NES games, and some of the ''[[Mega Man X]]'' games, as well. The gameplay is so similar across each series that hackers have created [[Speed Run|speedruns]] of ''[[Mega Man X]]'' and ''X2'' and ''Mega Man 3'', ''4'', ''5'', and ''6'' by running several [[Emulation|emulators]] on the same controller input.

** ''9'' is [[Retraux|intentionally]] designed to be a Mission Pack Sequel for the original six games.

* ''[[Spyro The Dragon Enter The Dragonfly]]'' tried to hard to ''copy'' the feel of the games prior to it rather then create a new game. This, combined with its [[Obvious Beta]] status, meant the game didn't fair well with almost anyone.

 

* The ''[[Katamari Damacy]]'' sequels. Fortunately, the original had enough enjoyably weird potential that it almost didn't matter.

* ''[[Lemmings]]''' first sequels, ''X-Mas Lemmings'' and ''Oh No! More Lemmings'', were this. ''Oh No! More Lemmings'' had 100 levels in four new tilesets, and with a [[Sequel Difficulty Spike|much steeper learning curve]] if you hadn't played ''Lemmings'' already, but added nothing to the basic gameplay. A proper sequel, ''Lemmings 2: The Tribes'', followed later; this added a slew of new skills.

 

* ''[[Cannon Fodder]] 2'' is almost the same as the first game, but with different graphics and levels.

* ''[[Homeworld]]: Cataclysm'' was apparently supposed to ''be'' an expansion pack to the original game, but ended up becoming a standalone when the developers started making gameplay and graphics engine changes. The results are [[Broken Base|still controversial]]. Controversy in the plotline aside, the more sequel-like sequel Homeworld 2 uses a control scheme much more similar to Cataclysm's than that of the first game.

** Although the graphics ''were'' noticeably upgraded for the Windows-installation of Red Alert, compared to the original MS-DOS-only version of Tiberian Dawn.. and then, more true to this trope, the rerelease and console ports of ''TD'' used the upgraded graphics from ''RA''.

 

* The ''[[Guitar Hero]]'' franchise has seen at least minimal improvements between major releases, such as an improved hammer-on and pull-off system, practice mode and co-operative gameplay between the first two [[Guitar Hero]] titles. ''Rocks the 80s'', rushed out-the-door to meet the publishers' demands, featured only a modest facelift and new tracklist, and then the series was handed over to Neversoft and Activision...who started to apply this trope in full, starting with the release of ''Guitar Hero: [[Aerosmith]]''. ''World Tour'' added full band gameplay (mostly to compete with ''[[Rock Band]]''), and then even more band games were commissioned such as ''Guitar Hero: [[Metallica]]'' and ''Guitar Hero: [[Van Halen]]'', not to mention the DS versions with the awkward "Guitar Grip" peripheral that plugged into the GBA slot. The entire franchise more or less reached its culmination of stagnation with ''Guitar Hero: [[Greatest Hits|Smash Hits]]'', featuring nothing but remade versions of tracks from past ''Guitar Hero'' games, and ''Band Hero'', with a new facelift and tracklist geared specifically towards the teenie bopper crowd with [[Sarcasm Mode|hard-hitting guitar classics]] such as "[[Village People|YMCA]]" and "[[Spice Girls|Wannabe]]". Thankfully, they seem to have learned their lesson due to progressively weaker sales and reception, culminating in ''[[Van Halen]]'' flying completely under everyone's radar because the series had saturated the market so much, and most of the people who played the game got it ''for free'' with a code from ''[[Guitar Hero]] 5''.

* ''[[Rock Band]] 2'' adds some interface tweaks and 84 new songs, but that's about it. Of course, it's hard to expect a whole lot more; it'd be kind of like attempting to innovate dodgeball or birthday parties. There is ''some'' room for improvement, though, especially as far as the instrument peripherals go, and the new peripherals packaged with ''Rock Band 2'' are much better than the originals. And even then, if you're buying just the game and using your old instruments, 84 songs for $60 is a bargain by ''Rock Band's'' usual 1.99/song pricing.

** Additionally, DDR 3rd mix added the innovation of a tempo change, but it only occurred while there were no arrows on screen (in the song "Luv This Feeling"). DDR 4th Home/DDR 5th Arcade added the innovation of a tempo-freeze with the song "Healing Vision Angelic". DDRMAX added the innovation of a ton of new modifiers (most notably the speed modifiers), an Oni mode, and freeze arrows. The home versions also occasionally added new game play modes (such as the challenges in [[DDR 4 th]], the mission modes in DDR Universe, etc.)

 

* The ''[[Pokémon]]'' games. Every generation has had, at minimum, two alternate versions of one game that look and play exactly the same and a third rerelease that ''also'' looks and plays pretty much exactly the same but with a slightly altered storyline. Gens III and IV have also included [[Video Game Remake|remakes of past games]], though these aren't quite this trope, as they take place in vastly different locations and commonly feature Pokemon that are extremely hard to get in the other games of their generation.

