I’m a big fan of video games (how big of a fan, I can’t determine). I buy the merchandise of certain games I truly enjoy and even try out games I never thought I’d like now and again. I love playing video games because some stories are really mind-blowing and it’s a way I like to wind down. I love talking about video games too, because everyone has their own interpretations and opinions, and for me, it’s always exciting to learn new things.
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So with that being said, one of my largest pet peeves when it comes to video games in general is a super-long series – like, four or more games to tell a story. To be fair, some games have several parts and they have flowed beautifully together (look at the Uncharted series or Jak and Daxter – actually just thank Naughty Dog for what they do) but let’s be real: we all know Kingdom Hearts is just too long for no reason. I don’t hate Kingdom Hearts (heck, I collected all the shirts back in the day and wore them til they were unraveling) but I think that the story could have been told in three games and not almost what, FOURTEEN games. But I digress.
Why do some games get so many unnecessary sequels or remakes?
I mean, I really want to know. Sure, I’ve played some games that were so good I almost wanted a continuation, but then I realized that not every game needs to be continued. Let’s look at Final Fantasy XIII. Now say what you will, I actually liked that game even with some of the hiccups. The story was a bit under-developed in my opinion but the ending to me was fitting. Everyone won in the end. So why did Square Enix make two more games? Two games that dismantled the first game and made it more complicated? (Not as bad as Kingdom Hearts but come on now.) This is generally the formula for most continuations of video games – they either are so good it hurts or so bad it hurts even more.
We can even look at games that have sequels coming… eventually (Beyond Good and Evil 2 anyone?) and some of those flip-flop through proposed release dates, year after year. Why is that? Money? Maybe second thoughts? I feel that sometimes the company feels that at the time the thought of a sequel was a good idea but then they hit a snag and realized maybe it wasn’t a good idea. I could be right, I could be wrong.
I will be fair though and once again say that some games had great sequels, prequels, and additional games. Naughty Dog knows how to write great storylines so I can appreciate some of their series and Square Enix can push a great game when they want to, but every game doesn’t need a sequel.
Every game doesn’t need to be explained in fine detail from start to finish.
Some things are better left open to the player, and I think that’s something that gamers should appreciate.
Have an open mind and leave things to the imagination.
