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| 9 | %% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thank you! |
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| 12 | [[quoteright:350:[[Franchise/{{Saw}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sawseries_5.png]]]] |
| 13 | [[caption-width-right:350:[[OddNameOut The last of these is not like the others]]...]] |
| 14 | |
| 15 | ->''Oh look, they're going to spell it with a "4" instead of "E"\ |
| 16 | That's completely fucking bonkers, but let's just wait and see!\ |
| 17 | No wait, they've changed it back, so I guess that point is moot\ |
| 18 | Oh no wait, they're taking off the 4 to call it a ''"reboot"''\ |
| 19 | A practice that in recent years I have come to abhor\ |
| 20 | But I'm willing to ignore, 'cause they're making a--''!'' ...[[SubvertedRhymeEveryOccasion Thief]].'' |
| 21 | -->-- [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jim-yahtzees-rhymedown-spectacular/7301-The-Quest-Not-Taken "Theft 4 Dead"]] from ''WebVideo/JimAndYahtzeesRhymedownSpectacular'' |
| 22 | |
| 23 | A common subversion to NumberedSequels. As the number of installments of a series goes up, the less likely it has a number behind. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | Usually the series and sequel titling go in the following order (although only some series go through all five steps): |
| 26 | # [[TheOriginalSeries First Installment]] |
| 27 | # {{Numbered Sequel|s}} |
| 28 | # [[OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo Numbered sequel + subtitle]] (or [[ThirdIs3D 3D]]). |
| 29 | # [[WordSequel Subtitle]] |
| 30 | # RecycledTitle |
| 31 | # At this point, anything can happen, including the subtitle becoming the main title. |
| 32 | |
| 33 | There are several reasons for this: |
| 34 | * Creators might be embarrassed that they have made [[{{Sequelitis}} so many]] sequels. Alternatively, they might be trying to help people forget how many sequels they're currently on. And in both cases it's for the same reason: in general, the more sequels there are, the less likely any of them are to be, well, good. |
| 35 | * [[NonLinearSequel The plotline of the story is non-linear]] and [[AnachronicOrder there are lots of prequels and midquels]]. |
| 36 | * Especially among video games, the franchise may have GaidenGame subseries. However, then it can easily be [[DoubleSubversion Double Subverted]], depending on the situation. |
| 37 | * The studio might feel that a sequel numbered too high might be avoided by audiences that could perceive a ContinuityLockout. |
| 38 | ** Related, often when a video game comes to a new console generation, it will drop the number to attract gamers who didn't play the series on the ''previous'' console generation. |
| 39 | * FourIsDeath in Asian markets, which explains why games originating from there tend to stop numbering after 3. |
| 40 | * To avoid bringing up [[ContestedSequel previous numbered installments]] that [[FanonDiscontinuity most people don't want to acknowledge]], perhaps even one where [[BroadStrokes you don't want to ignore every detail]]. |
| 41 | * Requels, where the original movies are part of the continuity, but characters from original movies are reduced to cameos in favour of a new cast of characters as a soft reboot, will often use the same title as the original movie. |
| 42 | * Finally, it's difficult to ''stop'' doing once you've started; after an installment or two without numbers, people will have completely lost track. (Which ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' game are we on again? Exactly. Oh, the answer is below.) |
| 43 | |
| 44 | See also OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo, WordSequel, and NumberedSequels. |
| 45 | |
| 46 | ---- |
| 47 | !!Examples: |
| 48 | |
| 49 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 50 | |
| 51 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 52 | * The ''Anime/LupinIII'' TV shows have gone back and forth between using numbered titles and not. [[Anime/LupinIIIPartII The second series]], which aired from 1977 to 1980 and lasted 155 episodes, was not numbered as a sequel, as it wasn't intended to be a direct continuation of [[Anime/LupinIIIPart1 the much shorter-lived 1971 series]] that only lasted 21 episodes, and thus the two shows were nicknamed after the color of Lupin's jacket. Thus the first series is often called the "Green Jacket" series and the second series is "Red Jacket". However, the third series from 1984 is officially titled ''Anime/LupinIIIPartIII'' (with fans once again unofficially distinguishing it from its predecessors by the color of Lupin's jacket, "Pink Jacket" in this case). [[Anime/LupinIIITheItalianAdventure The fourth series]] from 2015 originally aired in Japan simply as ''Lupin III'', but later DVD and Blu-ray releases added "Part 4" to the title (and the series was similarly nicknamed "Blue Jacket" based on Lupin's new design). The 2018 series was called ''Anime/LupinIIIPart5'', followed by a ''[[Anime/LupinIIIPart6 Part 6]]'' in 2021 and a prequel series (''Anime/LupinZero'') in 2022. |
| 53 | * Present with the [[NonSerialMovie Non-Serial Movies]] for ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries''. After ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie'', ''[[Anime/Pokemon2000 2000]]'', ''[[Anime/Pokemon3 3]]'', and ''[[Anime/Pokemon4Ever 4Ever]]'', the movies completely dropped the numbering starting with the fifth: ''Anime/PokemonHeroes''. |
| 54 | [[/folder]] |
| 55 | |
| 56 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 57 | * ''Fanfic/VowOfNudity'': After posting Haara's sixth story (as well as an [[EpisodeZeroTheBeginning "episode zero"]] prequel), the author went back and removed all the numbers from the story titles. |
| 58 | [[/folder]] |
| 59 | |
| 60 | [[folder:Films -- Animated]] |
| 61 | * The ''Animation/HappyHeroes'' series numbered its second movie, ''Animation/HappyHeroes2TheBattleOfPlanetQiyuan'', but not its third movie, ''Animation/HappyHeroesTheStones''. |
| 62 | * ''WesternAnimation/HotelTransylvania'' has numbered titles for its first two sequels, ''WesternAnimation/HotelTransylvania2'' and ''WesternAnimation/HotelTransylvania3SummerVacation''. The fourth and final film, however, is simply titled ''WesternAnimation/HotelTransylvaniaTransformania'' (though some promotions still labelled it with the number 4). |
| 63 | * A minimalist example: ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2010'' was followed by just '''one''' numbered sequel, ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2'', before adopting this trope for its third installment, ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragonTheHiddenWorld''. |
| 64 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'' gave up on numbering after a while... as in, somewhere near the end of the ''twelve'' sequels. Starting with the eighth film, ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTimeVIIITheBigFreeze The Big Freeze]]'', the Roman numeral was nowhere to be found on the front of the cover; instead, you will find "Volume VIII" on the spine of the VHS cover. However, with the thirteenth film, ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTimeXIIITheWisdomOfFriends The Wisdom of Friends]]'', the Roman numeral doesn't even appear in the film at all. The opening titles just say "The Land Before Time" shortly followed by "The Wisdom of Friends". |
| 65 | * The ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}'' series starts its sequels normally with ''WesternAnimation/Shrek2'', then makes a play on words with ''WesternAnimation/ShrekTheThird'', and the fourth film has had several titles, including "Shrek Goes Fourth" (the working title), "Shrek: The Final Chapter" (used in marketing), and ''WesternAnimation/ShrekForeverAfter'' (the official title). A fifth film was planned but never made; rumor has it the working title was "Shrek Pleads the Fifth". |
| 66 | [[/folder]] |
| 67 | |
| 68 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 69 | * When counting the ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'', ''Franchise/{{Predator}}'' and ''Franchise/AlienVsPredator'' {{crossover}} films as part of a singular franchise, the idiosyncrasy becomes ''maddening'': |
| 70 | ** Alien is singular for the [[Film/{{Alien}} first]], [[Film/Alien3 third]], [[Film/AlienResurrection fourth]], and "[[Film/AlienVsPredator seventh]]" installments, plural in the [[Film/{{Aliens}} second]] and "[[Film/AliensVsPredatorRequiem eighth]]", and numbered for 3 ''only'' (where it is the fifth film). |
| 71 | ** Predator is always singular except for the "ninth" installment and only numbered for [[Film/Predator2 2]] (the second Predator movie, but retroactively the fourth in the ''Franchise/AlienVsPredator'' franchise due to the inclusion of a xenomorph skull at the end). The franchise itself stopped numbering with ''Film/{{Predators}}'' in 2010. |
| 72 | ** The quantum continuity status that ''Film/{{Prometheus}}'' presently holds is the only thing keeping a fan's skull from imploding at this point (and then, the sequel to ''Prometheus'' was ''Film/AlienCovenant'' to ensure a TitleConfusion continues). And that's not counting how there was a total reversal for the other series in ''Film/Prey2022''. |
| 73 | * ''Franchise/{{Amityville}}'' stopped its numbering when the series went to straight-to-video hell. |
