History EarlyInstallmentWeirdness / Videogames

** However, by the time of ''Tekken 2'', things had changed, and so the series started to become what it is today in its sequel, with all the usual modes such as Time Attack, Team Battle, Survival and Practise added. The Japanese version also features a Theatre Mode. All of these would become standard for the series. However, the characters were still quite crudely rendered, the AI of opponents somewhat too difficult (they tend to block far more than any other ''Tekken'' game), and some of the music, boss characters, and stages were a holdover from ''Tekken''. Kazuya, [[BaitTheDog now the]] BigBad of the game, is able to sidestep, albeit not as much as characters later can. You can also use cheats like big head mode, wire frame mode, and sky mode (where kicks launch your opponent much higher than normal), things which were never included in later games. By ''Tekken 3'', commonly regarded as the best in the main series (''[[DreamMatchGame Tekken Tag]]'' is considered the best overall), all of the flaws had been addressed and it set the stage for the series as we know it today.

** The [[VideoGame/MetalGear1987 first game]] for the [=MSX2=] and NES had no crawling, no radar, and a simple straightforward plot. Guards could only see in straight lines and the stages were screen-based (think the original ''Zelda''), allowing the players to escape detection by moving to the next screen (at least in the NES version, which lacked the higher alert phase). It also featured a level-up system that increases your maximum health and item capacity for every five hostages you rescued (and demotes you if you killed one) and multiple cardkeys were needed to open different doors.
** Although it was a non-canon sequel made by a different team, ''VideoGame/SnakesRevenge'' played pretty much like the first game, only with the addition of side-scrolling segments.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake'' is much closer to ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' than the other previous installments, although still limited by the same technical constraints as the first. It also had some of the oddest items and puzzles in the series, such as hideable buckets, poisonous hamsters, and egg hatching.
** Up until ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'', the bodies of dead soldiers would simply disappear once they hit the ground. Killing an enemy grunt in front of one of his buddies doesn't cause as much of a reaction as it does in later games. This is also the reason why the tranquilizer gun was introduced in ''[=MGS2=]'', as there wasn't much need for one in previous games.
* ''DynastyWarriors'' is often mistaken as part of the trope outside Japan. In North America, Dynasty Warriors 1 is from a different series than Dynasty Warriors 2 and later. It's not an actual example of the trope because, while sharing a similar setting and even in Japan similar naming, they are still separate series.

* ''{{Kirby}}'': The first game doesn't let you absorb the powers of enemies, which was introduced in the second and became the series' trademark, at least until ''VideoGame/KirbysEpicYarn'' removed it again, which is yet somewhat a DolledUpInstallment of a game starring Prince Fluff. However, Kirby Mass Attack for DS has the trademark inhaling move removed as well, focusing more on a Lemming-gameplay style.

** This arguably happened within the original series; while the engine was mostly the same, in ''Spyro the Dragon'' (1998) there were no sidequests to collect the {{Plot Coupon}}s, no Hunter, and the story felt like an ExcusePlot in comparison to the deeper ''Ripto's Rage'' and ''Year of the Dragon''. Oh, and Spyro [[SuperDrowningSkills can't swim]], not even on the surface.\\

* ''SuperMarioKart'', the first ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' game, had five races per cup instead of four like in the later games. It also featured Donkey Kong Jr. as one of the playable characters; DonkeyKong himself wouldn't appear in the series until ''MarioKart64''. Super Mario Kart also introduced the feather item that allowed players to jump super high and over walls. The item hasn't appeared since then. The game also had the coin system linked to your speed and the mechanic wasn't used again until Super Circuit and Mario Kart 7. The first game even had the item boxes NOT regenerate after someone takes it, making it possible for the player to run out of items, but it would have to be done on purpose. Super Mario Kart also had the 150cc difficulty locked whereas it is freely open to players in the later games and the game also lacks mirror mode.

** The Spiny Shell is so infamous in the Mario Kart community that it feels just weird that it didn't appear in the first Mario Kart game at all. It would make its debut in the 2nd game.

*** The lifebar disappeared because of the new armor Master Chief recieved at the start of Halo 2. It returned in Reach because it took place before 2 (and as a result, before the armor's production) and in ODST because it focused on an ODST, not a SPARTAN. As Master Cheif was still wearing this armor at the end of Halo 3, it's likely the lifebar will disappear again in Halo 4.
* The Spin Dash has become a staple of the ''SonicTheHedgehog'' series since its introduction in the Genesis ''{{Sonic 2}}''. Games developed or released before ''Sonic 2'' either lack this move or, like ''SonicCD'', feature an unusual variation on it. The absence of the Spin Dash is noticeable enough that a few bundled rereleases of the original ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' have an option to enable it.
** ''Sonic3AndKnuckles'' had the Master Emerald being kept in an ''underground'' shrine.

* The contrast between the first ''SuperSmashBros'' and its sequels is astounding. While ''Melee'' and ''Brawl'' are notable for detailed environments and characters, as well as epic orchestral music, the original had {{Floating Continent}}s in front of a simple background, many more [[SpritePolygonMix sprites for items, Pokémon, and some attacks]], darker, low-key original songs and was promoted with cartoony, comic book style illustrations of the characters.

** The original ''SuperSmashBros'' also lacked a lot of moves and abilities that were introduced later, like air-dodging, and a side-B special move for example.

* The original ''PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'' used a penalty system with a fixed number of allowed "strikes" instead of the lifebar system of all later games. The tone of the game was slightly less comical.

* The [[ResidentEvil1 original]] ''ResidentEvil'' featured live-action scenes for its opening and ending sequences, whereas every subsequent installment in the series (including the [=GameCube=] version) were entirely computer generated.

* The first ''{{Diablo}}'' was markedly different from its sequel and the upcoming ''Diablo 3''. Aside from the expected differences in scope, lore, balance and gameplay features, the first game was much more survival oriented and featured several instances of ''{{Nethack}}''-style permanent character damage. Shrine effects were irreversible and not all were positive, and there was a monster that would permanently reduce your maximum life. When you died in multiplayer mode, all your gear would end up ''on the ground'' and would be lost forever if you were unable to recover it. This would be unthinkable in the sequels which revolve around MinMaxing character builds and ItemFarming.

* When you compare the first ''AnimalCrossing'' games to the future ones you'll notice several differences. Eavesdropping on your neighbors conversations was implemented in ''Dobutsu No Mori e+'', players couldn't use emotions until ''Wild World'', Blathers couldn't identify fossils before, and Watering Cans didn't exist. Celeste, Brewster, and Harriet made their first appearances in ''Wild World'', you wouldn't get a friends picture, the villagers were less interactive. You can only get NES games in the original games, acres are less fluid in the original compared to its sequels, and several buildings were either scrapped or replaced.
* The original ''VideoGame/{{Gauntlet}}'' ArcadeGame, while it did say such things as "[[WizardNeedsFoodBadly Elf needs food badly]]," didn't say "Elf shot the food"; instead, it had a generic line for when food is destroyed: "Remember, don't shoot food." ''Gauntlet II'' (at least for the NES) and later do mention who shot the food.

* When you compare the first ''AnimalCrossing'' games to the future ones you'll notice several differences. Ease-dropping on your neighbors conversations was implemented in ''Dobutsu No Mori e+'', players couldn't use emotions until ''Wild World'', Blathers couldn't identify fossils before, and Watering Cans didn't exist. Celeste, Brewster, and Harriet made their first appearances in ''Wild World'', you wouldn't get a friends picture, the villagers were less interactive. You can only get NES games in the original games, acres are less fluid in the original compared to its sequels, and several buildings were either scrapped or replaced.

