Which is the better sequel?

[WaterTypeStarter]

Do you think GSCHGSS (sequel to the Gen 1 games and FRLG) or B2W2 (sequel to BW) are better as sequel games? Why? What do you think of each as sequels? Do you think they connect well to their prequels? Would you like Game Freak to make more sequel games? Which would be a better model for Game Freak to follow? Why?

 

[Divine Retribution]

I think it's important to point out there's a difference between a remake, which is essentially the same game with essentially the same story, give or take a few minor additions, and a sequel, which is an entirely new game with an entirely new story set after the story of an older game, but in the same region and with many of the same characters. As such, HGSS are remakes and B2/W2 are sequels (really the only sequels in the Pokemon franchise, although you could possibly argue that G/S/C are sequels to R/B/Y).

As such, it's kind of hard to directly compare them because they're aiming for two fundamentally different things. A remake modernizes an old game, a sequel expands upon the premises set by an old game.

 

[WaterTypeStarter]

I think it's important to point out there's a difference between a remake, which is essentially the same game with essentially the same story, give or take a few minor additions, and a sequel, which is an entirely new game with an entirely new story set after the story of an older game, but in the same region and with many of the same characters. As such, HGSS are remakes and B2/W2 are sequels (really the only sequels in the Pokemon franchise, although you could possibly argue that G/S/C are sequels to R/B/Y).

As such, it's kind of hard to directly compare them because they're aiming for two fundamentally different things. A remake modernizes an old game, a sequel expands upon the premises set by an old game.

Still the games directly follow off the Kanto storyline going by in characters' dialogue. Hence I still grouped them with the originals.

 

[Divine Retribution]

In that case, I think I have to go with B2/W2 being the better sequels, but this probably largely stems from memory storage issues in G/S/C. Kanto in Gen 2 feels like an extremely bland, empty, Langoliers-universe version of Kanto, not the more lively and detailed version we explore in R/B/Y and FR/LG. HG/SS fixed this somewhat but it still feels like largely an afterthought, with all the main attention still being given to Johto. This makes it hard for me to really consider Gen 2 as sequels, even though they are at least by technicality. There's minimal story overlap, the characters that resurface from Gen 1 in Gen 2 feel like hastily written caricatures of themselves, and it feels like the only reason Kanto was even included in those games is to bloat the map and give the impression that there's some kind of post-game to them, even if it's rather shallow.

 

[Leonhart]

G/S/C/HG/SS are my favorite sequels, specifically HG/SS since they improved on the GBC games. I admit that my choice is partially based on nostalgia, although I didn't think that G/S/C/HG/SS were perfect: one of my biggest complaints is that they relied too heavily on Kanto given that many of the Gen II Pokemon were either evolved forms or pre-evolved forms of Gen I species.

 

[Bolt the Cat]

BW2, and it's not even close. Look, I love HGSS and all, but it doesn't serve the role of a sequel very well. If you look at what it did to Kanto, it's actually kind of a step backwards, even with HGSS' enhancements over GSC. You lost a lot of areas from the originals even in HGSS (Rt. 7-8 Underground Path, Power Plant, Pokemon Tower, Rocket Hideout, most of Silph Co., most of Cinnibar Island, Rt. 23) and they didn't do much to actually improve Kanto (they mainly just added the Trainer House, and the Radio Tower and House of Memories which are basically just one room buildings gameplay wise). Pretty much all they did in terms of enhancements was tack on Johto which was an equally shallow region that hung off Kanto like a conjoined twin. Conversely, BW2 took Unova and drastically improved it. They added a ton of new areas, a ton of new Pokemon, and a ton of new extra features, and Unova felt miles better as a result. By focusing on the one region they were able to get much more out of it and it felt much more polished as a result, and I'd strongly prefer that model. I'd rather have one polished and well designed region than two mediocre ones.

