History OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo / VideoGames

For other examples, return to the main page [[OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo here.]]

* The ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}'' series goes as thus: ''Battlefield 1942'', ''Battlefield: Vietnam'', ''Battlefield 2'' (which was spun off onto consoles as ''Battlefield 2: Modern Combat''), ''Battlefield 2142'', ''VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany'', ''VideoGame/BattlefieldHeroes'', ''Battlefield 1943'', ''Battlefield: Bad Company 2'' (which now has an ExpansionPack titled ''[[ColonCancer Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Vietnam]]''), ''VideoGame/BattlefieldPlay4Free'', ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 3}}'', [[SubvertedTrope and now]] ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 4}}'', [[DoubleSubversion and as of 2014,]] Battlefield: Hardline. The numbers don't indicate proper order at all, and there's bound to be a lot of confusion over the two games set in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar now.

** ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'' is a perfect example. Just so you know, that's pronounced Kingdom Hearts Three-Five-Eight Days Over Two. Some people just call it Kingdom Hearts Three hundered fifty eight and a half days. Or just "Kingdom Hearts: Days", for short.
** Not that the series hadn't gotten itself into trouble with numbers before. Due to the fact that ''ChainOfMemories'' is ''not'' a GaidenGame, a side story, nor even a FillerArc. It's a full-blown continuation of the plot, just with a different battle system. ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' is the third game of the series.
** ''Kingdom Hearts χ [chi]'' is another great example. Worse than ''358/2 Days'', it's a VisualPun title. The Greek letter "χ" is transliterated as "chi," but pronounced "key," as in [[IconicItem keyblade]]. The game delves into the so-called "Keyblade War," a significant chapter from the series' lore.
* ''[[Franchise/{{Halo}} Halo 3:ODST]]'' actually takes place concurrent with ''Halo 2'' and has next-to-nothing to do with ''Halo 3'', but because it was built on the ''Halo 3'' engine it got ''Halo 3'''s number.
** That said, throughout ODST, there are references to the fact that the Covenant has established a dig-site in New Mombasa to uncover...something they want really badly. [[spoiler:Turns out, it's an artifact that creates a portal to The Ark, which is a major plot point for Halo 3. The Legendary version of the epilogue even gives an up-close view of the Artifact.]]

* The ''HarvestMoon'' series has done this almost to an extreme. Except for some versions on Nintendo portables (which are simply named ''Harvest Moon 1'', ''2'', ''3'' and ''DS'') and the PSP version, every sequel has a new name: ''Harvest Moon: Back to Nature'', ''Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town'', ''Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life'', ''Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland'', ''Harvest Moon: Magical Melody'', ''Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility'', ''Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness'', ''Harvest Moon: Animal Parade'', and ''Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands''. Also, many of these have a ''For Girls'' version, with a twisted name (such as ''Harvest Moon: Another Wonderful Life''); the Japanese versions of these just tacked on a [[GratuitousEnglish "For Girl"]].

** ''XX'' later received a ''fifth'' update, entitled ''[[LongTitle Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus]] '''[[LongTitle R]]'''''. In an attempt to outdo themselves again, Creator/ArcSystemWorks then announced a new installment, ''Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-'' and ''-REVELATOR-'', which mixes this trope with SequelNumberSnarl (the Xrd, pronounced "igzird", can be read as "X third", and thus "three Xs", following the lead of the ''X'' and ''XX'' subseries, despite the fact that ''Xrd'' is essentially ''[=GG3=]'').

* ''{{Trackmania}}, Trackmania Sunrise, Trackmania Nations, Trackmania United Forever, Trackmania Nations Forever...'' and the brand new ''Trackmania 2!'' (Not counting console spinoffs)
* The GuitarHero saga, only counting home consoles releases *deep breath*: ''Guitar Hero'', ''Guitar Hero II'', ''Guitar Hero: Rocks the 80's'' (spin-off), ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock''', ''Guitar Hero: Aerosmith''(band-focused), ''Guitar Hero: World Tour'', ''Guitar Hero: Metallica'' (again, band-focused), ''Guitar Hero: Smash Hits'' (another spin-off), ''Guitar Hero 5'', ''Band Hero'' ([[RuleOfThree yet another spin-off]]), ''Guitar Hero: Van Halen'' ([[RuleOfThree yep, band-focused again]]) and ''Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock''.

