History FirstInstallmentWins / VideoGames

* Anyone who has played the ''VideoGame/LethalEnforcers'' series probably knows that the first is the best-known of the series. The second game felt more or less like a rehash of the first game but only set in TheWildWest rather than the modern day. [[DolledUpInstallment The third game]] is actually obscure in the west, at a time when arcades outside of Japan were going into a serious decline. The game also played more like ''VideoGame/{{Police 911}}'' and was titled ''Seigi no Hero'' in Japan.

* The original ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' trilogy by Bungie is beloved by the fanbase and was easily the most influential [[FirstPersonShooter FPS]] series of the 2000's until eventually being eclipsed by ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty''. The new games by 343 Industries have all been some degree of ContestedSequel due to various factors such as contested story choices and significantly deviating from the art style and gameplay of the original games.

* While the sequels to ''VideoGame/TheGreatGianaSisters'' have been better received than the original Platform/Commodore64 game, the original game is still the most iconic in the franchise for infamously being [[SerialNumbersFiledOff such a blatant rip-off]] of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' that Creator/{{Nintendo}} pressured the developers and publisher to [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes permanently withdraw the game from distribution]] on the basis that it was obvious UsefulNotes/{{copyright}} infringement.

* The original series of ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' games released for the Mega Drive/Genesis back in the early-to-mid 90s continue to be by far the most well-known games in the still ongoing franchise. GreenHillZone and its boss the [[FanNickname Checkered Wrecker]] are the most familiar in the franchise. Within the Genesis series, this especially holds true with the [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1 first]] and [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 second]] games, which are widely more recognized by the general public than ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD'' and ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles''. A big reason for this was due to Sega's decision to utilize both games during the year of their release as Mega Drive/Genesis pack-in games during the holiday season (as part of [[UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars their rivalry]] with Nintendo's [[Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] [[MediaNotes/The16bitEraOfConsoleVideoGames at the time]]), which resulted in both selling ''way'' more copies. This may also be the reason why ''Sonic 1'' and ''Sonic 2'' [[PortOverdosed got higher priority in ports and re-releases]] in later years.[[note]] ''Sonic 3 & Knuckles'' probably would have the same treatment with overdosed ports (considering how many fans would agree it's among one the best in the series) if it wasn't for it being ScrewedByTheLawyers due to many issues regarding the soundtrack which had Music/MichaelJackson and Brad Buxer involved along with unpaid loyalties thus causing Sega to avoid ports and re-releases of the game due to potential lawsuits.[[/note]]

* The [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] version of ''VideoGame/{{Action 52}}'' is a lot more infamous than the Platform/SegaGenesis version, despite ([[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity or rather because of]]) having a lot worse programming.

* Some folks back in the day threw around the term "''[[VideoGame/AsheronsCall Asheron's Call 2]]'' Syndrome" when discussing the problem that MMORPG sequels ({{spiritual|Successor}} or otherwise) are liable to run into (namely that the first installment is doing pretty well or you probably wouldn't be having a sequel). The term didn't stick. The phenomenon, on the other hand, is this entire page.

* Simultaneously subverted and played straight with ''VideoGame/{{Bubsy}}''. As far as public knowledge goes, the third entry in the franchise, ''Bubsy 3D'', is the most notable one, but that's only because of its ''overwhelmingly'' negative reputation and because [[FranchiseKiller it killed the franchise for almost 20 years]]. As far as quality goes, however, most fans regard the original game as the best one, even if consensus among the masses is that it's [[SoOkayItsAverage a decent game at best]].

* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' is a partial example. Every time it is referenced, parodied or mentioned in popular culture, it's always in the form of the first screen with the slanted girders, the ladders and the rolling barrels. The other three screens, with the conveyor belts, elevators and so on, might as well not even exist. It's played straight with the other games in its series, though (barring the ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' subfranchise, [[MorePopularSpinoff which is more or less its own animal]]). Everyone knows ''Donkey Kong'', but even casual arcade fans probably haven't heard of ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongJunior'', for instance, and games like ''VideoGame/MarioVsDonkeyKong'' or ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong94'' have, at best, cult followings.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series has an interesting version of this trope at play. Fans of the series tend to judge each new game (as well as earlier installments) against whichever game they were introduced to the series with, sort of their own ''personal'' version of First Installment Wins. Given Creator/{{Bethesda}}'s tendency to build each installment from the ground up with wholesale changes from its predecessor, this leads to serious BrokenBase issues and claims of {{Contested Sequel}}s.

