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6Some video games do not have a strict sense of a linear {{sequel}}. The game may -- ''may'' -- take place in the same continuity, but not necessarily in the same time period. Occasionally the only thing similar is the system of play or shared tropes and references.
7
8This is because video games, uniquely among media, have another dimension by which installments in a series can be interrelated, other than characters, [[TheVerse setting]], plot, or tone; that dimension being gameplay mechanics. Of course, this also means you might get an installment that [[DolledUpInstallment isn't really one at all]]. Plus, it has the benefit of helping to avoid ContinuityLockOut -- with non-linear sequels, it doesn't really matter if you start with, say, ''An RPG Adventure 1'' or ''An RPG Adventure 10''.
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10This also avoids having to explain [[BagOfSpilling why the hero isn't at Level 255+ and where all his cool stuff went]] when he starts the next game.
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12Many series of this sort have {{Recurring Element}}s.
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14Compare and contrast to a ThematicSeries, which is a series that follows themes as opposed to specific characters or settings.
15----
16!!Examples:
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18[[foldercontrol]]
19
20[[folder:Action-Adventure Games]]
21* ''VideoGame/BubbleBobble'' makes ''no'' sense. There are '''three''' number-2s and '''two''' number-3s, and chronological orders and release orders don't match. Years later did a number-4 come out.
22* The games in Creator/{{Falcom}}'s ''VideoGame/DragonSlayer'' series are largely unrelated to each other. While ''Dragon Slayer VIII: The Legend of Xanadu'' is a sequel to ''VideoGame/DragonSlayerIIXanadu'', and ''Dragon Slayer V: Sorcerian'' has tenuous connections to ''Dragon Slayer Jr.: Romancia'', it's perhaps just as well that "Dragon Slayer" was stripped out of the titles of most of the localized versions and the later sequels and remakes.
23* The ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'' series plays around with the TimeyWimeyBall and as a result only the first two, ''Blood Omen'' and ''Soul Reaver'', are in normal order. ''Soul Reaver 2'' picked up where ''Soul Reaver'' left off with the main characters travelling back in time to a couple decades before ''Blood Omen'', then they travel forward to several centuries after ''Blood Omen'', then back to centuries before ''Blood Omen''. The fourth game, ''Blood Omen 2'', takes place between ''Blood Omen'' and ''Soul Reaver'' in an altered timeline caused by the fifth game, ''Defiance'' (unless it's the original and Defiance erased it; there's evidence to support either). Defiance picks up right where ''Soul Reaver 2'' left off and switches between the two heroes who are in different time periods, one is still in the time period centuries before ''Blood Omen'' and the other is exactly in the same time frame as ''Blood Omen'', the events of that game occurring unseen at the same time as the events of ''Defiance''. If you followed all that, congratulations, you just mastered one of the most complex time travel plots ever known.
24* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
25** Fans attempted for years to find some coherent continuity between the games, with one of the bigger points of contention being whether there was a linear timeline or if the ending of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' actually split the timeline in two. When [[ArcWelding the official timeline]] was revealed for the series' 25th anniversary through the ''Literature/HyruleHistoria'' artbook, it turned out timeline did split in ''[=OoT=]''... ''into three branches''. [[note]]The Adult Timeline (where Adult Link went back in time to properly live his childhood, leaving this branch unable to have a "true" reincarnation of the hero), the Child Timeline (where Young Link and Zelda manage to have Ganondorf imprisoned before he can enter the Temple of Time), and the unexpected Fallen Hero/Downfall Timeline ([[TheHeroDies where Adult Link dies fighting a now bestial Ganon]]).[[/note]] Since Creator/{{Nintendo}} is very much a "gameplay-first" developer, with story being one of the last things tackled in any of their games, the timeline reveal was prefaced with a request for fans to [[MST3KMantra ignore any odd discrepancies]] the official order may cause as being a result of the games being [[BroadStrokes "legends" that have been constantly retold and embellished]].
26** When asked about the continuity of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', the devs replied that it's a sequel set several thousand years later. But to ''which'' continuity branch? [[ShrugOfGod You decide.]]
27* The ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' series isn't a particularly confusing chronology, especially compared to its sister series ''The Legend of Zelda''. Nevertheless, the release order of the subsequent games still doesn't necessarily match the order in which they take place, mainly due to the ''Prime'' sub-series being an expanded {{Interquel}}. The order is: ''VideoGame/{{Metroid|1}}[=/=]VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission'' (1986[=/=]2004) > ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' (2002) > ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrimeHunters Prime Hunters]]'' (2006) > ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes Prime 2: Echoes]]'' (2004) > ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption Prime 3: Corruption]]'' (2007) > ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrimeFederationForce Federation Force]]'' (2016) > ''VideoGame/MetroidIIReturnOfSamus''[=/=]''VideoGame/MetroidSamusReturns'' (1991[=/=]2017) > ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' (1994) > ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' (2010) > ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'' (2004) > ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'' (2021).[[note]]''VideoGame/MetroidPrimePinball'' is a loose retelling of the first ''Prime'' game.[[/note]]
28* The third ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' game for the NES, ''Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom'', is an interquel between the original NES ''Ninja Gaiden'' and ''Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos'' (since Ryu lost the Dragon Sword at the end of ''II'', but still has it in ''III''). ''Ninja Gaiden Shadow'' is a very distant prequel to the first NES game, while ''Ninja Gaiden'' for Xbox and its sequels (''Dragon Sword'', ''2'', and ''3'') are set before the NES series (and presumably after ''Ninja Gaiden Shadow'').
29* ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'' and ''VideoGame/{{ICO}}'' [[SharedUniverse take place within the same universe]], with ''Shadow of the Colossus'' occurring earlier in the timeline.
30* The sequel progression in ''Franchise/TombRaider'' is linear (while each is self-contained, stuff like artifacts in Lara's mansion show the progression) until ''[[VideoGame/TombRaiderChronicles Chronicles]]'', which is based around events at various times in Lara's life, and the position of some scenarios in the overall timeline is very hard to work out (not helped by the way some events seem to violate previous canon). The [[VideoGame/TombRaiderLegend Crystal reboot]] makes things much more complicated; while the changes to backstory and canon suggest a ContinuityReboot, the majority of the previous games are referenced at points in the new games, suggesting that they DO still exist in the new timeline, which makes it difficult to work out where ''Legend'' and ''[[VideoGame/TombRaiderUnderworld Underworld]]'' fit in. The series would then be rebooted again with ''VideoGame/TombRaider2013'', and there are also two spin-offs that have their own continuity, ''VideoGame/LaraCroftAndTheGuardianOfLight'' and ''Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris''.
31* ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}''' timeline is ''Origin'' > ''1+2'' > ''IV/Memories of Celceta'' > ''III/Oath in Felghana'' > ''V'' > ''VIII'' > ''VI'' > ''SEVEN'' > ''IX''. ''Origin'' takes place a full 700 years before the rest of the series. This timeline doesn't include the spin-off games ''VideoGame/YsStrategy'', ''Ys Online'', and ''Ys VS [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky Sora no Kiseki]]''.
32[[/folder]]
33
34[[folder:Adventure Games]]
35* The games in the ''[[VideoGame/AtlantisTheLostTales Atlantis]]'' series take part, in order: In prehistoric times, in the middle ages, in 2020, in the early 20th century, and in 1937.
36* ''VideoGame/MysteriousJourneyII'' is a far, far cry from what ''VideoGame/SchizmMysteriousJourney'' was. It takes place on an entirely different planet called Saarpedon, bearing no relation to Argilus, and the 2-character playing mode is dumbed back to one. In fact, the only relation to Schizm is a ShoutOut to its living ships, as buildings in the ocean which look similar on the outside but work and look nothing alike on the inside.
