History Main / NonLinearSequel

* The ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series has, [[VideoGameLongRunners as of this writing]] [[note]]with ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage Engage]]'' being the most recent release[[/note]], eight different [[TheVerse Verses]] (ten if one counts ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Heroes]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemWarriors Warriors]]'', with ''Heroes'' itself featuring characters from crossover title ''VideoGame/TokyoMirageSessionsFE''), each with their own characters, settings, mythologies, and plots. The MacGuffin in each universe is almost always the titular Fire Emblem, although it's called something completely different except for one line thrown in about how some people (who you'll never meet) call it the Fire Emblem. ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' [[CanonWelding seems to tie everything together]]. The game definitely takes in the same universe as the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Archanea]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem games]] (and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Gaiden]]''), but several thousand years later. From this, we can assume that the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Jugdral]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 games]] are also in the same universe due to WordOfGod. One downloadable character is a descendant of Ike from the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Tellius]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn games]], and the DLC confirms that [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade the]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade remaining]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones two]] verses (at the time of ''Awakening''[='s=] release) exist at least as legends within that world, if not explicit history that just hasn't been placed yet. The following installment, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', similarly has a DLC chapter where the Avatar of that game meets the original traveling party in ''Awakening'' of Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick shortly before they encounter their game's Avatar, with Hoshido and Nohr described as "mythical kingdoms." Meanwhile, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'' bears a certain similarity to mobile spin-off ''Heroes'' in that the new generation protagonist [[IntraFranchiseCrossover can team up with other heroes from series history]], only this time a) the crossover aspect of the game is canonical and plot-important and b) it's the [[OurGhostsAreDifferent spirits]] of said ''FE'' heroes doing the assisting.

* The ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'' series plays around with the TimeyWimeyBall and as a result only the first two, ''Blood Omen'' and ''Soul Reaver'', are in normal order. ''Soul Reaver 2'' picked up where ''Soul Reaver'' left off with the main characters travelling back in time to a couple decades before ''Blood Omen'', then they travel forward to several centuries after ''Blood Omen'', then back to centuries before ''Blood Omen''. The fourth game, ''Blood Omen 2'', takes place between ''Blood Omen'' and ''Soul Reaver'' in an altered timeline caused by the fifth game, ''Defiance'' (unless it's the original and Defiance erased it; there's evidence to support either). Defiance picks up right where ''Soul Reaver 2'' left off and switches between the two heroes who are in different time periods, one is still in the time period centuries before ''Blood Omen'' and the other is exactly in the same time frame as ''Blood Omen'', the events of that game occurring unseen at the same time as the events of ''Defiance''. If you followed all that, congratulations, you just mastered one of the most complex time travel plots ever known.

* ''VideoGame/BubbleBobble'' makes ''no'' sense. There are '''three''' number-2s and '''two''' number-3s, and chronological orders and release orders don't match. Years later did a number-4 come out.

* The third ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' game for the NES, ''Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom'', is an interquel between the original NES ''Ninja Gaiden'' and ''Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos'' (since Ryu lost the Dragon Sword at the end of ''II'', but still has it in ''III''). ''Ninja Gaiden Shadow'' is a very distant prequel to the first NES game, while ''Ninja Gaiden'' for Xbox and its sequels (''Dragon Sword'' and ''2'') are set before the NES series (and presumably after ''Ninja Gaiden Shadow'').
* The ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' series isn't a particularly confusing chronology, especially compared to its sister series ''The Legend of Zelda''. Nevertheless, the release order of the subsequent games still doesn't necessarily match the order in which they take place, mainly due to the ''Prime'' sub-series being an expanded {{Interquel}}. The order is: ''VideoGame/{{Metroid|1}}[=/=]VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission'' (1986[=/=]2004) > ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' (2002) > ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrimeHunters Prime Hunters]]'' (2006) > ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes Prime 2: Echoes]]'' (2004) > ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption Prime 3: Corruption]]'' (2007) > ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrimeFederationForce Federation Force]]'' (2016) > ''VideoGame/MetroidIIReturnOfSamus''[=/=]''VideoGame/MetroidSamusReturns'' (1991[=/=]2017) > ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' (1994) > ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' (2010) > ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'' (2004) > ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'' (2021).[[note]]''VideoGame/MetroidPrimePinball'' is a loose retelling of the first ''Prime'' game.[[/note]]
* The games in Creator/{{Falcom}}'s ''VideoGame/DragonSlayer'' series are largely unrelated to each other. While ''Dragon Slayer VIII: The Legend of Xanadu'' is a sequel to ''VideoGame/DragonSlayerIIXanadu'', and ''Dragon Slayer V: Sorcerian'' has tenuous connections to ''Dragon Slayer Jr.: Romancia'', it's perhaps just as well that "Dragon Slayer" was stripped out of the titles of most of the localized versions and the later sequels and remakes.
* ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}''' timeline is ''Origin'' > ''1+2'' > ''IV/Memories of Celceta'' > ''III/Oath in Felghana'' > ''V'' > ''VIII'' > ''VI'' > ''SEVEN'' > ''IX''. ''Origin'' takes place a full 700 years before the rest of the series. This timeline doesn't include the spin-off games ''VideoGame/YsStrategy'', ''Ys Online'', and ''Ys VS [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky Sora No Kiseki]]''.

* The ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' franchise chronologically goes: ''VideoGame/HaloWars'', ''VideoGame/HaloReach'', ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'', ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}''[=/=]''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'', ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'', ''VideoGame/HaloSpartanAssault'', ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'', ''Halo: Spartan Strike'', ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'', ''VideoGame/HaloWars2''. The core trilogy was released first, followed by ''Halo Wars'', ''Halo 3: ODST'', ''Halo: Reach'', ''Halo 4'' (the start of a new trilogy), ''Halo: Spartan Assault'', ''Halo: Spartan Strike'', ''Halo 5: Guardians'', and ''Halo Wars 2''.

** Two other exceptions are ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow'' and ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'' duology (with ''Dawn'' being a direct sequel to ''Aria'' with the same protagonist) and ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'' (being a direct sequel to ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaRondoOfBlood'', [[PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo with Richter and Maria from that title playing a major role]]; the two games were eventually rereleased together as ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaTheDraculaXChronicles The Dracula X Chronicles]]'').