** There's also the portable side-game, ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'' (which at one point was considered ''Metal Gear Solid 5'' by the development team), as well as the {{multiplatform}} release ''ppVideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain Metal Gear Solid V]]'' (switching from Arabic to Roman numerals), which got [[DividedForPublication split into two releases]], a stand-alone prologue titled ''Ground Zeroes'' and the main game ''The Phantom Pain''.

** There's also the portable side-game, ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'' (which at one point was considered ''Metal Gear Solid 5'' by the development team), as well as the {{multiplatform}} release ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' (switching from Arabic to Roman numerals), before which ''Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes'' was thought to be the next game in the series until it was revealed to just be the prologue chapter for ''Phantom Pain''.

* Not counting the {{spinoff}}s Sonic seemed to make sense with ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog 1]], [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 2]] and [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles 3]]. Then ''Sonic & Knuckles'' came out which was basically [[OneGameForThePriceOfTwo the second half]] of Sonic 3. Then things got confusing when they jumped over into 3D it was ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' and then ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''; however the Adventure title got dropped when ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' appeared which was then followed up by [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)]]. After that point the games have been a series of very loosely connected games with ''[[VideoGame/SonicStorybookSeries Sonic and the Secret Rings]]'', ''[[VideoGame/SonicStorybookSeries Sonic and the Black Knight]]'', ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'', ''VideoGame/SonicColors'' and ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations''. Not forgetting the downloadable series ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4 Sonic 4]]: Episode 1'' and ''Sonic 4: Episode 2''.

* No less a video game personage than {{Mario}} has been responsible for this, multiple times. First, the sequel to ''VideoGame/MarioBros'' was named ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros'' This was numbered sanely until the SuperNintendo came along, when his fifth console game became ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' (although it was actually known as ''Super Mario Bros. 4: Super Mario World'' in Japan). The sequel to that was called ''Super Mario World 2: VideoGame/YoshisIsland'', and then the series split - the ''Yoshi's Island'' games became their own series, while Mario stopped even bothering with numbering them in sequence (until ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2''). Something similar to the ''Yoshi's Island'' rename happened to the ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand'' games for the GameBoy, in which the third game was ''Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land'', which spun off into the ''VideoGame/WarioLand'' series.

* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'' was intended to be the true sequel to ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'', but since the game was originally being developed on the {{Dreamcast}} instead of the PlayStation like the previous games, Sony threw a hissy fit, forcing Capcom to relabel the game as a spin-off and leave it off the numbered series. At the same time, ''Resident Evil: Nemesis'', a side-story game that was being developed on the ''Resident Evil 2'' engine, ended up being released as ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'' instead. Funnily enough, ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' ended up being developed for the NintendoGameCube when Capcom eventually got around to making it.

* The ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' series started out with ''[[SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super]] Mario Kart'', followed by ''Mario Kart [[{{Nintendo 64}} 64]]''. Then it went to subtitles with ''Mario Kart: Super Circuit'' (for GameBoyAdvance) and ''Mario Kart: Double Dash[[ExcitedShowTitle !!]]'' (for NintendoGameCube). It then returned to SuperTitle64Advance with ''Mario Kart [[NintendoDS DS]]'' and ''Mario Kart {{Wii}}'' before finally falling into NumberedSequels with ''Mario Kart 7'' (for Nintendo3DS) and ''Mario Kart 8'' (for WiiU).

** ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'' was followed by ''Super Street Fighter IV'', which was followed by ''Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition''. There's also the ''3D Edition'' of ''Super'' for the [=3DS=].

