History Main / SequelItis

* The TonyHawkProSkater series has succumbed to this, somewhere around the ''Underground'' era.

* Opinions are divided over whether ''TheLostWorldJurassicPark'' or ''Film/JurassicParkIII'' is worse, although the latter usually wins out in such arguments. Neither of them holds a candle to [[Film/JurassicPark the original]], despite several actors [[MoneyDearBoy inexplicably]] agreeing to reprise their roles. Some fans regard TLW as a worthy sequel to JP though with [=JP3=] usually regarded as the abomination.

[[quoteright:340:[[RottenTomatoes http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Snow_Time_for_a_Sequel_5010.png]]]]

* ''VideoGame/SpyroTheDragon1998'' was a great platforming game with nicely designed, varied levels and really good music. Spyro 2 and 3 were arguably even better. Then came Enter the Dragonfly, which suffered from uninspired level design, LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading, (they even had loading screens ''[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment for the loading-screens!]]'') terrible graphics, terrible voice acting, and being so glitchy that achieving OneHundredPercentCompletion was impossible.

[[caption-width-right:340:[[{{Pun}} 'S no time]] for a sequel!]]

* VideoGame/MaddenNFL and similiar sport game series are notorious for being continued every year, usually with next to no changes in gameplay or even graphics. The main difference is updated statistics and players.

* ''VideoGame/BloodyRoar''. First game: New and unbalanced concept, but some fun novelty. Second game: Takes everything good about the first game, polishes it up, adds a decent story and you have a surprisngly simple yet tactical fighter. Third game: Needlessly dumbed down and possibly worth playing if you can't find Soul Calbiur. Fourth game: extremely dumbed down and unbalanced, with the old staff long since having left, and featuring new (terrible) character designs, and making it much, much easier to spam (this also defining the reputation the series has). Fifth game: As sequels go, its on par with Batman and Robin. But with worse acting.

*** Sequelitis has also occured within the Sonic 4 series itself-the second episode has received a noticeably lower critical and commercial reception than the first episode, which according to WordOfGod will determine the future of the saga.

* Despite all the pre-release buzz and excitement for ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'', it has gone on life support in the competitive fighting game community very quickly. It has been dropped from most weekly streams and is getting shunted into "B-list" spots at tournaments less than six months after its release, and it could possibly die completely after Evo 2012. It is so slow, limited in scope, ugly, and crappy to watch compared to [[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom other]] [[VideoGame/SNKVsCapcom entries]] [[VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom in]] [[VideoGame/NamcoXCapcom the series]] (bar ''VideoGame/CapcomFightingEvolution'', which was perceived to be just as bad) that people start booing if it looks like people might win - not because they like the other player, but because they just want the ''[=SFxT=]'' part of the tournament to end.

* The WebVideo/MicrosoftSamReadsFunnyWindowsErrors subseries Microsoft Sam And The War Trilogy has The Great Final War, which was so poorly received due to its excessive drama tone that it was cancelled and currently undergoing a major revamp.

* ''VideoGame/MegaMan'' has been all over the place with this. At some point a given series starts sucking hard and a spinoff is made. It starts off great, then slowly slides into crap until a spinoff is made and the [[CapcomSequelStagnation cycle begins anew]]. From the sound of it, this could be blamed on ExecutiveMeddling; Kenji Inafune, the creator of Mega Man, wanted to end the classic series at 6 and the X series on 5, but Capcom wanted to make more money.

** ''VideoGame/MegaManX 8'' was also surprisingly good despite the enormous amounts of FakeDifficulty. Apparently Capcom sequels go in cycles. ''9'' supports this theory.

*** The progression goes: 1 was bad but an ObviousBeta so it was forgiven, 2 got the formula right, 3 was still a very solid game and regarded one of the best along with 2 and also would have wrapped everything up nicely if it had ended on that, 4 most people would rather forget and was pretty out there even for the games, 5 the game started to get back on track but not quite there, 6 returned to to the formula that made 2 and 3 good but still wasn't considered good enough to be masterpiece as 2/3.

** Another aversion is ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends'', which became a massive cult hit but failed to sell well. The fans agree that its sequel improved on its flaws in every way, with some saying that it took the series out of ObviousBeta status. [[ExecutiveMeddling We'll never know if 3 would've bucked the trend or not.]]

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' moves back and forth with this. ''Devil May Cry 2'' is generally considered to be far inferior to the original, what with its lousy story, bland combat, and greatly lowered difficulty level. ''Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening'' is usually seen as much better ([[EvenBetterSequel sometimes even better than the original]]). ''Devil May Cry 4'' is also seen by some as inferior, but by some as being decent but not as good as 1 or 3. As for the reboot, ''DMC: Devil May Cry'', it is widely despised by fans due to its "Westernized" approach, overly simplified combat system, and Dante becoming unattractive and his dialogue being completely immature and unfunny.