* ''[[Might and Magic]] VI'''s engine was reused in ''Might & Magic VII'' and ''VIII'', to painfully diminishing returns.

* Strongly averted by the newer Bioware RPGs. ''Mass Effect'' is an RPG with third-person shooter elements; ''Mass Effect 2'' can be more accurately described as a third-person shooter with RPG elements. Likewise, ''[[Dragon Age Origins]]'' is a relatively slow-paced tactical RPG. While ''[[Dragon Age 2]]'' is definitely still an RPG, it much more closely resembles an action game due to the changes to combat system and streamlining of the inventory.

 

* Though most all of the ''[[Touhou]]'' games are fairly similar, ''Shoot The Bullet'' and ''Double Spoiler'' are essentially the same game with different enemies. They even have the same name in Japanese.

* The ''[[R-Type]]'' games for the Japanese [[TurboGrafx-16|PC Engine]] are a literal example of this trope. Hudson (the developers of the PCE port) were unable to port all of the arcade version's stages into one HuCard due to memory constraints, so they split the game into two halves. ''R-Type I'' contains the first half of the game, while ''R-Type II'' (not to be confused with the actual arcade sequel of the same name) has the later stages. However, when Hudson later made the American [[TurboGrafx-16]] version, they released it on a larger HuCard capable of containing the entire game.

* Done intentionally with ''[[After Burner]]''. The developers were unable to add a few features since they were forced to release the game under a certain deadline. The lead designer agreed to release the game, but only under the condition that he would be allow to make an upgrade kit later on. The upgrade kit was released as ''After Burner II'' and as a result most of the original cabinets ended up being converted.

 

* ''[[Descent]] II'' was essentially ''Descent'' with new weapons and robots. It used the same game engine, and played much like the original.

** In turn, it recieved its own [[Expansion Pack]], ''The Vertigo Series''.

* While all the ''[[Ace Combat]]'' games do play rather similarly, the only true case of this is ''[[Ace Combat Zero|Zero]]'' to ''[[Ace Combat 5 The Unsung War|5]]'', which is so apparent to the point that they even share a few maps for different missions. ''Zero'' does add even more planes, even more enemy aces and an Assault Record to keep track of them, as well as the return of multiple special weapons per plane and split-screen multiplayer from ''[[Ace Combat 04 Shattered Skies]]'', however.

 

* Most officially licensed sports games, such as the ''[[Madden NFL|Madden]]'' series and other related franchises that release a new installment each year, with the only differences being extremely minor tweaks and roster updates. You can basically skip nine out of ten ''Madden'' games if you don't want to sort through all of the Mission Pack Sequels.

** The Madden games get a bit of an exaggeratedly bad rep due to Real Gamers feeling that its user base is tainting their pure blood. There have actually been years in recent memory where new Madden games weren't made, and some people actually do not buy the new ones if they don't make enough improvements between versions (more people are content to play a favorite game they already own then pay $60 so the Packers can lose Brett Farve than you might think).

* The [[MSX]] versions of ''[[Track and Field]]'' (also known as ''Hyper Olympic'') and ''Hyper Sports'' split the original arcade games into two and three installments, respectively, though with some extra events added. ''Hyper Sports'' can be considered to have been an Event Pack Sequel in the first place, since not much was changed from the original ''Track & Field'' except for the types of events offered.

 

* ''[[Rainbow Six]]: Vegas 2'' is basically a [[POV Sequel]] to ''Vegas 1''

* ''[[Thief]] II'' sort of fits this trope, since it runs on the same engine as ''Thief'' and uses the same menu interface and the same mini-movies when you die or beat a mission. However, there is a lot of gameplay refinement that makes it a worthy sequel; it just technically isn't anything that couldn't have been done in the original game.

* ''[[Splinter Cell]]'' sequel ''Pandora Tomorrow'' fits the description as far as the single-player campaign is concerned, which was even shorter than the original. Pandora Tomorrow ''was'' the first Splinter Cell to feature multiplayer, but that was essentially a separate game in the same box.

 

* While ''[[Resident Evil 2]]'' was a very different game from the first ''[[Resident Evil]]'', ''[[Resident Evil 3: Nemesis]]: Nemesis'' reused the same engine as ''2'', but with a couple of new features such as the dodge maneuver and the ability to make your own ammo. A portion of ''Resident Evil 3'' is even set in the same police precinct where ''Resident Evil 2'' takes place. This pretty evident by its working title of "Resident Evil 1.9/2.1" (the actual "Resident Evil 3" ended up becoming ''[[Resident Evil Code: Veronica]]'').

** There was also [[What Could Have Been|scrapped first version]] of ''Resident Evil 2'', [[Retronym|retroactively known as]] ''Resident Evil 1.5''.

