Question: Is it possible to enjoy sequeled games without playing previous one

N

newbie2000

CAGiversary!
I am asking this question because I just got my PS2 recently. There seems to be so many good sequeled (not sure it is a word) games: MGS 3, Jak 3, Ratchet 2, Sukoden 4, etc... Can a newcomer still enjoy it by jumping directly into those games. I tried looking up at earlier versions, but the graphics pale in comparison (by a lot) to the sequel. What do you guys think? Any recommendation or advice
 
ok, first of all, suikoden 4 didn't really get good ratings, so you can probably skip that one. as for the others, I'm not sure, h aven't played any of them :p
 
I blieve the Jak, Ratchet, and MGS series are all fun and great no matter which game in the series you choose. Since the first games are pretty cheap, you should go back and give them a playthrough so you can appreciate the improvement made in the sequels and any references that are made.
 
Ratchet and Clank games really build on each other. Going Commando is like R&C 1 on crack

MGS games do the same. You get more out of them if you play the previous ones first (though I do recommend playing MGS2 before and after MGS3 as everything makes more sense later)
 
Depends, some games you can. But, I think you'll enjoy MGS3 more if you know the story that they're trying to tell. Don't get me wrong, by all means go and get it immediately. But, go back and play MGS2 once you're done. Then go MGS1 (on gamecube preferrably) and play through that one.
 
I've have played Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal without playing R&C 1 or 2. For the most part, I would say yes, it's possible to enjoy sequels without playing the original.
 
MGS you'd still enjoy, but MGS2 doesn't exactly pale in comparison, nor does Twin Snakes (if you have a Cube). I'd recommend picking up both if you get the chance.
 
Yes. You can always enjoy game sequals without ever playing the previous games in the series.

Why do you even have to ask.
 
it really does depend, if it is muiltiplayer (like halo 2) then its don't matter if its single player it may matter... for example GTA:SA is a game where it DONT matter.
 
you can for sure on most games, but something like shenmue, you MUST play in order, since it's one big story broken into parts. games always work by themselves, but as far as the story goes, some don't
 
[quote name='help1']it really does depend, if it is muiltiplayer (like halo 2) then its don't matter if its single player it may matter... for example GTA:SA is a game where it DONT matter.[/quote]

GTA, Final Fantasy, games that are a brand name of a certian game with new story each time, new character, (GTA VC and 3 and some of the same small characters but didn't affect anything) games that need to be played in order, are the games where people flip out about the ending, Halo2 for example, don't jump into halo 3 without playing halo 2 if you want to get the whole picture
 
Play them in order if you can - the first ones tend to be cheaper. In the case of story-based games (RPGs etc) figure out from reviews etc. how much they have to do with each other. Skip suikoden 4, get 3 if you can still find it, most reviewers liked that one much better (but of course your opinion may differ). After playing a new game in a series you may be bothered by not being able to do stuff added in the sequels. some sequels improve a lot, others really blow it. you really should just read a few reviews. In some genres the sequels pretty much replace the originals (racing games, maybe flight sims, etc). that was just a random stream-of-consciousness, but hopefully you've found it useful.
 
Thanks for the advices. I do find the recommendations useful. I got MGS 3 and MGS 2. Unfortunately, I don't have a Gamecube, so I won't be getting Twin Snakes. I may get Rachet & Clank 1 & 2 as well.
 
Sometimes sequels aren't tied to each other but share common elements (Final Fantasy)... some are direct sequels (The Jak series)... with Suikoden, if you've NEVER played one before, then most of the inside jokes and references (characters, one in particular) will be oblivious to you... if I were you, I would play the Suikoden games in this order: IV, I, II, then III. It's that way timelinewise anyway... trouble is, good luck FINDING the first three. The first can be had easily if you look at the right stores at the right time. The second one, do I EVEN have to say it's going to be a challenge given the rarity of it? :roll: Three is fairly common preowned, but it's elusive brand new.
 
[quote name='joystickz']Resident Evil 4.

Made for anyone who either hated the first bunch...
or never played.
[/quote]
I agree. I rented and hated the REmake, but after playing the RE4 demo I've decided to buy it when it drops to $20.
 