| 74 | * ''Film/{{Bad Boys|1995}}'' has ''Film/BadBoysII'' as sequel. Then it's ''Film/BadBoysForLife'' and ''Film/BadBoysRideOrDie''. |
| 75 | * ''Film/{{Bloodsport}}'' dropped the numbering from the fourth film onward. |
| 76 | * ''Film/ChildrenOfTheCorn'' managed to keep its numbering to [[Film/ChildrenOfTheCorn666IsaacsReturn the sixth installment]]. |
| 77 | * The ''Deadpool'' film series begins with ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}'' and continues with ''Film/Deadpool2''. While the third film does have ''Deadpool 3'' as a production name, its official name is ''Film/DeadpoolAndWolverine''. |
| 78 | * ''Film/DieHard'' went the {{Oddly Named Sequel|2ElectricBoogaloo}} route for its subsequent installments. In the case of ''Film/LiveFreeOrDieHard'' (the fourth movie), various countries renamed it to ''Die Hard 4.0''. |
| 79 | * ''Film/EscapePlan'' got a numbered sequel with a subtitle called ''Film/EscapePlan2Hades''. The third movie dropped the "3" and is just called ''Film/EscapePlanTheExtractors''. [[note]]It was supposed to be ''Escape Plan 3: Devil's Station'', but the name changed.[[/note]] |
| 80 | * ''Film/TheExorcist'' dropped its numbering for the [[Film/ExorcistTheBeginning prequel]], [[ExecutiveMeddling which morphed into two separate films]]. |
| 81 | * ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'': |
| 82 | ** The sequel was called ''Film/TwoFastTwoFurious'', the third film had a subtitle (''Film/TheFastAndTheFuriousTokyoDrift'') and the fourth film is called ''Film/FastAndFurious'' (although there is a small "IV" on the side of the DVD box, underneath the title; some countries still called it ''Fast and Furious 4''). The fifth film is called ''Film/FastFive''. Guess they took [[{{Pun}} anger management]]. Then they probably got slowed down to the point it rekindled their irritation with ''Film/FastAndFurious6'' and ''Film/Furious7''... |
| 83 | ** And in Britain, ''Fast Five'' was renamed ''Fast & Furious 5'', presumably because the marketers were concerned that people would see the pictures of Vin Diesel in a big car and not be able to work out which series the movie was part of. |
| 84 | ** Played with ''Film/TheFateOfTheFurious'', which would be an ordinary straight example if it wasn't intended to play on "fate" rhyming with "eight." The next mainline sequel would be simply ''Film/{{F9}}'', followed by ''Film/FastX''. |
| 85 | * ''Franchise/FinalDestination'' went for the RecycledTitle on its fourth installment, ''[[Film/FinalDestination4 The Final Destination]]'', then [[InvertedTrope went back to numbers]] for [[Film/FinalDestination5 the fifth installment]]. Justified by Blu-ray bonus content where it was confirmed that the fourth movie was deliberately called '''''The''' Final Destination'' (as if it was the final movie). The decision would then be further justified by the plot of the fifth movie -- [[spoiler:being a prequel, all events take place before the events of [[Film/FinalDestination1 the first film]]]]. A montage at the end of fifth movie also refers to its predecessor as ''Final Destination 4'' as opposed to ''The Final Destination''. |
| 86 | * ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'': |
| 87 | ** The series dropped its numbering after [[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIIIJasonTakesManhattan the eighth part]] when the series was moved to Creator/NewLineCinema mostly due to it being [[ScrewedByTheLawyers an artifact of]] Creator/{{Paramount}} still owning the ''Friday the 13th'' name, while New Line owning character, concept and everything else. |
| 88 | ** Though usually listed with numbers on video boxes, posters and such, the [[Film/FridayThe13thTheFinalChapter fourth]] and [[Film/FridayThe13thPartVANewBeginning fifth]] ''Friday the 13th'' movies already didn't technically have numbers in their titles (none were shown in the onscreen title cards). On the other hand, ''Film/JasonX'' does resume the count for one entry, which makes this franchise an improbably genuine ZigZaggedTrope. |
| 89 | * The ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' series goes all over the place with its sequel titles. |
| 90 | ** ''Film/{{Halloween 1978}}'' was followed by ''Film/HalloweenII1981'' and ''Film/HalloweenIIISeasonOfTheWitch.'' |
| 91 | ** Then, ''Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers'' and ''Film/Halloween5TheRevengeOfMichaelMyers'' changed from Roman numerals to Arabic numerals. |
| 92 | ** Then the sixth movie, which was originally called ''Halloween 666'', ended up being called ''Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers'' in its producer's cut and just ''Film/HalloweenTheCurseOfMichaelMyers'' in its theatrical cut, ending the numbering. |
| 93 | ** Then ''Film/HalloweenH20TwentyYearsLater'' and ''Film/HalloweenResurrection'' kept it that way, [[Film/Halloween2007 the remake of]] ''Film/{{Halloween|2007}}'' took things back to square one, and its sequel, ''Film/{{Halloween II|2009}},'' started the numbering all over again. |
| 94 | ** And ''then'' the 2018 ''Film/{{Halloween|2018}}'' film goes back to square one again, followed by ''Film/HalloweenKills'' and ''Film/HalloweenEnds''. |
| 95 | * While the ''Film/HarryPotter'' films never had numbered titles, the DVD spines were labeled "Year 1", "Year 2", Year 3", etc. (This is taken from the U.S. editions of the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' books, which labeled the book spines the same way.) When ''[[Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]], Part 1'' hit DVD, it was labeled "Year 7: Part 1" on the spine. For some reason, this is where they stopped and the ''Hallows, Part 2'' DVD has a blank space where it should logically say "Year 7: Part 2". |
| 96 | * ''Franchise/{{Hellraiser}}'' dropped the numbering after ''Film/HellraiserIIIHellOnEarth''. |
| 97 | * ''Franchise/{{Highlander}}'': |
| 98 | ** ''Film/HighlanderIIITheSorcerer'' was released as ''Highlander: The Final Dimension'' in North America, without any numbering on its title. Justified, as the numbered title implied that it was a continuation of the infamous ''Film/HighlanderIITheQuickening'' when it's really an alternate sequel to the first movie. |
| 99 | ** ''Film/HighlanderEndgame'' had no numbering at any region, likely since it was a continuation of [[Series/{{Highlander}} the TV series]], which itself was set in an AlternateContinuity to the first movie. |
| 100 | * ''Film/TheHowling'' stopped numbering on its seventh installment, ''Film/HowlingNewMoonRising''. The sequel/semi-reboot ''Film/TheHowlingReborn'' continued the trend. |
| 101 | * ''Film/{{Insidious}}'' use the numbering sequels at the second and third installments (''Chapter 2'' and ''Chapter 3''), but drop the numbering on the fourth film ''The Last Sky'', so as the fifth film ''The Red Door''. |
| 102 | * ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' series dropped the numbering on [[Film/JawsTheRevenge the fourth installment]]. As a meta joke, the FakeMovieRealTrailer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl092whRLlI for]] ''[[Film/BackToTheFuturePartII Jaws 19]]'' reveals other installments would be numbered... [[ThirteenIsUnlucky except the 13th]], "Jaws 12: Part 2". |
| 103 | * ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' skipped numbering on [[Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark the second film]] and added it for [[Film/JurassicParkIII the third]]. The number was once again omitted for [[Film/JurassicWorld the fourth film]] and [[Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom its]] [[Film/JurassicWorldDominion sequels]]. |
| 104 | * ''Film/TheKarateKid'': |
| 105 | ** The fourth film was called ''Film/TheNextKarateKid'', which makes sense since it has nothing to do with Daniel this time. |
| 106 | ** The fifth one is a remake of [[Film/TheKarateKid1984 the first]] (while incorporating elements of [[Film/TheKarateKidPartII the sequel]]) simply called ''Film/TheKarateKid2010'', even though the martial art focused on the film is Kung-Fu, not Karate (they try to justify the title in the movie). The film is called ''The Kung-Fu Kid'' in some countries. |
| 107 | * The ''Film/{{Leprechaun}}'' series dropped numbering when [[Film/Leprechaun4InSpace the fourth film]] recycled the whole thing ''[[RecycledInSpace IN SPACE!]]'' |
| 108 | * ''Film/TheMarine'' was followed by ''The Marine 2'', but the third film will be ''The Marine: Homefront''. Note that each film has a different main character and lead actor, so dropping the numbering makes some sense. |
| 109 | * ''Film/MissionImpossible'' had two numbered sequels (''Film/MissionImpossibleII'' and ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleIII III]]''), and then just appropriate subtitles moving forward (''[[Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol Ghost Protocol]]'', ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation Rogue Nation]]'', and ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFallout Fallout]]''). Then ''Film/MissionImpossibleDeadReckoning'' had "Part One", which was then [[PostReleaseRetitle scrapped]] since that film's sequel will be retitled altogether. |
| 110 | * ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'' stopped its numbering with the sixth film, ''Film/FreddysDeadTheFinalNightmare''. |
| 111 | * ''Film/TheOmen'': |