* Despite all the pre-release buzz and excitement for ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'', it has gone on life support in the competitive fighting game community very quickly. It has been dropped from most weekly streams and is getting shunted into "B-list" spots at tournaments less than six months after its release, and it could possibly die completely after Evo 2012. It is so slow, limited in scope, ugly, and crappy to watch compared to [[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom other]] [[VideoGame/CapcomVSSnk entries]] [[VideoGame/TastsunokoVsCapcom in]] [[VideoGame/NamcoXCapcom the series]] (bar VideoGame/CapcomFightingEvolution, which was perceived to be just as bad) that people start booing if it looks like people might win - not because they like the other player, but because they just want the ''[=SFxT=]'' part of the tournament to end.
** Also raising ire among the less tournament-minded ''[=SFxT=]'' players is that most of the in-game content (Gems, custom colors, preset combos, and even a dozen extra fighters[[note]]on the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions; the PlayStation Vita port had everyone available right from the start[[/note]]) needed to be purchased to be used, instead of being unlockable within the game.
* The ''MarioParty'' series is filled to the brim with this trope. Every sequel had a few new gimmicks and mini games to stand out from the game before it, but eventually, the games started to rehash older mini games/boards/gimmicks with a slight tweak to them. Fan favorite Donkey Kong was quickly shunted to the side as an NPC after being a playable character in a few games and has even completely vanished from some of the party games as well. Other characters kept coming and going like a revolving door; characters like Toad and Blooper would appear in only one or two games while others like Birdo and Dry Bones only appeared in certain other games. Since the party games kept being released every year or every other year, fans started to notice just how stale the series had gotten and it may explain why Mario Party 9 came out 4 years after the 8th party and having revamped the basics of the game.

** This series was already heading this way starting with the third game which re-hashed the second game only giving more emphasis on the Raccoon City outbreak. ''Code Veronica'' (the technical fourth game) hardly added anything new to the formula save some improved camera angles. The remake of the first game picked up some interest but that fell with ''Zero'' which coasted by on a gimmick that let you switch between the two characters. After a few side games (''Survivor'', ''Gaiden'', ''Dead Aim'', the ''Outbreak'' games). It did an overhaul with RE 4 which was praised as one of the better games. Then part five came and it was considered more of the same only with co-op added. The less said about ''Operation Raccoon City'' the better.

** Likewise the casual (and sometimes [[DroppedABridgeOnHim callous]]) killing off of beloved characters.

* The reuse of some element that was felt to be important to the first movie's success, in hopes that having [[UpToEleven even more of that element]] will make the sequel even better.
** If it works for the first sequel, it will be cranked up more and more in further sequels. This may lead to VulgarHumor, sadistic slapstick violence, or something else along those lines.

*** This is particularly the case when bringing back a character who [[EnsembleDarkhorse unexpectedly won the audience over]] in the first movie, only to do nothing interesting with them - or worse, {{Flanderiz|ation}}e them so much that they end up being a one-dimensional caricature of the charming and multi-faceted character the audience fell in love with in the first place.

* ''ScaryMovie'' expressed the tagline, ''No mercy. No shame. No sequel'', but as we all well know, did have one anyway (with the tagline "[[ILied We lied]]") It got closer back to its roots of satirizing horror movies in the third, but then stepped back again and had that TomCruise couch jump parody in the fourth. A fifth is on the way, but mostly everyone from the previous films is out of it.
** The spinoffs of the franchise have been even worse, starting with ''Date Movie'', billed as "from [[SeltzerAndFriedberg two]] of the six writers of ''ScaryMovie''", and somehow running on to three more (so far...)

* The ''Film/AmericanPie'' descended into this for a while. The ''American Pie Presents'' series were direct to DVD releases...with predictable results. The sole main cast member reprising a role from ''any'' of the first 3 movies is Eugene Levy, which is depressing in a "ordering fast food from your dad" kind of way.
** Inverted with ''American Reunion'', which brought back the principal cast and was a much better film than the DVD cash-ins that preceded.