It doesnt really matter. The developer usually try to avoid making a game that's difficult for for newcomers to get into. The only execption is the .hack series, since they play more like one gmae break into 4.
 
Games still do not depend as heavily on plot and characters nearly as much as films, TV shows, and books do. While there might be references to past adventures that longtime fans will appreciate, most game sequels can be enjoyed without playing previous installments. For instance, every MGS game may retain a few characters from previous installments, but essentially each starts from scratch, with new enemies, allies, locations, weapons, storyline, etc, with only minor connections with previous installments. Compare that to Lord of the Rings. Anyone who watches Return of the King without seeing the first two films (or reading the first two novels) would likely not understand what was going on, and would not get as much out of it as someone who's seen the previous ones.
 
Well LotR is more like one three cut into three, so that isnt a good example. Some better example would be watching Mission Impossible 2 or Lethal wepon 3 without watching the previous movies. Most seequal are made so that everyone can enjoy, but it is a little better if you watched the previous movies. Unless the movie had a sequal ready planned (i.e matrix rev)
 
It's cool with all these recommendation. In regards to Suikoden series. I found that the the first one cost 29.99, second one cost 59.99, and the third one cost 24.99; all pre-owned of course. Unfortunately, someone beat me to the first & second one in the store by a day! (not kidding) The store actually have a copy, but some employee put a hold on it. Despite that, this is one expensive series to follow. Suikoden IV can be had for 29.99 new, comparable to the older ones!
 
For ratchet and Clank you can't definaltely just skip right to the third. Same with Jak, although there is a little more depth to the story so it is nice to play the firdst onees so you know what's going on.
 
I recommend playing most games in order - especially R&C. Mainly for reasons mentioned above, which I'll relist:

1) Older games are cheaper, though just as fun as they were originally. If you play them in order, you can get away with never spending more than $20 (or less) since you're now behind the curve.

2) If you play the newest game first, there's a good chance you won't enjoy the older ones later, since the newer ones have [hpefully] improved on the originals.

E.g. R&C2 pauses the game during quick select. If you are used to that (it's really nice), you'll HATE that R&C1 keeps the action going during quick select.
 
actually... it all depends on how linear the games are... Suikoden 4 is actually a prequel, it takes place before the other three games. And theres not much tying the 4 together. They only ever really make vague references to each other with a few characters spaning more than one of the games.

So does MGS3... but it also builds a lot on the previous entries. RE4... I havent played yet, but then a lot of the RE games overlap each other, so you kinda have to play them all to get the whole story reguardless of order.

The Wild Arms games are all separate entities, kinda like Final Fantasy.

In the end, it just comes to personal preferance. Do you want to know absolutely every thing, or are you fine knowing only part of the story?
 
Well, since you are talking about sequels. Play Devil May Cry, but stay away from Devil May Cry 2.

For me I've played all of the Ratchet and Clanks (UYA is the best) and I think it doesn't matter. Its humor is the same throughout the series. As for Jak, I think you should start off with Jak 2. The first Jak was more of a platformer.
 
In regards to Metal Gear Solid 3, I would definitely play them in order. Heck, I would go all the way back to Metal Gear for NES (You can probably skip Metal Gear 2 for NES, seems to be a bit of controversy around that one). Kojima did a masterful job of tying in elements from each one as new games come out.

At the very least read the story from one of the many websites devoted to Metal Gear regarding the NES versions.

Then play Metal Gear Solid, because there are a lot of references to that in....

Metal Gear Solid 2, which should be played next....

Then play Metal Gear Solid 3 which ties a lot of things together (especially Metal Gear for NES!).

Then after that sit tight and wait like the rest of us for the next installment which will be for the PS3! (Btw if you read this Hideo Kojima, you better damn well finish what ya started in MSG2!!!!)
 
[quote name='2poor']street fighter games are fun w/o having to play the original[/quote]

That's because there's 1500 different verions, sequels, offshotts, etc. and they wouldn't expect you to play them all. Though they wouldn't mind if you bought them all.
 
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