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Xenoblade Chronicles went from a relatively mature epic about death and destiny to a hentai tale about gacha mechanics in a fantasy world. Don't know if it went that well, though.
I think FFV - FFVI tone shift was pretty decisive for the future of the series. The series wouldn't feel so interesting in the next gen without its futuristic flavor imo
It's bizarre how Shadow Hearts was like focused on horror, turned into 50% horror 50% comedy in Covenant, and FTNW had a hollywood giant cat actress and a sidequest about a Saint Seiya parody in a brazillian sushi place lmao
It's bizarre how Shadow Hearts was like focused on horror, turned into 50% horror 50% comedy in Covenant, and FTNW had a hollywood giant cat actress and a sidequest about a Saint Seiya parody in a brazillian sushi place lmao
Mass Effect starts out as a serious but not necessarily dark space adventure. Then 2 gets darker both in tone and visuals, also showing places like the crime and poverty-ridden Omega. Then 3 goes full dark with the entire plot addressing the themes of imminent extinction and loss of loved ones. As a series, it gets progressively darker as the Reapers get closer to the Milky Way, and the transition is very smooth across the three games.
Since Jak's already taken, I have to say Arc the Lad 1 to Arc the Lad 2
Arc the Lad 1 is a whimsical, 90's anime globetrotting adventure with an environmentalist message that only gets serious at the end
Arc the Lad 2 starts with the protagonists of the previous game now seen as terrorists, it has a new MC whose backstory is really messed up (his people get genocided, then he's taken with other children to be experimented on) and the game just does not ever let up. And then there's that ending...
As someone that got into Jak 2 last year specifically for The Edginess™, I can confirm: Jak 2 is not actually that edgy.
Jak 2 does start very, very edgy between "I'm gonna kill Praxis!!" and that Dark Jak transformation, but it's not nearly as edgy as people make it sound. Once Jak starts hanging around characters that aren't Krew or Torn, he comes off as way more of a "cool tough guy" rather than a "brooding edgelord with ANGST"
The only *actual* edgy Jak game is Jak X Combat Racing. And you know it's the edgy one because it's set in a place called Kras City and it has characters with names like Cutter, Kleiver, Razer, Edge and Shiv
Arc the Lad 1 is a whimsical, 90's anime globetrotting adventure with an environmentalist message that only gets serious at the end
Arc the Lad 2 starts with the protagonists of the previous game now seen as terrorists, it has a new MC whose backstory is really messed up (his people get genocided, then he's taken with other children to be experimented on) and the game just does not ever let up. And then there's that ending...
As someone that got into Jak 2 last year specifically for The Edginess™, I can confirm: Jak 2 is not actually that edgy.
Jak 2 does start very, very edgy between "I'm gonna kill Praxis!!" and that Dark Jak transformation, but it's not nearly as edgy as people make it sound. Once Jak starts hanging around characters that aren't Krew or Torn, he comes off as way more of a "cool tough guy" rather than a "brooding edgelord with ANGST"
The only *actual* edgy Jak game is Jak X Combat Racing. And you know it's the edgy one because it's set in a place called Kras City and it has characters with names like Cutter, Kleiver, Razer, Edge and Shiv
Jak 2 might not be as edgy as it seems after the opening, but let me tell you, I've never dropped a game faster than playing 2 immediately after finishing 1 in the HD collection. It was so offputting.
Also Shadow the Hedgehog is technically the sequel to Sonic Heroes. The game where Shadow the Hedgehog can shoot guns and karate chops Eggman to death in some endings immediately follows a game that had this song.
Also Shadow the Hedgehog is technically the sequel to Sonic Heroes. The game where Shadow the Hedgehog can shoot guns and karate chops Eggman to death in some endings immediately follows a game that had this song.
i'm not entirely sure what they were thinking with it. I guess they were trying to play to what was popular at the time in someways? I get that the story was meant to be darker and so everything else reflected it, but it seems like making the Prince dark instead of contrasting with the situation around him was really jarring.
I can see what they tried to do with the two thrones was interesting, sort of combine both and give an explanation for why things were the way they were in the first and the second game. I don't think it really worked but it was an attempt.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 switched away from the original's black and white morality in favor of something that's more grey and grey morality and is far more sensible with the wacky humor. The writing improved massively in return as the funny moments are thus more memorable and the morality of your actions is left up to your own interpretation, which spans all the way to the endings as the game doesn't have an explicitly established golden ending rather than opting to leave which ending is the best also up to the interpretation of the player.
The tonal shift from Wolfenstein: The New Order and Wolfenstein: The New Colossus. I can't personally say that it worked for me.
https://youtu.be/TG_ZEovDDKk - from this in The Old Blood
https://youtu.be/CiTn4j7gVvY - to this in The New Order
https://youtu.be/tRQ4fyw5zzM - to this in The New Colossus
https://youtu.be/TG_ZEovDDKk - from this in The Old Blood
https://youtu.be/CiTn4j7gVvY - to this in The New Order
https://youtu.be/tRQ4fyw5zzM - to this in The New Colossus
On the other hand going from the glorious action movie cheese of Resi 4 to the played straight and dour Resi 5 is one heck of a downgrade.