* The ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' franchise is actually handed back and forth between two developers, after the fourth installment the sequels changed as each went in their separate directions. ''Call of Duty 4: VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' begat ''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'' (the "Call of Duty" was largely omitted from advertising) which begat ''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3''. ''Call of Duty: World at War'' followed ''4'', then ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'', and then ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps2''.

** ''XX'' later received a ''fifth'' update, entitled ''[[LongTitle Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus]] '''[[LongTitle R]]'''''. In an attempt to outdo themselves again, Creator/ArcSystemWorks then announced a new installment, ''Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-'', which mixes this trope with SequelNumberSnarl (the Xrd, pronounced "igzird", can be read as "X third", and thus "three Xs", following the lead of the ''X'' and ''XX'' subseries, despite the fact that ''Xrd'' is essentially ''[=GG3=]'').

* The sequel to ''VisualNovel/DanganRonpa'' is ''VisualNovel/SuperDanganRonpa2''. While either the "super" or the "2" would not be unusual, the presence of both is odd.

* In the case of ''NeedForSpeed'', ordering the ''Hot Pursuit'' subseries while give you a headache: ''Need For Speed III: Hot Pursuit'', then ''Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit II'', and then ''Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit''. Yes, the completely unnumbered title is the sequel to the game that's number two.

** A little historical background: the first two ''DN'' games were [[PlatformGame 2D platformers]] and the third one gaining an extra dimension was part of the general [[VideoGame3DLeap transition of games into 3D]] in the [[TheNineties late 1990s]]. For whatever reason, said transition [[ThirdIs3D often happened in the third installment of a given series and the many devs slapped the word "3D" onto its title]] (geddit?). It started all the way back with ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'' in 1992, and was merely continued with ''[=DN3D=]'' in 1996, as well as later games (e.g. ''PrinceOfPersia 3D'' and ''SimonTheSorcerer 3D'', both third installments in their respective series). As for ''Forever'', the fourth installment of the main series, it also makes sense if you write it this way: ''Duke Nukem [[Letters2Numbers 4ever]]''.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' was actually the third official entry in the Franchise/MetalGear series, being preceded by the original ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake''. The word "Solid" on the title was a way of signifying that it was the third installment without actually being called "Metal Gear 3." Since ''MGS'' ended up being [[SequelDisplacement more popular than its 2D predecessors]], it spawned off [[MorePopularSpinoff its own series of numbered sequels]] in the forms of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', [[ArtifactTitle reducing the original meaning of "Solid" into an artifact.]]
** There's also the portable side-game, ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'' (which at one point was considered ''Metal Gear Solid 5'' by the development team), as well as the {{multiplatform}} release ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' (switching from Arabic to Roman numerals), before which ''Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes'' was thought to be the next game in the series until it was revealed to just be the prologue chapter.

* ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' was followed by ''Marathon 2: Durandal'' which was followed by ''Marathon Infinity''. ''Infinity'' was then given a joke award by ''[=MacFormat=]'' for "largest version number increase." As if this wasn't enough, the game engine for ''Marathon 2'' was subsequently released and developed into an open-source version named ''Aleph One'', thereby restoring/continuing sequential numbering at the expense of not being understandable by anyone who wasn't a math major. (Partially justified in that much of the "plot" of ''Infinity'' was based on [[TheMultiverse universe hopping]] and the game was released with the creators' level-design, physics-editing, and graphics-editing tools so that players could make their own stories, making the game "infinite.")
* ''VideoGame/{{Banjo-Kazooie}}'' was followed by ''Banjo-Tooie'', which made in-game mention of a ''Banjo-Threeie'' that led some people to believe that the third game would be called that. The third game instead ended up being called ''Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts''.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChronicles: [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChroniclesRingOfFates Ring of Fates]]/[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChronicles My Life as a King]]/[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChroniclesCrystalBearers The Crystal Bearers]]''. Too many subtitles.

