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00:00 The video game industry loves nothing more than sequels, which makes it a little bit weird
00:04 when some games never actually get follow-ups despite huge fan demand.
00:08 However, all of the following could be a big case of be careful what you wish for,
00:12 as the reality of what these projects would actually turn out to be is a far cry from the pitch-perfect versions
00:19 that we all have in our heads.
00:21 So, with that in mind, I'm Josh from WhatCulture.com, and these are 10 Fan-Demanded Video Game Sequels
00:26 That Should Never Happen.
00:28 Number 10 - Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 3
00:31 When it comes to Star Wars video games, Knights of the Old Republic will always reign supreme.
00:36 Bioware's original RPG was a seminal title, and Obsidian's follow-up, while clearly hampered by a limited production cycle,
00:43 has come to be recognized also as an incredible game.
00:47 Consequently, Knights of the Old Republic 3 has always seemed like a bit of a no-brainer,
00:51 as close to a guaranteed success as you can get in the video game world.
00:56 It's a tap-in, an open goal, a sure-fire bet.
00:59 Yet, despite constant demands from fans and even the developers themselves,
01:04 EA have been reluctant to revive the franchise outside of their MMO spin-off and the upcoming remake.
01:09 And while yes, it would be amazing to see a proper third game get announced,
01:13 a release under current EA management would simply be a recipe for disaster.
01:18 See, when fans like me imagine Knights of the Old Republic 3, they see an expansive, detailed RPG.
01:24 Something classically Bioware or Obsidian.
01:28 Unfortunately though, those kind of games just aren't what EA is focused on at the moment.
01:32 And you can bet that if it did come back, it would have forced live service elements and multiplayer,
01:37 essentially being Knights of the Old Republic 3 in name only.
01:41 A sequel in general isn't a bad idea by any means, but in the current climate,
01:45 it's hard to imagine it ending up being anything other than a major disappointment.
01:49 Number 9 - Mirror's Edge 3
01:51 Mirror's Edge 3 should never happen, and here's why.
01:55 Nobody is going to buy it.
01:57 Yeah, you, yes, you watching this video right now might buy it,
02:01 but you're gonna be like one of ten people, and I'm gonna be one of the other ones as well.
02:05 That only leaves eight other people.
02:08 And this is because while Mirror's Edge has a fan following,
02:11 it just doesn't have an audience big enough to justify its budget.
02:14 Fans spent years asking EA to make a sequel, and when they did, it bombed.
02:20 And it's not a mistake the company is likely to make a third time around.
02:24 This is also a case of if EA even decided to bring the franchise back,
02:28 there's probably no way that they'd just repeat the formula again
02:31 and expect it to somehow catch on this time.
02:34 As a result, it's more possible, like Knights of the Old Republic again,
02:37 that Mirror's Edge would be changed so much to make it more marketable
02:41 that it just wouldn't be worth it.
02:42 Likewise, developers DICE are a completely different company these days.
02:46 They're struggling with Battlefield, let alone doing fans of this series justice.
02:51 Number 8, Conker's Bad Fur Day 2.
02:54 Conker's Bad Fur Day was a foul-mouthed anarchistic platformer
02:58 that released on Nintendo's otherwise family-friendly N64,
03:01 an adult-orientated entry in a genre that was otherwise just so muted.
03:05 It stood out, not always for the right reasons, such as its censored console ports,
03:10 and the nostalgia fans have for this deeply funny game
03:13 has always spilled over into a desire for the sequel that never was.
03:16 And while there is an argument that a self-referential crass game
03:19 wouldn't be anything special in a world where Deadpool reigns supreme at the box office,
03:24 the biggest major problem holding back a sequel
03:26 is that the rare of today simply isn't the rare that devised Conker's Bad Fur Day back in the 90s.
03:32 Sure, they're still talented, and Sea of Thieves showed that the spark of creativity
03:36 that launched the company to success is still there,
03:39 but they're hardly the underdog go-getters that they once were.
03:42 Consequently, you could probably swap in any of the studio's franchises for Conker,
03:46 and the same issues would still apply.
03:48 Number 7, Prince of Persia.
03:49 Prince of Persia was Ubisoft's premier franchise in the 2000s.
03:53 The original trilogy pioneered the kind of action-platforming that other games dreamed of having,
03:58 with a distinctive setting and art style that made it instantly iconic.