* The first ''Film/WeekendAtBernies'' is a amusing little comedy, with Terry Kiser [[EnsembleDarkhorse stealing the show]] as the titular dead guy. Then they went and made a sequel. The female character one of the heroes spent the entire first movie obsessing over/wooing vanishes without even the most cursory attempt at [[HandWave Handwaving]], and it was all downhill from there.
** Some viewers felt that ''WeekendAtBerniesII'' pulled off the rare feat of being so unbelievably stupid that it [[CrossesTheLineTwice came back around the other side]] and was SoUnfunnyItsFunny.
* Opinions are divided over whether ''TheLostWorldJurassicPark'' or ''Film/JurassicParkIII'' is worse, although the latter usually wins out in such arguments. Neither of them holds a candle to [[Film/JurassicPark the original]], despite several actors [[MoneyDearBoy inexplicably]] agreeing to reprise their roles.
** Fans regard TLW as a worthy sequel to JP though with JP3 usually regarded as the abomination.

* ''Film/TheMatrix'' was generally well-received and a major game-changer for action movies. The second and third movies are usually seen as overly long and pretentious, while the prequel ''Anime/TheAnimatrix'' ranges from decent to bad.
** ''The Animatrix'' has range because it's an anthology of nine short films based on The Matrix, with the CGI ''The Second Renaissance'' considered the best (reason to purchase the rest). The other eight, again, vary.

** Atari released a ''Ghostbusters'' video game that reunited the cast and acts as the third story. So far it's been well received. It expands on things from the first movie, provides closure on the Librarian ghost and explains where the mood slime from [=GB2=] came from. The experience was so good that an actual ''Ghostbusters 3'' is in the works.

* Lampshaded twice in ''Film/DieHard2: Die Harder'': ''"Another basement, another elevator--how can the same shit happen to the same guy twice?"''
** By this point, the ''Franchise/DieHard'' franchise has succumbed anyway. Each film is slightly less believable than the one which preceded it. This has resulted in John [=McClane=] being MadeOfIron by ''[[Film/LiveFreeOrDieHard Die Hard 4]]'', and nobody ever bleeding, despite the original's highly praised realism. (though the [[{{Bowdlerize}} decision to lower to PG-13]] is to blame for the BloodlessCarnage) The plot is as convoluted as in the campier Bond films, as well as the marriage he was trying to save in the first film getting only a cursory mention (as being long over).
*** Though up until 2013, only the fourth movie entered ContestedSequel status for being the apex of SerialEscalation. Then came ''Film/AGoodDayToDieHard'', a fifth movie which did not split the fanbase regarding doing everything wrong.

* The first ''ReturnOfTheLivingDead'' is an almost perfect mix of black comedy and horror and is also a {{deconstruction}} and/or AffectionateParody of the Romero's "Dead" series. It's a CultClassic.
** The second uses a lot more comedy than the first making which makes it less scary.
** The third disregards continuity from the first two and makes it DarkerAndEdgier. More scary but without the charm.
** The 4th and 5th aren't well regarded at all.

* Two trivia questions. '''1.''' How many sequels to JimCarrey movies has Jim Carrey appeared in? (Answer: 1 - ''AceVentura: When Nature Calls''.) '''2.''' How many sequels to Jim Carrey movies has he ''not'' appeared in? (Answer: 4 - ''SonOfTheMask'', ''{{Dumb And Dumber}}er'', ''EvanAlmighty'' and ''Ace Ventura Jr.''.)
** Jim Carrey so thoroughly detested working on ''When Nature Calls'' that he declared that he would never do a sequel ever again. (As for ''Film/BatmanForever'', that predated the ''Ace Ventura'' sequel and didn't follow on from one of his films.)
** Well, he entered [[Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents one movie]] because it would be a series he'd enjoy doing... but [[DevelopmentHell it'll be hard to have a sequel]].
** Carrey also plans on [[http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/03/showbiz/movies/dumb-dumber-2-farrelly-carrey-ew/index.html breaking]] this [[http://movies.yahoo.com/news/jim-carrey-back-dumb-dumber-film-jeff-daniels-232440106.html rule]] for a proper ''Film/DumbAndDumber'' sequel.
* ''Film/ShockTreatment'' was originally planned as a sequel to ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'', but was re-written as SomethingCompletelyDifferent after TimCurry refused to be typecast as Frank. The second movie features Brad and Janet, but the events of ''Rocky Horror'' are never mentioned. Taken on its own, it has its merits, but proved a massive disappointment for people expecting an actual sequel.
** Point of clarity: "Shock Treatment" was not the original plan for a sequel, that being "Revenge of the Old Queen" which never ended up happening. Shock Treatment did keep Brad and Janet [[Series/DoctorWho having (having regenerated)]], and some of the subtext to their relationship troubles can be taken to have been caused by the first movie. Also, Judge Oliver Wright probably was the Criminologist, making Charles Gray the only actor to continue playing the same character ([[WildMassGuessing unless you consider the McKinley's to actually be Riff and Magenta returned to Earth for some strange reason]]... also, Bert Shnict was supposedly Dr. Scott in earlier versions of the script).
** Besides, [[MemeticMutation it's not a sequel, it's an equal]].

