10 Biggest Leaps Between Video Game Sequels

When you have a hot property it must be tempting to be precious with it, which is a shame as those that dare and succeed are their own biggest reward

These aren't baby steps forward so much as they are massive jumps. I'm Cy for WhatCulture.com and here are 10 big leaps between video game sequels

Number 10, Half-Life 1998 to Half-Life 2 2004. The original Half-Life is considered a milestone for first-person shooters

its focus on narrative knocked down the boundaries of what was expected from the genre

creating the most immersive FPS up until that point. Which is why it's incredible that Half-Life 2 put some things about the first game in stark contrast

by innovating even further. It established more of the world for the series outside of the Black Mesa research facility

giving the franchise an edgier tone that was able to ask grander and more philosophical questions about evolution and fate

In fact, grander is a good catch-all term for what Half-Life 2 did

Instead of being a sci-fi corridor shooter, it allowed players to explore large, uninterrupted environments

go off the beaten path, and via a number of vehicles, traverse some really impressive, grimy scenery

Of course, one huge improvement over the original was the depth of gameplay content

The brand new Havoc physics engine made the game a sandbox in and of itself, and the likes of the game's gravity gun gave players some incredibly fun tools to take full advantage of it

It's pretty remarkable that both games have been in the conversation for the best of all time

especially considering the leaps and bounds Half-Life 2 makes from its predecessor

9. Jak and Daxter 2001 to Jak 2 2003 Capable of displaying at 480p and 16.9, Jak 2 is part of an elite crew of PlayStation 2 games

that squeezed more out of the console in this way. Whilst the first game was plenty pretty, this push in the sequel is shown in the great texture work

lighting and number of enemies on screen at once. But Jak 2's place on this list isn't about its graphics so much as the leap it made stylistically

Jak and Daxter The Precursor Legacy released in 2001 in the months following the unmatched

sea change that was Grand Theft Auto 3's release. Whilst the game is considered a cult hit, it

struggled to find its audience at the time when gaming was changing. Of course GTA would have been

a great pick for this list if it wasn't so painfully obvious, but it isn't facetious to say that the

impact that game had on the industry came full circle for Naughty Dog when approaching Jak 2

Whilst the platforming and collect-a-thon elements are still present, the sequel takes its heroes in

a darker direction, giving them firearms, letting them cuss more frequently and following a more

mature story. It was a divisive choice to be sure as nobody saw it coming, but it certainly stopped

the fledgling franchise from being left in the dust of the industry's change. Number 8 Red Steel

2006 to Red Steel 2 2010. Remember Red Steel? Most people seem to have forgotten, so subscribe to the

channel if you like people bringing up weird games like this. Red Steel was a logical launch title

for the Nintendo Wii. Set in the Japanese criminal underworld of America, the game was about cutting

down enemies with a sidearm and the katana by using the console's motion controls

Unfortunately, its concept perhaps oversold its execution. Many critics and gamers found the game

to be awkward to play at times, with the best sword moves poorly if at all explained, and the

graphics leaving a lot to be desired So it kind of incredible that it got a sequel at all and in fact that Red Steel 2 might be one of the best games on the system when it comes to utilizing its strengths The original Metacritic score of 63 compared to 80 for the sequel is a

good place to start. Red Steel 2 ditches the modern day setting for a really stylish samurai

cowboy aesthetic. Its cel-shaded graphics mean that it's aged remarkably well. Most importantly

with the arrival of the Wii Motion Plus and the failings of the first game to learn from

Ubisoft Paris were able to craft a what they called first-person brawler which is exceedingly

rewarding to learn and execute. Whilst the game might be heavy on the tutorials at first

it's worth it to understand and appreciate the combat of this sequel which finally reaches the

promises of the original. Number 7, Street Fighter 1987 to Street Fighter 2 1991. If there's ever

been a series that has tried its best to make you forget about its awkward first entry, it's Street