** Though ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' might challenge that title. The sequel (which was a movie) was ''Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren'' (And not just ''Franchise/FinalFantasy: Advent Children'', despite what some people think). Then there's the numerous prequels, ''Before Crisis: VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', ''VideoGame/CrisisCore: VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and ''Last Order: VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', which add to the confusion by reversing the title and subtitles. And then add on the side game ''Dirge of Cerberus: VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', the Japan-only side game expansion ''Dirge of Cerberus Lost Episode: VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and the Blu-ray remake of the movie, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII: Advent Children Complete''. '''Not to mention''' ''On the Way to a Smile'' (which doesn't have the words VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII anywhere in the title, but is still part of the series), a series of novels that acts as a sort of interquel between ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII: Advent Children''. Whew!

** ''[[VideoGame/BubbleBobble Puzzle Bobble]]'' aka Bust-A-Move, [=PB2 aka Bust-A-Move Again, PB3 = BAM '99, PB4=BAM4=]. Not to mention an UpdatedRerelease [[NoExportForYou of Puzzle Bobble 2 named 2X]].

* In the ''TalesSeries'', ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' and ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' both had gaiden sequels named ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia: Narikiri Dungeon'', ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia: Summoner's Lineage'', and, depending on where you live, ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'' or ''Knight of Ratatosk''.
** (Add the fact that ''Symphonia'' is a {{prequel}} to ''Phantasia'' and we start entering MindScrew territory.)
** Another interesting issue is that there is a VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny II and a VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny 2; the former is the North American rename of VideoGame/TalesOfEternia for purposes of WritingAroundTrademarks, and the latter is the actual sequel to VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny.
** And then there's VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia. Considering that there is little to no (besides bonus bosses) relation to the other Tales games.
* Despite five entries (split in 19 games) in the main series, there has never been a ''{{Pokemon}} 2'', let alone 3, 4 or 5, despite the fact that the second generation was indeed a direct sequel to the first one, and that the Sinnoh games (Generation IV) were a semisequel to Generation II. Every game after the first generation (whose games were named after colors) is merely titled "Pokémon" plus a precious material (gold, silver, crystal, ruby, sapphire, emerald, diamond, pearl and platinum) for subtitle. Since Pokemon games come in pairs (and by the end of the generation they end up being a trio), non-hard-core fans might have a hard time when trying to figure out which versions are paired with each other and distinguish the generations. Generation V switching back to colors (Black and White) sort of made things easier, but still is a non-indicative name (and after three generations of metal/jewel based titles, it becomes itself an odd theme). For those wondering, terms like the "second generation" or "Generation V" are only {{Fan Nickname}}s for groups of games and the Pokémon within them (which also distinguish remakes from the originals).
** Among the spinoffs, the original ''VideoGame/PokemonRanger'' is followed by ''Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia'' and ''Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs'', ''[[VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon Pokémon Mystery Dungeon]]'' had its ''first'' games bear the subtitles "Red Rescue Team" and "Blue Rescue Team: (which, even more confusingly, aren't even on the same system as one another), followed up by "Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky" and then the [[NoExportForYou Japan-exclusive]] "Adventure Squad", and ''VideoGame/PokemonColosseum'''s sequel is called ''Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness''.

** The ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament'' series was an odd one - the first two sequels were numbered by year (in the vein of sports releases, given [[BloodSport the games were a different kind of sport]]), ''[=UT2003=]'' and ''[=UT2004=]'' - but then after lying dormant for a while as Epic started on ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'', they decided the fourth ''UT'' should also be ''Unreal 3'', and so we got ''VideoGame/UnrealTournamentIII''.
* ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'', as the picture above indicates, has some idiosyncratic titling. The series goes as thus: ''Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell'', ''Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow'', ''Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory'', ''Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent'', ''Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Essentials'' (which, despite the name, isn't a remake package with the original games), and ''Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction''.