I would definitely love to see more BW2 sequels, and I feel like after they made BW2, they almost felt like a necessity. They opened Pandora's Box with BW2, it's so drastically better than traditional third versions and remakes that there was no going back to them without it feeling like a step backwards for the series (and the likes of ORAS, USUM, and LGPE really did). About the only other thing they could do to enhance regions that didn't was DLC. But in terms of going back to a previously established region with a new game, BW2 sequels should've been the new normal, and it's almost criminal that they've been one and done because there's so many other regions that could use a similar massive facelift (Kanto, Johto, and Kalos most notably). They don't even need to really be sequels in the sense that they take place a set time after the original adventure if that complicates things (although they could get around that for older regions by bundling a digital version of the original with the sequel), just being a massive reimagining of the original region would help a lot.

 

[janejane6178]

BW2, and it's not even close. Look, I love HGSS and all, but it doesn't serve the role of a sequel very well. If you look at what it did to Kanto, it's actually kind of a step backwards, even with HGSS' enhancements over GSC. You lost a lot of areas from the originals even in HGSS (Rt. 7-8 Underground Path, Power Plant, Pokemon Tower, Rocket Hideout, most of Silph Co., most of Cinnibar Island, Rt. 23) and they didn't do much to actually improve Kanto (they mainly just added the Trainer House, and the Radio Tower and House of Memories which are basically just one room buildings gameplay wise). Pretty much all they did in terms of enhancements was tack on Johto which was an equally shallow region that hung off Kanto like a conjoined twin. Conversely, BW2 took Unova and drastically improved it. They added a ton of new areas, a ton of new Pokemon, and a ton of new extra features, and Unova felt miles better as a result. By focusing on the one region they were able to get much more out of it and it felt much more polished as a result, and I'd strongly prefer that model. I'd rather have one polished and well designed region than two mediocre ones.

I would definitely love to see more BW2 sequels, and I feel like after they made BW2, they almost felt like a necessity. They opened Pandora's Box with BW2, it's so drastically better than traditional third versions and remakes that there was no going back to them without it feeling like a step backwards for the series (and the likes of ORAS, USUM, and LGPE really did). About the only other thing they could do to enhance regions that didn't was DLC. But in terms of going back to a previously established region with a new game, BW2 sequels should've been the new normal, and it's almost criminal that they've been one and done because there's so many other regions that could use a similar massive facelift (Kanto, Johto, and Kalos most notably). They don't even need to really be sequels in the sense that they take place a set time after the original adventure if that complicates things (although they could get around that for older regions by bundling a digital version of the original with the sequel), just being a massive reimagining of the original region would help a lot.

I agree, sequals are always welcomed and done right

 

[Italianbaptist]

It’s hard to describe, but Gen 2 feels less like an official sequel. It’s more that your character happens to be the next generation in the same continuity. And that makes your player character’s context in the word feel organic. With Black/White 2, the “sequelness” of it is inevitable. You already know you’re going to be thrust into the main conflict, it’s just a matter of how. And it may make sense or not.

Both styles of sequel have their place, but from a story perspective I still prefer GSC, mainly because I hate what they did to Team Plasma in B2W2. They went from somewhat complex (though maybe not as complex as people think; the story wasn’t without its issues) to primarily a Team Rocket clone, while Gen 2’s broken Team Rocket trying to rebuild itself actually worked better for me.

 

[Ignition]

B2W2 easily. The sequel elements of the Johto games is mostly just Rocket which is pretty boring. Most of the old characters not named Koga, Bruno, Lance, Blue, or Red see little change over the 3 year difference. In B2W2, you can see changes from the BW rivals, Alder, Iris, and Plasma early on. It feels more impactful because their growth has an impact on the world and how they interact with you compared to BW’s main character.

 

[RedBlastoise]

The generation 2 games. Heck they were even promoted as Pocket Monsters 2 back in 1997 when they were planned to come out so clearly Game Freak wanted them to be seen as direct sequels of Red and Green.

Gold, Silver and Crystal were so good because they introduced new stuff while paying tribute to generation 1 at the same time. So it was the best of both worlds.

 

[Bolt the Cat]

The generation 2 games. Heck they were even promoted as Pocket Monsters 2 back in 1997 when they were planned to come out so clearly Game Freak wanted them to be seen as direct sequels of Red and Green.

Gold, Silver and Crystal were so good because they introduced new stuff while paying tribute to generation 1 at the same time. So it was the best of both worlds.

Eh, I don't really agree. GSC felt more like a jack of all trades, master of none in terms of old vs. new. Kanto had a ton of cut content, even from HGSS which restored some of the areas that were lost in GSC. Meanwhile Johto is a very small and shallow region tacked onto Kanto whereas later regions feel more filling and fleshed out. Both regions feel like they're held back by it being a 2 region game.

 

[Tsukuyomi56]

Going with BW2, it does a better job of showcasing the time jump between it and BW and you get to see the growth of most of the notable NPCs. While HGSS restored many of the missing areas from GSC including Kanto alongside Johto sort of affects the quaility of both. I do get there is a bit of lore regarding Cinnabar Island and Sliph Co though (a volcanic eruption, security would definitely be tighten following the Team Rocket seige).

 

[Spider-Phoenix]

BW2, and it's not even close. Look, I love HGSS and all, but it doesn't serve the role of a sequel very well. If you look at what it did to Kanto, it's actually kind of a step backwards, even with HGSS' enhancements over GSC. You lost a lot of areas from the originals even in HGSS (Rt. 7-8 Underground Path, Power Plant, Pokemon Tower, Rocket Hideout, most of Silph Co., most of Cinnibar Island, Rt. 23) and they didn't do much to actually improve Kanto (they mainly just added the Trainer House, and the Radio Tower and House of Memories which are basically just one room buildings gameplay wise). Pretty much all they did in terms of enhancements was tack on Johto which was an equally shallow region that hung off Kanto like a conjoined twin. Conversely, BW2 took Unova and drastically improved it. They added a ton of new areas, a ton of new Pokemon, and a ton of new extra features, and Unova felt miles better as a result. By focusing on the one region they were able to get much more out of it and it felt much more polished as a result, and I'd strongly prefer that model. I'd rather have one polished and well designed region than two mediocre ones.

I would definitely love to see more BW2 sequels, and I feel like after they made BW2, they almost felt like a necessity. They opened Pandora's Box with BW2, it's so drastically better than traditional third versions and remakes that there was no going back to them without it feeling like a step backwards for the series (and the likes of ORAS, USUM, and LGPE really did). About the only other thing they could do to enhance regions that didn't was DLC. But in terms of going back to a previously established region with a new game, BW2 sequels should've been the new normal, and it's almost criminal that they've been one and done because there's so many other regions that could use a similar massive facelift (Kanto, Johto, and Kalos most notably). They don't even need to really be sequels in the sense that they take place a set time after the original adventure if that complicates things (although they could get around that for older regions by bundling a digital version of the original with the sequel), just being a massive reimagining of the original region would help a lot.

I agree with that. And to be honest, when it's time for Unova to get a remake, I'd much rather they just throw a curve ball and make a BW3 lol

 

[Bolt the Cat]

I agree with that. And to be honest, when it's time for Unova to get a remake, I'd much rather they just throw a curve ball and make a BW3 lol

Hmm. There's a few plot threads they could probably expand upon with BW3 (Zinzolin seems to want to continue Team Plasma's goals), but I'm struggling to think of what they could change to provide the same impact as BW2 did. Maybe when it's time for Unova remakes a generation or two from now, the series will have evolved even further to the point where there's a much clearer picture as to what could be improved, but for now I'm not terribly eager for BW3.

What I really want to see in the time being is a BW2 style Kanto sequel. If they must revisit Kanto for the zillionth time, that's the only way I'd be remotely interested. Kanto is so outdated in a lot of aspects to the point where it needs a massive facelift to even sniff the same level as more modernized games and regions. Kanto could really be amazing, but I'm sick of putting up with its small and poorly balanced regional dex, its archaic region design full of blocky, flattened areas, its virtually non-existent story full of glorified punching bags for characters, and a general lack of everything. Kanto feels as much like the 1996 handheld game it originally was, and in all the wrong ways. BW2 style sequels would be such an elegant solution to the problem.

 

[TwilightBlade]

The Johto games were better sequels to me than the Unova sequel games although they're all great in their owns ways. I loved that GSCHGSS let you explore 2 whole regions in the same cart. :]

 

[janejane6178]

We need more sequal games, BW2 was amazing.