37[[/folder]]
38
39[[folder:Fighting Games]]
40* Every 2D ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'' has been a non-linear sequel since ''Samurai Shodown II''. ''III'' and ''IV'' are set after the original game but before ''II'', ''V'' is a prequel to the first game, and ''VI'' is a "{{dream match|Game}}" game with everyone from the previous numbered entries. Oddly enough, the 3D games are all set after ''Samurai Shodown II'', although the PS version of ''Warriors Rage'' (which is a different game from the arcade version) takes place in the distant future of the other games. The 2019 ''[=SamSho=]'' entry (simply titled ''[[RecycledTitle Samurai Shodown]]'') is a SoftReboot sandwiched between ''V'' and the original, though it also features a handful of characters who were not originally active at that point in history (such as Shiki from the ''64'' titles). This is almost certainly due to the deaths of both female lead Nakoruru and EnsembleDarkhorse Ukyo Tachibana at the end of ''II'', who were subsequently SavedByTheFans.
41* The ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha'' series (despite its Japanese title of ''Street Fighter [[EpisodeZeroTheBeginning Zero]]'') is actually set '''after''' the original ''VideoGame/{{Street Fighter|I}}'' (and ''VideoGame/FinalFight'') and before the ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' series. ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'' is an {{interquel}} between ''II'' and ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII III]]'', while the following entry, ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'', takes place between ''IV'' and ''III''. It wouldn't be until 2023's ''VideoGame/StreetFighter6'' that [[Franchise/StreetFighter the series]] would finally have an installment set after ''III'' (which first released in 1997 just to put things in perspective). The ''VideoGame/StreetFighterEX'' [[GaidenGame titles]] are a [[CanonDiscontinuity non-canon]] series of spin-offs [[WildMassGuessing believed]] to occupy the same general time frame of ''Alpha'' and ''II''.
42[[/folder]]
43
44[[folder:First-Person Shooter]]
45* The ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' games, due to starting out as yet another UsefulNotes/WorldWarII series, have chronology all over the place. ''Call of Duty 2'' in particular has at least half of its missions taking place before most of the original's -- though this also meant they could bring back Captain Price after his death on board the Tirpitz in the first game without having to explain a thing. Later games eventually split up the timeline into as many as ''five'' alternate timelines: the ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' timeline with ''[[VideoGame/CallofDutyInfiniteWarfare Infinite Warfare]]'' being a distant sequel, the ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps Black Ops]]'' timeline that also includes ''[[VideoGame/CallofDutyWorldAtWar World at War]]'', the standalone timelines of ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyGhosts Ghosts]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyAdvancedWarfare Advanced Warfare]]'', the ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyZombies Zombies]]'' timeline, and the WWII games that can go anywhere. The series could almost be seen as a ThematicSeries at this point.
46* ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' was pretty straightforward for most of its life; [[VideoGame/HalfLife1 the first game]] and its expansions are SimultaneousArcs, [[VideoGame/HalfLife2 the second game]] follows up on them, and [[MissionPackSequel the Episodes]] are an ImmediateSequel to ''2''. But then ''VideoGame/HalfLifeAlyx'' ([[SequelGap eventually]]) came along and things got screwy, because while that game ''seems'' to be a mere {{Interquel}}, [[spoiler:it actually doubles as a StealthSequel to ''Episode Two'' thanks to the TimeyWimeyBall at the end]].
47* The ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' franchise chronologically goes: ''VideoGame/HaloWars'', ''VideoGame/HaloReach'', ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'', ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}''[=/=]''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'', ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'', ''VideoGame/HaloSpartanAssault'', ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'', ''Halo: Spartan Strike'', ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'', ''VideoGame/HaloWars2'', ''VideoGame/HaloInfinite''. The core trilogy was released first, followed by ''Halo Wars'', ''Halo 3: ODST'', ''Halo: Reach'', ''Halo 4'' (the start of a new trilogy), ''Halo: Spartan Assault'', ''Halo: Spartan Strike'', ''Halo 5: Guardians'', ''Halo Wars 2'', and ''Halo Infinite''.
48[[/folder]]
49
50[[folder:Hack and Slash]]
51* In chronological order of the plotline, the ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' series goes as follows: ''VideoGame/{{Devil May Cry 3|DantesAwakening}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Devil May Cry|1}}'', ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'', then ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry2''. Then there's ''VideoGame/DMCDevilMayCry'', which was originally ''another'' prequel (more like ContinuityReboot in some aspects) set ''before'' ''3'' [[FlipFlopOfGod until it was relegated to]] [[AlternateContinuity a parallel universe]]. ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'' [[{{Unreboot}} returns to the setting of the first four games]], taking place several years after not only ''[=DMC4=]'', but also the oft-ignored ''2''. In the period leading up to ''5''[='s=] release, Creator/{{Capcom}} would [[{{Retcon}} reshuffle the chronology of the series]], this time placing ''2'' before the events of ''4'' (and invalidating the title of the previously released ''3142 Graphic Arts'' artbook in the process). As it stands, the order of the games now goes ''3'' > ''1'' > ''2'' > ''4'' > ''5''.
52[[/folder]]
53
54[[folder:Platformers]]
55* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'':
56** The series is the reigning king of bouncing around in the timeline, though the games all take place in the same continuity. Games have been set as far back as [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLamentOfInnocence the year 1094]] and as far forward as [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow 2036]]. Creator/{{Konami}} didn't even wait till the series left the NES before starting this habit -- ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIIDraculasCurse'' was set more than 200 years before [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaI the first game]].
57** There are five games that retell Simon Belmont's assault on Dracula's Castle in 1691 [[note]]''VideoGame/CastlevaniaI'', ''Vampire Killer'', ''VideoGame/HauntedCastle'', ''VideoGame/SuperCastlevaniaIV'', ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaChronicles''[[/note]], with only ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania II|SimonsQuest}}'' serving as a continuation of Simon's journey.
58** Two other exceptions are the "Chronicles of Sorrow" duology (with ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow Dawn of Sorrow]]'' being a direct sequel to ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow Aria]]'' with the same protagonist) and ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'' (being a direct sequel to ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaRondoOfBlood'', [[PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo with Richter and Maria from that title playing a major role]]; the two games were eventually rereleased together as ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaTheDraculaXChronicles The Dracula X Chronicles]]'').
59* Though the various ''Franchise/MegaMan'' games are released roughly in chronological order within their own series, the ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' series -- which takes place after the end of the ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX X]]'' series and before the ''[[VideoGame/MegaManLegends Legends]]'' series -- began and ended years after the last ''Legends'' game came out. The newer ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'' series takes place after ''Zero'' but still before ''Legends''. Also, in the time between the releases of ''VideoGame/MegaManAndBass'' and ''VideoGame/MegaMan9'', the ''Zero'' series came and went (being the ''only'' series in the Classic timeline to have a GrandFinale, in fact), as well as two ''Legends'' games, two ''ZX'' games and four mainline ''X'' games (as well as [[VideoGame/MegaManXtreme two]] [[VideoGame/MegaManXtreme2 handheld]] ''X'' games), and the series has stuck to the ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' era ever since.