Thankfully DC Douglas saves the final third by initiating scenery chewing protocol as Wesker, still the damage was done.
Ocarina of Time to Wind Waker was done very well. It took a risky, artistic approach. Not only was the graphical style a complete 180 from the more grounded cartoon fantasy of the past games, the tone was lighter, Zelda was a pirate, Hyrule was flooded and replaced with an ocean, the story wasn't a rehash of previous games, and everything felt different. They managed to pull it off beautifully and I couldn't ask for anything more. It's really amazing that a sequel to a big name - the biggest name - title would go for this change in style and tone instead of making a by the numbers sequel. It speaks to the artistic vision going on at Nintendo at the time and makes me happy just to think about it.
Bad? Hmm. While I still enjoyed Metal Gear Rising, I did not like the different sort of camp the game brought, and it felt zanier and more cartoony than other MGS games. I couldn't believe that that Raiden was the same Raiden I saw in MGS2 and MGS4.
Bad? Hmm. While I still enjoyed Metal Gear Rising, I did not like the different sort of camp the game brought, and it felt zanier and more cartoony than other MGS games. I couldn't believe that that Raiden was the same Raiden I saw in MGS2 and MGS4.
Jak 2 was...mixed. Jak 2 and 3 are both good, but TPL is still definitely the best in the trilogy.
Super paper mario to sticker star went from the universe being blipped out to bowser taking peach.
They got the look right and the music is a masterpiece for me, but the gameplay and story doesn't stand up to Chrono Trigger.
The worst? Devil May Cry to Devil May Cry 2. Just terrible all around.
The best? Devil May Cry 2 to Devil May Cry 3. An improvement over both 2 and the original in pretty much every way. (Edit: this may not count since it's a prequel and not a direct sequel)
Zelda is able to consistently pull this off, imo. Almost every game in the series feels completely different from the last as far as tone and vibe goes; half of the excitement of a new Zelda is seeing where they will take it! I remember flipping my lid when Twilight Princess was announced because it just looked so... different. And now both TP and Wind Waker hold up marvelously today; at least their HD ports do. They have some of the best art styles in the series, imo, and they juxtapose each other so well.
resident evil 7. it still blows my mind that it's the sequel to 6 and it nails the tone shift so well.
I think Borderlands to Borderlands 2 did well. BL2's humor is certainly a bottom of the barrel taste in terms of humor, but it certainly keeps you more engaged in the story and characters than the first game which really didn't amount to much in terms of story, characters and a tone that felt like Mad Max but boring.
Perfect exemple, wasn't a fan of the new style (love the new music tought)
Yeah I think so too, at least BL2 made me give a shit about characters that time around. While the writing is...what it is, at least the overall tone change engaged me immediatly.
It's a more subtle shift than some other examples - God of War being one of the more extreme shifts I can think of that really stuck the landing - but I think Uncharted 4 handled its change in tone fantastically, both in its story becoming a little more somber and (relatively) grounded, and its spectacle shifting from "Indiana Jones by way of Michael Bay" to (relatively) more of a swashbuckly, classic Hollywood kind of feel.
This is a crazy hyperbole but I honestly can't refute any of it
Have to strongly agree with everyone that said Twisted Metal: Black. What a classic.
For a failure, I would say StarCraft 2 from Brood War. I absolutely loved SC2 and played the multiplayer for years, but for the story and characters it was eye-rolling. It seemed the only thing SC2 cared about was the love story between Raynor and Kerrigan and that was not what I loved most about SC1/Brood War at all.
For a failure, I would say StarCraft 2 from Brood War. I absolutely loved SC2 and played the multiplayer for years, but for the story and characters it was eye-rolling. It seemed the only thing SC2 cared about was the love story between Raynor and Kerrigan and that was not what I loved most about SC1/Brood War at all.
Watch Dogs 2 had a much more playful and silly tone than the first game, and IMO was loads better for it. Aiden Pearce was a wannabe vigilante douchebag whose problems were all of his own making and he fought gangs and murdered people. Marcus Holloway in the sequel was a hacktivist who basically wanted to reveal how corrupt NotGoogle and other big corporations or politicians were. My only issue with the game is that he is allowed to murder freely. There should have been some kind of penalty for doing that, as it doesn't fit his character or his mission. Especially given that progress is measured by the number of followers they have on social media.
People have brought up Zelda Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and Wind Waker without bringing up what was one of the weirder shifts in a franchise from way earlier on.....
The Legend of Zelda to The Adventure of Link.
A top-down adventure\rpg-lite to a punishing side-scrolling with top-down map screen game that is about as different from the first game as it gets. The magic system, combat system, and basically everything was changed for this sequel. I have a hard time thinking of a game that is more different than the previous entry. Oh and if you die the enemies use your blood to resurrect what is essentially the devil. It's super dark. Pretty much everything in this game has a way darker feeling than the prior game, and it feels like you are one step from death the whole time.
The Legend of Zelda to The Adventure of Link.