04:02 You could also turn back time, which scientifically makes every single game better.
04:07 Unfortunately, once the trilogy wrapped, the publisher struggled to find new ways to innovate,
04:11 delivering an ambitious but flawed reboot in 2008,
04:14 and then an interim sequel with The Forgotten Sands.
04:17 Both were decent efforts, but in the wake of Assassin's Creed's popularity,
04:22 a game which in itself was originally a Prince of Persia sequel that became its own thing,
04:26 Prince of Persia felt a little archaic.
04:29 It's for that reason why the franchise probably hasn't returned,
04:32 despite constantly being requested at every Ubisoft press event.
04:35 However, modern Ubisoft just isn't interested in games like this.
04:39 At least the remake is coming, and let's hope that will be good.
04:43 Number 6, TimeSplitters 4.
04:45 The original TimeSplitters trilogy is home to some of the finest first-person shooters ever put to disk,
04:50 and for a lot of people, were probably their gateway into the arena of competitive multiplayer.
04:56 I mean, there's a reason the second game was featured in Shaun of the Dead.
04:59 It was good enough to turn everyone who played it into zombies,
05:02 always finding an excuse to have one more match.
05:06 While the final game ended the trilogy on a slight downer though,
05:09 it didn't stop fans from looking forward to TimeSplitters 4,
05:12 a game which was announced all the way back in 2007.
05:16 Sadly, original developers Freed Radical encountered problems that would plague them for years,
05:20 resulting in the sequel being cancelled and the team being rolled into Crytek UK,
05:25 and then being laid off almost entirely.
05:27 However, recently it has been confirmed that some kind of TimeSplitters project is in the works,
05:32 but a proper TimeSplitters 4 releasing today would lack the driving force that made the OG trilogy
05:38 such a personality-driven set of shooters in the first place.
05:41 The original devs are no longer around to bring it back,
05:44 and its charms were arguably feeling a little dated back in 2005,
05:49 with its arcade focus not having the depth or complexity to challenge more competitive FPSs at the time.
05:55 Number 5, Gun 2.
05:56 It's a bit weird that Wild West games never got popular.
05:59 The two times Rockstar dropped their Earth Shattering Red Dead games,
06:03 or I guess three if you're counting the ones they published,
06:05 a surge in think pieces from journalists followed, wondering if a new boom was about to begin.
06:11 But sadly, the audience's interest never really extended to other games.
06:16 That is, with the exception of one little western game released at the dawn of the Xbox 360 generation, Gun.
06:22 Though it wasn't the most technically polished shooter at the time, and it wasn't exactly good looking either,
06:27 there was something about this title.
06:29 It had a certain charm to it that made it far more than the sum of its parts.
06:33 It helped as well that there were few games at the time doing the Wild West gimmick,
06:36 or simply out for the Xbox 360 at all, which made Gun a popular choice amongst players.
06:42 Those two factors in particular are why a sequel would probably suck if it came out today.
06:47 Gun was hardly a AAA title back then,
06:50 and there's a good chance that a sequel would be a download-only budget game that a full-blown sequel.
06:55 It had neither the characters nor the world to support a big franchise,
06:58 especially in a post-Red Dead world, and is better off being remembered as an early hidden gem of the 360 era.
07:05 Number 4 - Black 2
07:07 Black was low-key one of the best first-person shooters of the PS2 generation.
07:12 With production values that were absolutely mind-blowing at the time,
07:15 the developers at Criterion were committed to making the most bombastic game ever made.
07:20 The gunplay wasn't functionally all that different from similar releases at the time,
07:25 but Black cranked everything up to 11 and made sure not to skimp on the finer details.
07:31 Firing a machine gun here felt like firing a cannon at lightning speed,
07:35 while grenades popped with the flair of a Michael Bay explosion,
07:39 which, combined with the semi-destructible environments and great particle effects,
07:43 made for ridiculously visceral firefights.
07:46 So, by now you might be thinking, "Well, if it's so good, why didn't the developers ever make a sequel?"
07:51 And that's because, well, they kinda did.
07:54 The original game didn't sell well enough for a straight follow-up,
07:58 but the lead creatives did form another studio to craft a spiritual successor called Body Count.
08:03 As covered in a great Rachevick video on the game, while their aims were pure,
08:08 this new title proved just how much of Black's success was lightning in a bottle.