* ''VideoGame/WonderBoyIIIMonsterLair'' and ''VideoGame/WonderBoyIIITheDragonsTrap''. The former is a ShootEmUp platformer hybrid spin-off, while the latter is an Action RPG set immediately after ''VideoGame/WonderBoyInMonsterLand''; with the prologue taking place in the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon of that game.
* ''VideoGame/MonsterWorldIV'' has mostly the same gameplay as the previous ''Wonder Boy''/''Monster World'' titles, but a completely unrelated story.

* The ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series, with a few exceptions centered around ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', essentially reboot everything with every new game and start fresh in a different setting with different characters, making its use of {{number|edSequels}}s somewhat strange.
** Creator/SquareEnix's VideoGame/{{Ivalice|Alliance}} realm is a consistent world visited by the player at various different points in history, each time centered on completely unrelated protagonists. The titles are non-linear, consisting of the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'' games, ''VideoGame/VagrantStory'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII''. But even Ivalice's continuity is a little haphazard. Back when they were new, the only indication of a connection between ''Tactics'' and ''Vagrant Story'' was a few small references. ''Tactics'' would receive its own sequel later on, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'', which also had ''very'' little to do with its predecessor. Making Ivalice a more explicitly consistent setting was a later development, and [[ContinuityDrift it's still a bit different than it started out]] since it took some {{retcon}}ning to fit things together.
** Only afterwards, some games are now getting sequels, probably inspired by the success of the ''Compilation of VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. For example, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' has a cellphone[=/=]UsefulNotes/WiiWare game sequel, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears''.
** As of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', the entire series takes place in a larger [[TheMultiverse Multiverse]], as did ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2''. The [[AllThereInTheManual Ultimania]] notes that [[spoiler:Shinra, the kid genius of the Gullwings, was the ancestor of [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Rufus Shinra]]. He even babbles about a concept remarkably similar to that of TheLifestream at one point in the game.]]
** A Japanese guide for ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' (''[[AllThereInTheManual Final Fantasy IV Settei Shiryou Hen]]'', [[http://www.sceneryrecalled.com/trans/ff4comp.htm for those curious]]) states that the Blue Planet is the same world as that of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'', only 100 years later. It also states that the Deathbringer that King Fabul gives to Cecil was left to him by Leon from ''II'', who then renounced his status as a Dark Knight to become a priest (as a parallel to Cecil's own class change from Dark Knight to Paladin). However, this is possibly shot down ''[[ShrugOfGod again]]'' in ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears The After Years]]'', which reverts the whole "Kain being Ricard's son" thing back to a RetroactiveLegacy MythologyGag; there, Kain says that he was roughly the same age as Ceodore (17) when he heard news [[spoiler:of his father's death against an evil empire]], while the Kain seen in ''II'' is a young boy (not to mention that a difference of 100 years makes it difficult for the 21-year-old Kain to be the son of the already middle-aged Ricard).
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' was the first game in the series to be envisioned with other games (''VideoGame/FinalFantasyType0'' for example) sharing a continuity in mind, although from the get-go that "continuity" was outlined as a theme involving crystals steeped in mythology and nothing else, for the most part. While it eventually gained direct sequels, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' and ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'', the original vision changed quite a lot over the years, with ''Type-0'', originally sharing the XIII title as ''Agito XIII'', renamed before its release, and with the third game--the very well-anticipated ''Versus XIII''--announced way back in 2006 along with the other two changing into a large, separate verse so much that it's finally been renamed '''''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'''''. The end of the E3 trailer that announced this even implies that, as "a world in the Versus epic" (quote), Noctis will have his own saga in ''Franchise/{{Fabula Nova Crystallis|FinalFantasy}}'' (its title can be faintly seen at the beginning of the trailer), as Lightning has had.

* ''[[VideoGame/{{Lisa}} LISA: The Painful]]'' differs ''heavily'' from its predecessor ''LISA: The First'' in numerous ways. ''First'' is a surreal exploration of the dreams of the titular character akin to ''VideoGame/YumeNikki'', while ''Painful'' takes place in a very literal post-apocalypse where Lisa herself is long dead. The art style is different. The star of ''Painful'', Brad, is a new character retconned into Lisa's family. In fact, practically the ''only'' similarities between the two games are the themes of paternal abuse and the father responsible for it. Even the format is different, with ''Painful'' pivoting to a 2D side-scroller.
* There are only four continuities in the ''VideoGame/{{Tales|Series}}'' series, non-canonical {{crossover}}s ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheWorld'' notwithstanding. Even within games that share a continuity, BagOfSpilling is avoided due to each game following a different set of protagonists in each continuity.
** The first is the "Aselia" timeline, encompassing two ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Symphonia]]'' games and ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia Phantasia]]''. All of them have different protagonists (the ''Symphonia'' sequel has a different protagonist, and both are set around 4000 years before ''Phantasia'').
** The second is the ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Destiny]]'' timeline, with the second game being about the son of the heroes of the first.
** The third is the ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfXillia Xillia]]'' timeline. The second game has a new protagonist, but the entire cast of the previous game returns as playable characters, as it's been only been a year in between games.
** The fourth is the duology of ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' and ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'', with ''Berseria'' being a very distant prequel to ''Zestiria'' the same way ''Symphonia'' was a distant prequel to ''Phantasia''.
* Due to an unusual twist of plot [[spoiler:involving Lezard time traveling from the end of the first game to the past of the sequel]], ''[[VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile2Silmeria Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria]]'' comes both before and after ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile''. And ''[[VideoGame/ValkyrieProfileCovenantOfThePlume Covenant of the Plume]]'' is a prequel.
** Things become even more confusing during the Seraphic Gate portions of ''Covenant of the Plume'' (i.e. the post-game), where [[spoiler:recurring character Arngrim shows up. That Arngrim is the one from the ''original, unaltered'' version of the ''[=VP2=]'' timeline (the one that leads into ''Covenant of the Plume'' and ''Lenneth''), where the time-traveling Lezard wasn't there to bail Alicia, Rufus, and Dylan out of Dipan Castle and thus change the sequence of history. Like in ''[=VP2=]'', [[InSpiteOfANail Arngrim still ended up as one of Hrist's Einherjar]], but was sent back into the cycle of rebirth as punishment for calling out Odin about what he did to Alicia, thus explaining how he can appear in the original ''Valkyrie Profile'' when it's (chronologically) set hundreds of years after ''Silmeria''.]]
* ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance3TheBlackOrder'' is numbered as a sequel to the original ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance'' games, but takes place in a separate continuity that's completely divorced from the story of the previous games. This is highlighted by the various changes from the art style (being more vibrant), the entirely new story that distills many others while loosely telling ''ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet'', and the vast number of design differences such as Nick Fury [[RaceLift changing races]] between games.

