Every video game release calendar of the past few years have been filled to the brim with sequels, as publishers are less keen on greenlighting an unproven, brand new IP over sticking with the tried and tested.
However, with it looking increasingly likely that, following the release of Uncharted 4, developer Naughty Dog will hunker down and create The Last of Us 2 despite that seeming like a truly bad idea, it’s time to look at some of the other games that have left a large portion of gamers longing for a sequel, but which probably could do without one.
Here’s The Last of Us 2 and other video game sequels that don’t need to happen:
The Last of Us 2 and Other Sequels That Shouldn't Be Released
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The Last of Us 2
You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who didn't love, or who at least didn't understand why other people loved, The Last of Us. So that in and of itself should mean that it should receive a sequel, right? Wrong.
Without spoiling the game for those who have somehow managed to not yet play it, The Last of Us ended on a perfect note, providing a satisfying finale that didn't exactly tie up all the loose ends, but that had people discussing it for weeks after the final credits had rolled.
Aside from focusing upon an entirely new batch of survivors, which would feel like something of a cop-out on Naughty Dog's behalf, there doesn't feel like much else could be done with Joel and Ellie's story that wouldn't detract from the fitting finale of the original game.
I know that Naughty Dog are brainstorming ideas for the sequel, and won't be producing anything in the near future given the upcoming release of Uncharted 4, but I hope that following Nathan Drake's next foray into the wild the developer looks to give us another original story, rather than trying to squeeze extra juice out of one they've already told.
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Battletoads 2
People seem to forget that Battletoads wasn't very good. Unfairly difficult, thoroughly frustrating and lacking the charm of the games Rare would later develop such as Donkey Kong Country, Battletoads was a good launching pad for the developer with its impressive animations and cartoon stylings, but it wasn't the classic it's revered as being today.
Battletoads 2 seems to be a game that people would like to be released regardless of whether or not they have any interest in playing it which, with it arguably being more infamous for the "Battletoads meme" (look it up) than it is for being an actually great game.
I want to see Rare return to their glory days more than anyone, but Battletoads 2 is not the game that will allow them to do that. Aside from releasing a HD remake of the NES game which, as mentioned, wasn't all that good in the first place, there's nowhere for this series to go.
Please, let's all shut up about Battletoads 2 now.
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Heavy Rain 2
Heavy Rain seems to divide the opinions of a lot of people, but I for one enjoyed it despite its well-documented failings. Heavy Rain's conclusion left enough room for a follow-up, especially considering that there were multiple endings to uncover, and I was among the camp who hoped that David Cage and the rest of the team at Quantic Dream would return to it.
But then Beyond: Two Souls came out. Beyond was a game that highlighted all of the problems with David Cage as a self-professed auteur, a game so wholly pretentious and embarrassingly thin in terms of both plot and gameplay that, as someone who had previously defended his flawed "artistic vision," made me switch sides and settle with the people who believe that if he wants to make movies so much, he should just go ahead and make them.
While Heavy Rain featured quick-time segments, they actually had an impact upon gameplay. In Beyond I often found myself simply putting the controller to the side during action sequences, with the outcome remaining completely the same. It was an illusion of interactivity the likes of which I've never seen before, and has put me off playing a David Cage game ever again.
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Crash Bandicoot 7
Do something for me, if you will: go to eBay. Purchase an old PlayStation/PlayStation 2. Now purchase a Crash Bandicoot game. Notice anything?
Yep, that's right. They're not as great as you thought they were.
Another series that has greatly benefited from nostalgia-tinted glasses is Crash Bandicoot, a series which, while perfectly fine and inoffensive, was nowhere near as accomplished as those who played the games back in their heyday would lead you to believe.
That people have requested that Naughty Dog, a company which over the past few years has brought us Uncharted and The Last of Us, drop what they're doing and begin work on Crash Bandicoot 7 is baffling.
The Crash Bandicoot series went out with a whimper, not a bang, following a series of diminishing returns and dwindling consumer interest. No one should be asking for Naughty Dog to go back to work on Crash in place of whatever they're working on right now.
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Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare was a good game, but as far its multiplayer component goes, it was bested by Titanfall in almost every way.
Titanfall brought a level of giddy excitement to the first-person shooter that had been absent from a while, and one which Advanced Warfare clearly tried to replicate with its futuristic gadgetry and more movement-focused gameplay.