60* ''VideoGame/ShantaeAdvanceRiskyRevolution'' retroactively became this with how long it's been delayed. [=WayForward=] intended ''Risky Revolution'' to be the second game released in the ''{{VideoGame/Shantae}}'' series, but ended up becoming the '''sixth'''. Despite this, the developers are still going through their plan of making this [[{{Interquel}} the connecting bridge between]] [[VideoGame/Shantae2002 the original game]] and ''[[VideoGame/ShantaeRiskysRevenge Risky's Revenge]]''.
61* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
62** ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD Sonic CD]]'' was developed at the same time as ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'' and ended up coming out after it due to delays, but it takes place before it.
63** ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4'' takes place shortly after ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'' despite coming out in 2010.
64** The ResetButton ending of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' and its inclusion in ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' already make its place in continuity somewhat confusing. However, the game says that Blaze the Cat is from the same future as Silver the Hedgehog. The ''VideoGame/SonicRush'' [[VideoGame/SonicRushAdventures series]] directly contradict this by saying that Blaze is from AnotherDimension. At the end of Silver's story in ''Sonic '06'' [[spoiler:Blaze absorbs Iblis and seals it and herself away disappearing in a flash of light]].
65** ''VideoGame/SonicChronicles'' takes place "[[TimeSkip two years]] after the final defeat of Dr. Eggman." Meaning that it should take place after any game that was released afterwards. However, [[CanonDiscontinuity the game was eventually declared non-canon anyway]].
66** In ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'', Shadow clearly remembers the events of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' though the game was released slightly before ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'', in which Shadow has amnesia thanks to his fall at the end of ''[=SA2=]''. He doesn't get his memory back until the end of ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', so ''Battle'' is likely set some time after ''Shadow the Hedgehog''.
67** ''VideoGame/SonicMania'' is explicitly stated to be a direct sequel to ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'' and thus before ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' and all other modern titles. ''VideoGame/SonicForces'', which came out a few months later, is itself a direct sequel to ''Mania'', having carried over the plot element of the Phantom Ruby and implying that the events of ''Mania'' take place in an alternate universe from ''Forces''. And ''then'' the plot thread of the Phantom Ruby is followed up by ''Sonic Mania Plus'', an ExpansionPack for ''Mania''.
68* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld2YoshisIsland'', although numbered, is a prequel to the main ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' games instead of a sequel to ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld''. In Japan, the game is known simply as ''Super Mario: Yoshi Island''.
69* The official stance on ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' is that it is a "reimagining" of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy''.
70* ''VideoGame/WonderBoy'':
71** ''VideoGame/WonderBoyIIIMonsterLair'' and ''VideoGame/WonderBoyIIITheDragonsTrap''. The former is a ShootEmUp platformer hybrid spin-off, while the latter is an Action RPG set immediately after ''VideoGame/WonderBoyInMonsterLand''; with the prologue taking place in the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon of that game.
72** ''VideoGame/MonsterWorldIV'' has mostly the same gameplay as the previous ''Wonder Boy''/''Monster World'' titles, but a completely unrelated story.
73[[/folder]]
74
75[[folder:Role-Playing Games]]
76* While ''VideoGame/BravelySecond'' is a direct sequel to ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault'', ''VideoGame/BravelyDefaultII'' takes the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' sequel route, [[ThematicSeries being a numbered sequel that takes place in a separate world from the previous two games]]. Given the titling conventions of the first two games, some have speculated that a direct follow-up to ''Second'' would be called ''Bravely Third'' or something similar, though this ignores the fact that ''Default'' and ''Second'' derive their names from gameplay mechanics.
77* ''VideoGame/BreathOfFire'' has a remarkably similar situation going to ''[[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Zelda]]'', only complicated by two, possibly three, ''canonical'' AlternateUniverse scenarios:
78** ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireI'', ''[[VideoGame/BreathOfFireII II]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/BreathOfFireIII III]]'' are canonically (per [[WordOfGod Word of Capcom]] and storyline) in the same universe but separated by millennia between games.
79** ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireDragonQuarter'' is (per [[WordOfGod Word of Capcom]]) in its own AlternateUniverse completely unrelated to other games in the series. The gameplay is also radically different, to the point it actually resulted in a BrokenBase within that fandom.
80** The real mess comes in sorting out where ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'' fits, because there ''is'' no [[WordOfGod Word of Capcom]] where the game fits; the game was rushed to production to outrun DiedDuringProduction, and subsequent [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary material]] (like the artbook, a {{Novelization}}, a second ''Breath of Fire'' Complete Works artbook, no less than two side-stories that were released for [[NoExportForYou Japanese smartphones]], and finally a [[ComicBookAdaptation manga]] that relied ''heavily'' on info from the artbook and Capcom's production staff) have done ''absolutely nothing'' to clarify this. As a result, a ''lot'' of {{Fanon}} and occasional FanWank occurs as to whether ''IV'' is an AlternateUniverse or a NonLinearSequel (with the most popular {{Fanon}} Timeline going towards it being a NonLinearSequel that is a prequel to ''I-III'').
81* [[WordOfGod Hidetaka Miyazaki]] (who served as director on ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' and ''VideoGame/{{Dark Souls|I}}'') has stated that despite taking place in the same world, there are no story connections between ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' and its predecessor. As it turned out, he was either {{lying|Creator}} or overruled by ''DSII''[='s=] [[TroubledProduction two directors]] because there ended up being a number of nods to ''DSI'' in the sequel[[note]]In NewGamePlus, you can acquire additional special souls from the Four Old Ones that are implied to be the souls of the original game's Four Lords, while both the BigBad and a number of major characters in the [=DLCs=] are embodiments of fragments of Manus, the BigBad of the first game's DLC[[/note]]. However, it's still not a direct follow-up to ''DSI''[='s=] story.
82* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'':
83** Several titles take place in the same universe with similar past events. ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'' is the prequel of [[VideoGame/DragonQuestI the first]] [[VideoGame/DragonQuestII two games]], which are collectively known as the "Loto Trilogy" or "Erdrick Trilogy" (depending on your translation).
84** The [[VideoGame/DragonQuestIV fourth]], [[VideoGame/DragonQuestV fifth]], and [[VideoGame/DragonQuestVI sixth]] games are also part of their own saga (the loosely connected Zenithian trilogy), albeit in AnachronicOrder.
85** To date, only ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'', ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'', and ''VideoGame/DragonQuestX'' seem to be standalone titles in the main series, as ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'' hints at a multiverse due to [[spoiler:the Godbird Empyrea actually being one and the same as [[PowerUpMount the Everbird]] [[InconsistentSpelling Ramia/Lamia]] from ''III'']]. Torneko Taloon from ''IV'' also cameos as an opponent in Morrie's Monster Arena in ''VIII''.
86** Just to complicate matters, ''IX'' features character cameos and cosplay gear from all eight previous games and the ''VideoGame/DragonQuestSwords'' spin-off, which may mean something or may just be {{Mythology Gag}}s.
87** Then there's the early ''VideoGame/DragonQuestMonsters'' games -- one's a prequel to ''VI'', another had a ''VII'' character wind up in the Erdrick Trilogy world long after the events of ''I - III''.
88** The final scene of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'' reveals that [[spoiler:the world of Erdea is none other than the setting of the first three titles (the third in particular), [[StealthSequel only in the past]]]]. Longtime or more observant fans may have picked up on the few hints dropped earlier on: [[spoiler:the theme of the town of Hotto is nearly identical to the music used for Jipang in ''III'']] and during the post-game [[spoiler:the overworld music changes to that of ''III'']].
89** The ''Builders'' spinoffs further complicate things: ''VideoGame/DragonQuestBuilders'' is set after the bad end of the original ''Dragon Quest''. ''VideoGame/DragonQuestBuilders2'' follows not ''DQB'' but ''Dragon Quest II'', and is a direct sequel to that game rather than an AlternateContinuity.
90* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
91** The main series of games (i.e. the one with a number in their title) are a {{downplayed|Example}} example. The entire series takes place on the continent of Tamriel, with the first four games (''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena Arena]], [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]], [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]], and [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'') being chronological, taking place over the span of roughly 34 years in the late 3rd Era of Tamriellic history. Each takes place in a different region of Tamriel [[note]]with the exception of ''Arena'', which spans the entire continent though much of it is [[RandomlyGeneratedLevels randomly generated]] and is ripe EarlyInstallmentWeirdness[[/note]], and each overhauls its cast of characters (each has a different PlayerCharacter and very few recurring main characters). ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' takes place some [[TimeSkip 200 years]] following the events of ''Oblivion'', but also does some ArcWelding of the events of previous games in its main plot (specifically, the destruction or removal of a various {{Cosmic Keystone}}s and [[TheTower metaphysical "Towers"]] heralding the return of Alduin, the BigBad BeastOfTheApocalypse who was [[SealedEvilInACan cast out of the stream of time]] in the past but prophesied to return).
92** The series also has several [[GaidenGame spin-off games]] with different styles of gameplay which take place in different eras of Tamriellic history. The DungeonCrawler spin-off ''[[VideoGame/AnElderScrollsLegendBattlespire Battlespire]]'' (originally planned as an expansion to ''Daggerafall'') takes place during the events of ''Arena'' but isn't directly related to the plot there. The ActionAdventure spin-off ''Redguard'' is a prequel that takes place roughly 400 years before ''Arena''. ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline'' is a [[MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame MMORPG]] prequel which takes place roughly 700 years before the events of ''Arena''.
93* The ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series, with a few exceptions centered around ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', essentially reboot everything with every new game and start fresh in a different setting with different characters, making its use of {{number|edSequels}}s somewhat strange.
94** Creator/SquareEnix's VideoGame/{{Ivalice|Alliance}} realm is a consistent world visited by the player at various different points in history, each time centered on completely unrelated protagonists. The titles are non-linear, consisting of the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'' games, ''VideoGame/VagrantStory'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII''. But even Ivalice's continuity is a little haphazard. Back when they were new, the only indication of a connection between ''Tactics'' and ''Vagrant Story'' was a few small references. ''Tactics'' would receive its own sequel later on, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'', which also had ''very'' little to do with its predecessor. Making Ivalice a more explicitly consistent setting was a later development, and [[ContinuityDrift it's still a bit different than it started out]] since it took some {{retcon}}ning to fit things together.
95** Only afterwards, some games are now getting sequels, probably inspired by the success of the ''Compilation of VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. For example, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' has a cellphone[=/=]UsefulNotes/WiiWare game sequel, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears''.
96** As of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', the entire series takes place in a larger [[TheMultiverse Multiverse]], as did ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2''. The [[AllThereInTheManual Ultimania]] notes that [[spoiler:Shinra, the kid genius of the Gullwings, was the ancestor of [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Rufus Shinra]]. He even babbles about a concept remarkably similar to that of TheLifestream at one point in the game. Much later, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'' would reinforce this by showing of a photo of the Shinra company's founders wherein one of the men shown dons a mask identical to Shinra's, with the game's Ultimania confirming this is indeed a nod to the Shinra from ''X-2'']].
97** A Japanese guide for ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' (''[[AllThereInTheManual Final Fantasy IV Settei Shiryou Hen]]'', [[http://www.sceneryrecalled.com/trans/ff4comp.htm for those curious]]) states that the Blue Planet is the same world as that of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'', only 100 years later. It also states that the Deathbringer that King Fabul gives to Cecil was left to him by Leon from ''II'', who then renounced his status as a Dark Knight to become a priest (as a parallel to Cecil's own class change from Dark Knight to Paladin). However, this is possibly shot down ''[[ShrugOfGod again]]'' in ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears The After Years]]'', which reverts the whole "Kain being Ricard's son" thing back to a RetroactiveLegacy MythologyGag; there, Kain says that he was roughly the same age as Ceodore (17) when he heard news [[spoiler:of his father's death against an evil empire]], while the Kain seen in ''II'' is a young boy (not to mention that a difference of 100 years makes it difficult for the 21-year-old Kain to be the son of the already middle-aged Ricard).
98** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' was the first game in the series to be envisioned with other games (''VideoGame/FinalFantasyType0'' for example) sharing a continuity in mind, although from the get-go that "continuity" was outlined as a theme involving crystals steeped in mythology and nothing else, for the most part. While it eventually gained direct sequels, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' and ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'', the original vision changed quite a lot over the years, with ''Type-0'', originally sharing the XIII title as ''Agito XIII'', renamed before its release, and with the third game -- the very highly anticipated ''Versus XIII'' -- announced way back in 2006 along with the other two changing into a large, separate verse so much that it's finally been renamed '''''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'''''. The end of the E3 trailer that announced this even implies that, as "a world in the Versus epic" (quote), Noctis will have his own saga in ''Franchise/{{Fabula Nova Crystallis|FinalFantasy}}'' (its title can be faintly seen at the beginning of the trailer), as Lightning has had.
99* ''[[VideoGame/{{Lisa}} LISA: The Painful]]'' differs ''heavily'' from its predecessor ''LISA: The First'' in numerous ways. ''First'' is a surreal exploration of the dreams of the titular character akin to ''VideoGame/YumeNikki'', while ''Painful'' takes place in a very literal post-apocalypse where Lisa herself is long dead. The art style is different. The star of ''Painful'', Brad, is a new character retconned into Lisa's family. In fact, practically the ''only'' similarities between the two games are the themes of paternal abuse and the father responsible for it. Even the format is different, with ''Painful'' pivoting to a 2D side-scroller.
100* The first two ''VideoGame/{{Lufia}}'' games were placed in reverse order, with ''VideoGame/LufiaIIRiseOfTheSinistrals'' happening before ''VideoGame/LufiaAndTheFortressOfDoom''. The first game even ''started'' with ATasteOfPower that eventually became the final conflict in the second game, creating a nice little loop of continuity. The third game, ''VideoGame/LufiaTheLegendReturns'', is third chronologically, 100 years after ''Fortress of Doom'' and 200 years after ''Lufia II''. The GaidenGame, ''VideoGame/LufiaTheRuinsOfLore'', is set twenty years after ''Lufia II'' (eighty years before ''Fortress of Doom'').
101* The continuity between the ''VideoGame/ManaSeries'' of games is rather loose. At least one game, ''VideoGame/LegendOfMana'', has been declared non-canon by WordOfGod, and the mobile phone game ''Friends of Mana'' takes place in a totally different world.
102* ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance3TheBlackOrder'' is numbered as a sequel to the original ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance'' games, but takes place in a separate continuity that's completely divorced from the story of the previous games. This is highlighted by the various changes from the art style (being more vibrant), the entirely new story that distills many others while loosely telling ''ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet'', and the vast number of design differences such as Nick Fury [[RaceLift changing races]] between games.
103* The ''VideoGame/PhantasyStar'' series has four distinct continuities: the "Classic" series (the Mega Drive/Master System games), the ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline'' series, (''PSO'' as well as all of its Episodes, and possibly ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarZero''), the ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarUniverse'' series (''Universe'', ''Ambition of the Illumini'', and the ''Portable'' games), and the ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline2'' series (a bunch of games/media far too long to list). Continuities generally don't mix, although the idea of multiverse theory has been played with occasionally.
104* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' does this. Not counting ''Gold and Silver'', which were direct sequels to the first games, ''Red and Blue'', every iteration since has been part of a jumbled up timeline that can only be explained by in-game functions. ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' start off the series. At the same time that these are happening, the events of ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'', games released six years later as part of the third generation, take place. Three years later, the events of ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' take place. Starting around when the red Gyarados business goes down, the events of ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' occur. (It helps if you consider the remakes; ''Ruby and Sapphire'' and ''[=FireRed and LeafGreen=]'' are part of the same generation and take place at roughly the same time, as are ''Diamond and Pearl'' and ''[=HeartGold and SoulSilver=]''.) And then, some unknown time later (possibly multiple years later; see the following note for more details) the events of ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''[[note]]All we know is that between games, the FunnyForeigner Rocket Grunt you find in Gold/Silver moved back to Unova, spent some time attempting to revive Team Rocket there, before falling in love and marrying someone, abandoning his prospects and settling down and fathering a child with her, said child likely at least being preschool-aged or close to that by the time you find them in Black/White. Anywhere from 3 to 6 years could have passed when accounting for that while still allowing Red to be in his early 20s by the time of Sun/Moon, and accounting for the fact that over 10 years have passed by then.[[/note]] take place, followed by ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'' (2 years later [[note]]Red, the player character in ''R/B/Y/FR/LG'', is canonically 11 in his games, which would make him 14 during Gen II/IV; as his age is given as [[VagueAge 16-17+]] in ''[=B2/W2=]'', this would suggest that ''B/W'' is set only, at most, a year after the events of ''[=HG/SS=]'' and ''Platinum'', [[CuttingOffTheBranches which is implied to be the "canon" version by Cynthia]] in her ''B/W'' cameo[[/note]]). ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' then takes place around the same time as ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2''. ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' are a few years down the road from ''[=B2/W2=]'' and ''X/Y'', as Red (see the above note) is officially said to be [[VagueAge in his early twenties]]. [[note]]Concept art for Grimsley, a character appearing in both the [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Unova]] [[VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2 titles]] and ''S/M'', mentions that he is two years older in the latter, however.[[/note]] ''VideoGame/PokemonColosseum'' and ''[[VideoGame/PokemonXDGaleOfDarkness Pokémon XD]]'' go wherever you want them to.
105* Most of the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' sequels are like this, the major exceptions being ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'', ''VideoGame/Persona2'', ''[[VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga Digital Devil Saga 2]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon]]''. Some other games are hinted/confirmed to take place in the same continuity as their predecessors, such as ''[[VideoGame/SoulHackers Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers]]'' and ''VideoGame/SoulHackers2'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', and the ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' series from ''[[VideoGame/Persona3 P3]]'' onward, but feature completely different plotlines and characters, with only a handful of [[CallBack Call-Backs]] connecting them. Further confusing matters are the occasional mention/suggestion of [[TheMultiverse a multiverse]] as well as a [[AlternateTimeline timeline split]] that branches off from a crucial moment in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'': one split leads to ''SMT II'' (with ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiNine NINE]]'', ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiImagine IMAGINE]]'', and ''VideoGame/GitenMegamiTensei'' suggested or outright confirmed to be other offshoots), whereas the other leads to not just ''VideoGame/DevilSummoner'', but also ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf'' and ''Persona''. Then there's the implication that the events of the ''[[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy Raidou]] [[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon Kuzunoha]]'' duology (distant prequels to the original ''Devil Summoner'') also [[spoiler:[[CosmicRetcon negated]] ''SMT I'' and its resulting chronology from ever happening]]... but one recurring character from [[spoiler:that timeline]] ([[spoiler:Stephen]]) shows up throughout ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' and [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse its sequel]], and ''SMT IV'' itself has a backstory that, save for a few key details, is consistent with info divulged in ''SMT I'' and ''II''.
106* The ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' games all take place in the same world (except for ''[[VideoGame/SuikodenTierkreis Tierkreis]]''), but all take place in different regions and, more importantly, different times. To be specific, the first game to occur chronologically was ''VideoGame/SuikodenIV''. One hundred and fifty years later, we experience the events of ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'', then we get the original ''VideoGame/SuikodenI'' five years later, with ''VideoGame/SuikodenII'' following it up with the shortest time span between games (a mere three years), then we get ''VideoGame/SuikodenIII'' 15 years after that. One strange thing about this series is the character Viki, who is well-known for not only teleporting to different regions but through time as well (though this is not intentional, as she just has very bad luck and is a huge klutz). What's interesting is that she teleports through the games in ''numerical'' order, rather than chronologically. In other words, she teleports from the events of ''Suikoden I'' to ''Suikoden II'', then to ''Suikoden III'', and so on. Also, there are events that occur in ''Suikogaiden'' with Viki that, if she moved in numerical order, would imply her having knowledge of events that occurred (or knowing people she met) in earlier games. Her lack of knowledge of who Lorelai is in ''Suikoden V'', even though they are both members of the Hero's army in ''I'' and ''II'', is telling. ''And'' there are two different versions of Viki in ''III''.
107* There are only four continuities in the ''VideoGame/{{Tales|Series}}'' series, non-canonical {{crossover}}s ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheWorld'' notwithstanding. Even within games that share a continuity, BagOfSpilling is avoided due to each game following a different set of protagonists in each continuity.
108** The first is the "Aselia" timeline, encompassing two ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Symphonia]]'' games and ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia Phantasia]]''. All of them have different protagonists (the ''Symphonia'' sequel has a different protagonist, and both are set around 4000 years before ''Phantasia'').
109** The second is the ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Destiny]]'' timeline, with the second game being about the son of the heroes of the first.
110** The third is the ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfXillia Xillia]]'' timeline. The second game has a new protagonist, but the entire cast of the previous game returns as playable characters, as it's been only been a year in between games.
111** The fourth is the duology of ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' and ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'', with ''Berseria'' being a very distant prequel to ''Zestiria'' the same way ''Symphonia'' was a distant prequel to ''Phantasia''.
112* ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile'':
113** Due to an unusual twist of plot [[spoiler:involving Lezard time traveling from the end of the first game to the past of the sequel]], ''[[VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile2Silmeria Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria]]'' comes both before ''and'' after ''Valkyrie Profile''. And ''[[VideoGame/ValkyrieProfileCovenantOfThePlume Covenant of the Plume]]'' is a prequel.
114** Things become even more confusing during the Seraphic Gate portions of ''Covenant of the Plume'' (i.e. the post-game), where [[spoiler:recurring character Arngrim shows up]]. [[spoiler:That Arngrim is the one from the ''original, unaltered'' version of the ''[=VP2=]'' timeline (the one that leads into ''Covenant of the Plume'' and ''Lenneth''), where the time-traveling Lezard wasn't there to bail Alicia, Rufus, and Dylan out of Dipan Castle and thus change the sequence of history. Like in ''[=VP2=]'', [[InSpiteOfANail Arngrim still ended up as one of Hrist's Einherjar]], but was sent back into the cycle of rebirth as punishment for calling out Odin about what he did to Alicia, thus explaining how he can appear in the original ''Valkyrie Profile'' when it's (chronologically) set hundreds of years after ''Silmeria''.]]
115* The ''VideoGame/WildArms'' games were assumed to be non-linear at first, but WordOfGod says that they all take place on the same planet. This doesn't make much sense because, if that's the case, the games take place at least multiple millennia apart with FridgeLogic mass-reconfiguration of the planet's continental crust fragments. But hey, if the planet's center is filled with supernatural blue mud, you can HandWave just about anything.