** ''[[Resident Evil Outbreak]] File #2'' makes incremental updates to the first ''Outbreak'''s general gameplay, but otherwise is exactly the same and likely would have been [[Downloadable Content]] if said game was released for the PC, [[Play Station 3]], or Xbox360.

 

* The third ''[[Syphon Filter]]'' game, despite having you play as a variety of characters, was nothing new. Every character was just a skin, and handled exactly the same as Gabe, to the point of being the same height—even the big black guy and the small Asian girl.

** The second game was also this. Like above, Logan and Xing controlled exactly the same; the only new things to the engine were a few additional weapons.

** In fairness, it wasn't supposed to be a true sequel. The stated goal for the Oddworld series was to have 5 "true" installments, each completely different, and for each installment to have at least one "bonus game" that kept things mostly the same. Exoddus was the only one of these "bonus" games to be made.

 

* ''[[Advance Wars]] 2: Black Hole Rising'' was pretty much the same game as the first ''[[Advance Wars]]'', only adding one new unit, some new CO's and a 2-tier power system. ''Advance Wars: Dual Strike'' does pretty much the same thing, adding even more new units and CO's, while including dual-screen maps and the ability to use two CO's as tag partners.

** ''Game Boy Wars Turbo'' and ''Game Boy Wars 2'' are also this to ''Game Boy Wars'', although ''Game Boy Wars 2'' removes one of the two cheaper indirect units. Surprisingly, ''Game Boy Wars 3'' averts this by being based on ''[[Nectaris]]'' instead and has [[Loads and Loads of Characters|quite a few units]] even without the promoted units added into the mix.

* The status of ''[[Total War|Napoleon: Total War]]'' is sometimes argued as such by fans of the series; some maintain that the game is a stand-alone expansion to ''Empire: Total War'', and so should be ''praised'' for the relatively high level of improvement and innovation which it shows, while some see it as a Mission Pack Sequel that slowed down post-release development for the notoriously buggy original. The Creative Assembly themselves have avoided describing it as either a sequel ''or'' an expansion, adding to the confusion.

 

* ''[[X-COM]]: Terror From The Deep'' was the same game as the original with re-drawn graphics and very minor additions, such as a few more melee weapons, two-stage missions, stat mods, and FLYING (well, swimming, really) Chryssalids.

** They also made it [[Nintendo Hard]], because no one realized that the difficulty settings in the original didn't actually ''work'' - so when some players complained that "Superhuman" was too easy, the remake crew cranked up the base difficulty without ever noticing the dial was disconnected. The bug wasn't found and fixed until years later, by modders.

** The ''[[Night Watch]]'' and ''Day Watch'' games are also based on the same engine, but the use of magic and another dimension add a whole new gameplay element. While the game includes pistols, they are [[Guns Are Useless|almost useless]] and cannot be targeted at body parts.

 

* The ''[[Ace Attorney]]'' games. Okay, so the second game replaces the exclamation marks with a life meter, lets you present characters' profiles, and introduces the Magatama... but the third game adds no new features at all. ''Apollo Justice'' essentially trades all of this advancement away for the "perceive" option (the lack of the magatama makes the life meter a lot less significant). Of course, they're great games nonetheless and it would be hard to change the format significantly without ruining it.

** The ''[[Ace Attorney]]'' games, actually, are the definition of [[Mission Pack Sequels]], as, in addition to not deviating from format overly much, they also get harder, requiring more and more lateral thinking and harder logical conclusions. Try playing the first case of Ace Attorney and the first case of Trials and Tribulations and see what you think. This trope is likely the reason why fans often refer to the cases as 1-1 through 1-5 for the first game, 2-1 through 2-4 for the second, and so on, as if each game is just a part of one big game.

* Largely due to the nature of [[Visual Novel]]s this is unavoidable but still draws ire when new games contain very little to offer over the old ones. Perhaps the most notable example is ''[[Da Capo]]'' which has somewhere around 10 sequels. This is not always the case of course as often games are sold for the express purpose of being rehashes of old material called 'fandisks' and some games like ''[[SHUFFLE!]] Essence+'' add a few new characters and some routes fans had been begging for for years tacked on to the original.

 

* The ''[[Shenmue]]'' series was originally planned to be released with serialized installments as (evident by the Japanese title of the first), but this idea fell through after the release of the first game, which is why the sequel is titled ''Shenmue II'', instead of ''Shenmue Chapter 2'', and spans more than just one chapter. It still reuses the same graphics and engine as the original game.

 

* '' [[Wii Fit]] Plus'' is near-identical to the original except for new exercises and "balance games". It even allows you to [[Old Save Bonus|import your save data]] from the original. Really, you might as well just trade in the original game when you get it, because it's useless if you have Plus.

 

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[[Category:Derivative Works]]

[[Category:Videogame Culture]]

[[Category:Sequel]]