* The ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' half of the character roster from ''VideoGame/MortalKombatVsDCUniverse'' consists entirely of characters from [[VideoGame/MortalKombat1992 the first]] [[VideoGame/MortalKombatII two installments]], which is when the series was at the peak of its popularity.

* Played interestingly with ''VideoGame/PanelDePon''. The installment with the best gameplay is generally agreed upon to be the Nintendo Puzzle Collection remake/sequel (released outside of Japan for the Nintendo 64 as DolledUpInstallment ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Puzzle League''), but when the fairy characters are referenced, it's far more likely to be the girls from the original SNES game rather than the Nintendo Puzzle Collection sequel.

* The first ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'' is universally preferred over its obscure Game Boy companion game and its belated prequel ''Perfect Dark Zero''. While it's debated whether ''Zero'' is a worthy follow-up or not, very few people will actually claim it to be better than its predecessor.

* Zig-zagged with ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo''. The original Platform/{{MSX}} and [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom Disk Station]] releases of ''Puyo Puyo'' aren't looked upon fondly due to being strictly single-player affairs; however, the identically titled 16-bit arcade game and its sequel ''Puyo Puyo Tsu'' are heavily influential to the series. This is reflected in [[Creator/{{Sega}} SEGA's]] interpretation of the series, where remixes of songs from both ''Puyo Puyo'' and ''Puyo Puyo Tsu'' are common, the ''Puyo Puyo Tsu'' ruleset is usually the standard rule, and the recurring Creator/{{Compile}}-era characters all come from the first arcade game. Other games only get a minor nod at best, such as a stray music remix or a ContinuityNod. It's zig-zagged because, due to [[NoExportForYou lack of localizations]], the first non-DolledUpInstallment that much of the western fanbase played is ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyoFever'', a SoftReboot. Thus, they missed out on all of the nostalgia and sometimes [[MorePopularReplacement even prefer the characters from SEGA's run to the originals]].

* Mention the ''VideoGame/RedFaction'' series, and one will always remember the first one over the second one. This is usually because the second game removed some features, had nothing to do with the plot of the original, and wasn't very compatible with the popular [[StuffBlowingUp Geo-Mod engine]].

* ''VideoGame/SakuraWars'':
** The franchise is dominated by the cast of the first game (and the second, since it's the same cast with a couple of extra characters added in), despite the fact that [[VideoGame/SakuraWarsSoLongMyLove the fifth game]] was only one of two to get wide Western releases (and have their own pages on this site). The various adaptations tend to focus on them as well. However, ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone'' has partly rectified this by having a representative character from not just the first game, but the third and fifth ones as well.
** The 2019 SoftReboot, ''VideoGame/SakuraWars2019'', [[ZigZaggingTrope goes both ways on this]] -- while there is a lot of focus placed on the first game's cast, particularly Sumire Kanzaki ([[TimeSkip now]] [[BigGood the manager of the Imperial Theater and commander of the Imperial Combat Revue]]) and Sakura Shinguji (whose actions and heroics inspired new female lead [[HeroWorshipper Sakura Amamiya]] to join the Flower Division and [[spoiler:whose EvilDoppelganger is one of the main antagonists]]), there are a hefty amount of collectibles that pay tribute to every single installment in the series.

