long-running videogame franchises that got better with each new entry

[wndrbr]

i've yet to see a franchise that has objectively gotten better over the years

There's got to be at least one... I'll come back to this when I think of it.

What are the long-running videogame franchises that managed to either get better with each installment, or at least kept the quality consistent?

[wndrbr]

As far as I know, the recent 'Hitman - World of Assassination' trilogy was good. Hitman series had its dips, but even the weakest game (Absolution) still wasn't all that bad.

[Element]

Resident Evil - changed a lot over the years but still maintained the quality when at their best. It would dip occasionally (0, Code Veronica, 5), but would always eventually return to form (Gamecube 1 remake, 4, 7) You may prefer old school survival horror format, but it's hard to argue that 4 or 7 are greatly inferior as games.

[gerey]

As mentioned in chat, Armored Core - the games stayed consistently even, peaking with AC:4A. Amored Core V was a low point for the franchise, but Verdict Day, and then 6, were a return to form.

I guess MechWarrior also counts? Some might argue that the franchise peaked with MW2: Mercenaries, but I think MW4: Mercenaries is the best entry - the chassis you pick actually matters, since it determines which type of weapons you can slot, the campaign if fairly meaty, there's a separate championship you can engage with at any time, and some choices and reactivity that encourages replaying it.

MW5 is also not halfway bad, but it took the dumbfuck devs years to turn the sinking ship around.

[Finarfin]

I'd say Dragon Quest games are consistently good.

[rusty_shackleford]

Wasteland

[Unhelpful Contrarian]

Drawing a blank honesty.

[rusty_shackleford]

Original wizardry games improved with each entry, ran for about 20 years or so.

[Roguey]

The Elder Scrolls, yeah I said it.

Saints Row up through 4 (though some will say 3 and some will say 2)

Uncharted, though there's some contention with the fourth

[WaterMage]

In RPGs, I can only think Might & Magic, from 1 to 6/7 inclined a lot.

From shooters, I would say ArmA. The franchise was launched in 2006 and is imo a amazing franchise.

[gerey]

Doom... kinda.

Doom 1 and 2 need no explanation, Doom 3 was met with controversy at launch, but over the years popular opinion has changed on the game, and then Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal were well received, even though they were a very radical departure from the previous games.

I wouldn't argue that Doom 2016 and Eternal were better than Doom 1 and 2, but I certainly enjoyed playing them.

[Oyster Sauce]

Baldur's Gate
Star Wars: Jedi Knight

[1998]

Baldur's Gate

[KnightoftheWind]

The Elder Scrolls, yeah I said it.

Saints Row up through 4 (though some will say 3 and some will say 2)

Uncharted, though there's some contention with the fourth

Saints Row died with 3. Took a relatively serious gangster universe and turned it into Deadpool.

[Roguey]

Saints Row died with 3. Took a relatively serious gangster universe and turned it into Deadpool.

2 had its serious moments, but it was very silly. The silliness was there from the start (see https://saintsrow.fandom.com/wiki/Playa ... Saints_Row) they just kept ramping it up.

[KnightoftheWind]

Saints Row died with 3. Took a relatively serious gangster universe and turned it into Deadpool.

2 had its serious moments, but it was very silly. The silliness was there from the start (see https://saintsrow.fandom.com/wiki/Playa ... Saints_Row) they just kept ramping it up.

Oh it was definitely exaggerated, make no mistake. But it never had giant purple dildos or any of the other "wacky" stuff that happens in SR3 and SR4 especially. There was still drama and genuine stakes in the plot.

[WhiteShark]

Monster Hunter consistently got better up through Generations Ultimate/XX, the fifth generation of the series. It seems to have gone downhill since, but five generations of steady improvement is pretty good.

[Roguey]

Oh it was definitely exaggerated, make no mistake. But it never had giant purple dildos or any of the other "wacky" stuff that happens in SR3 and SR4 especially. There was still drama and genuine stakes in the plot.

https://saintsrow.fandom.com/wiki/Activ ... tivities_2 The activities in 2 were very over-the-top, it was used as a selling point against GTA IV where you were stuck taking your cousin bowling.

[Unhelpful Contrarian]

Saints Row died with 3. Took a relatively serious gangster universe and turned it into Deadpool.

2 had its serious moments, but it was very silly. The silliness was there from the start (see https://saintsrow.fandom.com/wiki/Playa ... Saints_Row) they just kept ramping it up.

Oh it was definitely exaggerated, make no mistake. But it never had giant purple dildos or any of the other "wacky" stuff that happens in SR3 and SR4 especially. There was still drama and genuine stakes in the plot.

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carlos death always hit hard.

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[Kalarion]

The Exiles.

Edit - and the Geneforges, presumably.