* The first two ''VideoGame/{{Lufia}}'' games were placed in reverse order, with ''VideoGame/LufiaIIRiseOfTheSinistrals'' happening before ''VideoGame/LufiaAndTheFortressOfDoom''. The first game even ''started'' with ATasteOfPower that eventually became the final conflict in the second game, creating a nice little loop of continuity. The third game, ''VideoGame/LufiaTheLegendReturns'', is third chronologically, 100 years after ''Fortress of Doom'' and 200 years after ''Lufia II''. The GaidenGame, ''VideoGame/LufiaTheRuinsOfLore'', is set twenty years after ''Lufia II'' (eighty years before ''Fortress of Doom'').
* The ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' games all take place in the same world (except for ''[[VideoGame/SuikodenTierkreis Tierkreis]]''), but all take place in different regions and, more importantly, different times. To be specific, the first game to occur chronologically was ''VideoGame/SuikodenIV''. One hundred and fifty years later, we experience the events of ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'', then we get the original ''VideoGame/SuikodenI'' five years later, with ''VideoGame/SuikodenII'' following it up with the shortest time span between games (a mere three years), then we get ''VideoGame/SuikodenIII'' 15 years after that. One strange thing about this series is the character Viki, who is well-known for not only teleporting to different regions but through time as well (though this is not intentional, as she just has very bad luck and is a huge klutz). What's interesting is that she teleports through the games in ''numerical'' order, rather than chronologically. In other words, she teleports from the events of ''Suikoden I'' to ''Suikoden II'', then to ''Suikoden III'', and so on. Also, there are events that occur in ''Suikogaiden'' with Viki that, if she moved in numerical order, would imply her having knowledge of events that occurred (or knowing people she met) in earlier games. Her lack of knowledge of who Lorelai is in ''Suikoden V'', even though they are both members of the Hero's army in ''I'' and ''II'', is telling. ''And'' there are two different versions of Viki in ''III''.
* The ''VideoGame/WildArms'' games were assumed to be non-linear at first, but WordOfGod says that they all take place on the same planet. This doesn't make much sense because, if that's the case, the games take place at least multiple millennia apart with FridgeLogic mass-reconfiguration of the planet's continental crust fragments. But hey, if the planet's center is filled with supernatural blue mud, you can HandWave just about anything.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
** The main series of games (i.e. the one with a number in their title) are a Downplayed example. The entire series takes place on the continent of Tamriel, with the first four games (''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena Arena]], [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]], [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]], and [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'') being chronological, taking place over the span of roughly 34 years in the late 3rd Era of Tamriellic history. Each takes place in a different region of Tamriel [[note]]with the exception of ''Arena'', which spans the entire continent though much of it is [[RandomlyGeneratedLevels randomly generated]] and is ripe EarlyInstallmentWeirdness[[/note]], and each overhauls its cast of characters (each has a different PlayerCharacter and very few recurring main characters). ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' takes place some [[TimeSkip 200 years]] following the events of ''Oblivion'', but also does some ArcWelding of the events of previous games in its main plot (specifically, the destruction or removal of a various {{Cosmic Keystone}}s and [[TheTower metaphysical "Towers"]] heralding the return of Alduin, the BigBad BeastOfTheApocalypse who was [[SealedEvilInACan cast out of the stream of time]] in the past but prophesied to return).
** The series also has several [[GaidenGame spin-off]] games with different styles of gameplay which take place in different eras of Tamriellic history. The DungeonCrawler spin-off ''[[VideoGame/AnElderScrollsLegendBattlespire Battlespire]]'' (originally planned as an expansion to ''Daggerafall'') takes place during the events of ''Arena'' but isn't directly related to the plot there. The ActionAdventure spin-off ''Redguard'' is a prequel that takes place roughly 400 years before ''Arena''. ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline'' is an {{MMORPG}} prequel which takes place roughly 700 years before the events of ''Arena''.

** The [[VideoGame/DragonQuestIV fourth]], [[VideoGame/DragonQuestV fifth]], and [[VideoGame/DragonQuestVI sixth]] games are also part of their own saga (the loosely-connected Zenithian trilogy), albeit in AnachronicOrder.

* The continuity between the ''VideoGame/WorldOfMana'' games is rather loose. At least one game, ''VideoGame/LegendOfMana'', has been declared non-canon by WordOfGod, and the mobile phone game ''Friends of Mana'' takes place in a totally different world.

* [[WordOfGod Hidetaka Miyazaki]] (who served as director on ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' and ''VideoGame/{{Dark Souls|I}}'') has stated that despite taking place in the same world, there will be no story connections between ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' and its predecessor. As it turned out he was either [[LyingCreator lying]] or overruled by ''DSII's'' [[TroubledProduction two directors]] because there ended up being a number of nods to ''DSI'' in the sequel[[note]]On NG+ you can acquire additional special souls from the Four Old Ones that are implied to be the souls of the original game's Four Lords, while both the BigBad and a number of major characters in the [=DLCs=] are embodiments of fragments of Manus, the BigBad of the first game's DLC[[/note]]. However, it's still not a direct follow-up to ''DSI's'' story.
* Most of the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' sequels are like this, the major exceptions being ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'', ''VideoGame/Persona2'', ''[[VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga Digital Devil Saga 2]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon]]''. Some other games are hinted/confirmed to take place in the same continuity as their predecessors, such as ''[[VideoGame/SoulHackers Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers]]'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', and ''VideoGame/Persona3'' and ''[[VideoGame/Persona4 4]]'', but feature completely different plotlines and characters, with only a handful of {{Call Back}}s connecting them.
* The ''VideoGame/PhantasyStar'' series has four distinct continuities: the "Classic" series (the Mega Drive/Master System games), the ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline'' series, (''PSO'' as well as all of its Episodes, and possibly ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarZero''), the ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarUniverse'' series (''Universe'', ''Ambition of the Illumini'', and the ''Portable'' games), and the ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline2'' series (a bunch of games/media far too long to list). Continuities generally don't mix, although the idea of multiverse theory has been played with occasionally.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Aleste}}'' series kept a few main characters constant in its earlier installments, most of which could probably be linked together in order. Then there's ''Power Strike II'' for the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem and ''Robo Aleste'' for the UsefulNotes/SegaCD, each of which is set in a different historical time period with different characters.