* The original series of ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' games released for the Mega Drive/Genesis back in the early-to-mid 90s continue to be by far the most well-known games in the still ongoing franchise. GreenHillZone and its boss the [[FanNickname Checkered Wrecker]] are the most familiar in the franchise. Within the Genesis series, this especially holds true with the [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1 first]] [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 two]] games, which are widely more recognized by the general public than [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD the later]] [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles sequels]]. A big reason for this was due to Sega's decision to utilize both games during the year of their release as Mega Drive/Genesis pack-in games during the holiday season (as part of [[UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars their rivalry]] with Nintendo's [[Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] [[MediaNotes/The16bitEraOfConsoleVideoGames at the time]]), which resulted in both selling ''way'' more copies. This may also be the reason why ''Sonic 1'' and ''Sonic 2'' [[PortOverdosed got higher priority in ports and re-releases]] in later years.[[note]] ''Sonic 3 & Knuckles'' probably would have the same treatment with overdosed ports (considering how many fans would agree it's among one the best in the series) if it wasn't for it being ScrewedByTheLawyers due to many issues regarding the soundtrack which had Music/MichaelJackson and Brad Buxer involved along with unpaid loyalties thus causing Sega to avoid ports and re-releases of the game due to potential lawsuits.[[/note]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'': No matter how many variations with quality-of-life improvements the Tetris Company has kept creating, the classic Platform/GameBoy ''Tetris'' remains the most recognized one even today. Which is an interesting subversion, as while it's still one of the earliest ''Tetris'' games, it's [[AdaptationDisplacement also not the first]] (that honor goes to the Elektronika-60 version). And no matter how many different versions are released, the Game Boy music is the most recognizable. In particular "Korobeiniki" (a.k.a. Music A) is "The Tetris Song."

* The ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' has a mildly zig-zaggy relationship with this trope: The first five games in the series are part of one continuity with the 6th game, ''[[VideoGame/TouhouKoumakyouTheEmbodimentOfScarletDevil Embodiment of Scarlet Devil]]'', marking a soft reboot of the series and the birth of ''Touhou'' as it is known today. While the five OG games have their fans, and a couple of characters from them are still very well liked by the fanbase, the reboot does massively blow its predecessor out of the water in terms of popularity... But out of all the games in the reboot continuity, which ones are the most popular? Why, the first three, of course. And out of those three, which one is still the undisputed fan favourite with the most popular CastHerd? ''Embodiment of Scarlet Devil.''

* ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'' has had a lot of ports over the years, sequels for the arcade and Super NES, and a crossover with ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon''. But odds are very good that if you mention the name to anyone, the original NES game will come to mind.

* ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDark'': The 1992 original is the most critically well-regarded of the series and had the most definite impact on shaping the SurvivalHorror genre. Its numerous DarkerAndEdgier actionised reboots that tried and failed to be ''Resident Evil'' are remembered solely for being that.

* ''VideoGame/FableI'' is generally the most well-liked game of the ''VideoGame/{{Fable}}'' series; the sequels tend to be very divisive for [[CuttingOffTheBranches cutting off every possible branch]]. Both have received a lot of flak for [[NoCanonForTheWicked canonically making the Hero of Oakvale]] LawfulGood. [[VideoGame/FableII The Hero of Bowerstone]] was made canonically male and also LawfulGood by [[VideoGame/FableIII the third game]], and novels continuing the story after the end of the third game also made the Hero of Brightwall canonically male ''and'' LawfulGood once again, which alienated more than a few fans who preferred playing as a woman and/or a not entirely good-aligned Hero.

** In general while he is rivalled by Kyo and co below, the protagonist of the first [=SNK=] FightingGame ''VideoGame/FatalFury'''s Terry Bogard along with his allies Andy, Joe and especially Mai still ultimately remain all time favourites and consistently appear in almost all [=KOF=] games (despite their original franchise having gone on hiatus for decades before ''VideoGame/FatalFuryCityOfTheWolves'' was announced). To exemplify this, Terry would be the one to represent SNK in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' and the BigBad Geese Howard would be a guest fighter in ''VideoGame/Tekken7''.