** This was actually caused by ExecutiveMeddling. Originally Chaos Theory was supposed to be the sequel to Splinter Cell and thus known as Splinter Cell 2. Pandora Tomorrow was only supposed to be an expansion pack to the original. When it was decided that Pandora Tomorrow would be a stand-alone title they released it without any numbering to avoid confusing people.
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'', ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoII'', ''VideoGame/III'', then ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'', ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'', ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoLibertyCityStories'', ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCityStories'', and then ''[[CapcomSequelStagnation finally]] VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV''. And after that, ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIVTheLostAndDamned'' and ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIVTheBalladOfGayTony'' before ''VideOGame/GrandTheftAutoV''.

* ''Franchise/PrinceOfPersia''. The first game was followed by the Sequel ''Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame'' then ''Prince of Persia [[ThirdIs3D 3D]]'' followed, when the series [[PolygonCeiling jumped to 3D]] and a new story was begun. Four years later came ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'', starting a new story yet again, which continues in the direct sequels ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaWarriorWithin'' and ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheTwoThrones''. Then, the story resets again, with ''VideoGame/{{Prince of Persia|2008}}'' in 2008, followed by an {{interquel}} between ''Sands of Time'' and ''Warrior Within'' with ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaForgottenSands''.
* The early ''VideoGame/MegaMan'' sequels were numbered with Roman numerals (at least on the title screens), but this became problematic when Capcom released a spin-off game for the SNES named ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' (as in the letter "X", not a Roman numeral 10), which was followed by its own series of numbered sequels. Because of this, Capcom switched to Arabic numerals for both the box art and title screens in the original series starting with ''VideoGame/MegaMan8'' in order to avoid any confusion, as the franchise eventually had a real ''VideoGame/MegaMan10''. This was never a problem in Japan, where the original ''Rockman'' games always used Arabic numerals.
** While the games for the GameBoy shared the same names as the ones that were released for the NES (except the first one, which was titled ''Mega Man in Dr. Wily's Revenge''), there were not actually ports of their corresponding NES games, but remixed versions that combined bosses from the corresponding NES game with those from its succeeding installment (i.e. ''Dr. Wily's Revenge'' has bosses from the [[VideoGame/MegaMan1 first]] [[VideoGame/MegaMan2 two]] NES games, the Game Boy version of ''II'' has bosses from the NES version of ''II'' and ''III'', and so on). The only exception was the Game Boy version of ''Mega Man V'', which features all new bosses instead of borrowing the ones from the NES games. The Japanese versions of these games were released under the ''Rockman World'' name, helping Japanese fans tell them apart.

** Bethesda have explained that ''New Vegas'' isn't a sequel to ''3'', so it doesn't follow in number (if anything, it's more of a sequel to the [[VaporWare never-released]] ''VideoGame/FalloutVanBuren''). Bethesda are apparently planning their own sequel at some point, so presumably that'll be ''4''.

* The ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' franchise is actually handed back and forth between two developers, after the fourth installment the sequels changed as each went in their separate directions. ''Call of Duty 4: ModernWarfare'' begat ''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'' (the "Call of Duty" was largely omitted from advertising) which begat ''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3''. ''Call of Duty: World at War'' followed ''4'', then ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'', and then ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps2''.

* The sequel of ''Videogame/HotlineMiami'' is titled ''Videogame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber'', though storywise the game jumps all over the timeline.

* The game series now known as ''LegacyOfKain'' started with the game ''Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain'' with the weighting making it apparent the 'Legacy of Kain' part was a subtitle. A few years later the next game came out called ''Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver'' (blood no longer being much of a big deal to the wraithlike new hero Raziel). It was followed by ''Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2''...but then came ''Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2'', which thoroughly confused everyone. The 2 sub-series finally converged in the final game, ''Legacy of Kain: Defiance''- to everyone's great relief.