A top-down adventure\rpg-lite to a punishing side-scrolling with top-down map screen game that is about as different from the first game as it gets. The magic system, combat system, and basically everything was changed for this sequel. I have a hard time thinking of a game that is more different than the previous entry. Oh and if you die the enemies use your blood to resurrect what is essentially the devil. It's super dark. Pretty much everything in this game has a way darker feeling than the prior game, and it feels like you are one step from death the whole time.
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Although the setting and some mechanics changed, I think the actual tone of the games is fairly consistent. 2 does have some goofier moments and is even less subtle than the first with its violence, but the main "hero" brooding and feeling sorry for himself is the main thread through both games.
Silent Hill to Silent Hill 2.
Heavy industrial cosmic-horror danger to a weird sort of wet surreal melancholy.
Heavy industrial cosmic-horror danger to a weird sort of wet surreal melancholy.
Succeeded: Sonic Colors. Swapping out dramatic epic with saturday morning cartoon epic, and it's exactly the right kind of "lighthearted".
Failed: Mass Effect 3. Tryhard, over-emotional, the "hollywood" visual style. Shaky-cam style and attempts at coolness that are seriously corny. Citadel DLC AKA Official Garry's Mod.
Failed: Dead Space 2 and 3. Give Isaac more lines of dialogue to reveal how attitude-y the IP is, and how immature it really is.
Failed: Ace Attorney non-Takumi sequels. They're imitations that nail the landing until they don't. Impersonation is a mask that falls off after a while, revealing the shell of a person underneath.
The reason I would list fail more, is because I believe changing the tone is a mistake to begin with. The best franchises (that are good to begin with) are those that kept their tone consistent from the beginning to the end. Even something flawed has a lot of charm by never abandoning its style. Devil May Cry from Capcom. I never liked their storytelling and I don't think they're good stories even... but sometimes they are, and even the bad ones still have an overall attitude and style about them, it feels kind of consistent despite how many different styles and themes they explore.
What is the number one worst thing about BioWare's best series, Dragon Age and Mass Effect? The fact that they never stuck to any one thing, and DA4 and Mass Effect 5 would also keep changing tone and style, and what people want is something within that 2180s setting with familiar places alongside new areas that seamlessly exist alongside the old. It won't happen because BioWare always looks at their own IP as a list of things they need to "fix".
Failed: Mass Effect 3. Tryhard, over-emotional, the "hollywood" visual style. Shaky-cam style and attempts at coolness that are seriously corny. Citadel DLC AKA Official Garry's Mod.
Failed: Dead Space 2 and 3. Give Isaac more lines of dialogue to reveal how attitude-y the IP is, and how immature it really is.
Failed: Ace Attorney non-Takumi sequels. They're imitations that nail the landing until they don't. Impersonation is a mask that falls off after a while, revealing the shell of a person underneath.
The reason I would list fail more, is because I believe changing the tone is a mistake to begin with. The best franchises (that are good to begin with) are those that kept their tone consistent from the beginning to the end. Even something flawed has a lot of charm by never abandoning its style. Devil May Cry from Capcom. I never liked their storytelling and I don't think they're good stories even... but sometimes they are, and even the bad ones still have an overall attitude and style about them, it feels kind of consistent despite how many different styles and themes they explore.
What is the number one worst thing about BioWare's best series, Dragon Age and Mass Effect? The fact that they never stuck to any one thing, and DA4 and Mass Effect 5 would also keep changing tone and style, and what people want is something within that 2180s setting with familiar places alongside new areas that seamlessly exist alongside the old. It won't happen because BioWare always looks at their own IP as a list of things they need to "fix".
Probably the worst contender.
Agree.
I can't remember the tone of LoS 2 really, I just remember the setting and mechanics being a massive downgrade from the first.
The later games he had just developed as a character. He develops in the original game itself, sorta what it's meant for. He's not like that the whole time in the og game.
The reimagining did it all wrong by removing any development all together imo, just needed to be toned down and better justified.
Probably not a popular opinion but I recently did a replay of the Sand trilogy and I still think it stands tall next to Two Thrones as the best of the three games for its story, gameplay and art direction (unnecessary objectification of its female characters aside).
I honestly think it's largely part of how good the writing in COM is. Sora wasn't a flat character, the organization and its infighting did wonders for their depth, the whole meta version of the hero's journey that's going on like it's like. A hella big jump from KH1. But then the quality dipped in 2 pretty hard.
I figured this game would be in the first 10 posts but was unsure if it would be this or 'CHRONO CROSS SUCKED TRIGGER IS THE BESTEST'. Happy to see it's the former.
LoS2 had wonderful castle settings and then grungy modern day city and imo the latter was just not executed well.
What changed in tone? Also Rising is one of the best games in the series so...
For me, Rising most certainly had a "tryhard/edgy" feel to it that the other MGS titles didn't have. MGS has always been weird/silly/quirky, but nothing in Rising landed for me. Then the gameplay was a (for me, an unwelcomed) departure and the terrible music and it's use was nothing I would have expected from a Metal Gear game.
I only bring it up because I remember the original teaser site and trailer weren't what the end product turned out to be.