** For Kyo himself, this even extends to [[IconicOutfit his clothing]]. Even with Kyo dropping out of school after the events of ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters97 KOF '97]]'' and adopting new looks since, it is very likely that [[SchoolUniformsAreTheNewBlack his school uniform]] is the first thing that comes to mind when his name comes up. Creator/{{SNK}} seems to hold this view as well: Kyo has a number of clones and doppelgangers in canon who emulate his original look and moveset (Kyo-1 and Kyo-2 in ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters99 '99]]'', KUSANAGI in ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2002 2002]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2003 2003]]''), an alternative version of Kyo known as "Kyo Kusanagi Classic" was a SecretCharacter in ''[[VideoGame/KOFMaximumImpact2 Maximum Impact 2]]'', the Color Edit feature in ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXIII XIII]]'' gives him his old ''gakuran'' as a PaletteSwap, said ''gakuran'' was featured as a DLC costume in ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXIV XIV]]'', and every installment of the ''VideoGame/SNKVsCapcom'' series features Kyo in his school uniform despite the mainline series having moved on to its second and third {{Story Arc}}s by then. The [[https://web.archive.org/web/20210919163701/https://kofaniv.snk-corp.co.jp/english/character/index.php?num=kusanagi official character profile]] for [[OddballDoppelganger KUSANAGI]] even {{lampshade|Hanging}}s the circumstances of his [[{{Retcon}} second]] birth in-universe, guessing that [[BarrierMaiden Chizuru]] (who was BrainwashedAndCrazy at the time) must've envisioned Kyo as he was in his high school days.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' is remembered for being a sensational StylishAction game released on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 and UsefulNotes/Xbox360 that blew everyone's socks off. Its two sequels are far more divisive, however. ''VideoGame/Bayonetta2'' has heaps of fans, has an arguably more engaging story, and gave Bayonetta and Jeanne new and very widely approved designs but [[SequelDifficultyDrop isn't as quite as challenging as the first gameplay-wise]] and got a lot of ill will for being exclusive to the unpopular UsefulNotes/WiiU at the time (it's been ported to the much more beloved [[UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch Switch]] since and fans are generally appreciative of how Creator/{{Nintendo}} saved the IP by licensing it from Creator/{{Sega}} and publishing the sequels). ''VideoGame/Bayonetta3'' had an even rougher go of it, as -- on top of being OvershadowedByControversy regarding the former voice actor of Bayo herself -- the game has [[ScrappyMechanic gameplay]], [[MiniGame mini-game]], and [[ThatOneLevel level]] issues along with a story that ended up [[BrokenBase splintering the fandom]]. Suffice to say, the most unambiguously good entry (or, at worst, least debated entry) in the series is the original.

** "Hey, ''Blaster Master'' was a great NES game, wasn't it?... What's that? There's a second game on the Genesis? And a couple of UsefulNotes/GameBoy titles? Huh, never heard of 'em..." This trope was largely reinforced when ''Blasting Again'' was released for the original UsefulNotes/PlayStation as a ''budget'' title ($7.88 brand new!), and then the later UsefulNotes/WiiWare release of ''Overdrive''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Choplifter}}'' had two sequels. The first, entitled ''Choplifter 2'', is a UsefulNotes/GameBoy game that is considered in the UsefulNotes/GameBoy crowd to be the original ''Choplifter!'' and is about as well-known as the UsefulNotes/AppleII original. The third, ''Choplifter 3'', is a [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] game that most people have never heard of due to its rarity.
* ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' was doomed from the beginning not to be as popular as ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', one of the most beloved games ever made. [[ToughActToFollow While successful in its own right, it didn't even come close to the popularity of the original.]] Few people even know about ''VisualNovel/RadicalDreamers'', a VisualNovel follow-up to ''Trigger'' released in 1996 that laid the groundwork for ''Cross'' (which is no surprise since [[LateExportForYou it spent two decades exclusive to]] the UsefulNotes/{{Satellaview}}, an obscure [[NoExportForYou Japan-only]] add-on for the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super Famicom]]).
* While many will be willing to admit to its own flaws, the first ''VideoGame/ClayFighter'' game is the most well-regarded of the series, enough for it to be re-released on the UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole, UsefulNotes/{{Evercade}} and [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Sega Mini 2]]. The sequels aren't as well-regarded, with ''Judgement Clay'' having a massively stripped-down feel, and ''63⅓'' being plagued by a rather clunky VideoGame3DLeap and [[ValuesDissonance several newcomers heavily leaning into racist stereotypes]].

* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'', at least among the Japanese fandom, is either a straight example or a subversion in its spin-offs. In ''VideoGame/TokyoMirageSessionsFE'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'', ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light]]'' is the only title that gets even a fraction of [[SpotlightStealingCrossover the spotlight]] that ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Awakening]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Fates]]'' (and, later, ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses Three Houses]]'') get compared to every other game in the series. In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'', Marth's ''saga'' is unquestionably the one that gets the most attention, but the world named after it in CrisisCrossover is titled "World of [[VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem Mystery]]", after the third/twelfth game that remained NoExportForYou even in [[VideoGameRemake its remake]], rather than something like "World of Shadow" to reflect the first game and its internationally released remake (the eleventh), suggesting that it's actually the first game's [[NonLinearSequel lone direct sequel]] that "wins out". (This might be because Book 1 of ''Mystery'' [[EmbeddedPrecursor contains the entirety of the first game]], with ''New Mystery'' additionally including remakes of the UsefulNotes/{{Satellaview}}'s ''BS Fire Emblem: Akaneia Saga'' games.)

* While the sequels to ''VideoGame/TheGreatGianaSisters'' have been better received than the original UsefulNotes/Commodore64 game, the original game is still the most iconic in the franchise for infamously being [[SerialNumbersFiledOff such a blatant rip-off]] of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' that Creator/{{Nintendo}} pressured the developers and publisher to [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes permanently withdraw the game from distribution]] on the basis that it was obvious UsefulNotes/{{copyright}} infringement.

* ''VideoGame/MediEvil'' was ported to a decent number of consoles, included in bundles, remade for the PSP and re-released as an app, and is still somewhat fondly remembered. The sequel ''VideoGame/MediEvil2'', with its new Victorian setting, received no ports outside of its original UsefulNotes/PlayStation release and is mostly forgotten today. Even Sir Daniel's appearance in ''VideoGame/PlayStationAllStarsBattleRoyale'' takes mostly after the original game and its remake. The first remake (''VideoGame/MediEvilResurrection'') itself got mixed reception for [[DenserAndWackier playing up the comedy]] and removing levels from the original. As a result, the [=PS4=] remake was much more faithful to the original game.

* The first ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'' was an acclaimed UsefulNotes/PlayStation game that mixed RPG and horror elements. However, the second installment was viewed as a Resident Evil clone that took away features that made the first game well-liked including its controls and battle system. It was also less successful financially, selling about half as many copies. And many fans [[ContestedSequel would rather forget]] that ''VideoGame/The3rdBirthday'' exists altogether.

* Zig-zagged with ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo''. The original UsefulNotes/{{MSX}} and [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom Disk Station]] releases of ''Puyo Puyo'' aren't looked upon fondly due to being strictly single-player affairs; however, the identically titled 16-bit arcade game and its sequel ''Puyo Puyo Tsu'' are heavily influential to the series. This is reflected in [[Creator/{{Sega}} SEGA's]] interpretation of the series, where remixes of songs from both ''Puyo Puyo'' and ''Puyo Puyo Tsu'' are common, the ''Puyo Puyo Tsu'' ruleset is usually the standard rule, and the recurring Creator/{{Compile}}-era characters all come from the first arcade game. Other games only get a minor nod at best, such as a stray music remix or a ContinuityNod. It's zig-zagged because, due to [[NoExportForYou lack of localizations]], the first non-DolledUpInstallment that much of the western fanbase played is ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyoFever'', a SoftReboot. Thus, they missed out on all of the nostalgia and sometimes [[MorePopularReplacement even prefer the characters from SEGA's run to the originals]].

** The first four numbered games (''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil1 RE1]]'', ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 RE2]]'', ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis RE3]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4 RE4]]'') have all been [[VideoGameRemake remade]], and while [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake the]] [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Remake latter]] [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4Remake three]] recreations of the classics are popular (particularly ''[=RE2make=]'' and ''[=RE4make=]''), it's collectively agreed among fans and critics that the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube GameCube]] [[VideoGame/ResidentEvilRemake remake]] of ''[=RE1=]'', despite selling less, is the best and "truest" remake of the bunch, managing to update the environment, characters, and monsters to spectacular effect while still having the same layout and fixed prospective gameplay of the original (rather than recreating pretty much everything about the source material as the subsequent remakes would do).
** For a good deal of franchise purists and speedrunners, the original UsefulNotes/PlayStation ''RE'' trilogy will win out against its successors on future consoles in spite of ''[=RE4=]'''s near universal acclaim. The smaller scope, simpler controls, NarmCharm visuals, and janky BMovie {{camp}} combined to put the early games in a very special place that later titles cannot match for said fans, despite the obvious vast technical improvements. It also helps that some of the cornier and goofier elements of the original games have long since become SoBadItsGood for many, e.g. Barry's "YOU WERE ALMOST A JILL SANDWICH!"