** This trope also applies in terms of aesthetics and plot. The Triforce for one originally had only two parts, with the Triforce of Courage and the appearance as flat, golden Sierpinski triangles not featured until ''Zelda II''; in fact, the artwork and the cartoon actually portrayed it as glowing, gem-like tetrahedrons. While the standard look for the Triforce was codified in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'', it was portrayed as actually speaking to Link. Link and Zelda's hair were brown, the expanded Hyrule in ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'' (which had DeathMountain on the southern part of the WorldMap instead of the usual northern location and had eastern and western regions separated by water) is never heard of in any other game, and races that became iconic aspects of the series in later games (i.e. Gorons, friendly Zoras, the Sheikah) are completely absent in early games. And then, of course, the early games had zero hints to the eventual timeline issues that would develop in large part thanks to ''OcarinaOfTime'', which would not be settled until Nintendo ''finally'' released an official timeline on the game's 25th anniversary.

* The first ''{{Touhou}}'' game for the {{PC98}} was a strange sort of Breakout/Arkanoid game with gravity and lots of bullet dodging; from the second game onward the series was firmly in the ShootEmUp genre, but the BulletHell formula prevalent in the Windows series was not established until the fourth {{PC98}} game (out of five), and the makings of the "spell card" system that would dominate the Windows Touhou games wasn't present until the fifth game. The overall tone and character designs are still fairly different.

* In the very first ''VideoGame/StreetFighter'' released in 1987, [[RyuAndKen Ryu and Ken]] are the only playable characters (with Ryu wearing red slippers for some reason); their special moves, quite [[GameBreaker overpowered]] in this game, are almost impossible to pull off consistently; other techniques such as combos, dizzies, and grappling moves are all non-existent; and every opponent has the same winning and losing quote (all spoken with the same crudely digitized voice clip). The game did feature the same six-button configuration used by ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' and its sequels, but it was actually added to the game as an afterthought, created as a cheaper alternative to arcade operators who couldn't afford the original cabinet which used two hydraulic punching pads that determined the strength of the player's punches and kicks based on hard they were pushed down. Additionally, Ryu and Ken's special move yells were dubbed for the overseas versions of the game, resulting in them yelling "Psycho Fire" and "Dragon Punch" instead of "Hadoken" and "Shoryuken".

** And let's not forget, the first generation games have [[{{OlympusMons}} legendary Pokémon]] completely detached from the game's plot and there solely as extras. The second generation was the first to actually incorporate them into the story, and even then they weren't the main focus. From the third generation on, legendary Pokémon became the driving force behind the antagonists' motives. This can even be seen in the number of them introduced each generation, with the first having five, and the latest two having ''thirteen.'' '''''Each.'''''

* ''VideoGame/RhythmHeaven'' for the GBA is pretty different than its two sequels. For starters, the mini-games are arranged in eight columns of six instead of ten columns of five, and the [[FinalExamBoss Final Exam Remix]] is Remix 6 instead of Remix 10. Also, the music for the sequels' mini-games are tailor-made for them while some of the GBA mini-games just have accompanying BGM with the same tempo. Not to mention the {{Unexpected Gameplay Change}} that Quiz brought, while the other games never radically change the rules. The Remixes of the GBA version also doesn't change the artistic theme of the mini-games and one stage actually remixes previous remixes, two things that the sequels don't dabble in.

* ''SuperMarioKart'', the first ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' game, had five races per cup instead of four like in the later games. It also featured Donkey Kong Jr. as one of the playable characters; DonkeyKong himself wouldn't appear in the series until ''MarioKart64''. Super Mario Kart also introduced the feather item that allowed players to jump super high and over walls. The item hasn't appeared since then. The game also had the coin system linked to your speed and the mechanic wasn't used again until Super Circuit and Mario Kart 7. The first game even had the item boxes NOT regenerate after someone takes it, making it possible for the player to run out of items, but it would have to be done on purpose.

* The [[FireEmblemAkaneia first]] ''FireEmblem'' games had odd quirks, such as Weapon Rank being a regular stat that went up with levels (Instead of depending of weapon usage), healers gaining no experience from healing and instead from ''getting hit'' (It's as counter-productive as it sounds, but abusable), magic and resistance (Magic defend) not going up with levels (So magic did fixed damage, pretty much), and many well-known trademarks of the series such as the Weapon Triangle or Suppport System hadn't been included by then. Oh, and classes' names were in Japanese instead of GratuitousEnglish. The UpdatedRerelease for the DS modernized most of those things, but without changing the core game, [[YourMileageMayVary which for some felt awkward]].