| 112 | ** Following ''Film/TheOmen1976'' and ''Film/DamienOmenII'', the conclusion to the original trilogy was originally released as simply ''The Final Conflict'', without a number or even the series title (the trailers made its status as a sequel obvious by including clips from, and name-dropping, the previous two films). Home video releases label it as ''Film/OmenIIITheFinalConflict'', but the movie itself still contains the shorter, original title card. |
| 113 | ** The made-for-TV sequel averted this trope, returning to normalcy with its title -- ''Film/OmenIVTheAwakening''. |
| 114 | * The first four ''Film/ParanormalActivity'' movies were simply numbered with no subtitles until the 2014 SpinOff ''Film/ParanormalActivityTheMarkedOnes''. The fifth movie in the main continuity (the sixth film in the series overall) was originally going back to the numbers as ''Paranormal Activity 5'', but then decided to continue the subtitle format as ''Film/ParanormalActivityTheGhostDimension''. |
| 115 | * The seventh installment of the ''Film/PoliceAcademy'' series officially doesn't have a number as a title. |
| 116 | * The ''Franchise/{{Rambo}}'' series has the oddest title evolution of them all, going from ''Film/FirstBlood'' to ''Film/RamboFirstBloodPartII'', then to ''Film/RamboIII'', then ''Film/{{Rambo|IV}}'' (also known as ''John Rambo'' [[MarketBasedTitle in some markets]]), and finally ending with ''Film/RamboLastBlood''. |
| 117 | * The ''Franchise/{{Rocky}}'' series. Justified because there was over 15-year hiatus between ''Film/RockyV'' and ''Film/RockyBalboa''. Plus [[BroadStrokes a lot of stuff]] in ''Film/RockyV'' did not happen. |
| 118 | * ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'': |
| 119 | ** Zig-zagged with the film titles. The films from ''Film/SawII'' to ''Film/SawVI'' all have roman numerals in their titles matching their correspondent entry number. The next film after ''Saw VI'' is instead titled ''Film/Saw3D'' (or ''Saw: The Final Chapter'' in its home video release). The two following films, ''Film/{{Jigsaw}}'' and ''[[Film/Spiral2021 Spiral]]'', followed this new "format" suit with the use of completely different titles (with "Saw" being relegated to a subtitle for the latter film: ''From the Book of Saw''). Lastly, the tenth film, ''Film/SawX'', returned to the roman numerals. |
| 120 | ** {{Averted}} in some markets with ''3D'' and ''Jigsaw'', which in these regions were ''Saw VII'' and ''Saw VIII'' respectively. |
| 121 | ** Inverted with the series of soundtrack songs derived from [[Film/SawI the first film]]'s "[[{{Leitmotif}} Hello Zepp]]". The ones from ''Saw II'' to ''[[Film/SawIV IV]]'' had different unnumbered names ("Hello Eric", "Final Test", "Let Go"); starting with ''Film/SawV'', they're titled "Zepp Five", "Zepp Six", "Zepp Seven", and so on. |
| 122 | * The first four ''Film/{{Scream}}'' movies were all numbered until [[Film/Scream2022 the fifth film]], which lacks a number or subtitle, simply called ''Scream'' like the original. The film itself, in one of many LeaningOnTheFourthWall moments, discusses this as the eighth installment of the ''[[FilmWithinAFilm Stab]]'' series dropped the number too. The sixth film returned to numbering, this time in Roman numerals, with the title ''Film/ScreamVI''. |
| 123 | * ''Franchise/StarTrek'': |
| 124 | ** The movie series dropped its numbers with 1994's ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'', as it was felt that with the ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration The Next Generation]]'' cast taking over the franchise, it was best to make a fresh start for marketing purposes. However, the Blu-ray discs of these movies have numbers VII-X on their cases. |
| 125 | ** The 2009 movie (a continuity reboot) is simply called ''[[Film/StarTrek2009 Star Trek]]'' with no numbers (although some refer to it as ''Star Trek XI'') or subtitles. Its sequels follow suit by only having a subtitle of sorts (despite lacking a separator), ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'' and ''Film/StarTrekBeyond''. |
| 126 | * ''Franchise/StarWars'' started its episodic numbering with the "Episode V" seen in the opening crawl of ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', but did not start including the numbers on posters and merchandise until the first prequel, ''Episode I: Film/ThePhantomMenace.'' Then, for ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', the "Episode VII" was dropped from the posters and only included in the crawl again. The spinoff films, not listed as part of the Star Wars Saga, including ''Film/RogueOne: A Star Wars Story'' do not have episode numbers at all. |
| 127 | * Every ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' sequel from ''Film/TerminatorSalvation'' (the fourth one) and onward is subtitle only. |
| 128 | * ''Franchise/TheTexasChainsawMassacre'' series stopped its numbering after [[Film/LeatherfaceTheTexasChainsawMassacreIII the third film]], which is fitting because not many want to remember [[Film/TexasChainsawMassacreTheNextGeneration the fourth film]]. |
| 129 | * ''Film/UniversalSoldier'' tried its luck with two numbered and subtitled direct-to-video sequels first, then dropped the numbering but not the subtitles for a new shot at a theatrical part two. The next installment rebooted the series again as a new part two, but kept the same naming convention, as did the part following that one. The full lineup is now: ''Universal Soldier'', ''Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms'', ''Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business'', ''Film/UniversalSoldierTheReturn'', ''Film/UniversalSoldierRegeneration'' and ''Film/UniversalSoldierDayOfReckoning'' (also known as ''Universal Soldier: A New Dimension''). |
| 130 | * The ''[[Franchise/XMenFilmSeries X-Men]]'' film series stopped numbering installments after ''Film/X2XMenUnited'', which remains the only mainline ''X-Men'' film to have a number in its title. [[note]](''Film/Deadpool2'' is part of an adjacent side-franchise dubiously set within the ''X-Men'' film continuity, and was sometimes referred to as ''The Untitled Deadpool Sequel'' by Fox.)[[/note]] Justified by ''Film/XMenFirstClass'' being a prequel and ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' involving TimeTravel; numbers simply don't help to keep the movies in chronological order. |
| 131 | [[/folder]] |
| 132 | |
| 133 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 134 | * Many novel series start off with subtitles like "The Second Novel of X Series" before switching to "A Novel of X Series". Sometimes there's a reason for this: The second novel gets labeled as such so it's easier to identify the sequel when it first comes out, while subsequent books are not necessarily set in stone in terms of numbering or continuity. |
| 135 | * The first paperback editions of ''Literature/EqualRites'' and ''Literature/{{Mort}}'' had a subtitle reading "The [Third/Fourth] Literature/{{Discworld}} Novel". Later editions of the first two novels with that trade dress followed suit (originally ''Literature/TheColourOfMagic'' had an JustForFun/XMeetsY description of the book and ''Literature/TheLightFantastic'' had "A sequel to ''The Colour of Magic''", because nobody, least of all Creator/TerryPratchett, knew it was ''going'' to be a series). From ''Literature/{{Sourcery}}'', it just says "A Discworld Novel". |
| 136 | * ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' had ''Night of the Living Dummy'' books [[Literature/NightOfTheLivingDummy 1]], [[Literature/NightOfTheLivingDummyII 2]], and [[Literature/NightOfTheLivingDummyIII 3]], then ''Literature/BrideOfTheLivingDummy, Literature/SlappysNightmare, Literature/RevengeOfTheLivingDummy'' and ''Literature/SonOfSlappy.'' |
| 137 | * Creator/MelisaMichaels' ''Skyrider'' series was originally intended to be a trilogy, and the first book was initially published as ''Skyrider 1: Skirmish''. None of the other books in the series ever had a number, and reprintings of ''Skirmish'' omitted the "Skyrider 1" part as well. |
| 138 | * ''Literature/UncleJohnsBathroomReader'' broke free of the "Uncle John's ''Nth'' Bathroom Reader" naming scheme after the 7th book, instead opting for subtle ToiletHumor ("Uncle John's All-Purpose Extra Strength Bathroom Reader"), AlliterativeTitle, or a PunBasedTitle. |
| 139 | [[/folder]] |
| 140 | |
| 141 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 142 | * The early seasons of the US edition of ''Series/BigBrother'' were numbered for each season, starting with the 2nd Season titled as ''Big Brother 2''. The First Season (which was also referred to as ''Big Brother 2000'') was later retroactively referred to as ''Big Brother 1''. ''Big Brother 7'' & ''Big Brother 9'' were both considered special editions of the game, and thus added an additional subtitle to those seasons (''Big Brother 7 All-Stars'' and ''Big Brother 9 'Til Death Do You Part''). However, this stopped starting with the Eleventh Season, where the show was simplified back to ''Big Brother''. While the show would keep the regular title into the 2010s and 2020s (only changing the name for the spin-offs and for the Twenty-Third Season, which was another ''All-Stars'' Season), the Big Brother fan community still uses the old title format for the later seasons, such as the recent Twenty-Fourth Season of Big Brother, referred to as ''Big Brother 24'' or ''BB 24'' for short. |