While it was a good enough shooter on its own merits, Advanced Warfare lacked that special something that Respawn's game possessed. If Titanfall could've held on to its growing community with more content, then the game's popularity wouldn't have dwindled so swiftly while Advanced Warfare's remains strong.
However, Titanfall 2 inevitably be coming to the PS4, Xbox One and PC now that Respawn and Microsoft's exclusivity deal has expired, meaning that whenever the developer decides to release it, it will undoubtedly come brimming with the kind of features that will ensure its community will not disappear as swiftly as it did with the first game. An improved Titanfall with greater replayability is something that an Advanced Warfare 2, with its derivative mechanics and more traditional gameplay, simply couldn't compete with.
Rather than trying to relive the success of Modern Warfare with the Advanced Warfare brand, Activision and Sledgehammer Games should look for new avenues to explore that won't see them being placed in direct competition with a Titanfall sequel because, in all honesty, that doesn't seem like a shootout that they'd be able to win.
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Shenmue 3
Shenmue 3 is not a game longed for this world. Revolutionary for its time, there are so many plot-centric, thoughtful games being released by independent developers these days that a Shenmue 3 would just be another one to add to the pile, albeit one with many more fans to inevitably disappoint when they realize that what makes Shenmue, well, Shenmue, simply wouldn't fly today.
Of course, Sega could take it in a completely different direction, but then it wouldn't really be Shenmue, would it?
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Super Mario Galaxy 3
This is the most difficult inclusion on this list. Both Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 were fantastic, near-perfect platform games that instantly made their way to the upper echelon of Mario games (of which there have been many), rivaling the likes of Super Mario World, Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario 64 for the place atop the throne.
With the Wii U slowly starting to make its way into more homes, there have been suggestions and murmurings that Super Mario Galaxy 3 would be the game to really push the console to the next level. But, selfishly, I'd rather see Nintendo continue to explore new territory than revisit their previous successes.
Super Mario 3D World is an incredibly underrated entry into main Mario series, and in many ways betters the Galaxy series, even if it isn't as groundbreaking in terms of level design or as innovative conceptually. Nintendo still has the creative power to take Mario in new directions, and while I'd be the first in line to pick up Super Mario Galaxy 3, I'd still rather see them continue to originate rather than rest on their laurels.
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Banjo Threeie
If Banjo-Threeie were to have been released back when Rare wasn't missing mostly all of its original talent, then there is no doubt in my mind that it could have been just as good as its predecessors.
However, since the release of Banjo-Tooie back in 2000, the company has gone through a series of transformations until eventually becoming Microsoft's go-to developer of underwhelming Kinect games and "consultants" for the newly reinvigorated Killer Instinct series.
If Banjo-Threeie were to ever be released these days, it seems more than likely that it would feature little of the spark of the original games and further sully the name of the iconic franchise in the minds of fans of the once beloved series.
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts already did a great deal of damage - I don't think Banjo fans can take much more.
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New Super Mario Bros. U 2
For me at least, the New Super Mario Bros. series represented a laziness in Nintendo I hadn't seen up until that point.
While you could argue that the New Super Mario Bros. series was good for business, give that Nintendo were churning them out at a rate they'd never before managed to accomplish with any of their other series, it also gave us two of the weakest Mario games created by the developer in the form of New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Mario Bros. 2.
Thankfully, Nintendo has put the series to rest for a while on both its home console and handhelds. I hope it stays that way.
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Pokemon Snap 2
Yes, Pokemon Snap 2 would work well with the Wii U's touchscreen GamePad. At this point everyone has made note of this. But should they bring out a sequel? Absolutely not.
Like Battletoads and Crash Bandicoot, Pokemon Snap is yet another game that has become oddly revered as the years have gone past, seemingly due to how much of an oddity it was, or perhaps because of how popular the Pokemon anime and trading cards were.
If those who begged for a Pokemon Snap 2 were to actually return to the original game, I highly doubt they'd be so enthusiastic to see a sequel. Trundling around on a linear path taking snapshots of creatures bouncing around? How did that concept ever make it to development?
But it did and, for some reason, people loved it. I highly doubt they'd have the same feelings towards a Pokemon Snap 2, though.