* ''VideoGame/WingCommander'' had a few of these. ''Wing Commander II'' was set ten years after the end of the second [[ExpansionPack addon]], the Xbox Live game ''Wing Commander Arena'' was set 20 years after the events of ''Wing Commander Prophecy'', and ''VideoGame/Privateer2TheDarkening'' was... well, its own little world, for the most part, with subtle hints of a connection to the "main" games dropped throughout the game.
* There's really only two linear sequels in the ''[[VideoGame/{{X}} X-Universe]]'' series. ''X-Tension'', the ExpansionPack to ''X: Beyond the Frontier'', continues Kyle Brennan's story by having him found a corporation to help him develop a way to get back to Earth. Meanwhile ''X3: Reunion'' continues the story of the [[AlienInvasion Kha'ak invasion]] from ''X2: The Threat'': though the Kha'ak planet-killer has been destroyed, the invasion continues and ''X2''[='s=] player character Julian Gardna-Brennan has been hired to train new pilots to replace the Argon military's losses.

* The ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' games release order mostly matches the chronology of the series, except for the prequel ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0'' and, weirdly, ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'', which takes place [[{{Interquel}} both before and after]] ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2''. ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'', despite not having a numbered title, is the true continuation to the events of ''Resident Evil 2''.

* ''VideoGame/DinoCrisis 3'' goes from the NextSundayAD setting of its predecessors into the distant future, complete with a new storyline that does not pick up where ''Dino Crisis 2'' left off. Considering how [[LeftHanging the second game ended on a very tense cliffhanger]] and Part 3 turned out to be a FranchiseKiller, [[FanonDiscontinuity fans of the first two games don't have a whole lot of nice things to say about it]].
** Between the release of ''2'' and ''3'', there was also ''[[GaidenGame Dino Stalker]]'', a LightGunGame that, in fact, serves to tie together those games, however nebulously ([[spoiler:the Mother Computer in charge of the Noah's Ark Plan, due to its ability to genetically engineer dinosaurs, is suggested to be the precursor to the MTHR computers featured in ''3'']]). In spite of this, the cliffhanger from the second game remains unaddressed even though [[spoiler:Dylan and Paula are shown to have survived]].

* The ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore'' series is a great example of this. Each successive game takes place several years, sometimes even decades after previous one and casts the player in the role of a new FeaturelessProtagonist with no connection to the previous one. Usually [[CapcomSequelStagnation the presence of a number in the title indicates]] a ContinuityReboot. So far, ''Armored Core'', ''Project Phantasma'', ''Master of Arena'', ''Armored Core 2'' and ''Another Age'' take place in one continuity. ''Armored Core 3'', ''Silent Line'', ''Nexus'', ''[[FanonDiscontinuity Nine Breaker]]'', and ''Last Raven'' take place in a second continuity. ''Armored Core 4'' and ''for Answer'' take place in a third. And ''Armored Core V'' takes place in a fourth continuity. There's also the GaidenGame ''Formula Front'', which uses elements from the ''Armored Core 3'' universe, but it clearly not set in it. It's really just a FightingGame [[HumongousMecha with Robots]]... [[VideoGame/VirtualOn No, not that one.]]

* The ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series has, [[VideoGameLongRunners as of this writing]] [[note]]with ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage Engage]]'' being the most recent release[[/note]], eight different [[TheVerse Verses]] (ten if one counts ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Heroes]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemWarriors Warriors]]'', with ''Heroes'' itself featuring characters from crossover title ''VideoGame/TokyoMirageSessionsFE''), each with their own characters, settings, mythologies, and plots. The MacGuffin in each universe is almost always the titular Fire Emblem, although it's called something completely different except for one line thrown in about how some people (who you'll never meet) call it the Fire Emblem. ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' [[CanonWelding seems to tie everything together]]. The game definitely takes in the same universe as the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Archanea]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem games]] (and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Gaiden]]''), but several thousand years later. From this, we can assume that the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Jugdral]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 games]] are also in the same universe due to WordOfGod. One downloadable character is a descendant of Ike from the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Tellius]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn games]], and the DLC confirms that [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade the]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade remaining]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones two]] verses (at the time of ''Awakening''[='s=] release) exist at least as legends within that world, if not explicit history that just hasn't been placed yet. The following installment, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', similarly has a DLC chapter where the Avatar of that game meets the original traveling party in ''Awakening'' of Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick shortly before they encounter their game's Avatar, with Hoshido and Nohr described as "mythical kingdoms." Meanwhile, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'' bears a certain similarity to mobile spin-off ''Heroes'' in that the new generation protagonist [[IntraFranchiseCrossover can team up with other heroes from series history]], only this time a) the crossover aspect of the game is canonical and plot-important and b) it's the [[OurGhostsAreDifferent spirits]] of said ''FE'' heroes doing the assisting.

* ''Film/TheScorpionKing'' is a prequel to ''Film/TheMummyTrilogy'', the second film of which introduced the Scorpion King and showed his final fate. They then made ''The Scorpion King 2'', which was a prequel to the prequel. There are also plans for ''The Scorpion King 3'' which will be a sequel to the prequel of the prequel. There's also a video game of dubious canon that serves as a prequel to the prequel. Perhaps confusing things even more is that WordOfGod is that the Scorpion King featured in the prequel series ''is not'' the same Scorpion King featured in ''Film/TheMummyReturns'', but rather his IdenticalGrandfather. While this makes sense given their wildly different characterizations (the prequel Scorpion being far more heroic), it's never actually established in-series.
* The "[[Film/RoadTo Road Pictures]]" of Creator/BobHope and Music/BingCrosby. Hope, Crosby, and Dorothy Lamour play different characters with different names in each, and at least one is set in a wildly different time period, but they all have the same cast, the same style of madcap humor, and much the same formula. It is common for there to be references to their past adventures, albeit usually during one of the many instances of BreakingTheFourthWall.

* ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'' film series ended up non-linear [[BreakoutCharacter because of the popularity of one character]] played by Creator/SungKang. Street racer Han [[PunnyName Seoul-Oh]] [[MentorOccupationalHazard dies]] in ''Tokyo Drift'' (the third installment, a BTeamSequel with only a cameo from the stars of the previous two). The fourth film, ''Fast & Furious'', brought him back by setting itself a few years before his death in Tokyo.[[note]]Incidentally, this shunts ''Tokyo Drift'''s events nearly a decade into the future - the movie came out in 2006, but retroactively takes place in 2014![[/note]] Kang then starred in the fourth, fifth, and sixth films, the epilogue of which [[BookEnds finally catches up to Han's death]] (now revealed to be [[ArcWelding a murder]]) and kicks off the plot of the seventh, finally making the series linear again.
* The timeline for the ''Literature/{{Fletch}}'' series is all over the place. The first three books (''Fletch'', ''Confess, Fletch'' and ''Fletch's Fortune'') follow a straight timeline, ''Fletch and the Widow Bradley'' is a {{Prequel}} set an unspecified amount of time before the first book, ''Fletch's Moxie'' and ''Fletch and the Man Who'' pick up from where ''Fletch's Fortune'' left off, ''Carioca Fletch'' is an {{Interquel}} set between ''Fletch'' and ''Confess, Fletch'', ''Fletch Won'' is another prequel and chronologically the first, ''Fletch, Too'' is an immediate sequel to it, and the last two books (''Son of Fletch'' and ''Fletch Reflected'') are time skips after the events of ''Fletch and the Man Who''. One factor in the series juggling chronology so much is that the author apparently found it difficult to write convincing motivations for Fletch, who goes from struggling IntrepidReporter to filthy rich at the end of the first book.

* ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' is all over the place, partially owing to [[ConstructedWorld the Strangereal setting]] not being [[{{Worldbuilding}} extensively fleshed out]] until the fourth game and Project Aces having to retroactively [[CanonWelding fit previous entries into the universe]]. Even so, [[AnachronicOrder the chronology can be hard]] [[SequelNumberSnarl to keep track of]] if you're not familiar with the series. ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar Zero]]'' (set in 1995, released in 2006) [[EpisodeZeroTheBeginning is the first entry]], and from there the order goes ''[[VideoGame/AirCombat 1]]'' (1995; 1995) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat2 2]]'' (1997 or 1998; 1997 [[note]]2011 for its [[VideoGameRemake remake]], ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizonLegacy Assault Horizon Legacy]]''[[/note]]) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies 04]]'' (2004-2005; 2001) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar 5]]'' (2010; 2004) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat6FiresOfLiberation 6]]'' (2015; 2007) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown 7]]'' (2019; [[SequelGap 2019]]) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatXSkiesOfDeception X]]'' (2020; 2006), with 2009's ''Xi'' as an {{interquel}} occupying the same general time period as ''X''. Meanwhile, 2011's ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatNorthernWings Northern Wings]]'' [[DashedPlotLine is running concurrently with]] ''04'', ''5'', and ''6''. This leaves ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat3Electrosphere 3]]'', released in 1999 but set in 2040, as the DistantFinale, with ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatAdvance Advance]]'' (released in 2005, set around 2032) as ''its'' direct prequel. That's not even getting into ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatJointAssault Joint Assault]]'', ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizon Assault Horizon]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatInfinity Infinity]]'', all of which are instead set on Earth and appear to serve as {{Alternate Continuit|y}}ies to one another. Additionally, the arcade predecessor to ''Ace Combat'' (also titled ''Air Combat'') and its arcade-exclusive sequel (''Air Combat 22'') share their own continuity.

* The ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series has, [[VideoGameLongRunners as of this writing]] [[note]]with ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses Three Houses]]'' being the most recent release[[/note]], seven different [[TheVerse Verses]] (nine if one counts ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Heroes]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemWarriors Warriors]]''), each with their own characters, settings, mythologies, and plots. The MacGuffin in each universe is almost always the titular Fire Emblem, although it's called something completely different except for one line thrown in about how some people (who you'll never meet) call it the Fire Emblem. ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' [[CanonWelding seems to tie everything together]]. The game definitely takes in the same universe as the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Archanea]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem games]] (and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Gaiden]]''), but several thousand years later. From this, we can assume that the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Jugdral]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 games]] are also in the same universe due to WordOfGod. One downloadable character is a descendant of Ike from the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Tellius]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn games]], and the DLC confirms that [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade the]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade remaining]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones two]] verses (at the time of ''Awakening''[='s=] release) exist at least as legends within that world, if not explicit history that just hasn't been placed yet. The following installment, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', similarly has a DLC chapter where the Avatar of that game meets the original traveling party in ''Awakening'' of Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick shortly before they encounter their game's Avatar, with Hoshido and Nohr described as "mythical kingdoms."

** The series is the reigning king of bouncing around in the timeline, though the games all take place in the same continuity. Games have been set as far back as [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLamentOfInnocence the year 1094]] and as far forward as [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow 2036]]. Creator/{{Konami}} didn't even wait till the series left the NES before starting this habit--''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIIDraculasCurse'' was set more than 200 years before [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaI the first game]].

** Two other exceptions are the ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow'' duology (with ''Dawn'' being a direct sequel to ''Aria'' with the same protagonist) and ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'' (being a direct sequel to ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaRondoOfBlood'', [[PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo with Richter and Maria from that title playing a major role]]; the two games were eventually rereleased together as ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaTheDraculaXChronicles The Dracula X Chronicles]]'').