* Averted by the ''Franchise/EvilDead'' movies, which stayed great. There's an arguable case that they even got better as they went.
** Though if you pay attention at the begining of the second movie, one notices several elements were rehashed in the exposition.

* ''{{Robocop}}'' (and its sequel, ''Robocop 2'') were violent, edgy and full of satire on mid-[[TheEighties 80's]] corporate culture. While the second film was derided for focusing too much on shock value and having less of the satirical humor, the franchise was still doing pretty well for itself (an animated series was created during this time, and the films performed very well at the box office). Unfortunately, studio executives (likely smelling [[MerchandiseDriven several marketing opportunities]]) toned down the violence in the third film, ''Robocop 3'', to appeal to younger viewers. While there were some elements that remained from the previous films (Basil Poledouris' score, a return to the silver armor from the first film, most of the [[AnyoneCanDie surviving cast members]] returning and some of the satire), the end result was too juvenile for most audiences, and the film bombed both financially and critically. Although there were attempts to resurrect the franchise over the years (a mid-90's Canadian-made TV series bombed after one season, a late-90's [[AnimatedAdaptation cartoon]] was...critically panned and a miniseries ([[CaliforniaDoubling also filmed in Canada]]) was made-for-TV), it never really flew with audiences.
** As of 2013, another reboot attempt is coming down the pipe. Time will tell..
* ''InterviewWithTheVampire'' vs. ''QueenOfTheDamned''. Case closed.
** A somewhat interesting case, actually. The two movies were made over ten years apart, with completely different studios, directors, and actors. The themes and tones of the movies were vastly different, and no references were made to characters or plots from the first film, but it was explicitly set afterwards. Both movies being relatively self-contained, QotD was less of a sequel and more like the closest thing to a ContinuityReboot without actually doing so.
* ''{{Grease}}'' is a hugely popular [[TheFifties 50s nostalgia]] musical funfest. ''{{Grease 2}}'' has only a few characters returning from the original (Frenchie, Eugene, the principal and her assistant, and the coach. All brief roles.) and introduces Sandy's cousin Michael in some weak attempt to connect the two movies. The plot is a GenderFlip of the first movie's plot and the results are... well, just say [[FanonDiscontinuity most Grease fans like to pretend it doesn't exist]].
** Incidentally, ''{{Grease 2}}'' unwittingly stopped the franchise from experiencing what would likely be more sequelitis. There were plans for two more movies and a TV series, but they were scrapped after ''{{Grease 2}}'' flopped.

* Similarly, the ''TheRing'' franchise has suffered from this. While each of the three "original" films has been well-received (Japanese, American, and Korean, respectively,) their sequels have met with various degrees of scorn and failure to the point that the very first sequel, a film adaptation of the novel's follow-up ''Spiral'', is [[AdaptationDecay so bad]] it's considered CanonDiscontinuity by the Japanese producers, who went on to make ''The Ring 2'' instead.

** See Television below for more on the franchise.

* Even more than the film examples, ''Franchise/StarTrek'' suffered this in its series. ''[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries The Original Series]]'' was considered an uneven novelty, a series that was either teeth grating crap, or the very pinnacle of science-fiction, depending on the given episode. ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration The Next Generation]]'' has been formally recognized as being among the top 100 shows ever made and a crowning achievement of television. Paramount came down with Sequelitis, commissioning '''three''' follow-up series (one of them was a ''pre''quelitis). The critical reception deteriorated with each successive series, along with the ratings (though a few preferred ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'' in later years). The last one only made it to four seasons, the fourth season was only made so that the series could be syndicated, and not end up a total failure.
* ''[[Series.DeadRingers Dead Ringers]]'' had a sketch in which different versions of Arnold Schwarzenegger came back from the future to warn him not to sign up for any more lousy ''Terminator'' sequels, [[spoiler:eventually reaching [[OverlyLongGag Terminator 23]] before Sarah Connor shot the present Arnie to save the future. To her dismay, another Arnie came back and revealed she is now his co-star in ''Kindergarten Cop 14''!]] [[BigNo Nnnnnoooooooo!]]

** ''Film/SpiderMan'' follows this formula perfectly. The first one is considered very good, the second excellent, the third a massive BaseBreaker. Then ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'' reboots the franchise with an all-new cast and is met with mixed reception. Time will tell how further sequels fare.