| 143 | * Normally, at the start of an episode of ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'', announcer Johnny Gilbert will state how many days the returning champion has been reigning ("...whose ''x'' day cash winnings total ''y'' dollars..."). When Ken Jennings went on his hot streak, they eventually stopped declaring how many days he'd been champion (he made it to 74 before losing his 75th game). The practice resumed once Jennings was defeated. |
| 144 | * After 30 installments of Wrestling/{{Wrestlemania}}, the Wrestling/{{WWE}} simply quit numbering the event going forward. Now simply calling every following rendition 'Wrestlemania'. Despite this, fans still refer to them by number and even WWE staff will still slip up from time to time. |
| 145 | [[/folder]] |
| 146 | |
| 147 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 148 | * Canadian Punk band Music/BillyTalent's albums: ''Billy Talent, Billy Talent II, Billy Talent III, [[OddNameOut Dead Silence]]'' |
| 149 | * Mostly averted by Music/{{Chicago}}, who only once before their 20th album (which, oddly, is named "Twenty 1") broke their numbering sequence, with ''Hot Streets.'' (which would have been XII otherwise). Since then, about the only exceptions have been Christmas albums and legacy releases, though their 2022 effort ''Born for This Moment'' has no number either. |
| 150 | * New wave band Music/DanielAmos created a series of four linked concept albums. They all had different titles, but the first three had the subtitle, ''The Alarma Chronicles Volume [number]''. However, the final album, ''Music/FearfulSymmetry'', dropped the subtitle. In fact, it didn't mention ''The Alarma Chronicles'' anywhere on the front or back cover. |
| 151 | * Composer Music/GustavMahler was superstitious about the so-called "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_the_ninth Curse of the ninth]]", in which other notable composers such as Music/LudwigVanBeethoven and Music/FranzSchubert died in the middle of working on their Symphony no. 10. So after completing his "Symphony no. 8", his next symphonic work was not entitled "Symphony no. 9" but ''Das Lied von der Erde'' (Song of the Earth). ''After'' that, however, he felt safe enough to compose a ''next'' symphony numbered 9... and proceeded to [[YouCantFightFate die in the middle of working on his Symphony no. 10]]. |
| 152 | * Music/LedZeppelin: ''[[Music/LedZeppelin1969 Led Zeppelin]]'' (sometimes called ''Led Zeppelin I''), ''Music/LedZeppelinII'', ''Music/LedZeppelinIII'' and, depending on your point of view, the untitled fourth album (usually called ''Music/LedZeppelinIV''. The fifth album is called ''Music/HousesOfTheHoly'', breaking the numbering. |
| 153 | [[/folder]] |
| 154 | |
| 155 | [[folder:Podcast]] |
| 156 | * A RunningGag in ''Podcast/WeHateMovies'' is that Steve Sadjak hates this trope so much that, in the unlikely event he ever gets elected to the United States Senate, he will outright introduce legislation requiring movie studios to make every installment of a franchise a {{Numbered Sequel|s}} paired with a subtitle, irrespective of {{Continuity Reboot}}s or how confusing or unwieldy this gets. So, for example, ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' would become ''Batman 6: The Dark Knight'', ''Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom'' would become ''Film/JurassicPark 5: Film/JurassicWorld 2: Fallen Kingdom'', and ''Film/TheAvengers2012'' would become ''Film/IronMan1 3: Film/{{Hulk}} 3: Film/CaptainAmerica 2: Film/{{Thor}} 2: The Avengers''. (Which would then presumably make the actual ''Film/IronMan3'' technically ''Iron Man 4: Iron Man 3''.) |
| 157 | [[/folder]] |
| 158 | |
| 159 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 160 | * They developed the Nth edition formula for the bi-yearly "Core" sets for ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', up until 10th Edition. Then, they switched to numbering them by the year they come out (and do them yearly). |
| 161 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'' started with (in order) 1st edition, 2nd edition, 5th edition ([[CanonDiscontinuity later declared]] an "[[{{Unperson}} unproduct"]]), and 3rd edition (unpublished). Then it was revived with [[Platform/MicrosoftWindows XP]] (formally dropped after Microsoft complained, so this version was just called "Paranoia") and 25th Anniversary Edition (a reprint of XP with some additional material). |
| 162 | [[/folder]] |
| 163 | |
| 164 | [[folder:Toys]] |
| 165 | * ''Franchise/TransformersGeneration1'' is numbered as such [[{{Retronym}} as opposed to]] ''ComicBook/TransformersGeneration2'', then it stops right there. The next ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' property was ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', a reinvention of the franchise after the middling sales of G2. The various iterations of the franchise are still referred to as "generations", but they never again have been numbered. |
| 166 | [[/folder]] |
| 167 | |
| 168 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 169 | * ''VideoGame/AceCombat'': |
| 170 | ** The series (produced in Japan, mind you) fought a long and hard battle against sequel numbering starting [[FourIsDeath with the fourth]]. Its first sequel was simply ''VideoGame/AceCombat2''; the second added a subtitle to ''VideoGame/AceCombat3Electrosphere''. When making the fourth title became inevitable, they padded it with a zero to make sure it didn't [[FranchiseKiller blow up]]: ''VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies''. [[EvenBetterSequel The plan worked.]] So they made ''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar'' -- and stumbled again. In the following three years, ''VideoGame/AceCombatAdvance'', ''VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar'', and ''VideoGame/AceCombatXSkiesOfDeception'' were released. The final swan song for NumberedSequels was ''VideoGame/AceCombat6FiresOfLiberation''. After that, Namco couldn't take it anymore: an ''Ace Combat Xi: Skies of Incursion'' and an ''Ace Combat X2'' (released as ''VideoGame/AceCombatJointAssault'') later, they finally announced a full-blown ContinuityReboot with ''VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizon''. However, both ''X2/Joint Assault'' and ''Assault Horizon'' take place [[AlternateContinuity in self-contained settings]] (both titles being set on Earth as opposed to the [[ConstructedWorld Strangereal]] setting of previous games while also having no ties to one another), meaning one could write off these games as not being "true" sequels to the other ''AC'' titles. |
| 171 | ** Following ''Assault Horizon'', Project Aces would work on two mobile titles (''[[VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizonLegacy Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy]]'', a remake of ''Ace Combat 2'' bearing the more appropriate title ''3D: Cross Rumble'' [[MarketBasedTitle in Japan]], and ''VideoGame/AceCombatNorthernWings'') and a [[AllegedlyFreeGame F2P]] [=PS3=] title (''VideoGame/AceCombatInfinity'') before finally reversing the trend with the announcement of ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown''. |
| 172 | * ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars'' dropped the numbers for the third and fourth games on the Nintendo DS. |
| 173 | * ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDark'' used numbers for the original trilogy of DOS games and some of their ports, but not the later MultiPlatform games. |
| 174 | * The ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' franchise has gotten a little silly with this over the years: |
| 175 | ** Initially there was a logic behind each numbered entry featuring a new protagonist and setting. ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'' was followed by ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'', shifting from Middle East/The Crusades to Italy/The Renaissance and Altair to Ezio. Ezio Auditore proved to be a BreakoutCharacter and spawned two sequels -- ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'', which was effectively "''Assassins Creed 2.1''", and then ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations'' (basically "''Assassins Creed 2.2''"). This was followed by newcomer Connor Kenway's ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'' which shifted to the Era of The American Revolution. There was also a minor game titled ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIIILiberation'', set roughly in the same era but with a different setting (New Orleans, rather than the northeastern parts of ''III'') and a new, unrelated protagonist. |
| 176 | ** After ''III'', Ubisoft changed their minds and gave a number ''and'' a subtitle for ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag'', used to differentiate it as a GenreShift pirate game. The protagonist was the grandfather of Connor Kenway and the setting is still North America, so it still made sense. |