* ''TheLegendOfZelda'' series only had one numbered sequel: ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink''. The remainder of the series are distinguished by their subtitles (i.e: ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'', ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker''). Sort of justified since ''Zelda II'' was the only true sequel to the first ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda'' in the series' fictional chronology and every game since then has been a relative NonLinearSequel, with only a few of them having their own direct (and still non-numbered) sequels.

** And then there's VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia. Considering that, from what this troper can tell, there is little to no (besides bonus bosses) relation to the other Tales games.

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros.'' was followed up with ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' and ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl''. The upcoming release(s) being "Super Smash Bros. for Wii U" or "for 3DS" (but when you think about it for and four are pronounced the same)

* Invoked with ''Barkley2CurseOfCuchulainn'', the full name of which being ''"The Magical Realms of Tír na nÓg: Escape from Necron 7 - Revenge of Cuchulainn: The Official Game of the Movie - Chapter 2 of the Hoopz Barkley [=SaGa=]"''.

* The ''{{VideoGame/Starsiege}}'' HumongousMecha RealRobot series began with ''[=MetalTech: Earthsiege=]'', then moved to ''[=EarthSiege II=]''. The sequel to [=ES2=] was ''{{VideoGame/Starsiege}}''. After ''[=Starsiege=]'' came ''[[{{VideoGame/Tribes}} Starsiege: Tribes]]'', which was related to the previous games InNameOnly, dropping the mechs entirely for fast paced infantry combat in which you use {{JetPack}}s and [[AbnormalAmmo shoot exploding blue frisbees]] at enemies. The sequel to ''[=Starsiege: Tribes=]'' dropped the "[=Starsiege=]" tag entirely, simply becoming ''[[{{VideoGame/Tribes}} Tribes 2]]''. The prequel (which actually has a plot!) to ''Starsiege: Tribes'' is ''[[{{VideoGame/TribesVengeance}} Tribes: Vengeance]]''. The latest ''Tribes'' game is ''[[{{VideoGame/Tribes}} Tribes: Ascend]]''.

* The ''VideoGame/TotalWar'' ''Series'' is an interesting take on this, not only does it usually put the series name after the subtitle but it uses numbers and/or sub-subtitles for some games but not for others. In order of release the games go, ''Shogun: Total War'', ''Shogun: Total War: Mongol Invasion'', ''Medieval: Total War'', ''Medieval: Total War: Viking Invasion'', ''Rome: Total War'', ''Rome: Total War: Barbarian Invasion'', ''Rome: Total War: Alexander'', ''Medieval II: Total War'', ''Medieval II: Total War: Kingdoms'', ''Empire: Total War'', ''Napoleon: Total War'' and just to make the naming even more confusing ''[[{{VideoGame/Total War Shogun 2}} Total War: Shogun 2]]'' and ''[[{{VideoGame/Total War Rome II}} Total War: Rome II]]''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Crazd}}'' has a SpiritualSequel called ''[[VideoGame/{{Two}} 2]]''. Yes, '''just''' ''2'' instead of ''Craz'd! 2''.

* The first sequel to ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'' was called ''Riven: The Sequel to Myst''. Later games adopted a more conventional numbering scheme, resulting in ''Myst III: Exile'', ''Myst IV: Revelation'', and ''Myst V: End of Ages''. A spinoff also exists, which went through enough name changes between its development, release, the cancellation of its online component, the resurrection of its online component through [=GameTap=] and its second cancellation that it probably deserves its own trope. The last name it had was ''Myst Online: Uru Live''.

** As a side note, ''Myst V: End of Ages'', although named in the Myst continuity, actually continues (and ends) the ''Uru'' storyline.