* Did you know that there were sequels to the classic game ''VideoGame/{{Shadowgate}}''? If you ''did'', you probably only know about the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 game ''Trials of the Four Towers''. However, even that was preceded on the Platform/TurboDuo by ''[[VideoGame/BeyondShadowgate1993 Beyond Shadowgate]]''.
* The original series of ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' games released for the Mega Drive/Genesis back in the early-to-mid 90s continue to be by far the most well-known games in the still ongoing franchise. GreenHillZone and its boss the [[FanNickname Checkered Wrecker]] are the most familiar in the franchise. Within the Genesis series, this especially holds true with the [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1 first]] [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 two]] games, which are widely more recognized by the general public than [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD the later]] [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles sequels]]. A big reason for this was due to Sega's decision to utilize both games during the year of their release as Mega Drive/Genesis pack-in games during the holiday season (as part of [[UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars their rivalry]] with Nintendo's [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] [[UsefulNotes/The16bitEraOfConsoleVideoGames at the time]]), which resulted in both selling ''way'' more copies. This may also be the reason why ''Sonic 1'' and ''Sonic 2'' [[PortOverdosed got higher priority in ports and re-releases]] in later years.[[note]] ''Sonic 3 & Knuckles'' probably would have the same treatment with overdosed ports (considering how many fans would agree it's among one the best in the series) if it wasn't for it being ScrewedByTheLawyers due to many issues regarding the soundtrack which had Music/MichaelJackson and Brad Buxer involved along with unpaid loyalties thus causing Sega to avoid ports and re-releases of the game due to potential lawsuits.[[/note]]

** ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' is a case of "First Console Platform Wins", since while the series has been released on every Nintendo console since the [[UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 N64]], it's the original three N64 installments that are better known (''1''), more highly rated (''3''), or both (''2'') than the rest.

* ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'': No matter how many variations with quality-of-life improvements the Tetris Company has kept creating, the classic UsefulNotes/GameBoy ''Tetris'' remains the most recognized one even today. Which is an interesting subversion, as while it's still one of the earliest ''Tetris'' games, it's [[AdaptationDisplacement also not the first]] (that honor goes to the Elektronika-60 version). And no matter how many different versions are released, the Game Boy music is the most recognizable. In particular "Korobeiniki" (a.k.a. Music A) is "The Tetris Song."

* ''VideoGame/{{Turok}}'' will always be remembered for the first two games, in a slight stretch of this trope. Mostly because these two revolutionized first-person-shooters on the consoles (and on the ''UsefulNotes/Nintendo64'' at that, bringing gory content and well-designed action to a system that didn't have anything like it at the time). Besides the multiplayer arena shooter ''Rage Wars'', every game that followed either just didn't have what fans considered to be "Turok" in their spirit, or were extremely unfinished and an ObviousBeta. It says everything that of all things to get [[UpdatedRerelease HD remasters]], it was the first two games before any others.

* The ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' has a mildly zig-zaggy relationship with this trope: The first five games in the series are part of one continuity with the 6th game, ''Embodiment of Scarlet Devil'', marking a soft reboot of the series and the birth of ''Touhou'' as it is known today. While the five OG games have their fans, and a couple of characters from them are still very well liked by the fanbase, the reboot does massively blow its predecessor out of the water in terms of popularity... But out of all the games in the reboot continuity, which ones are the most popular? Why, the first three, of course. And out of those three, which one is still the undisputed fan favourite with the most popular CastHerd? ''Embodiment of Scarlet Devil.''

* The [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] version of ''VideoGame/{{Action 52}}'' is a lot more infamous than the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis version, despite ([[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity or rather because of]]) having a lot worse programming.

* Did you know that there were sequels to the classic game ''VideoGame/{{Shadowgate}}''? If you ''did'', you probably only know about the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 game ''Trials of the Four Towers''. However, even that was preceded on the UsefulNotes/TurboDuo by ''[[VideoGame/BeyondShadowgate1993 Beyond Shadowgate]]''.