[Silver]

God of War?
Not the cinematique-quick-time-event-experience reboot reimagining slop, but original games.

[Unhelpful Contrarian]

God of War?
Not the cinematique-quick-time-event-experience reboot reimagining slop, but original games.

You almost got me there in the beginning of the sentence.

[Gregz]

There's got to be at least one... I'll come back to this when I think of it.

There are none. All of the creative and market forces are against it. It's like expecting lightning to strike in the same spot with greater intensity each time.

I do agree with @WaterMage that Might and Magic 1-7 is pretty close, however. Thirteen years of relatively consistent innovation and improvements is impressive.

[DDC]

The obvious answer is Mario, given that it's pretty much the longest running franchise and is still pumping out high-quality games. Mario Wonder is peak (or close) for 2D Mario, Mario Odyssey is peak (or close) for 3D Mario, and Mario 3D World basically took the best level types from the old-school 3D mario games (the more platforming-orientied isometric perspective levels) and made an excellent game of it.

Gradius went 20 years from the original to Gradius V, and Treasure did a bang-up job capping off that series.

Mega Man had a nice long run of bangers, then continued with the excellent X and Zero games. Mega Man 11 (2018) is one of the better games in the series.

There has never been a bad Metroid game, and Metroid Dread is awesome.

Ninja Gaiden stayed strong for a very long time and made an excellent transition to 3D.

Ninja Turtles beat-em-ups have consistently been pretty good with a few exceptions despite a number of different devs/publishers, and the newest one is a high point.

Apparently good Blaster Master games are still being made.

Some people would say the Persona games are on a long-term uptrend, but I think Persona 5 was overlong, too easy, and stretched a story worthy of 30-40 hours at most over a 100+ hour playtime.

Gotta add one more: Ace Combat keeps getting better and better as the tech improves. AC7 is such an awesome, beautiful game.

[Bing_xiLim]

God of War?
Not the cinematique-quick-time-event-experience reboot reimagining slop, but original games.

Are we counting Ascension? PSP games were great (Ghost of Sparta in particular was fantastic). Ascension was a bit of a let down.

I'm gonna throw in LittleBigPlanet, NOT including the third one, which was made by Sumo Digital and not Media Molecule. Sad to see Sony completely neglected this franchise and now buried it into the ground. Charming, nostalgic, fun platformer with some great tools for building your own custom levels.

[Unhelpful Contrarian]

God of War?
Not the cinematique-quick-time-event-experience reboot reimagining slop, but original games.

Are we counting Ascension? PSP games were great (Ghost of Sparta in particular was fantastic). Ascension was a bit of a let down.

It was decent. Felt like it was going through the motions but an overall solid experience. The same can not be said with the soft reboot series.

Some of the interviews are rage inducing” I remember them saying something in the lines of “ we made a actual real story with a scrip not a video game story”

These are failed screenwriters hacks who couldn’t make it to Hollywood.

[Bing_xiLim]

It was decent. Felt like it was going through the motions but an overall solid experience. The same can not be said with the soft reboot series.

Some of the interviews are rage inducing” I remember them saying something in the lines of “ we made a actual real story with a scrip not a video game story”

These are failed screenwriters hacks who couldn’t make it to Hollywood.

Was it Barlog that started the narrative of "old games had no story depth"? I remember watching the documentary for the 2018 game and he was saying that becoming a parent changed how he approached the game. While I won't completely **** on the guy and thought the core idea he had wasn't bad per se, the execution was way too "Last of Us"/ Hollywood-esque for me to take seriously. Not just in terms of story, but also in terms of gameplay. I was never a fan of the OTS camera and lack of any verticality.

The story became even more **** in Ragnarok and some of the things in that was so ******* ********. Freya was ******* insufferable and Atreus was even more of a nuisance and a ******. Some of the lines were painful like "Bow to your Queen" by Freya. Did I mention how insufferable she was? Don't forget Angrboda and her ****** grandma. The Atreus sections were pure cancer. It's funny because I found the combat more enjoyable in Ragnarok but everything else was so much worse. In fact, it's probably the only saving grace of the game, and even then, the OTS camera is ******* annoying.

[Hyborian]

Larian's Divinity series. Maybe Civilization. GTA? Europa Universalis and Hearts of Iron.

[Statesman]

There has never been a bad Metroid game, and Metroid Dread is awesome.

Even Other M and Federation Force?

[DDC]

There has never been a bad Metroid game, and Metroid Dread is awesome.

Even Other M and Federation Force?

Federation Force isn't really a Metroid game. That's like treating Mario Golf as an indicator of quality for the Mario series.

I think Other M is tragically underrated. The Prime games got rave reviews, but I found them boring and not true to the franchise. I consider Other M a better attempt to translate classic Metroid gameplay to 3D.