* The ''Divinity'' series gets to be oddly named from the very beginning, but the sequels make their own kind of nonsense. In order: ''VideoGame/DivineDivinity'', ''VideoGame/BeyondDivinity'', ''VideoGame/DivinityIITheDragonKnightSaga'' (which is itself made up of ''Divinity II: Ego Draconis'' and ''Divinity II: Flames of Vengeance''). ''Divine Divinity'' was meant to be ''Divinity: Sword of Lies'', and ''Beyond Divinity'' was a spinoff; ''Ego Draconis'' was the original ''Divinity II'' game, which was rereleased as ''The Dragon Knight Saga'' as a bundle or as just the expansion, ''Flames of Vengeance''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Crazd}}'' has a sequel called ''[[VideoGame/{{Two}} 2]]''. Yes, just ''2'', ''[[UpToEleven not]]'' ''Craz'd! 2''.

* ''VideoGame/BallRevamped'' has ''Ball Revamped 2: Metaphysik'', ''Ball Revamped 3: Andromeda'', ''Ball Revamped 3: Gemini'', ''Ball Revamped 4: Amplitude'' and ''Ball Revamped 5: Synergy''. The odd subtitles are sometimes left out of the titles, leading to NumberedSequels instead.

* While the standard ''FinalFantasy'' games are regularly named, its side-game names are getting progressively weirder.

** ''FinalFantasyCrystalChronicles: Ring of Fates/My Life as a King/The Crystal Bearers''. Too many subtitles.

** Though ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' might challenge that title. The sequel (which was a movie) was ''FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren'' (And not just ''FinalFantasy: Advent Children'', despite what some people think). Then there's the numerous prequels, ''Before Crisis: VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', ''VideoGame/CrisisCore: VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and ''Last Order: VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', which add to the confusion by reversing the title and subtitles. And then add on the side game ''Dirge of Cerberus: VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', the Japan-only side game expansion ''Dirge of Cerberus Lost Episode: VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and the Blu-ray remake of the movie, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII: Advent Children Complete''. '''Not to mention''' ''On the Way to a Smile'' (which doesn't have the words VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII anywhere in the title, but is still part of the series), a series of novels that acts as a sort of interquel between ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII: Advent Children''. Whew!

* [[Creator/StuartAshen Ashens]] [[http://youtu.be/jnrDI_Bn3rA?t=3m18s reviewed a game]] called ''Oriental Hero'' on the ZX Spectrum in his "''Terrible Old Games You've Probably Never Heard Of''" series. ''Oriental Hero'' is the sequel to a ZX game called "''Ninja Master''" but doesn't use the word "ninja" anywhere in its title, despite being made by the same developer with the purpose of following on its original title in order to seize upon its success.

* ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'' has this. While the Japanese sequels are ''Gyakuten Saiban 2-4'' and ''Gyakuten Kenji'' for the spinoff, they were translated as ''Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney'', ''Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice for All'', ''Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations'', ''Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney'', and ''Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth''. [[ColonCancer We may need an oncologist in here.]]

* No less a video game personnage than {{Mario}} has been responsible for this, multiple times. First, the sequel to ''VideoGame/MarioBros.'' was named ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros.'' This was numbered sanely until the SuperNintendo came along, when his fifth console game became ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' (although it was actually known as ''Super Mario Bros. 4: Super Mario World'' in Japan). The sequel to that was called ''Super Mario World 2: VideoGame/YoshisIsland'', and then the series split - the ''Yoshi's Island'' games became their own series, while Mario stopped even bothering with numbering them in sequence (until ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2''). Something similar to the ''Yoshi's Island'' rename happened to the ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand'' games for the GameBoy, in which the third game was ''Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land'', which spun off into the ''VideoGame/WarioLand'' series.
** The initial ''Super Mario Bros.'' series is numbered sanely only in the Western markets: the game released in the West as ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' was released as "Super Mario Bros. USA" in Japan -- the game known in Japan as ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' was released as part of a compilation game in the West years later under the title ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosTheLostLevels''.

* The VideoGame/KingsField series can be confusing, because the first game was [[NoExportForYou only released in Japan]], so "King's Field" and "King's Field II" outside Japan are "King's Field II" and "King's Field III" in Japan. The last one is variously called "King's Field: the Ancient City" or KF III or KF IV.

Non-videogame examples: ''Main/OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo''