History Main / ProlongedVideoGameSequel

* ''VideoGame/SonicRoboBlast2Kart'' features 65 tracks that you can play through either multiplayer or a time attack mode. Its sequel, ''Dr. Robotnik's Ring Racers'', has a grand total of ''152'' tracks, which you can now experience through a full-fledged Grand Prix in addition to the existing modes. The game also includes a boatload of unlockable content to further extend playtime, unlike its predecessor which has almost all of its content available from the start.

* ''VideoGame/MarioKartSuperCircuit'' has 40 tracks (20 new tracks, and 20 rearranged tracks from ''Super Mario Kart''), whereas ''Super'' itself, ''64'' and the later ''Double Dash!!'' have only 20, 16 and 16 respectively. ''VideoGame/MarioKartDS'' brought back the idea of NostalgiaLevel cups, this time including retro tracks from all of its predecessors, ramping the amount to 32 tracks. This has been a steady amount for the following games until ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'' (first by way of DownloadableContent and then with its ''Deluxe'' port on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch) provided another major bump for a total of '''48''' tracks. The port's own DLC aimed to increase the number yet again, this time clocking at ''96'' courses.

** While the main stories of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' are roughly similar in length, the extra space provided by the UsefulNotes/CompactDisc format enables ''VII'' to have far more in the way of extra content, with the game taking significantly longer to beat than its predecessor when taking sidequests and other extras into mind in both titles (even when you're not getting SidetrackedByTheGoldSaucer). Given that ''VII'' was designed as a way to flex the wider capabilities of CD-ROM technology compared to traditional cartridges, to the point where it needs three discs to store everything, this is most definitely an InvokedTrope.

** ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooieNutsAndBolts'': The game is bigger than its predecessors as, despite having only five regular worlds, there a '''ton''' of content in them as well as in the HubLevel (there's now a total of 131 Jiggies to collect, for example); it's also to be expected considering that it's a vehicle-focused game.

* ''Paradise Lost'', the first novel in the ''VisualNovel/ShinzaBanshoSeries'' clocks in at about 30 hours to read through all the way to the end. This is in stark contrast to it's followup, ''VisualNovel/DiesIrae'', which is an 80+ hour behemoth start to finish. And that's before getting into the side stories that are included as well.

* ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'' has the same amount of levels as its [[VideoGame/Doom2016 predecessor]], but ups the ante by having said levels be significantly bigger and having additional side challenges to complete. This is on top of having a hub in between levels. With the two part Ancient Gods DLC included (which Doom 2016 only had for its multiplayer), the game is 6 levels longer.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' repesents a massive length upgrade compared to its three predecessors (''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosTheLostLevels'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2''), featuring 90 levels. While it's balanced out by the fact that most of them are fairly short (''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'', the follow-up, has around 73 levels but the game is still around the same length because most of them are much longer) it's still one of the longest platformers on the NES, enough so that one of the biggest complaints people had at the time is that there was no way to save the game. (''VideoGame/SuperMarioAllStars'' and emulator save states have since mitigated that, at least.)

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' repesents a massive length upgrade compared to its three predecessors (''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosTheLostLevels'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2''), featuring 90 levels. None of the other games in the platform series has that many (the closest is ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU'' with 82).

* The ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' franchise has a few examples:

** ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'' is longer than its predecessor, having eight full zones compared to the original's six. ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'' takes this further, with 11 main zones, all of which are MUCH bigger in size and scope than the previous games, and even had to be DividedForPublication due to its size.
** As ''VideoGame/SonicMania'' is meant to be a true sequel to the Genesis-era ''Sonic'' games, it features twelve worlds, eight of which were from previous games in the series, and four of which were new at the time. The ''Plus'' expansion pack takes this one step further by adding an extra level in Encore Mode, [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Angel]] [[PalmtreePanic Island Zone]], where Sonic rescues Mighty and Ray.

When video games first started coming into their own, how long the game took to finish wasn't much of a concern. In fact, most early games didn't have in-game narratives, or even a defined "end" to the game. Since [[ScoringPoints high scores]] were the only real "reward" for playing, games tended to [[EndlessGame loop over and over until players got tired of playing]], ran out of [[VideoGameLives lives]], or [[VideoGame/PacMan scored so high]] [[KillScreen the game crashed]].

* ''VideoGame/GoldenSunTheLostAge'' is the direct sequel to ''VideoGame/GoldenSun''. While the first game has an average completion time of [[https://howlongtobeat.com/game/4000 22 hours]] (if you only bother with the main story), the sequel clocks in at [[https://howlongtobeat.com/game/4002 about 31h 30min]], nearly ten more hours. Makes sense, as the first game occurs in an (admittedly dense) area that takes up about 1/4 of the world, while the rest of it opens up in ''The Lost Age'' and has several worldwide fetchquests that are mandatory to progress. The third entry in the series, ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'', scales back a bit and lasts [[https://howlongtobeat.com/game/4001 around 27 hours]], halfway between the previous two.

* ''VideoGame/MarioKart'':
** ''VideoGame/MarioKartSuperCircuit'' has 40 tracks (20 new tracks, and 20 rearranged tracks from ''Super Mario Kart''), whereas ''Super'' itself, ''64'' and the later ''Double Dash!!'' have only 20, 16 and 16 respectively. ''VideoGame/MarioKartDS'' brought back the idea of NostalgiaLevel cups, this time including retro tracks from all of its predecessors, ramping the amount to 32 tracks. This has been a steady amount for the following games until ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'' (first by way of DownloadableContent and then with its ''Deluxe'' port on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch) provided another major bump for a total of '''48''' tracks. The port's own DLC aimed to increase the number yet again, this time clocking at ''96'' courses.
** There's also been an escalation in the number of characters; the first three games had eight, while ''Double Dash!!'' had 20 (partly to accommodate its mechanic of two people per kart). ''DS'' then went to 12 characters (an increase if you count ''Double Dash!!''[='s=] roster as 10 pairs), ''Wii'' had 24, ''8'' had 36, and ''8 Deluxe'' had 42 (though part of that was taking alternate versions of the same character in ''8'' and counting them separately).
** Other game mechanics added over time include being able to select unique karts in ''Double Dash!!'', motorcycles and an expansion from 8-character races to 12 in ''Wii'', kart customization in ''7'', and a fifth difficulty level (200cc) in ''8''.

* The first five mainline ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'' games have each six strata, while the ''Untold'' remakes of the first two games add one more for a total of seven. ''Nexus''? It has ''fourteen'', as it not only has its own strata but also brings back many familiar ones.

* Cases in the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' series have generally gotten longer and more intricate over time, with more recent games having mid-game cases of comparable length to final cases of earlier games. Naturally, this results in longer games overall. The final case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'' on its own is approximately the same length as the entirety of the original ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'' (excluding "Rise from the Ashes", which was added in an UpdatedRerelease).

** ''VideoGame/BanjoTooie'': Despite having one level less than the first game, it is notoriously longer ([[SequelDifficultySpike and more difficult]]) due to the levels being much bigger (often approaching the gargantuan size of the ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' levels), a higher number of minigames, bosses and puzzles, and the necessity of traveling between levels (literally, without going through the HubLevel). For a direct comparison, only the first game's ninth level (Click Clock Wood) can rival the complexity and diversity of the first four levels of the second game, and still lose to the likes of [[{{Prehistoria}} Terrydactyland]] and [[EternalEngine Grunty Industries]].