* ''TexMurphy'': The first game (Mean Streets) in the series had flight sim and run & gun sequences in addition to the adventure gameplay. All of its sequels (including its remake) are FMV point & click adventures.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':

* ''SuperMarioBros'':

* ''GrandTheftAuto'': The original game, and the London Expansion pack. All the excitement of a fully realized living city in glorious, er, two dimensional blocky graphics that look like something on an Amiga. In ''1997''.

* The [[HaloCombatEvolved first]] ''{{Halo}}'' had a lifebar separate from the regenerating shield, indestructible human vehicles, less-avian-looking Jackals, [[FakeUltimateMook Hunters who went down with one pistol shot]], and other minor quirks not kept in the sequels.

* The contrast between the first ''SuperSmashBros'' and its sequels is astounding. While ''Melee'' and ''Brawl'' are notable for detailed environments and characters, as well as epic orchestral music, the original had {{Floating Continent}}s in front of a simple background, many more [[SpritePolygonMix sprites for items, Pokémon, and some attacks]], darker, low-key original songs and was promoted with cartoony, comic book style illustrations of the characters.

* The first and [[{{Persona 2}} second]] ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' games have almost no resemblance whatsoever to the far more well known [[{{Persona 3}} third]] and [[{{Persona 4}} fourth]] games. Besides certain very broad ideas (teenagers fight monsters) and a certain character (Igor), they might as well be two different series. The art style is different, and even the game play isn't very similar, with the first two being far more combat-focused revolving around the sophisticated "speak to demons while fighting them" system, while the third and fourth games are hybrid dating/life simulators-JRPG's. With a tarot card theme that didn't really exist before.

** In the English localizations, the first two games featured copious use of YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe.

** The menus were also quite clunky early on. In all of the NES ''DQ'' games, you had to go into your menu to do something as simple as talk to someone or open a door. it wasn't until ''DragonQuestV'' that much of this became more streamlined with an "action" button that had multiple features like in most other {{Role Playing Game}}s.

* The {{Ultima}} series had some bizarre quirks throughout.

** ''Pokémon Blue'' doesn't have that many changes from the Japanese ''Red'' and ''Green''; most are simply aesthetic and the occasional glitch-fixing. ''Crystal'' began the trend of the revised version of the generation's main games having plot differences from the original, but even then it's near identical. ''Emerald'' is where the changes really began to happen.

* The ''{{Tekken}}'' series begins with the eponymous ''Tekken'' which features only two game modes, Arcade and VS, as well as an Options mode. It also features crude graphics (albeit impressive at the time), half the characters that the games would usually have, levels based on world monuments rather than ones which suit the characters, a ''{{Galaga}}'' opening game, and the bizarre element of having to unlock characters by playing said ''Galaga'' game (Heihachi and Devil Kazuya). The music and stages are also very different, the name of the stage appearing on the screen during matches. The boss characters are more powerful clones of the starting characters, albeit with some unique special moves. P. Jack looks far more powerful than some of the later Jack (he has a drill, which he can't use), Yoshimitsu resembles a knight rather than a ninja, Heihachi is the BigBad, and Kazuya is the lead character despite being pushed into the background in every other appearance he's made. Kunimitsu appears male rather than female (and is not revealed to be female until the next game). It also features the first Jack who, whilst essentially the same as Jack-2, doesn't appear in any other game (it should be noted that none of the Jacks barring P. Jack--who underwent a facelift between the first and second games--reappeared in a subsequent canonical game, instead being replaced by the newest model in their line). Devil Kazuya is essentially Kazuya in a purple suit with wings, but he has all the same moves (meaning he can't fly). You also can't sidestep at all. ''Tekken'' was released at a time when its graphical capabilities and arcade perfect nature was all that was needed to impress people.

* The first two ''HarvestMoon'' handheld games had no marriage in it and very little socialization, while the third game had marriage but only to your DistaffCounterpart. The first two games in the series to have a female protagonist had the game end after marriage, while later games in the series are notorious for giving the female versions more options.
* The original ''{{Rayman}}'' game featured almost an ''entirely'' different setting from the later games, with a different cast of characters, a more WackyLand-style world as opposed to the more [[DreamLand dreamlike one]] of the later games, a different mythos, and even different ''collectables''. It wasn't until the second game that the modern cast of the ''Rayman'' series were introduced (most of them being [[RememberTheNewGuy old friends of Rayman's we'd never met before]]), along with the current version of its backstory. ''RaymanOrigins'' tries to [[ArcWelding fuse the two conflicting storylines]], but still skews a bit more heavily towards the ''Rayman 2'' version of things.

* Creator/ArtixEntertainment, big time. For starters, ''AdventureQuest'' started out as a very stripped-down and basic version of itself called Land of Rising Evil, where the only actual area was, apparently, Yulgar's inn (and even that wasn't originally there); ''DragonFable'' and ''MechQuest'' both feature much improved art at the current expense of a lot of the content already available in ''AdventureQuest'', with some fuzzy and ill-defined interaction between the three games' plots. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], in that the resources put into the games literally started with about two, maybe three guys working on code from scratch. In a living room, mind you.
* When you compare the first ''AnimalCrossing'' games to the future ones you'll notice several differences. Ease-dropping on your neighbors conversations was implemented in ''Dobutsu No Mori e+'', players couldn't use emotions until ''Wild World'', Blathers couldn't identify fossils before, and Watering Cans didn't exist. Celeste, Brewster, and Harriet made their first appearances in ''Wild World'', you wouldn't get a friends picture, the villagers were less interactive. You can only get NES games in the original games, acres are less fluid in the original compared to its sequels, and several buildings were either scrapped or replaced.

* ''SuperMarioKart'', the first ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' game, had five races per cup instead of four like in the later games. It also featured Donkey Kong Jr. as one of the playable characters; DonkeyKong himself wouldn't appear in the series until ''MarioKart64''.

* ''TheLegendOfZelda'': [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda The original]] ''Zelda'' lets you take keys between dungeons, which just feels completely un-''Zelda'' like, especially since most later games (presumably in response to it being possible in the first) remind you constantly that keys only work in the dungeon you find them in. Keys could also be bought from shopkeepers. Your bow also uses rupees to make arrows, which is bizarre even without contrast to other Zeldas.
** The first and [[ZeldaII second games]] also had you find whole heart containers outside of dungeons instead of Pieces of Heart. This mechanic was resurrected in the DS installments.

** This trope also applies in terms of aesthetics and plot. The Triforce for one originally had only two parts, with the Triforce of Courage and the appearance as flat, golden Sierpinski triangles not featured until ''Zelda II''; in fact, the artwork and the cartoon actually portrayed it as glowing, gem-like tetrahedrons. While the standard look for the Triforce was codified in ''ALinkToThePast'', it was portrayed as actually speaking to Link. Link and Zelda's hair were brown, the expanded Hyrule in ''TheAdventureOfLink'' (which had DeathMountain on the southern part of the WorldMap instead of the usual northern location and had eastern and western regions separated by water) is never heard of in any other game, and races that became iconic aspects of the series in later games (i.e. Gorons, friendly Zoras, the Sheikah) are completely absent in early games. And then, of course, the early games had zero hints to the eventual timeline issues that would develop in large part thanks to ''OcarinaOfTime'', which would not be settled until Nintendo ''finally'' released an official timeline on the game's 25th anniversary.

** Up until ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'', the bodies of dead soldiers in previous games would simply disappear once they hit the ground. Killing an enemy grunt in front of one of his buddies doesn't cause as much of a reaction as it does in later games. This is also the reason why the tranquilizer gun was introduced in ''[=MGS2=]'', as there wasn't much need for one in previous games.