116[[/folder]]
117
118[[folder:Shoot 'Em Ups]]
119* The ''VideoGame/{{Aleste}}'' series kept a few main characters constant in its earlier installments, most of which could probably be linked together in order. Then there's ''Power Strike II'' for the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem and ''Robo Aleste'' for the UsefulNotes/SegaCD, each of which is set in a different historical time period with different characters.
120* ''[[VideoGame/{{Contra}} Contra 4]]'' was titled as such to indicate its placement as a sequel to ''VideoGame/ContraIIITheAlienWars''. It is actually the eleventh original installment in the series and the second one specifically made for a portable platform (following ''Operation C'' on the original UsefulNotes/GameBoy). The game got away with this due to the fact that none of the other ''Contra'' sequels between ''III'' and ''4'' were numbered (the actual game that followed ''Contra III'' was ''Contra: Hard Corps'' for the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis).
121[[/folder]]
122
123[[folder:Simulation Games]]
124* ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' is all over the place, partially owing to [[ConstructedWorld the Strangereal setting]] not being [[{{Worldbuilding}} extensively fleshed out]] until the fourth game and Project Aces having to retroactively [[CanonWelding fit previous entries into the universe]]. Even so, [[AnachronicOrder the chronology can be hard]] [[SequelNumberSnarl to keep track of]] if you're not familiar with the series. ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar Zero]]'' (set in 1995, released in 2006) [[EpisodeZeroTheBeginning is the first entry]], and from there the order goes ''[[VideoGame/AirCombat 1]]'' (1995; 1995) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat2 2]]'' (1997 or 1998; 1997 [[note]]2011 for its [[VideoGameRemake remake]], ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizonLegacy Assault Horizon Legacy]]''[[/note]]) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies 04]]'' (2004-2005; 2001) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar 5]]'' (2010; 2004) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat6FiresOfLiberation 6]]'' (2015; 2007) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown 7]]'' (2019; [[SequelGap 2019]]) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatXSkiesOfDeception X]]'' (2020; 2006), with 2009's ''Xi'' as an {{interquel}} occupying the same general time period as ''X''. Meanwhile, 2011's ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatNorthernWings Northern Wings]]'' [[DashedPlotLine is running concurrently with]] ''04'', ''5'', and ''6'', though the game itself is of dubious canonicity. This leaves ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat3Electrosphere 3]]'', released in 1999 but set in 2040, as the DistantFinale, with ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatAdvance Advance]]'' (released in 2005, set around 2032) as ''its'' direct prequel. That's not even getting into ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatJointAssault Joint Assault]]'', ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizon Assault Horizon]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatInfinity Infinity]]'', all of which are instead set on Earth but in mutually exclusive continuities (with some dialogue from your wingman in ''Assault Horizon''[[labelnote:*]][[ThisIsReality "This ain't Ace Combat, bro."]][[/labelnote]] confirming that the ''Ace Combat'' games actually exist in-universe). Additionally, the arcade predecessor to ''Ace Combat'' (also titled ''Air Combat'') and its arcade-exclusive sequel (''Air Combat 22'') share their own continuity.
125* ''VideoGame/{{Mechwarrior}}'': All the games are (loosely) set in the ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' universe, but none of them are direct sequels to each other. They each jump around the timeline to focus on different events, and not in any sort of chronological order between games. ''Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries'', for example, takes place almost a decade before ''Mechwarrior 2'', while ''Mechwarrior 5'' is set before any of the other games.
126* Despite its emphasis on player-driven stories, ''VideoGame/TheSims'' does have a loose continuity between games. The main "timeline" can be considered as follows: ''VideoGame/TheSimsMedieval'' (released in 2011 as a spin-off of ''VideoGame/TheSims3''), ''The Sims 3'' for PC (released in 2009), ''VideoGame/TheSims1'' for consoles (released in 2003), ''The Sims 1'' for PC (released in 2000), ''VideoGame/TheSims2'' for PC (released in 2004), ''The Sims 2'' for Nintendo DS (released in 2005), and then ''The Sims 3'' for Nintendo DS (released in 2010).
127** This timeline is complicated, however, by the inclusion of DLC worlds for ''The Sims 3'' that take place elsewhere on the timeline, and the various games that don't seem to fit in anywhere because they have no recurring characters present.
128** ''VideoGame/TheSims4'' (released in 2014) is explicitly stated to take place in an AlternateContinuity, seemingly branching off from the timeline somewhere between ''The Sims 1'' for PC and ''The Sims 2'' for PC.
129* ''VideoGame/WingCommander'' had a few of these. ''Wing Commander II'' was set ten years after the end of the second [[ExpansionPack addon]], the Xbox Live game ''Wing Commander Arena'' was set 20 years after the events of ''Wing Commander Prophecy'', and ''VideoGame/Privateer2TheDarkening'' was... well, its own little world, for the most part, with subtle hints of a connection to the "main" games dropped throughout the game.
130* There's really only two linear sequels in the ''[[VideoGame/{{X}} X-Universe]]'' series. ''X-Tension'', the ExpansionPack to ''X: Beyond the Frontier'', continues Kyle Brennan's story by having him found a corporation to help him develop a way to get back to Earth. Meanwhile ''X3: Reunion'' continues the story of the [[AlienInvasion Kha'ak invasion]] from ''X2: The Threat'': though the Kha'ak planet-killer has been destroyed, the invasion continues and ''X2''[='s=] player character Julian Gardna-Brennan has been hired to train new pilots to replace the Argon military's losses.
131[[/folder]]
132
133[[folder:Stealth-Based Games]]
134* All the numbered ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' sequels followed a linear chronology with one notable exception: ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' serves as a prequel to the entire ''Metal Gear'' canon, being set decades before the events of the very first ''VideoGame/MetalGear1''. ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'', both for the PSP, serve as sequels to the plot of ''[=MGS3=]'' and follow Big Boss' further adventures before the first ''Metal Gear''. ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' is another game starring Big Boss set years before ''Metal Gear Solid'', or even the original ''Metal Gear'' for that matter, but is the fifth game in the ''MGS'' series to be numbered. Strangely, it is the first one to use a roman numeral instead of a numerical digit. It's also been confirmed by Creator/HideoKojima that ''Peace Walker'' was to be called ''Metal Gear Solid 5'' at one point during development, but the number was removed mainly on the basis that the game was a handheld release.
135* The ''VideoGame/{{Tenchu}}'' series has been doing this as far back as the second installment, ''Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins'' -- a prequel to the original. The order goes: ''Tenchu 2'' (2000); ''Tenchu: Dark Secret'' (2006); the original ''Tenchu: Stealth Assassins'' (1998); ''Tenchu: Fatal Shadows'' (2004); ''Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven'' (2003); ''Tenchu: Time of the Assassins'' (2005); ''Tenchu: Shadow Assassins'' (2008) and ''Tenchu Z'' (2006).
136[[/folder]]
137
138[[folder:Survival Horror]]
139* ''VideoGame/DinoCrisis'':
140** ''Dino Crisis 3'' goes from the NextSundayAD setting of its predecessors into the distant future, complete with a new storyline that does not pick up where ''Dino Crisis 2'' left off. Considering how [[LeftHanging the second game ended on a very tense cliffhanger]] and Part 3 turned out to be a FranchiseKiller, [[FanonDiscontinuity fans of the first two games don't have a whole lot of nice things to say about it]].
141** Between the release of ''2'' and ''3'', there was also ''[[GaidenGame Dino Stalker]]'', a LightGunGame from Capcom's ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilGunSurvivor Gun Survivor]]'' series that, in fact, serves to tie together those games, however nebulously ([[spoiler:the Mother Computer in charge of the Noah's Ark Plan, due to its ability to genetically engineer dinosaurs, is suggested to be the precursor to the MTHR computers featured in ''3'']]). In spite of this, the cliffhanger from the second game remains unaddressed even though [[spoiler:Dylan and Paula are shown to have survived]].
142* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'':
143** The games' release order mostly matches the chronology of the series, except for the prequel ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0'' and, weirdly, ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'', which takes place [[{{Interquel}} both before and after]] ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2''. ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'', despite not having a numbered title, is the true continuation to the events of ''Resident Evil 2''.
144** The spin-offs are a bit looser with chronology -- the two ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilOutbreak Outbreak]]'' games take place roughly concurrently with the greater Raccoon City outbreak from ''2'' and ''3'', the final chapter of ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheUmbrellaChronicles The Umbrella Chronicles]]'' takes place a year before ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4 4]]'', and the main story of ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheDarksideChronicles The Darkside Chronicles]]'' shows Leon in South America two years before ''4'', which shows what happened between Leon and [[spoiler:Krauser (before his FaceHeelTurn)]].
145** The 3DS game, ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations'', is set before ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil5 RE5]]'' and ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilOperationRaccoonCity'' takes place just before and during ''[=RE2=]''. ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations2'' is set between ''[=RE5=]'' and ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6''.
146* ''VideoGame/{{Trapt}}'' was released in Japan as a sequel to ''VideoGame/{{Deception}} II: Kagero'', but is closer to a loose remake of ''Deception: Invitation to Darkness''.
147[[/folder]]
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149[[folder:Third-Person Shooter]]
150* The ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore'' series is a great example of this. Each successive game takes place several years, sometimes even decades after previous one and casts the player in the role of a new FeaturelessProtagonist with no connection to the previous one. Usually [[CapcomSequelStagnation the presence of a number in the title indicates]] a ContinuityReboot. So far, ''Armored Core'', ''Project Phantasma'', ''Master of Arena'', ''Armored Core 2'' and ''Another Age'' take place in one continuity. ''Armored Core 3'', ''Silent Line'', ''Nexus'', ''Formula Front'' ''Nine Breaker'', and ''Last Raven'' take place in a second continuity. ''Armored Core 4'' and ''for Answer'' take place in a third. And ''Armored Core V'' takes place in a fourth continuity. It's really just a FightingGame [[HumongousMecha with Robots]]... [[VideoGame/VirtualOn No, not that one.]]
151* ''VideoGame/DeadToRights'' was released in 2002 and follows Jack Slate, a cop in Grant City. ''Dead to Rights 2'' was released in 2005, and despite it being numbered actually takes place before the original game. A third game ''Dead to Rights: Reckoning'' was released for the PSP shortly after ''2''. It also precedes ''2''. And then the fourth game, ''Retribution'', is a re-imagining of the first game. So, four "sequels" and we haven't even got past the first storyline. Whoopie...
152[[/folder]]
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154[[folder:Turn-Based Strategy]]
155* ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'':
156** The series abides by this, though there are a few recurring characters. The fact that all the games take place in different Netherworlds helps. ''[[VisualNovel/DisgaeaInfinite Infinite]]'' messes some stuff up, but most fans agree that Mao and Beryl's appearances are before ''[[VideoGame/Disgaea3AbsenceOfJustice D3]]'' even though the canon best ending of ''Infinite'' doesn't match up with why Etna was in ''[[VideoGame/Disgaea2CursedMemories D2]]''.
157** ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 5|AllianceOfVengeance}}'' adds more confusion; the ending strongly ''implies'' that it's actually a prequel to the rest of the series (and that Christo will go on to become [[spoiler:Seraph Lamington from the first game]]), but doesn't make this ''explicit'', so it may just be another game in the same universe. To make matters more questionable, there are post-game and DLC encounters that involve encountering characters from previous entries in the series, and these clearly take place ''after'' those respective games (Laharl knows his sister Sicily, Mao and Raspberyl run Evil Academy together, etc). This is entirely possible even assuming ''5'' is a prequel, since demons are immortal and these scenarios could be taking place [[DistantSequel long after]] the main story... except that in the case of the DLC ones there's nothing stopping you from running them ''during'' the main story. [[MST3KMantra It's probably best]] that you just assume some form of time travel is happening.
158* While ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' is very much a ThematicSeries wherein the titular MacGuffin, a redheaded shopkeeper named Anna, and a few other {{Recurring Element}}s are often the only constants between the various individual [[TheVerse 'Verses]], a few titles have approached the matter of continuity in this manner. WordOfGod confirms that Jugdral, the setting of ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Genealogy of the Holy War]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 Thracia 776]]'', is located in the same world as [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Arch]][[VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem anea]] and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Valentia]], only in the distant past. This is supported by [[GreaterScopeParagon Naga]] playing a role in the backstory of all five games (though ''Gaiden'' would not bear this distinction until its 2017 VideoGameRemake did a better job of ArcWelding it to the events of Marth's games). Then, after chronicling adventures in three other distinct lands ([[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade Eli]][[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade be]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Magvel]], and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Tell]][[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn ius]]) and giving both of Marth's outings the remake treatment, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' came along, not only being set on a future version of Archanea (now known as Ylisse) but also [[CanonWelding linking together]] all other previous entries in some fashion, most notably including the return of the Deadlords from the Jugdral duology and featuring a DLC character who claims to be the direct descendant of [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Ike]]. From here, the series once again shifted to largely standalone stories, though with a few wrinkles: certain in-game revelations and DLC chapters in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' set it up as [[spoiler:a partial StealthSequel to ([[TheMultiverse a version of]]) ''Awakening'']], post-game content in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia]]'' provides an origin story for [[spoiler:the BigBad of ''Awakening'']], and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'' takes a page from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Heroes]]'' by having the main character aided by ([[OurSpiritsAreDifferent the spirits of]]) past heroes from every corner of series history -- this time in a mainline installment.
159%%The original FE entry was moved over to the Thematic Series page, which this edited entry now links to.
160* ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'':
161** Before Ubisoft's reboot, the main games were fairly straightforward linear sequels (while the time-skips were sometimes large-ish, there were always heroes carried over, and the new protagonists were often connected to old protagonists), but complicated things in its expansion packs. ''Price of Loyalty'' for ''II'', seems to be taking place on a world of its own in its campaign, which doesn't strictly mean it isn't in the same ''overall'' setting but does mean its stories and heroes are entirely unconnected to the rest of the games. ''Armageddon's Blade'' for ''III'' had its campaigns either take place after ''III'', be a bit ambiguous about ''when'' they take place in relation, or in one case be a somewhat odd prequel to ''III'', while ''Shadow of Death'' for the same game was entire a prequel to ''III''. ''The Gathering Storm'' and ''Winds of War'' for ''IV'' have no story connections to any of the other games, although they were meant to take place on the same world as ''IV'', there just wasn't an explicit in-game confirmation.
162** ''[[VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagicAshan After]]'' Ubisoft's reboot, even the main games move around. ''VI'' was a centuries-earlier prequel to ''V''. ''VII'' was a sequel to ''VI'', still centuries before ''V''. ''V''[='s=] expansions follow on one another, but the ones for the sequels jump around, sometimes to even earlier.
