bdt2002
Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs superfan
Let me start off the OP of this thread with a question. Is it just me, or has the year of 2023 been completely flooded with sequels so far? Sequels of your favorite books, movies, games, all happening all at once. Why is that, I asked myself? Are major content producers shifting towards continuations of existing content again, or is this just a coincidence? Last night I went to hang out with some high school friends and we saw the new Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse movie in theaters. Just last month we finally got our hands on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, arguably the most anticipated Nintendo Switch exclusive in several years, at the very least since 2018's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was announced. Within the past year or so, we've had announcements and/or releases for several game series getting sequels, including Tekken 8, Street Fighter 6, and Mortal Kombat 1 all coming to mind as examples from the competitive fighting genre. And then, of course, you're going to have your yearly fillings of content from other content mediums, especially those exclusive to streaming services in most areas of the world. It's just... where are all these sequel ideas coming from all at once?
I don't really have a definitive answer for that question because, at the end of the day, content creators are going to release stuff whenever they feel like it. All I know for certain is that if there's one word that's been etched into my mind as of late, that word would be "sequel". (And I guess "prequel", by extension.) It was around sometime this morning when I realized that the idea of sequels (and prequels) could make for a fun discussion thread that I'm honestly surprised to see doesn't have one yet. Or at least, not an active thread that I could find. We all have things we like and series we're interested in, and no matter what those are, the one thing that unites pretty much every fandom in existence is that we all get excited for new installments within our respective favorites.
In regards to what kinds of things we could talk about here, I don't see a need for being strict with what questions and answers are brought up here further down the line. I know that for me personally, whenever I imagine something having a sequel made for it, I end up asking myself a number of questions:
I don't really have a definitive answer for that question because, at the end of the day, content creators are going to release stuff whenever they feel like it. All I know for certain is that if there's one word that's been etched into my mind as of late, that word would be "sequel". (And I guess "prequel", by extension.) It was around sometime this morning when I realized that the idea of sequels (and prequels) could make for a fun discussion thread that I'm honestly surprised to see doesn't have one yet. Or at least, not an active thread that I could find. We all have things we like and series we're interested in, and no matter what those are, the one thing that unites pretty much every fandom in existence is that we all get excited for new installments within our respective favorites.
In regards to what kinds of things we could talk about here, I don't see a need for being strict with what questions and answers are brought up here further down the line. I know that for me personally, whenever I imagine something having a sequel made for it, I end up asking myself a number of questions:
- How recently was the sequel announced and/or released compared to its predecessor?
- In what ways does the sequel improve upon the original?
- In what ways does the original hold up better than the sequel?
- How excited is/was the general public for this new sequel?
- How necessary is a sequel for this specific I.P. at the current moment?
- Will longtime fans of the original enjoy the sequel more, less, or about the same?
- Similarly, how will newly introduced fans react to the sequel?
- Have any, quote, "good sequels" released lately that set a good example for this medium?
- Is there really a set list of criteria to warrant something as a "good" sequel?