Fighter. Most people basically treat the franchise as starting from Street Fighter 2 and its many

revisions and for very good reason. The original Street Fighter might have made plenty of money in

arcade but it was very flawed. Its control system was a mess, the sole playable character moved

horribly slowly and sprite work was all over the place in quality. It had a spark of potential

being the first game to include variable strengths for punches and kicks as well as hidden special

moves but it now lives in a huge shadow. Street Fighter 2 which arrived four years later outdid

the original game in every way. Combat was tight, fluid and infinitely more satisfying. It took the

the original's worldwide tournament concept where it needed to go by including a variety of fighters

from all over the globe. The artwork and character designs were stunning, introducing players to the

most enduring renditions of some of the most iconic characters in gaming. More than anything

the shine to perfection execution of Street Fighter 2 is responsible for the beginning of

the fighting genre boom in a way that the first game could never be. Number six, Metal Gear Solid

1998 to Metal Gear Solid 2 2001. No video game better displayed the leap from the 5th to

6th generation consoles than Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty. In 1998 the first Metal Gear Solid game

helped to turn the original Playstation on its head. Games from the system's first year

like Tekken, Jumping Flash and Gex could never have foreseen what some developers

would squeeze out of the console in just a few short years. Kojima's

MGS was one of these, using brilliant art direction and choreography to make

something unforgettably cinematic out of the PS1's sharp polygons. But MGS2 was another story

entirely continuing the series' habit of cutting-edge thinking just three years later on the

PlayStation 2. Its use of motion blur and depth of field were unprecedented. Shiny surfaces actually

appeared to be reflective. Rain effects from the game's opening actually bounced off the ground and

off of the player. Character models didn't just finally have eyes, they were actually incredibly

expressive. Sons of Liberty seemed to laugh in the face of the mere idea of limitation. This was one

year into the PlayStation 2's lifespan and the game would spend the rest of the generation and

the decades following it being rightfully praised as one of the most remarkable titles on the console

Number five, Resident Evil 3 Nemesis 1999 to Resident Evil 4 2005. The difference between

Resident Evil 3 Nemesis and Resident Evil 4 is so huge that presented to a non-gamer it wouldn't be

surprising if they assumed they were totally unrelated Now that not to say that there weren Resi games in the six gap between the third and fourth numbered entries The 2000s was one of the busiest and most experimental times for the series

with Capcom releasing side games, spin-offs, and a remake. Even so, people were hungry for the next mainline game

that would push the series forward after the destruction of Raccoon City. However, people were not expecting the gigantic jump

that Resident Evil 4 would bring in absolutely every way. Its story is completely separate from the rest of the series

going so far as to wrap up the fate of the malevolent umbrella in the opening monologue

Its quipping action star interpretation of returning hero Leon might as well be a different person

It dropped virus-infected zombies for parasite-infected humans, and it traded all of the gameplay tropes it helped establish for something completely fresh

It's such a wild departure that it's still discussed amongst Resident Evil fans today

for how it boldly cleaned the slate, for better or for worse

This aside, there's no arguing that it saved the series from stagnation and changed gaming forever

with its at-the-time-innovative-over-the-shoulder panic-horror action. Number 4, Uncharted Drake's Fortune 2007 to Uncharted 2 Among Thieves 2009

They can't all be immediately obvious leaps and bounds. Sometimes it's fun to get a little more granular

When it comes to refining an idea and learning from experiences, the first two Uncharted games are a brilliant example of iterating a sequel within the same console space

Aesthetically despite just two years between them There's quite a strong difference between the first two Uncharted games

Especially when it comes to character models Obviously Naughty Dog already had plenty to build from

And had experience working within the PS3's tech at this point A console that was notoriously hard to develop for

So plenty of time was spent turning the flat-faced action figures of Uncharted Into more detailed and more handsomely chiselled characters

This really helps the improved script to land as well But it's not just about graphics

Sequels can be about finding one's feet Whereas the original Uncharted was a decent, if repetitive, cover shooter

Among Thieves saw the series become the video game-action movie hybrid spectacle that it became known as