| 177 | ** After ''Black Flag'', the two 2014 entries -- ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRogue'' on the previous seventh gen consoles and ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedUnity'' on then-current eighth gen -- marked Ubisoft just giving up completely on the numbering system, with ''Rogue'' seen as a continuation of the North American/Kenway story but featuring a character, Shay Cormac, who is separate from the three Kenways, while the other game is set among a new cast in France during the Revolution and is a next-gen overhaul moreover. Ubisoft since stated that ''Unity'' is left unnumbered because it was a new beginning, and there are no plans to continue numbering ''Assassin's Creed' titles. This was confirmed by the 2015 entry in the series being titled ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedSyndicate'', moving the storyline to 19th century London with Jacob Frye as the protagonist. ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOrigins Origins]]'', ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOdyssey Odyssey]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedValhalla Valhalla]]'' ([[VideoGameLongRunners and so on]]) have kept the numberless sequels trend going since. |
| 178 | * A retroactive example happened with the sequel to ''VideoGame/Battlezone1998'', which was firstly released in 1999 as ''Battlezone II: Combat Commander''. When Creator/{{Rebellion}} went on to develop a remaster for that sequel, they dropped the numeral and released it in 2018 as ''Battlezone: Combat Commander''. |
| 179 | * The VideoGame/{{Bemani}} games have slowly stopped numbering their sequels, of the eight actively supported games in the franchise, only two (''[[VideoGame/{{Beatmania}} beatmania IIDX]]'' and ''VideoGame/{{Nostalgia|BEMANI}}'') still number their sequels (though ''VideoGame/{{Jubeat}}'' has never numbered its sequels, and ''VideoGame/DanceRush'' only has one installment at the moment). |
| 180 | * ''VideoGame/BioShock1'', ''VideoGame/BioShock2'', ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite''. Though in this case, it's more to separate ''Infinite'' from the Rapture storyline. |
| 181 | * In the U.S. and Europe, ''Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter'' became simply ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireDragonQuarter'', and fittingly so, as it marks a major divergence from the first four ''VideoGame/BreathOfFire'' games. |
| 182 | * ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty 2'', ''3'', ''4: VideoGame/ModernWarfare'', then ''Call of Duty: World at War'', ''Modern Warfare 2'' (which actually dropped the ''Call of Duty'' name in some places), ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps Black Ops]]'', ''Modern Warfare 3'', ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII Black Ops 2]]'', ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyGhosts Ghosts]]'', ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyAdvancedWarfare Advanced Warfare]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsIII Black Ops 3]]''. |
| 183 | * ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'': |
| 184 | ** The original ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaI'' was followed by ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIISimonsQuest'' and ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIIDraculasCurse'', all three on the NES, and ''VideoGame/SuperCastlevaniaIV'' on the Super NES. The sequels stopped using numerals afterward when they started appearing on non-Nintendo consoles, particularly with ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaBloodlines'' on the Genesis. |
| 185 | ** ''Castlevania II: Simon's Quest'' was titled ''Dracula II: Noroi no Fūin'' in Japan and was the only one of the above sequels with a numbered title. ''Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse'' is otherwise known as ''Akumajō Densetsu'' (although it had the {{working title}} of "''Dracula III''"), while ''Super Castlevania IV'' is simply titled ''[[RecycledTitle Akumajō Dracula]]'' (same name as the first Famicom game). While ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaRondoOfBlood Akumajō Dracula X: Chi no Rondo]]'' was technically the tenth installment, the "X" on the title is a letter and not a number (and the title would be reused years later for [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight a direct sequel]]). |
| 186 | ** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaTheAdventure'' had its own numbered sequel, ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIBelmontsRevenge'', both being Game Boy games. As a result, ''Castlevania II'' could refer to either, ''Simon's Quest'' on the NES or ''Belmont's Revenge'' on the Game Boy. There's less ambiguity with the Japanese titles, as the two games were part of a side series titled ''Dracula Densetsu'' and ''Dracula Densetsu II'' respectively. |
| 187 | * Interestingly, this was inverted with ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSeries'' by the third game, as otherwise ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSun Tiberian Sun]]'' would've been named as ''Command & Conquer 2''. |
| 188 | * ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' sequels were never really numbered, aside from ''Contra III: The Alien Wars'' for the SNES, which was the third game on home consoles following the first two NES games, and that was just the American title (in Japan, it was known as ''Contra Spirits''). However, the second NES game was not titled "Contra II", but ''Super C'' (which itself was loosely based on ''Super Contra'', the arcade sequel to ''Contra''). ''Operation C'', a Game Boy sequel to ''Super C'', was also released prior to ''Contra III'', but was not counted among this numbering due to Konami of America at the time numbering their portable games separately, as reflected by the fact that the later Game Boy port of ''Contra III'' was simply titled ''Contra: The Alien Wars'' without the number. Ironically, an official ''Contra 4'' would be released years later on the Nintendo DS as a direct sequel to ''Contra III'', after several unnumbered sequels on home consoles such as ''Contra: Hard Corps'' on the Genesis and ''Contra: Shattered Soldier'' on the [=PS2=]. |
| 189 | * ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'' stopped numbering after the third game, ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot3Warped'', which was incidentally the last platformer entry produced by the original team at Creator/NaughtyDog, although the ''[[VideoGame/CrashBandicootTheWrathOfCortex Wrath of Cortex]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/CrashTwinsanity Twinsanity]]'' were [[MarketBasedTitle retitled]] ''Crash Bandicoot 4'' and ''5'' respectively in Japan. They went back to numbers for ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot4ItsAboutTime'', advertised as a direct sequel to ''3''. |
| 190 | * ''VideoGame/DeusExInvisibleWar'' was originally ''Deus Ex 2: Invisible War'', but the "2" was dropped when development began on the Platform/{{Xbox}} version. ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' kept the non-numbered sequel thing going, with ''VideoGame/DeusExMankindDivided'' continuing the trend. |
| 191 | * ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' stopped numbering itself after the SNES trilogy. The follow-ups would use a subtitle instead. ''[=DKC3=]'''s immediate follow-up didn't even use the "Country" name, being called ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' instead. |
| 192 | * ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' was followed up with ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' and later ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'', although the latter was initially marketed as ''Dragon Age III: Inquisition'' before dropping the III before release. |
| 193 | * [[VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII The third installment]] of the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' trilogy drops the numbering that ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' had. |
| 194 | * Every ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' game after the fourth entry is not numbered. |
| 195 | * Every sequential sequel in both the ''Forza Motorsport'' and ''Forza Horizon'' sub-series of the overall ''VideoGame/{{Forza}}'' franchise is given a number based on the order of its own sub-series. However, this trope will be invoked by Creator/Turn10Studios for their 2023 ''Forza Motorsport'' game, the eighth one in the elder ''Motorsport'' sub-series, as it's meant to be a [[ContinuityReboot series reboot]] intended to reinvigorate their series after the mostly disappointing reception they received during the Platform/XboxOne era (''Motorsport 5'', ''6'', and ''7''). ''Forza Horizon'', however, remains unaffected so far as it continues to have killer success. |
| 196 | * ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' took the odd approach of, after three numbered games, naming the [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity next]] [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas two]] after their locations rather than more numbers, despite them being full-length games with ever-larger game worlds and upgraded mechanics. The idea may be that they are not numbered sequels since ''Vice City'' and ''San Andreas'' were actually prequels set before the events of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'' during the '80s and '90s respectively -- after [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoLibertyCityStories two]] [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCityStories portable spinoffs]] that also served as prequels, the Roman numerals picked up right where they'd left off with ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' and ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV''. |