* Pokémon has an odd variation: Each generation introduces a hundred or more new {{Mons}}, but while ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' show off the new Pokémon as much as possible and ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' has ''only'' new Pokémon until after the credits roll, ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' mostly relies on the original 151 with the others hanging around. Mildly {{justified}} in-plot because Gen 2 happens right next to the setting of Gen 1, which is actually visited later in the game (the only games with this feature released since Gen 2 are the Gen 4 remakes of those games), while the others are further away, with Gen 5 focusing on new Pokémon more so than usual due to being even further away (Unova is implied to be in a ''different country'', as the foreign Team Rocket Grunt in Gen 2 and their Gen 4 remakes is revealed to be from Unova, with the now-reformed Team Rocket Grunt residing in Unova's Icirrus City in ''Black'' and ''White''). Flipside, it also means Gen 2 has very few [[{{Expy}} expies]] and {{Suspiciously Similar Substitute}}s compared to later generations, with the the vast majority of new Pokémon with similarities to old ones generally evolving from said old ones.

** The second game was primarily a side-scroller with RPGElements, a style that hasn't been used since. The 8-bit GameBoy installments and ''FourSwordsAdventures'' did have some side-scrolling areas (the former were even complete with cross-series cameos from [[SuperMarioBros Goombas]], which of course ''originated'' in a side-scroller and in their Zelda appearances can even be defeated using a GoombaStomp using the Roc's Feather and Roc's Cape items), but no RPG elements.

* The first ''Videogame/AgeOfEmpires'' might be difficult for fans of [[AgeOfEmpires the sequels]]: units can only be created one at a time (fixed with the expansion pack ''Rise of Rome''), only by going through the entire map you can find out idle units, farms are perishable buildings... and of course there are oddities such as killing the birds that fly over the screen and the War/Archer Elephant having as many hitpoints as ''buildings''!

** Not a good example, because these are two games belonging of different genres and simply based on the same pre-existing setting.

* ''MetalGear'': The [[VideoGame/MetalGear first game]] for the [=MSX2=] and NES had no crawling, no radar, and a simple straightforward plot. Guards could only see in straight lines and the stages were screen-based (think the original ''Zelda''), allowing the players to escape detection by moving to the next screen (at least in the NES version, which lacked the higher alert phase). It also featured a level-up system that increases your maximum health and item capacity for every five hostages you rescued (and demotes you if you killed one) and multiple cardkeys were needed to open different doors.
** Although it was a non-canon sequel made by a different team, ''SnakesRevenge'' played pretty much like the first game, only with the addition of side-scrolling segments.
** ''MetalGear2'' is much closer to the ''MetalGearSolid'' than the other 8-bit installments, although still limited by the same technical constraints as the first. It also had some of the oddest items and puzzles in the series, such as hideable buckets, poisonous hamsters, and egg hatching.
** Up until ''MetalGearSolid2'', the bodies of dead soldiers in previous games would simply disappear once they hit the ground. Killing an enemy grunt in front of one of his buddies doesn't cause as much of a reaction as it does in later games. This is also the reason why the tranquilizer gun was introduced in ''[=MGS2=]'', as there wasn't much need for one in previous games.

* The first ''{{Touhou}}'' game for the {{PC98}} was a strange sort of Breakout/Arkanoid game with gravity and lots of bullet dodging; from the second game onward the series was firmly in the ShootEmUp genre, but the BulletHell formula prevalent in the Windows series was not established until the fourth {{PC98}} game (out of five). The overall tone and character designs are still fairly different.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' has no [[ManaMeter Magic Points]]. Instead, spells are divided into different levels of magic, characters must buy each spell individually at magic shops, and they can only cast spells of a given level a limited number of times before resting, with the amount increasing as the characters' experience levels increase (compare the Sorcerer of 3rd Edition ''DungeonsAndDragons''). The GBA and PSP remakes remove the "X uses per magic level" system for the traditional MP[[hottip:*:Which arguably makes the game much easier, as you can spam magic, heralding cries of TheyChangedItNowItSucks]].