The sequels to the classics

General_Norris

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I think that most sequels except seem to be quite forgotten with very few mentions in modern times. And I think it's a shame because many did improve in the original's gameplay even if it also made it harder.

So what do you think? What to you think of Defender compared to Stargate or Centipede compared to Millipede? Which one would you have if you had the choice?

So far I haven't really delved into it and besides the obvious examples like the terrible Spy Hunter II, I don't know which ones I should try. Some games I really wonder on:


1) Gaplus vs Galaga. Other than being much more difficulty, I haven't heard any comments on Gaplus gameplay. What did they change or add?

2) Best Pac Man games. Sure, everyone loves the original and Ms Pac Man but that's it, there are very little comments on the rest tough I heard that the rest of titles by Midway were all pretty bad.

3) Qix JAMMA games. After Qix II, which is almost exactly like the original, Taito released Super Qix which ditched the abstract graphics and introduced power ups and the unreleased but AFAIK playable Twin Qix.

Thoughts?
 
I think that Super Punch-Out was a significant improvement to Punch-Out, and Punch-Out is an awesome game to begin with.

- SPO is faster paced (without being too fast), allowing your punches to be thrown more rapidly in succession. When you go back to PO after being used to SPO, it feels like the game is in slow motion.

- SPO keeps a record of the top three fastest KO times against each of the first-cycle fighters, as well as overall hit percentages. This adds additional goals beyond just the overall points score.

- SPO has more interesting and humorous fighters ("colorful fighters" as Mickey Goldmill would say), and some of them like to cheat (such as trying to kick you in the head).

- Despite having one less opponent than PO (5 vs. 6), SPO has more variety in the opponents' appearances. PO has three pairs of palette/head swap character sprites while SPO has 3 unique character sprites and one pair of palette/head swap character sprites. Plus, the extra character that PO has (Kid Quick) is extremely easy to beat quickly, and he never shows up again. Eventually both games whittle the roster down to 4 characters that you keep fighting over and over until you lose or quit; Glass Joe, Piston Hurricane, Bald Bull, and Mr. Sandman in the case of PO; and Bear Hugger, Dragon Chan, Vodka Drunkenski, and Super Macho Man in the case of SPO.

- SPO has added control functionality (pull up on joystick handle to duck an attack).

SPO wasn't nearly as successful as PO though, probably because the first opponent was no pushover that even a first-time player could easily beat, like Glass Joe was; and PO was still a good earner when the SPO kit was released, and probably many operators didn't see much of an incentive to buy it.

Arm Wresting (which was more of a spinoff than a sequel) is in the "WTF were they thinking?" category in my opinion.
 
I like Super Zaxxon alot, but a ton of people hate it, for whatever reason. I haven't played the original arcade "Zaxxon" in about 28 years, but I have it on the Xbox 360, and I prefer the faster gameplay of SZ to the original. Also, the SZ cabinet kickes serious ass!
 
They are classics to me....

Street Fighter II is a classic (not from the "golden" or "classic" era, but a classic according to normal use of the term), but Street Fighter isn't a classic by any stretch of the imagination. It was a relatively obscure game with novel and problematic controls and poor gameplay mechanics that was a flop, and most people don't even remember it. So Street Fighter doesn't really fit this thread because it's not a classic in the first place.
 
I think that most sequels except seem to be quite forgotten with very few mentions in modern times. And I think it's a shame because many did improve in the original's gameplay even if it also made it harder.

2) Best Pac Man games. Sure, everyone loves the original and Ms Pac Man but that's it

When you get perfection, you should really stop. :)

Ms. Pac-Man > Pac-man though I am fond of the "Pacman Championship edition" on XBL.
 
Gaplus is awesome. More weapons. Faster, harder.... Its manic. Think of it like this, Galaga is like a marathon run. Gaplus is like a Ferrari running headlong into a brick wall at full speed. Thing is, sometimes you break through the wall and make it to the next level. But hey, that's just my take. I love them both.
 
like total carnage over smash tv. if that can be called a sequel.
 
Volfied rules
Wow, I didn't know about that one! What did they add? It looks like it has obstacles and different Qixes.

BTW, has anyone played Qix++ on Xbox Live?

@MaximRecoil

Nice post!

@OldTymeToys

Nah, it's just very different. Perhaps it isn't as good but it's not a terrible game.
 
if you wana count the TMNT games I think Turtles in Time hits more heights than the first one...then again "classic" and 90s just don't seem to fit...
 
I enjoy Donkey Kong Junior every bit as much as I enjoy Donkey Kong, but I am not very fond of Donkey Kong 3.

Also, I like Galaga 88 better than any other version of Galaga or Galaxian.

Stargate is far superior to Defender. I know there will be some detractors on this point, however.

Steve
MM
 
Not technically a sequel, but I must admit Baby Pac Man is one of my favorite machines of all time. The combination of pinball and Pac Man is just too good......
 
Dig Dug 2 sucks pretty bad.

The first time you get to a double digit level, and have an army of baddies chasing you, and you're two pixels from dying...and then you notice you can quickly run away and drill the whole army into the ocean for 10K points, you're hooked. :D

As far a sequel which tops the original, my vote is for Arkanoid II: Revenge of DoH.
 
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