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165[[folder:Wide Open Sandbox]]
166* The [=PS2=]-era ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' game chronology goes: ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCityStories Vice City Stories]]'' (set in 1984; released 2006), ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity Vice City]]'' (1986; 2002), ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas San Andreas]]'' (1992; 2004), ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoLibertyCityStories Liberty City Stories]]'' (1998; 2005), ''Grand Theft Auto Advance'' (2000; 2004), ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'' (2001; 2001). From ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' onward, the games are effectively set in [[AlternateContinuity Another Dimension]].
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169[[folder:Non-Video Game Examples]]
170* The second ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' movie, ''Legends of Metru Nui'' is set a thousand years before the first, ''Mask of Light''. The third, ''Web of Shadows'' takes place before the ultimate scene of the second, making it an {{interquel}} -- save for the very last shot, which takes us back to the present timeline of ''Mask of Light''. But technically neither prequel ties directly into ''Mask of Light'', as that first film itself was a sequel to two and a half years' worth of books, comics, online games and videos, which bridge the gaps between the movies.
171* ''Literature/ChaosFighters II'' has nothing to do with ''Chaos Fighters'' except for the magic and weaponry system.
172* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' was written with each story assumed to be the last (as admitted by the author) so as such several of the later ones answer questions rather than continuing the story. As such ''Literature/TheMagiciansNephew'' was written and published sixth but takes place first. ''Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'', which was first, is second. ''Literature/TheHorseAndHisBoy'' was written fourth, published fifth, and set during a TimeSkip in ''[=LW&W=]''. With those three sorted out, however, the rest follow order of publication: ''Literature/PrinceCaspian'' (set centuries after ''[=LW&W=]''), ''Literature/TheVoyageOfTheDawnTreader'', ''Literature/TheSilverChair'', and ''Literature/TheLastBattle''. It helps that time shifts in-universe because Narnia is a parallel world [[NarniaTime not perfectly synced with ours]]. After the author's death, his estate rearranged all subsequent editions of the books by chronological order, though fans will generally recommend the original reading order based on publication instead.
173* After writing the novelization of ''Film/FantasticVoyage'', Creator/IsaacAsimov followed up with ''Fantastic Voyage 2: Destination Brain''. The second novel repeats [[FantasticVoyagePlot the high concept of the first]] in a different continuity, allowing Asimov to develop the fictional science in accordance with his sensibilities rather than adhering to what was filmed.
174* ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'' film series ended up non-linear [[BreakoutCharacter because of the popularity of one character]] played by Creator/SungKang. Street racer Han [[PunnyName Seoul-Oh]] [[MentorOccupationalHazard dies]] in ''Tokyo Drift'' (the third installment, a BTeamSequel with only a cameo from the stars of the previous two). The fourth film, ''Fast & Furious'', brought him back by setting itself a few years before his death in Tokyo.[[note]]Incidentally, this shunts ''Tokyo Drift'''s events nearly a decade into the future -- the movie came out in 2006, but retroactively takes place in 2014![[/note]] Kang then starred in the fourth, fifth, and sixth films, the epilogue of which [[BookEnds finally catches up to Han's death]] (now revealed to be [[ArcWelding a murder]]) and kicks off the plot of the seventh, finally making the series linear again.
175* The timeline for the ''Literature/{{Fletch}}'' series is all over the place. The first three books (''Fletch'', ''Confess, Fletch'' and ''Fletch's Fortune'') follow a straight timeline, ''Fletch and the Widow Bradley'' is a {{Prequel}} set an unspecified amount of time before the first book, ''Fletch's Moxie'' and ''Fletch and the Man Who'' pick up from where ''Fletch's Fortune'' left off, ''Carioca Fletch'' is an {{Interquel}} set between ''Fletch'' and ''Confess, Fletch'', ''Fletch Won'' is another prequel and chronologically the first, ''Fletch, Too'' is an immediate sequel to it, and the last two books (''Son of Fletch'' and ''Fletch Reflected'') are time skips after the events of ''Fletch and the Man Who''. One factor in the series juggling chronology so much is that the author apparently found it difficult to write convincing motivations for Fletch, who goes from struggling IntrepidReporter to filthy rich at the end of the first book.
176* ''Franchise/KamenRider'':
177** The creators considered making ''Series/KamenRiderAgito'' a direct sequel to ''Series/KamenRiderKuuga'', but were concerned that a continuity might put off new fans, and that giving Kuuga a direct sequel would undermine its progaonist's journey. Ultimately they left the decision up to the fans, saying that whether the two shows are explicitly linked or not is up to the individual viewer. That said, the shows are still ''implicitly'' linked by a number of references, like off-hand mentions of the Grongi (Kuuga's enemies) and the G3 PoweredArmor being based off of data the Tokyo Police collected from "Unidentified Lifeform #4" (their callname for Kuuga). It's also said that the Grongi and the Lords (Agito's enemies) are mortal enemies, and the latter wiped out last vestiges of the former in a GreatOffscreenWar before the events of ''Agito'' started.
178*** This all gets referenced in ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'', where the AlternateUniverse Agito World they visit is also an alternate Kuuga World, with the GreatOffscreenWar actively happening and an alternate version of Decade!Kuuga's CoolBigSis mentor showing up as the head scientist behind the G3 Project.
179** ''Kamen Rider'' as a whole is in a ''very'' odd place regarding this trope since originally each series seemed to exist in their own worlds with nary a reference to anything that came before[[note]]Exceptions: There are a few references to "Number 4" (Kuuga) in ''Agito'', and one of the major characters in ''Blade'' is researching the UrbanLegend of the Kamen Riders at the outset of the series[[/note]]. Then things got complicated by a number of factors, including ''Decade'' introducing the concept of {{Alternate Universe}}s, {{Crossover}}s and {{Early Bird Cameo}}s becoming an annual tradition in the movies, and a shadowy villain faction (Foundation X) that's had its fingers in every series starting with TheNewTens '''and''' is implied to somehow be affiliated with Shocker, the evil organization that menaced the original Series/KamenRider. Whew!
180*** One exception to this: ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'' takes place in its own world, since its backstory ([[BalkanizeMe Japan getting split into three nations]] in 2007) is completely incompatible with the other shows. This is made explicit in the movie ''Heisei Generations Final'', but that opens another can of worms by having characters from five previous shows (''OOO'', ''Fourze'', ''Gaim'', ''Ghost'', and ''Ex-Aid'') all coming from the same parallel world to help Build deal with the movie's BigBad.
181* The "[[Film/RoadTo Road Pictures]]" of Creator/BobHope and Music/BingCrosby. Hope, Crosby, and Dorothy Lamour play different characters with different names in each, and at least one is set in a wildly different time period, but they all have the same cast, the same style of madcap humor, and much the same formula. It is common for there to be references to their past adventures, albeit usually during one of the many instances of BreakingTheFourthWall.
182* ''Film/TheScorpionKing'' is a prequel to ''Film/TheMummyTrilogy'', the second film of which introduced the Scorpion King and showed his final fate. They then made ''The Scorpion King 2'', which was a prequel to the prequel. There are also plans for ''The Scorpion King 3'' which will be a sequel to the prequel of the prequel. There's also a video game of dubious canon that serves as a prequel to the prequel. Perhaps confusing things even more is that WordOfGod is that the Scorpion King featured in the prequel series ''is not'' the same Scorpion King featured in ''Film/TheMummyReturns'', but rather his IdenticalGrandfather. While this makes sense given their wildly different characterizations (the prequel Scorpion being far more heroic), it's never actually established in-series.
183* ''Literature/ThirdTimeLuckyAndOtherStoriesOfTheMostPowerfulWizardInTheWorld'': The stories were not published in chronological order, but the collection lists them this way too so the reader can read that way if they would like to.
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