The sequel does an infinitely better job of pacing shooting galleries and climbing sections

and features some of the best set pieces in the series, including the train shootout with its impressively immersive, looping background

Uncharted 2 is what made Nathan Drake the Sony mascot he became for the next decade

Number 3, Kid Icarus of Myths and Monsters 1991 to Kid Icarus Uprising 2012

Any series that manages to skip 20 years of console revolution is going to look different

but one of the best examples of this is the unlikely revival of Kid Icarus

And unlikely is a very deliberate choice of wording here. Despite the 1986 original being quite unanimously held in high regard as an underrated gem for the NES

it took five years for the game to get a sequel. Of myths and monsters for the Nintendo Game Boy, strangely only released in America in 1991 and Europe in 1992

and never came to its home country of Japan. Until the 3DS, but that's besides the point

However, with the main character Pit being drafted into the roster of Super Smash Bros. Brawl in the late 2000s

interest in Kid Icarus began to pick up again. In the 20 years of absence the video game space had changed as dramatically as Pit original squat design had to his new Bishounen anime protagonist style As such 2012 Kid Icarus Uprising was a totally different take on the series swapping 2D platforming for third shooting that utilized the stereoscopic 3D of the then

Nintendo 3DS. The game actually takes a few pot shots at the time the series spent dormant

yet despite decent sales and strong reviews it's now been another decade without pit and friends

2. Final Fantasy VI 1994 to Final Fantasy VII 1997 7. It would have been easy to fill this list with franchises that made the most obvious graphical

jump in game history from 2D to 3D, but few reached the heights of Final Fantasy's transformation

Final Fantasy 6 had pushed the Super Nintendo as far as it could go. The game's map, or two

technically, which in itself was a shocking feat, was full of secrets and optional bosses

The story and characters were brilliantly animated in a way that felt epic for the time

but this was nothing compared to what would come in just three years. Final Fantasy 7 wasn't just

jumping to the CD-ROM-fed PlayStation but had a whopping $45 million budget

making it one of the most expensive video games ever made at that point. It's also made it an unavoidable must-play

taking the franchise to the worldwide stage in a big way. After the West had only gotten the sporadic FF game, usually numbered incorrectly

Final Fantasy VII was the launching point for the series globally. The huge game, split across four discs

boasted an entire suite of 3D work from overworld models, dozens of battle character models and animations

and more CGI than any other game to that point. Pairing this with fully orchestrated music made for a game that

whilst perhaps quaint, now had to be experienced to be believed at the time

Pretty good for a series seven entries in. And number one, every Elder Scrolls game

With some of the longest-running franchises in gaming, it's possible to track the changes in the industry incrementally through new installments

On the flip side, Elder Scrolls games tend to be so infrequently released

that each one feels like a completely fresh experience, so to just pick one pair would be impossible

Perhaps the outlier to this is the two years between the original game, Arena, and its sequel, Daggerfall

Whilst this is therefore also the smallest jump in quality, it's very clear that the Bethesda team had learnt a lot on their first RPG

and applied that experience to every facet of its sequel, creating a bigger, prettier and more active map to explore

Morrowind arrived six years later following the real advent of 3D gaming

being the first entry to come to Xbox and doing so in stunning fashion as the most impressive RPG

on consoles at the time. Whilst the map this time is technically smaller with a lack of procedural

generation it makes for a more considered world to get lost in. Four years later Oblivion added

an unprecedented physics system to Elder Scrolls as well as HDR lighting and a spectacular draw

distance. Five years on marked the most recent mainline entry with Skyrim which improved lighting

shadows and weather effects greatly and it also added a greater degree of verticality to Tamriel

making for some pretty impressive views. If Elder Scrolls 6 arrived in 2025 and that's probably being

generous that would be almost 15 years since Skyrim and thus would continue the trend and

considering that Skyrim's original launch in 2011 wasn't even natively in HD it's fair to say we've

come a long way since. So goodness only knows what Elder Scrolls 6 will look like