* Most of the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' sequels are like this, the major exceptions being ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'', ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'', ''[[VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga Digital Devil Saga 2]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon]]''. Some other games are hinted/confirmed to take place in the same continuity as their predecessors, such as ''[[VideoGame/SoulHackers Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers]]'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', and ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' and ''[[VideoGame/{{Persona 4}} 4]]'', but feature completely different plotlines and characters, with only a handful of {{Call Back}}s connecting them.

* The ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore'' series is a great example of this. Each successive game takes place several years, sometimes even decades after previous one and casts the player in the role of a new {{AFGNCAAP}} with no connection to the previous one. Usually [[CapcomSequelStagnation the presence of a number in the title indicates]] a ContinuityReboot. So far, ''Armored Core'', ''Project Phantasma'', ''Master of Arena'', ''Armored Core 2'' and ''Another Age'' take place in one continuity. ''Armored Core 3'', ''Silent Line'', ''Nexus'', ''[[FanonDiscontinuity Nine Breaker]]'', and ''Last Raven'' take place in a second continuity. ''Armored Core 4'' and ''for Answer'' take place in a third. And ''Armored Core V'' takes place in a fourth continuity. There's also the GaidenGame ''Formula Front'', which uses elements from the ''Armored Core 3'' universe, but it clearly not set in it. It's really just a FightingGame [[HumongousMecha with Robots]]... [[VideoGame/VirtualOn No, not that one.]]

* Every 2D ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'' has been a non-linear sequel since ''Samurai Shodown II''. ''III'' and ''IV'' are set after the original game but before ''II'', ''V'' is a prequel to the first game, and ''VI'' is a "{{dream match|Game}}" game with everyone from the previous numbered entries. Oddly enough, the 3D games are all set after ''Samurai Shodown II'', although the PS version of ''Warriors Rage'' (which is a different game from the arcade version) takes place in the distant future of the other games. The 2019 ''[=SamSho=]'' entry (simply titled ''[[RecycledTitle Samurai Shodown]]'') is a SoftReboot sandwiched between ''V'' and the original, though it also features a handful of characters who were not originally active at that point in history (such as Shiki from the ''64'' titles). This is almost certainly due to the deaths of both the female lead and the EnsembleDarkhorse at the end of ''II'', who were subsequently SavedByTheFans.

* ''[[VideoGame/{{Lisa}} LISA: The Painful]]'' differs ''heavily'' from its predecessor ''LISA: The First'' in numerous ways. ''First'' is a surreal exploration of the dreams of the titular character akin to VideoGame/YumeNikki, while ''Painful'' takes place in a very literal post-apocalypse where Lisa herself is long dead. The art style is different. The star of ''Painful'', Brad, is a new character retconned into Lisa's family. In fact, practically the ''only'' similarities between the two games are the themes of paternal abuse and the father responsible for it. Even the format is different, with ''Painful'' pivoting to a 2D side-scroller.

* ''[[VideoGame/Lisa LISA: The Painful]]'' differs ''heavily'' from its predecessor ''LISA: The First'' in numerous ways. ''First'' is a surreal exploration of the dreams of the titular character akin to VideoGame/YumeNikki, while ''Painful'' takes place in a very literal post-apocalypse where Lisa herself is long dead. The art style is different. The star of ''Painful'', Brad, is a new character retconned into Lisa's family. In fact, practically the ''only'' similarities between the two games are the themes of paternal abuse and the father responsible for it. Even the format is different, with ''Painful'' pivoting to a 2D side-scroller.

** The creators considered making ''Series/KamenRiderAgito'' a direct sequel to ''Series/KamenRiderKuuga'', but were concerned that a continuity might put off new fans. Ultimately they left the decision up to the fans, saying that whether the two shows are explicitly linked or not is up to the individual viewer. That said, the shows are still ''implicitly'' linked by a number of references, like off-hand mentions of the Grongi (Kuuga's enemies) and the G3 PoweredArmor being based off of data the Tokyo Police collected from "Unidentified Lifeform #4" (their callname for Kuuga). It's also said that the Grongi and the Lords (Agito's enemies) are mortal enemies, and the latter wiped out last vestiges of the former in a GreatOffscreenWar before the events of ''Agito'' started.

* ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' is all over the place, partially owing to [[ConstructedWorld the Strangereal setting]] not being [[{{Worldbuilding}} extensively fleshed out]] until the fourth game and Project Aces having to retroactively [[CanonWelding fit previous entries into the universe]]. Even so, [[AnachronicOrder the chronology can be hard]] [[SequelNumberSnarl to keep track of]] if you're not familiar with the series. ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar Zero]]'' (set in 1995, released in 2006) [[EpisodeZeroTheBeginning is the first entry]], and from there the order goes ''[[VideoGame/AirCombat 1]]'' (1995; 1995) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat2 2]]'' (1997 or 1998; 1997 [[note]]2011 for its [[VideoGameRemake remake]], ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizonLegacy Assault Horizon Legacy]]''[[/note]]) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies 04]]'' (2004-2005; 2001) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar 5]]'' (2010; 2004) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat6FiresOfLiberation 6]]'' (2015; 2007) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown 7]]'' (2019; [[SequelGap 2019]]) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatXSkiesOfDeception X]]'' (2020; 2006), with 2009's ''Xi'' as an {{interquel}} occupying the same general time period as ''X''. Meanwhile, 2011's ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatNorthernWings Northern Wings]]'' [[DashedPlotLine is running concurrently with]] ''04'', ''5'', and ''6''. This leaves ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat3Electrosphere 3]]'', released in 1999 but set in 2040, as the DistantFinale, with ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatAdvance Advance]]'' (released in 2005, set around 2032) as ''its'' direct prequel. That's not even getting into ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatJointAssault Joint Assault]]'', ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizon Assault Horizon]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatInfinity Infinity]]'', all of which are instead set on Earth and appear to serve as {{Alternate Continuit|y}}ies to one another. Additionally, the arcade version of ''Ace Combat'' (also titled ''Air Combat'') and its arcade-exclusive sequel (''Air Combat 22'') share their own continuity.