| 197 | * ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' has gone back and forth, as the sequels are ''II'', ''III: Legends of Rock'', ''World Tour'', ''5'', and ''Warriors of Rock''. |
| 198 | * ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' kept numbering straight, with the exception of ''VideoGame/HaloReach'', which was a prequel and they didn't want to call it ''Halo 0''. ''Videogame/Halo5Guardians'' was initially called just ''Halo'' for the new console (Platform/XboxOne), but Microsoft later gave it a proper ''5''. Then ''VideoGame/HaloInfinite'' plays it straight even when it came after ''Guardians''. |
| 199 | * The ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' series never really had a numbering convention when ''VideoGame/HitmanCodename47'' released, although players did tend to use numbers to refer to the older games in the series until the 2016 entry came along; simply titled ''[[VideoGame/Hitman2016 HITMAN]]'' with no subtitle or numbering. This was followed by two sequels; a different ''[[VideoGame/Hitman2 HITMAN 2]]'' in 2018, and a different ''[[VideoGame/Hitman3 HITMAN III]]'' in 2021. So now the numbering is important to consider, and players moved on to using the subtitles to refer to the old games. The latter three games would later get merged into one homogeneous thing, and be known as the ''VideoGame/WorldOfAssassinationTrilogy'' to further differentiate them from the legacy games. |
| 200 | * The second main game (the third overall) in the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series was called ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII''. ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'', [[SequelNumberSnarl depending on how you count]], is at least the ''tenth'' installment in the series. The interim games used subtitles, even the "[[EpisodeZeroTheBeginning Episode 0]]" game, ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth by Sleep]]''. Oddly enough, two of these possess a "3" in the title, despite not being main games or the intended ''KHIII'': the interquel ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2 358/2 Days]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance 3D]]'' for the Platform/Nintendo3DS, which picks off where ''II'' (and ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded Re:coded]]'') ended. |
| 201 | * Inverted with ''Franchise/TheKingOfFighters'' (somewhat). From [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters94 1994]] to [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2003 2003]], the series numbered its installments with the year of its release. Starting with ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXI XI]]'', Creator/{{SNK}} chose to go with the installment number instead of the year (probably because ''XI'' took more than a year to release due to SNK spending some time messing around with new hardware; SNK also wanted to do away with their previous model of working around the clock to churn out a new title each and every year). This gets confusing because ''VideoGame/KOFMaximumImpact2'' (a 3D spinoff to the mainline ''KOF'' series [[AlternateContinuity in its own continuity]]) was released in the United States as ''The King of Fighters 2006''. |
| 202 | * ''VideoGame/KingsQuestMaskOfEternity'': One supposes they thought it was getting ridiculous. |
| 203 | * ''VideoGame/TheLegendaryStarfy''/''Densetsu no Stafy'' had numbered sequels for the first four installments, but for the fifth went for a subtitle ("Densetsu no Stafy Taiketsu! Daīru Kaizokudan", meaning "The Legendary Starfy Confrontation! Dairu Pirate Squad"). |
| 204 | * ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' is an odd example, the sequel was simply titled ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'', the rest of the series just used subtitles, making the second game a black sheep in naming (though ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' is sometimes known as "Zelda III" as a shorthand). Some of the games do have the internal number noted during production or in their product [=IDs=] (''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'' were 7 and 8, for example), and the Japanese subtitle of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds A Link Between Worlds]]'' is "Triforce of the Gods 2" ("Triforce of the Gods" being ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'''s Japanese name.) |
| 205 | * The seventh mainline entry of the ''VideoGame/LikeADragon'' (formerly ''Yakuza'') series was given the localized title of ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'', reflecting the GenreShift from a 3D BeatEmUp to an RPG with turn-based combat. It was titled ''Ryu ga Gotoku 7'' in Japan and Asia, which is where the subtitle "Like a Dragon" came from (being a direct translation of the series's Japanese title). In fact, the series formally rebranded from ''Yakuza'' to ''Like a Dragon'' in the West following this game, starting with the 2023 remake of ''Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin!'' (''VideoGame/LikeADragonIshin''). The series seems to have dropped numbering from the English titles entirely while maintaining them in the Japanese titles: ''VideoGame/LikeADragonGaidenTheManWhoErasedHisName'' was released in Japan as ''Ryu ga Gotoku 7 Gaiden - Na wo Keshita Otoko'', keeping the same subtitle; and ''VideoGame/LikeADragonInfiniteWealth'''s Japanese title is simply ''Ryu ga Gotoku 8''. |
| 206 | * Though ''Ruins Chaser'' was meant to be titled ''VideoGame/{{Lufia}} III'', the game that came out after it was cancelled was simply ''VideoGame/LufiaTheLegendReturns''. Then again, ''[[VideoGame/LufiaIIRiseOfTheSinistrals Lufia II]]'' was a {{Prequel}} to the first game... |
| 207 | * The ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' series' second game had both a number and a subtitle (''Marathon 2: Durandal''), then the third fulfilled the trope (''Marathon Infinity: Blood Tides of Lh'owon'') |
| 208 | * ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'', as the developers have stated it is meant to be the start of a new adventure rather than a continuation of Commander Shepard's story. It didn't quite stop the fandom from referring to it as ''Mass Effect 4'' until its title was announced. |
| 209 | * ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'' was going to be titled ''Metal Gear Solid 5'' at one point, in order to emphasize series creator Creator/HideoKojima's full involvement as both, writer and director, and contrast it with the previous PSP entry ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps'', which he only worked on as a producer, but Creator/{{Konami}} was hesitant to use a numbered title on a PSP game after having released all the previous numbered ''MGS'' entries on home consoles. The game's plot and play mechanics does set up what later became the official ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidV'', which itself was split into two installments (the stand-alone prologue ''Ground Zeroes'' and the main story ''The Phantom Pain''). |
| 210 | * Played with for the ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' series. ''VideoGame/{{Metroid|1}}'' was followed by only one explicitly numbered sequel, ''VideoGame/MetroidIIReturnOfSamus'', but games would continue to number themselves in either the opening titles ("[[VideoGame/SuperMetroid Metroid 3]]" and "[[VideoGame/MetroidFusion Metroid 4]]") or have promotional material emphasizing the numbering ("[[VideoGame/MetroidDread Metroid 5]]"). The main entries of the ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy'' avert this trope completely, leaving the only games in the franchise that aren't numbered being the [[GaidenGame interquel side-stories]] (''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeHunters'', ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'') and {{Spin Off}}s (''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeFederationForce''). |
| 211 | * Only ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland2LeChucksRevenge'' is numbered in the ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'' series. The others are just called ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland'', ''VideoGame/EscapeFromMonkeyIsland'', ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' and ''VideoGame/ReturnToMonkeyIsland''. |
| 212 | * The ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' sequels went from ''VideoGame/MortalKombatII'' to ''VideoGame/MortalKombat4'' and after that (when the series no longer had arcade releases) we got ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance]]'' (the fifth game, which featured a bloodied "V" as part of its logo), ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeception'' (sixth) and ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon Mortal Kombat: Armageddon]]'' (seventh). After a crossover (''VideoGame/MortalKombatVsDCUniverse'') and an in-continuity reboot ([[RecycledTitle simply titled]] ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombat2011 Mortal Kombat]]'', just like the original), the series went back to having numbered titles with ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' and ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' -- then did a complete reversal by calling the ''twelfth'' entry ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1''. |
