This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Sikon: How is Neverwinter Nights 2 a "retread of the first"? Also, the engines are not that different; most of the perceived differences come from more KOTOResque gameplay, which results in NWN2 being more intuitive to KOTOR players than to NWN1 players.
Tanto: I can't make heads or tails of that Unreal 2 example. Do people like it or not?
Nezumi: Sorry, I wrote that one. And no, people don't like it, mostly. And the reason cited is always that it just wasn't enough like the original Unreal, which, near as I've been able to discern, means "it wasn't exactly like Unreal." The Unreal series takes place in a huge universe with significant history... and all people wanted was another game about killing Skaarj on Na Pali, or about the prisoner from the first game killing more things, and were irritated when the game took advantage of the large universe to do something that was good, but *gasp* different.
- Super Smash Bros and Pokemon, at least to critics.
Tanto: Look, the critics bitch about anything that isn't an entirely new tour de force — this entry needs more than their word. The Smash Bros. games are all significantly different from one another, and the Pokemon games add new innovations and strategies in every generation.
They're not examples. They're series, and they're similar on that account, but that's not enough to qualify them for this trope.
- Every Dynasty Warriors game is already a remake of the second Dynasty Warriors — the first was a fighting game related only by theme, that's actually considered part of a different series in Japan. This didn't stop multiple Xtreme Legends and Empires mission pack sequels.
Nezumi: Removing, on the grounds that it's actually just a lie. Xtreme Legends is a straight Expansion Pack (you can play them as standalone games if you really want, but the results are fairly... underwhelming)... and Empires adds a strategy game framework on top of the standard gameplay; a fairly significant difference, and more change than can really be called a "Mission Pack Sequel."
Gizensha: How's Metroid Prime 2 a Mission Pack Sequel? While the light world environments up to the futuristic base (as in, except for one) are a retread, the light and dark beams offer an interesting new dynamic, to say nothing of the sheer claustrophobia of the gameplay in the Dark World of jumping from tiny platform of light to tiny platform of light because outside of that the very environment itself hurts you (before you get the relevent suits). Plus they managed to figure out how to do Screw Attack (hint: Like they did the morph ball). On the down side (but also a change) the bosses in MP 2 felt far more like 'very powerful enemies' compared to the MP 1 bosses which were more interesting (...OK, down side apart from 'nothing like that bloody plant/reflector thing')
Shachihoko: Wondering if we ought to put Capcom on this page and consolidate Mega Man, Street Fighter, and Ace Attorney under it. Mission Pack Sequels do seem to be a big thing with Capcom generally ...
Anonymous Troper: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2 isn't really an example. The gameplay has been heavily overhauled, with only the method of character advancement being entirely the same. It just seems like one when compared to the other Final Fantasy games, which go out of their way to invert this.
CommieDog: I'm not sure if the episodic content of Half-Life 2 really counts as a Mission-Pack Sequel. Sure, it plays like a mission pack, but I'm under the impression that the critical difference between a mission pack and a mission pack sequel is that the sequel is marketed and priced as a full game. I can't remember the release prices of the episodes, but the mere fact that they are called episodes indicates that they aren't supposed to be viewed as separate games.
BassBlues: How are New Super Mario Bros. and the Sonic Advance games Mission Pack sequels? Walljumping and groundpounds both have never been in a traditional 2D Mario sidescroller before. For the Sonic Advance games, they aren't all the same. While the first one is admittably similar to the Genesis Sonic games, the later two change things up a bit. Sonic Advance 2 had a greater emphasis on speed than most Sonic games before it and the third one built on the team mechanic.
- While there may be a Broken Base on it due to some aspects of the game (namely the portal travelling, key collecting, and ammo), most fans do agree that Echoes had somewhat better combat sequences and bosses, and much better Spiderball puzzles.
SolitaireRoulette: Found this as a subset to the Ace Attorney example. I'm not sure which game it belongs to, if at all, so it's here. Feel free to put it where it belongs.