* All the numbered ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' sequels followed a linear chronology with one notable exception: ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' serves as a prequel to the entire ''Metal Gear'' canon, being set decades before the events of the very first ''VideoGame/MetalGear1''. ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'', both for the PSP, serve as sequels to the plot of ''[=MGS3=]'' and follow Big Boss' further adventures before the first ''Metal Gear''. ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' is another game starring Big Boss set years before ''Metal Gear Solid'', or even the original ''Metal Gear'' for that matter, but is the fifth game in the ''MGS'' series to be numbered. Strangely, it is the first one to use a roman numeral instead of a numerical digit. It's also been confirmed by [[Creator/HideoKojima Kojima]] that ''Peace Walker'' was to be called ''Metal Gear Solid 5'' at one point during development, but the number was removed mainly on the basis that the game was a handheld release.

** Fans attempted for years to find some coherent continuity between the games, with one of the bigger points of contention being whether there was a linear timeline or if the ending of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' actually split the timeline in two. When [[ArcWelding the official timeline]] was revealed for the series' 25th anniversary through the ''Literature/HyruleHistoria'' artbook, it turned out timeline did split in ''[=OoT=]''... ''into three branches''. [[note]]The Adult Timeline (where Adult Link went back in time to properly live his childhood, leaving this branch unable to have a "true" reincarnation of the hero), the Child Timeline (where Young Link and Zelda manage to have Ganondorf imprisoned before he can enter the Temple of Time), and the unexpected Fallen Hero/Downfall Timeline ([[TheHeroDies where Adult Link dies fighting a now bestial Ganon]]).[[/note]] Since Creator/{{Nintendo}} is very much a "gameplay-first" developer, with story being one of the last things tackled in any of their games, the timeline reveal was prefaced with a request for fans to [[MST3KMantra ignore any odd discrepancies]] the official order may cause as being a result of the games being "legends" that have been constantly retold and embellished.

* The ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha'' series (despite its Japanese title of ''Street Fighter [[EpisodeZeroTheBeginning Zero]]'') is actually set '''after''' the original ''VideoGame/{{Street Fighter|I}}'' (and ''VideoGame/FinalFight'') and before the ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' series. ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'' is an {{interquel}} between ''II'' and ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII III]]'', while the following entry, ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'', takes place between ''IV'' and ''III''. It's wouldn't be until ''VideoGame/StreetFighter6'' that a game is set after the events of ''III''. The ''VideoGame/StreetFighterEX'' [[GaidenGame titles]] are a [[CanonDiscontinuity non-canon]] series of spin-offs [[WildMassGuessing believed]] to occupy the same general time frame of ''Alpha'' and ''II''.

* The ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' series is the reigning king of bouncing around in the timeline, though the games all take place in the same continuity. Games have been set as far back as [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLamentOfInnocence the year 1094]] and as far forward as [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow 2036]]. Creator/{{Konami}} didn't even wait till the series left the NES before starting this habit--''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIIDraculasCurse'' was set more than 200 years before [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaI the first game]].

* Though the various ''Franchise/MegaMan'' games are released roughly in chronological order within their own series, the ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' series--which takes place after the end of the ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX X]]'' series and before the ''[[VideoGame/MegaManLegends Legends]]'' series--began and ended years after the last ''Legends'' game came out. The newer ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'' series takes place after ''Zero'' but still before ''Legends''. Also, in the time between ''VideoGame/MegaManAndBass'' and ''VideoGame/MegaMan9'''s releases, the ''Zero'' series came and gone, as well as 2 ''Legends'' games, 2 ''ZX'' games and 4 mainline ''X'' games (as well as 2 handheld ''X'' games), and the series has stuck to the ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' era ever since.
* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

** The ResetButton ending of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' and inclusion in ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' already make its place in continuity somewhat confusing. However, the game says that Blaze the Cat is from the same future as Silver the Hedgehog. The ''VideoGame/{{Sonic Rush|Series}}'' series directly contradict this by saying that Blaze is from AnotherDimension. At the end of Silver's story in ''Sonic '06'' [[spoiler:Blaze absorbs Iblis and seals it and herself away disappearing in a flash of light]].

* ''VideoGame/MonsterWorldIV'' has mostly the same gameplay as the previous ''Wonder Boy'' / ''Monster World'' titles, but a completely unrelated story.

* The ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha'' series (despite its Japanese title of ''Street Fighter [[EpisodeZeroTheBeginning Zero]]'') is actually set '''after''' the original ''VideoGame/{{Street Fighter|I}}'' (and ''VideoGame/FinalFight'') and before the ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' series. ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'' is an {{interquel}} between ''II'' and ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII III]]'', while the latest entry, ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'', takes place between ''IV'' and ''III''. The ''VideoGame/StreetFighterEX'' [[GaidenGame titles]] are a [[CanonDiscontinuity non-canon]] series of spin-offs [[WildMassGuessing believed]] to occupy the same general time frame of ''Alpha'' and ''II''.

* The official stance on ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' is that it is a "reimagining" of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' -- just with the story content reduced to an ExcusePlot typical of Mario games, as the result of some ExecutiveMeddling from Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto.

** To date, only ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'', ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'', and ''VideoGame/DragonQuestX'' seem to be standalone titles in the main series, as ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'' hints at a multiverse due to [[spoiler:the Godbird Empyrea actually being one in the same as [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Ramia/Lamia]] from ''III'']]. Torneko Taloon from ''IV'' also cameos as an opponent in Morrie's Monster Arena in ''VIII''.

* [[WordOfGod Hidetaka Miyazaki]] (who served as director on ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' and ''VideoGame/{{Dark Souls|I}}'') has stated that despite taking place in the same world, there will be no story connections between ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' and its predecessor.

** Before Ubisoft's reboot, the main games were fairly straightforward linear sequels (while the time-skips were sometimes large-ish, there were always heroes carried over, and the new protagonists were often connected to old protagonists), but complicated things in its expansion packs. ''Price of Loyalty'' for ''II'', seems to be taking place on a world of its own in its campaign, which doesn't strictly mean it isn't in the same ''overall'' setting but does mean its stories and heroes are entirely unconnected to the rest of the games. ''Armageddon's Blade'' for ''III'' had its campaigns either take place after ''III'', be a bit ambiguous about ''when'' they take place in relation, or in one case be a somewhat odd prequel to ''III'', while ''Shadow of Death'' for the same game was entire a prequel to ''III''. ''The Gathering Storm'' and ''Winds of War'' for ''IV'' have no story connections to any of the other games, although because of the backstory to ''IV'' it is a bit harder to definitely say they don't take place on the same world as it.