| 213 | * The ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' series, leading to the pretty awkward numbering of the ''Hot Pursuit'' subseries (''Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit'' -> ''Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2'' -> ''Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit'') |
| 214 | * The third game in the ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' series, ''VideoGame/TravisStrikesAgainNoMoreHeroes'', doesn't use a number. The debut trailer jokingly hints that this is because of the nearly decade-long gap between the second and third game's releases. Ironically, the fourth game would be announced under the name ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroesIII'' not long after, reintroducing the numbering. |
| 215 | * Creator/HudsonSoft's ''Power League'' baseball game series for the [[Platform/TurboGrafx16 PC Engine]] dropped the Roman numerals for its sixth installment, which was titled ''Power League '93''. |
| 216 | * ''Franchise/PrinceOfPersia'' after ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia3D''. Since then we've had a new trilogy, a RecycledTitle, and then a TrilogyCreep to the aforementioned trilogy. |
| 217 | * Zig-zagged with ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo''. The early sequels used [[PunBasedTitle Japanese pun-based titles]] to indicate their placement in the series: ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyo2 Puyo Puyo Tsu]]'' (2), ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyoSun'' (3), and ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyon'' (4). Afterward, we had ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyoFever'' and ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyoFever2 Fever 2]]'', which ditched the original numbering to indicate a SoftReboot, and then ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo7'' returned to numbering. In-between ''Fever 2'' and ''7'' was the MilestoneCelebration ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyo15thAnniversary 15th Anniversary]]'', which wasn't counted for ''7''. Following ''that'', the original numbering was dropped entirely: ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyo20thAnniversary 20th Anniversary]]'', ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyoQuest Quest]]'', ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyoTetris Tetris]]'', ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyoChronicle Chronicle]]'', ''Champions'', and ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyoTetris2 Tetris 2]]''. |
| 218 | * Subverted by the ''VideoGame/QuestForGlory'' series: ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIV'' -- despite using a numbered title on this wiki -- is actually officially titled ''Quest for Glory: Shadows of Darkness'', abandoning the numerals used by the previous three games. However, the very [[VideoGame/QuestForGloryV next installment]] proudly displayed its numeral again. This may have had to do with the confusion caused by inserting an [[VideoGame/QuestForGloryIII extra game]] into the planned tetralogy mid-way through its production: ''Shadows of Darkness'' was originally planned to be the third game, so the devs may have attempted to preserve ''Dragon Fire'''s original numeral by skipping over ''[=SoD=]''[='=]s, but later gave up and released the former as ''Quest for Glory V''. |
| 219 | * While ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'' avoids this in the United States due to the sequels not being numbered at all (the unconventional ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankAll4One All]]'' '''''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankAll4One 4]]''''' ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankAll4One One]]'' notwithstanding), this trope is in effect [[MarketBasedTitle in other regions]]: |
| 220 | ** In Oceania and most of Europe ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankGoingCommando Going Commando]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankUpYourArsenal Up Your Arsenal]]'' are instead referred to as "''Ratchet & Clank 2''" and "''Ratchet & Clank 3''"[[note]]"''Ratchet & Clank 3: Up Your Arsenal''" in the former region[[/note]] respectively, with the numbering being dropped from [[VideoGame/RatchetDeadlocked the fourth game]] onwards. |
| 221 | ** The series' releases in Japan are a particularly odd example as they sort of managed to do this twice; ''Going Commando'', ''Up Your Arsenal'', ''Deadlocked'', and ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankSizeMatters Size Matters]]'' were renamed ''Ratchet & Clank 2'' - ''5'' + a new subtitle unique to that region, then the sequential numbering was dropped by the [=PS3=] era as ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureToolsOfDestruction Future: Tools of Destruction]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureACrackInTime Future: A Crack in Time]]'' instead became simply "''Ratchet & Clank Future''" and "''Ratchet & Clank Future 2''" to drive home that the games had an overarching storyline (the middle installment ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureQuestForBooty Future: Quest for Booty]]'' was explicitly designated as a spin-off and was titled "''Ratchet & Clank Future'' '''''[[GaidenGame Gaiden]]'''''" as a result), and finally the region dropped the numbering for good from ''All 4 One'' onwards. |
| 222 | * Atari Games' ''VideoGame/RBIBaseball'' series stopped using numbered sequels the same year, jumping from ''RBI Baseball 4'' to ''RBI Baseball '93''. |
| 223 | * The ''VideoGame/RedFaction'' series dropped numbers from the titles after ''II''. |
| 224 | * ''VideoGame/{{Repton}}'': The first three games had no particular setting, so the next three dropped the numbering in favour of titles that advertised the fact that Repton was now going [[RecycledINSPACE around the world and through time]]. Next comes ''[[OddlyNamedSequel Repton Infinity]]'', which includes a subgame called ''Repton 4'', but later, an unrelated game was converted into a Repton game and titled ''EGO: Repton 4''. In addition, ''Repton: The Lost Realms'' had ''Repton 4'' as a working title, but when the game was finally released, it was unclear whether the number should be moved to 5 or even 6, and so the numbering was dropped altogether. |
| 225 | * ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'': |
| 226 | ** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'' was written as a continuation of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'', but was not given a numbered title due to console war politics at the time, as it was developed as a Dreamcast-exclusive at a time the main entries were being developed primarily on the [=PlayStation=]. ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'', which was written as a sidequel to ''2'', was given the honor of being the third numbered entry instead. Since the series continued to number sequels afterward, as it was followed by ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', ''Code: Veronica''[='s=] lack of one sometimes leads newcomers into mistaking it for a [[GaidenGame sidestory]] or a spin-off. It doesn't help that Capcom went on to do remakes of ''VideoGame/{{Resident Evil|Remake}}'', ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake 2]]'', ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Remake 3]]'', '''and''' ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4Remake 4]]'' while ''Code: Veronica'' has so far been left in the dust. |
| 227 | ** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilVillage'' is the eighth main installment in the series and a direct sequel to ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard'', but doesn't feature the number 8 in its title, instead highlighting the first four letters in "village" to form the Roman numeral VIII. ''Resident Evil 7'' did something similar with its own logo by having the Roman numeral VII highlighted on the word "evil" instead of being written with an actual numeral, but the title is still written as ''Resident Evil 7'' in plain text. |
| 228 | * The ''Franchise/SilentHill'' series tacked on a subtitle for the fourth game and dropped the numbers afterward once they started being outsourced to western developers. |
| 229 | * The ''VideoGame/SimCity'' series for PC had a good streak of numerical titles: ''VideoGame/SimCity'', ''VideoGame/SimCity 2000'', ''VideoGame/SimCity 3000'', and ''VideoGame/SimCity 4''. The fifth entry, released in 2013, was simply titled ''[[RecycledTitle SimCity]]''. |
| 230 | * Narrowly averted by ''VideoGame/TheSims4''. It was originally conceived as an MMO titled ''The Sims Olympus'' before gears changed late in development to turn it into a single-player game akin to previous entries in the series. |
| 231 | * ''VideoGame/SoldierOfFortune: Payback'' was produced by a budget-title[=/=]UsefulNotes/{{shovelware}} developer and its plot is completely unrelated to the first two (numbered) games. |
| 232 | * ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'': |
| 233 | ** ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD'' and ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'' are both sequels to the original game and were developed in parallel. The former was originally titled ''CD Sonic the Hedgehog'' and intended to be an UpdatedRerelease of the first game before becoming its own thing, while the latter was developed as a direct sequel from the start. ''Sonic CD'' also likely went unnumbered due to being released on (and marketed as a selling point for) the Platform/SegaCD hardware add-on, whereas ''Sonic 2'' was released for the same platforms as it predecessor. |