** The other reason probably has to do with the fact that Static and Zeta aren't DC characters; Static was from Milestone Comics (though DC was their publisher), while Zeta was from a PoorlyDisguisedPilot in ''Batman Beyond''

* ''StaticShock'' and ''TheZetaProject'' are part of the DCAU, which also contains such well loved classics as ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', ''JusticeLeague'', and ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', all acclaimed for their mature story lines, great characters and voice actors, and excellent animation. However, those two are considered far less intriguing, as they are taken to much lighter tone, as they lack many aspects that made the DCAU so memorable. While the two were far from terrible, and they still had their fair share of likable characters, and a few good episodes, they are far below the other series. Part of this reason is because of the lack of BruceTimm and PaulDini. (Though Dini wrote a few ''Static Shock episodes.)

* ''The Trial of Billy Jack'': The first two movies in the series, ''The Born Losers'' and ''Billy Jack'' are both awesome. ''Trial of Billy Jack'', on the other hand, is up there with ''HighlanderIITheQuickening'' and ''BatmanAndRobin'' as one of the worst sequels ever made.

** The second movie, ''TheCrowCityOfAngels'', in particular, suffered - tortuously - from the writers attempting to take the "framework" of the original story and try to swap out the plot details, replacing the original compelling story with a particularly unsubtle morass of "IKEA Pathos." That, and apparently no one on the film team even ''noticed'' the visual aesthetic of the original, since not even the barest effort was made to retain it. Add to this wooden acting, a notable dearth of memorable lines or dialogue, an obvious, over-the-top [[AssPull ass-pull]] ending, the utter absence of verisimilitude between the visual (and linguistic) environment depicted in the film and the real-life Los Angeles it was allegedly based on, and a particularly blatant [[DroppedABridgeOnHim bridge drop]] at the end, and you have a shameful attempt at remaking - even cloning - The Crow, with essentially ''none'' of the things that made the original great. You might say the series CameBackWrong.

* Making a sequel just because the original was successful and [[{{MoneyDearBoy}} the executives want more money]], regardless of the potential for a sequel that it has and regardless of the fans wanting a sequel or not.

** MoneyDearBoy. Also copyright renewal, while they keep lobbying Congress to extend copyright indefinitely.

**** Most of Disney's direct-to-video sequels fall victim to CanonDiscontinuity anyway.

** ''MegaManStarForce'' had the same situation. The first was alright, the second was bad, but the third is largely agreed to have been fantastic.

* Arika's ''TetrisTheGrandMaster'' series got better with each new release for its first three installments. Then came the very un-TGM-like title ''Tetris: The Grand Master ACE'', the tragic byproduct of The Tetris Company's and {{Microsoft}}'s ExecutiveMeddling. Most of the trademark TGM gameplay mechanics have been stripped (including Master mode, and by extension the unique TGM-style leveling up and grade system), you get a variation of [[GameBreaker infinite spin]] (limit of 128 rotations and 128 movements) as opposed to TGM's "step reset" lock delay, and you need an Xbox Live Gold membership to unlock proper TGM rotation. Good ''Tetris'', but bad TGM.

** On home consoles, the NES edition of ''Double Dragon 3'' is still seen as a very good game despite its [[NintendoHard absurdly high difficulty]]. The series didn't start getting nailed into its coffin until the dismal ''Double Dragon V'' which, despite being a numbered sequel, threw out the beat 'em up formula and swapped it for lackluster one-on-one fighting.

** On home consoles, the NES edition of ''Double Dragon 3'' is still seen as a very good game despite its [[NintendoHard absurdly high difficulty]]. The series didn't start getting nailed in its coffin until the dismal ''Double Dragon V'' which despite being a numbered sequel, threw out the beat 'em up formula and swapped it for one-on-one fighting.

* Most(?) people have the latter half of Creator/StephenKing's ''DarkTower'' series falling into this trope. It became especially evident when he had elements of ''DT'' leak into his non-''DT'' novels (especially ''Literature/HeartsInAtlantis'' and ''Literature/{{Insomnia}}''). Even if you do like the later installments for their writing or whatever, it definitely shows by the end that King didn't actually know where he was going with the story to begin with and had to just come up with something without the benefit of having planned in advance.

* Most(?) people have the latter half of Creator/StephenKing's ''DarkTower'' series falling into this trope. It became especially evident when he had elements of ''DT'' leak into his non-''DT'' novels (especially ''Hearts in Atlantis'' and ''Insomnia''). Even if you do like the later installments for their writing or whatever, it definitely shows by the end that King didn't actually know where he was going with the story to begin with and had to just come up with something without the benefit of having planned in advance.