** The series also has several [[GaidenGame spin-off]] games with different styles of gameplay which take place in different eras of Tamriellic history. The DungeonCrawler spin-off ''[[VideoGame/AnElderScrollsLegendBattlespire Battlespire]]'' (originally planned as an expansion to ''Daggerafall'') takes place during the events of ''Arena'' but isn't directly related to the plot there. The ActionAdventure spin-off ''Redguard'' is a prequel that takes place roughly 300 years before ''Arena''. ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline'' is an {{MMORPG}} prequel which takes place roughly 500 years before the events of ''Arena''.

[[index]]

** ''Zelda'' is the biggest example of this in video games, as fans attempted for years to find some coherent continuity between the games, with one of the bigger points of contention being whether there was a linear timeline or if the ending of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' actually split the timeline in two. When [[ArcWelding the official timeline]] was revealed for the series' 25th anniversary through the ''Literature/HyruleHistoria'' artbook, it turned out timeline did split in ''[=OoT=]''... ''into three branches''. [[note]]The Adult Timeline (where Adult Link went back in time to properly live his childhood, leaving this branch unable to have a "true" reincarnation of the hero), the Child Timeline (where Young Link and Zelda manage to have Ganondorf imprisoned before he can enter the Temple of Time), and the unexpected Fallen Hero/Downfall Timeline ([[TheHeroDies where Adult Link dies fighting a now bestial Ganon]]).[[/note]] Since Creator/{{Nintendo}} is very much a "gameplay-first" developer, with story being one of the last things tackled in any of their games, the timeline reveal was prefaced with a request for fans to [[MST3KMantra ignore any odd discrepancies]] the official order may cause as being a result of the games being "legends" that have been constantly retold and embellished.

* Speaking of Falcom, their other big series ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}''' timeline is ''Origin'' > ''1+2'' > ''IV/Memories of Celceta'' > ''III/Oath in Felghana'' > ''V'' > ''VIII'' > ''VI'' > ''SEVEN'' > ''IX''. ''Origin'' takes place a full 700 years before the rest of the series. This timeline doesn't include the spin-off games ''VideoGame/YsStrategy'', ''Ys Online'', and ''Ys VS [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky Sora No Kiseki]]''.

** ''VideoGame/SonicChronicles'' takes place "[[TimeSkip two years]] after the final defeat of Dr. Eggman." Meaning that it should take place before any game that was released afterwards. However, [[CanonDiscontinuity the game was eventually declared non-canon anyway]], which is backed by Tails not remembering Green Hill in ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations''.

* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld2YoshisIsland'', although numbered, is a prequel to the main ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' games instead of a sequel to ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld''. In Japan, the game is known simply as ''Super Mario: Yoshi Island''.
** ''VideoGame/WarioLandSuperMarioLand3'': the [[VideoGame/SuperMarioLand two]] [[VideoGame/SuperMarioLand2SixGoldenCoins previous]] games feature Mario as the main character but you play as Wario in this one. [[spoiler:Mario doesn't appear in the third game until the very end.]]

* Speaking of Falcom, their other big series ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}''' timeline is ''Origin'' > ''1+2'' > ''IV/Memories of Celceta'' > ''III/Oath in Felghana'' > ''V'' > ''VIII'' > ''VI'' > ''SEVEN'' > ''IX''. ''Origin'' takes place a full 700 years before the rest of the series. This timeline doesn't include the spin-off games ''Ys Strategy'', ''Ys Online'', and ''Ys VS [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky Sora No Kiseki]]''.

** The real mess comes in sorting out where ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'' fits, because there ''is'' no [[WordOfGod Word of Capcom]] where the game fits; the game was rushed to production to outrun AuthorExistenceFailure, and subsequent [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary material]] (like the artbook, a {{Novelization}}, a second ''Breath of Fire'' Complete Works artbook, no less than two side-stories that were released for [[NoExportForYou Japanese smartphones]], and finally a [[ComicBookAdaptation manga]] that relied ''heavily'' on info from the artbook and Capcom's production staff) have done ''absolutely nothing'' to clarify this. As a result, a ''lot'' of {{Fanon}} and occasional FanWank occurs as to whether ''IV'' is an AlternateUniverse or a NonLinearSequel (with the most popular {{Fanon}} Timeline going towards it being a NonLinearSequel that is a prequel to ''I-III'').

[[AC:Action-Adventure Games]]

[[AC:Adventure Games]]

You got
[[AC:Fighting Games]]

[[AC:First-Person Shooter]]

[[AC:Hack and Slash]]

[[AC:Platformers]]

[[AC:Role-Playing Games]]

[[AC:Shoot 'Em Ups]]

[[AC:Simulation Games]]

[[AC:Stealth-Based Games]]

[[AC:Survival Horror]]

[[AC:Third-Person Shooter]]

[[AC:Turn-Based Strategy]]

[[AC:Wide Open Sandbox]]

[[AC:Non-video Game Examples]]

* The ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' series isn't a particularly confusing chronology, especially compared to its sister series ''The Legend of Zelda''. Nevertheless, the release order of the subsequent games still doesn't necessarily match the order in which they take place, mainly due to the ''Prime'' sub-series being an expanded {{Interquel}}. The order is: ''VideoGame/{{Metroid|1}}[=/=]VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission'' (1986[=/=]2004) > ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' (2002) > ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrimeHunters Prime Hunters]]'' (2006) > ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes Prime 2: Echoes]]'' (2004) > ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption Prime 3: Corruption]]'' (2007) > ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrimeFederationForce Federation Force]]'' (2016) > ''VideoGame/MetroidIIReturnOfSamus''[=/=]''VideoGame/MetroidSamusReturns'' (1991[=/=]2017) > ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' (1994) > ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' (2010) > ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'' (2004).[[note]]''VideoGame/MetroidPrimePinball'' is a loose retelling of the first ''Prime'' game.[[/note]]