| 234 | ** ''Sonic the Hedgehog 3'' and the unnumbered ''Sonic & Knuckles'' are [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles two halves of the same game]]. |
| 235 | ** ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4'' is named as such simply for in-universe chronology reasons and [[{{Retraux}} because it's in the style of the original numbered games]]. ''VideoGame/SonicMania'' and ''VideoGame/SonicSuperstars'' are also done in the style of the original series, but don't use numbers. |
| 236 | * ''Franchise/SpyroTheDragon'': |
| 237 | ** The series stopped numbering after the second game, ''VideoGame/Spyro2RiptosRage''. |
| 238 | ** Done again with the GBA ''Spyro'' games. After the second, ''VideoGame/Spyro2SeasonOfFlame'', they stopped being numbered. |
| 239 | * The ''Franchise/StarWars: VideoGame/DarkForcesSaga''. See ColonCancer for what it would look like. |
| 240 | * ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'': |
| 241 | ** The 2D series did this after ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' (not counting the Japanese version of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'', which bore the subtitle of ''Super Mario Bros. 4''). ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' was the first numbered sequel on consoles since the leap to 3D. The general idea seems to be that each console has its own series of Mario games, and the N64 and [=GameCube=] only had one game each. |
| 242 | ** Hilarity ensues when you look at the remakes that were released on the Game Boy Advance. Each remake is chronologically numbered, but the games weren't remade in any real order... so you get titles like ''Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World'' and ''Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3''. At least they avoided ColonCancer with ''Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island'' since the full title of the Super NES version was ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld2YoshisIsland''. Note that the original ''Super Mario Advance'', a remake of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'', was not titled anything other than ''Super Mario Advance''. |
| 243 | ** Inverted by the ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' series, where at the end of a long series the 3DS and Wii U installments are numbered instead of having a subtitle or [[SuperTitle64Advance the platform's name on the title]]. So it goes ''VideoGame/SuperMarioKart'' (SNES), ''VideoGame/MarioKart64'', ''VideoGame/MarioKartSuperCircuit'' (GBA), ''VideoGame/MarioKartDoubleDash'' (GCN), ''VideoGame/MarioKartDS'', ''VideoGame/MarioKartWii'', '''''VideoGame/MarioKart7''''' ([=3DS=]) and '''''VideoGame/MarioKart8''''' (Wii U, remade for Switch as ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe''). Note that the numbering does not count the arcade entries (''Arcade GP'', ''Arcade GP 2'' and ''Arcade GP Deluxe''). |
| 244 | ** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioParty'' is the first home console ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' game to do away with the numbering system that all the previous ones used, a trend that continued with the next game, ''VideoGame/MarioPartySuperstars''. Curiously, Birdo still acknowledges that this is the 11th party, following ''VideoGame/MarioParty10''. |
| 245 | ** Played with in the ''[[VideoGame/LuigisMansionSeries Luigi's Mansion]]'' series in regard to its [[VideoGame/LuigisMansionDarkMoon second game]]. In North America, the game is subtitled ''Dark Moon'', whereas other regions [[MarketBasedTitle simply call it]] ''Luigi's Mansion 2''. The third game then gets called ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion3'' in all regions, making it an inversion of this trope only in North America. |
| 246 | * ''VideoGame/SyphonFilter'' after the [=PS1=] trilogy. |
| 247 | * The Super NES version of ''VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTournamentFighters'' originally had the {{working title}} of ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles V'' according to the design documents featured in the ''Cowabunga Collection'', continuing the numbering of the first three NES games and the Super NES port of ''[[VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTurtlesInTime Turtles in Time]]'' (which was ''Turtles IV''). The development of [[ReformulatedGame parallel versions]] for the Genesis and the original NES likely led to the abandonment of a numbered title. |
| 248 | * ''VideoGame/Thief2014'' was originally ''Thief 4'', but since it was a reboot, the publisher dropped the ''4''. The series had already dropped the "3" from ''Deadly Shadows''. |
| 249 | * ''Franchise/TombRaider'', starting with the fourth game, ''[[VideoGame/TombRaiderTheLastRevelation The Last Revelation]]''. While later games are not numbered, fans still refer to them by number in casual conversation, and the desktop icons for ''The Last Revelation'' and ''[[VideoGame/TombRaiderChronicles Chronicles]]'' stated that they were ''Tomb Raider IV'' and ''Tomb Raider V'', respectively; Creator/{{Capcom}} actually used the numbers when it published those two games in Japan. |
| 250 | * In the ''VideoGame/WingCommander'' series, the fifth "main" game dropped the numbering of sequels from earlier games, the series stepping back from the extensive [[LiveActionCutscene Full Motion Video]] of the previous two installations to more of a focus on gameplay, after creator Chris Roberts left Origin. |
| 251 | [[/folder]] |
| 252 | |
| 253 | [[folder:Other]] |
| 254 | * Computer chip maker Intel made personal computer CPU chips named 8086, 80186, 80286, 80386, 80486...and then went with "Pentium" because rival chipmaker AMD was using the same numeric designation for their chips, and Intel was informed that they couldn't trademark a number. Since then, they've branched out into different "lines", which often ended up with numbers attached -- Pentium III, Core 2, etc. |
| 255 | * Platform/MacOS: |
| 256 | ** Apple stopped marketing new versions of [=macOS=] under their version numbers after 10.1 because they decided the internal codenames, named for species of big cats, were more interesting. And then they allegedly ran out of big cats (they didn't really, but that was their excuse) and promptly switched to landmarks in California. Strangely, several of the cat names are alternate names for the same species (the puma). |
| 257 | ** Though Apple stopped referring to the 10.x numbers, they still continued to sell their OS as Mac OS X. Weirdly, the next time they changed the name, in 2012, they Averted this by dropping the Mac part and not the number, leaving it as just OS X, despite the diminishing number of Mac users who would remember Mac OS versions 1-9. Then, in 2016 they reversed course and dropped the number for good and brought back the Mac part, renaming the OS yet again to just macOS, to make the name consistent with their other OS's including [=iOS=], [=tvOS=] and [=watchOS=]. |
| 258 | ** DoubleSubverted in 2020, when Apple released [=macOS=] Big Sur, which finally bumps up the version number to 11.0, to coincide with the start of their transition to ARM-based Apple Silicon processors; however, they didn't make a big deal out of it, and continue to primarily market their OS's based on their names instead of version number. |
| 259 | * [[Platform/MicrosoftWindows Windows]]: |
| 260 | ** "Client" editions stopped using version numbers after 3.1 on the DOS-based versions and 4.0 on the NT versions, opting for sequel numbers based on the year of release. Then came XP (which combined the DOS and NT lines) and Vista, but then averted with Windows 7, Windows 8 (and 8.1), and Windows 10. (Windows 9 was an UnInstallment.) |
| 261 | ** The internal version numbers followed the public numbers up until 4.0, then went differently (Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 were internally 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3 respectively) until they jumped straight to version 10.0 for Windows 10. |
| 262 | ** "Server" editions have been using year numbering ever since Windows 2000 (though using the suffix "R2" for versions close to the previous one), with names mostly consistent since Windows Server 2003 (companion to Windows XP) up to and including the current Windows Server 2016 (companion to Windows 10). |
| 263 | * Porn Film Series usually subvert this trope. It is not uncommon to have the same title series run into the 30s, 40s, [[LOL69 69]], and beyond (without skipping an installment). If they do have a "reboot" of the series, they will usually add the word "new" or something similar to the title and additional titles become "New Title 2" and so on. |
| 264 | * Tulsa, Oklahoma radio hosts Brent Douglas and Phil Stone created the Radio/RoyDMercer character for the purpose of {{Prank Call}}s which they would play on-air. These skits became so popular that they started releasing them on Capitol Records in TheNineties. The first seven compilations were simply titled after Roy's catchphrase: ''How Big a Boy Are Ya?'' Seven volumes of ''How Big a Boy Are Ya?'' were released before they broke away from the volume numbers and gave each subsequent album its own title. |
| 265 | [[/folder]] |
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