08:12 Even if they did manage to rectify Body Count's mistakes,
08:15 the little details that made Black so memorable are standard practice today,
08:18 so a sequel would just be like another face in the crowd.
08:22 It's kinda like trying to do another Crysis.
08:24 You can't just keep setting the benchmark forever.
08:27 Someone's gonna take over.
08:29 Number 3, Bloodborne 2.
08:31 Now, before you kill me for including this one in the list,
08:34 let me just preface this entry by saying that Bloodborne is my favourite of FromSoftware's games.
08:40 Well, I'm still playing Elden Ring at the time of recording, so the jury's out on that one,
08:43 but Bloodborne is one of my favourite games of the entire last generation,
08:47 and that's kind of exactly why it doesn't need a sequel.
08:51 While the world itself is rich and the combat is, of course, awesome,
08:54 so much of Bloodborne relies on its sense of mystery and surprise to work.
08:58 The original works so well because it starts off as seemingly nothing more
09:02 than a simple Bram Stoker-esque monster tale,
09:05 but it unfolds into this eldritch Lovecraftian nightmare
09:09 about creatures from the beyond controlling reality itself.
09:12 After you've played that card, though, there's kinda nowhere you can go
09:16 without undermining what came before.
09:18 Bloodborne works as such a solid, singular piece of art,
09:22 and while, of course, I would definitely buy a sequel in an instant,
09:25 not everything needs a follow-up,
09:27 and FromSoft could be better off continuing to release spiritual successes instead.
09:32 Number two, Bully 2.
09:34 Even though they created Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, and, uh,
09:38 Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis,
09:40 the one Rockstar game that never quite seems to leave the conversation is Bully,
09:44 with its brand of playground hijinks causing a storm
09:47 for both the right and wrong reasons back in the 2000s.
09:50 At the time, it unsurprisingly came under fire for its name
09:53 and the activities players were encouraged to partake in,
09:56 with the most vocal detractors saying Rockstar were encouraging kids
09:59 to be little terrors to their teachers and friends.
10:01 Of course, it was far more tongue-in-cheek than that,
10:04 and way too cartoonish to actually take seriously.
10:07 Still, it was very much of its time,
10:09 and being able to craft a sequel in the same vein
10:12 would be a difficult balance to get right today,
10:14 something Rockstar themselves clearly understand,
10:16 as apparently two sequels have been cancelled over the last decade,
10:20 according to some reports.
10:21 Plus, while Rockstar can still deliver irreverent and goofy humour in their games,
10:26 in general, their releases have expanded beyond the realm of Bully's cartoon goofiness,
10:31 and they need to take a major step back away from their realistic, simulation-heavy worlds
10:36 to deliver that arcade fun once again.
10:38 I mean, I'd definitely welcome that,
10:41 but is it really something the company would be interested in?
10:44 Number one, Half-Life 3.
10:46 Half-Life 3, or Half-Life 2 Episode 3, or whatever the hell its title turns out to be,
10:51 is the most anticipated sequel of all time.
10:54 Its reputation is so extensive that it kinda seems dumb writing an introduction for it in this entry.
11:00 You know how long overdue it is, you know the hype surrounding it,
11:03 and you know the memes that it spawned.
11:05 But it's that insane level of hype which is why the game probably shouldn't ever come out.
11:11 At this point, it's been built up so much that even if it was the best game ever,
11:15 it would probably still be a disappointment to like half of the audience.
11:19 The time for realistic expectations has well and truly passed,
11:23 and if Half-Life 3 is anything other than a top-tier 10/10 game,
11:26 it'll be ripped apart, not viewed as being worth the wait.
11:30 Sure, it would still sell like hotcakes,
11:32 but would the sales be worth the potential dissatisfaction that would stick with Valve potentially forever
11:38 if it's nothing other than the masterpiece players have built up in their heads?
11:42 I don't know, Jim, you tell me.
11:44 So that's our list. I want to know what you guys think down in the comments below.
11:46 Would you actually embrace these sequels, or are you with me in thinking that it might be a case of
11:52 be careful what you wish for?
11:53 Let us know in the comments, and while you're down there as well,
11:55 could you please give us a like, share, subscribe,
11:57 and head over to whatculture.com for more lists and news like this every single day.
12:01 Even if you don't, though, I've been Josh. Thanks so much for watching, and I'll see you soon.