The Prequel Problem

[Gorse]

Simple question: Can you name a good prequel?

I was listening to a podcast recently where the presenter asked the above to his co-host, who couldn't answer. I thought "Well, that's ridiculous! Surely, there must be some prequel, across any media, that's generally thought of as being high-quality – or maybe even superior to the original!" But... I couldn't! Whether it's Star Wars: The Phantom Menace or Rise of the Planet of the Apes, prequels seem to be universally considered terrible. So I want your opinion. Are there any prequels that you like? And I mean actually like, not just think they're OK. When replying, please adhere to the following:

Rules

1. Your answer must be a legitimate prequel – a predecessor to an existing property released after the original, but taking place before. For the purposes of this thread, Star Wars: Episode I is a prequel, Casino Royale is not.
2. Your answer cannot be an "interquel" – a story set between two other stories, released after both. For the purposes of this thread, the Ace Attorney Investigations games are not prequels.
3. I've put this thread in the general forum, because I'm interested in prequels across any medium – video games, movies, books, comics, TV shows, etc. Any piece of media you mention, as long as it doesn't conflict with rules #1 and #2, counts.
4. Try to think of examples off the top of your head, without doing any research. I want to hear about the prequels you like.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts, because good lord – I can't name even a single example. There must be at least one... right?

 

[Smiley Cat]

Well I guess we could bring the Zelda games into this. But that is one messy can of worms...

 

[Gorse]

Well I guess we could bring the Zelda games into this. But that is one messy can of worms...

Ah-ah-ah – see rule #2! For the purposes of this thread, only Skyward Sword would count – and there's a 85% chance you'll think of it negatively.

 

[Smiley Cat]

I just looked at my steam library, and the only thing that stood out was RDR2.

I'm not a big fan of that game myself, but I think it might count by your rules?

Edit: Oh wait, I just noticed one of the rules is "what you like".
Dang, I'm back at square 1. lol

 

[Inkingsama]

After thinking for about 20 minutes i can only come up with castlevania 3 and devil may cry 3. When you think about it, prequels are not very common, are they?

 

[It's Thinking 2]

There's a Soul Reaver prequel novel coming next summer.

 

[moonbits]

Devil May Cry 3
Halo Reach
Yakuza 0
Metal Gear Solid 3

 

[DunkeyKong]

God of War: Chains of Olympus
Castlevania Legends
Resident Evil 0
Deus Ex: Human Revolution

 

[TheWanderer]

Yakuza 0 even better than the main game
Crisis core FF7 a very well done gem
Kingdom hearts BBS I enjoyed this one very much but I didn't play the other KH so I can't really say if it's up to standard

 

[Knighthart]

I wouldn't say it's difficult to name a good or decent prequel, but it does take some brain stretching to think of ones generally better than the original.

Berseria and Fate/Zero come to mind as obvious ones where it's not really a unique opinion to think they're better. Gorse mentions the Investigation series, but I guess forgot about considering the DGS games, which actually are prequels; and personally I believe have the best writing throughout the whole franchise.
Lastly I hardly cared about Fata Morgana itself, but I was deeply moved by its prequel contained within yakata gaiden. That's pretty much the one that I immediately think of where, to me, the prequel is leaps and bounds more personal. I can't really think of anything creative when just coming from the top of my head, it's my biggest weakness.

 

[GVSE]

Shadow of the Colossus is a good prequel to Ico, and Yoshi's Island is a good prequel to all Mario's.
But yeah, thinking of other prequels off the top of my head is not easy.

 

[Sayo]

Lupin the First was surprisingly decent.

 

[Waffles]

Resident Evil Zero is the only one off the top of my head.

I actually consider it a bit of a master class on prequel-making: you get to experience a glossed-over part of the plot through the eyes of a character that really didn't have much to do in the original game, and can interact with more important characters while gaining a richer understanding of what went down.

Really, really cool.

 

[Shadowruls]

Steins;Gate 0 takes place after 98% of the original, but technically takes place during thanks to time travel, so count that if you like.

I recently watched a foreign film and its sequel The Platform 1 and 2; and the second, minus the last literal minute takes place entirely before the first, but is framed in such a way you don't even know that fact until about halfway through the film. Both movies have a serious flaw in not answering many questions, but they were entirely worth watching

And I've got a freebe for some of you, Warframe 1999 is coming out soon and looks promising

All my other answers were given already

 

[Seinekar]

Yakuza 0 even better than the main game
Crisis core FF7 a very well done gem
Kingdom hearts BBS I enjoyed this one very much but I didn't play the other KH so I can't really say if it's up to standard

Up for Crisis Core.
The gameplay today may feel restricted and dated, no open world exploration or the usual RPG, more like a mision-based game (with lots of sidemissions and side content)

But the incredible story told here, the narrative, the character development... Is truly amazing. The inside of being a Shinra soldier, the "change" of Sephiroth, the past of Aerith... And the ending, oh, the ending... Zack turned out one of my favorite characters ever.

 

[Octopus]

Other than MGS3, RE0 and DMC3 which were already mentioned, the only ones I can think of are Arkham Origins and Borderlands: The Presequel.

Arkham Origins I think is too often dismissed, there's some strange decisions in it like the shock gauntlets just removing much semblance of difficulty and some of the villains were handled...questionably, but it's still a good Batman game. The Mister Freeze parts of it were awesome, and the core idea of an early 'Year Two' type Batman was solid.

Presequel was alright. The gameplay was fine and it had some good additions like the laser and cryo weapons, and some of the highest 'fun factor' characters in the series to me, but the story and writing was the beginning of the end for the series- I just turned the voice volume down to zero and turned subtitles off. Coincidentally, that's also how I got through every other game in the series going forward.

 

[Adrastia]

Lufia 2. I have a soft spot for the first game. But Lufia 2 is put together better. It does a good job with the whole Maxim thing and links it well to the first game.

 

[Seinekar]

Lufia 2. I have a soft spot for the first game. But Lufia 2 is put together better. It does a good job with the whole Maxim thing and links it well to the first game.

On my Region there were no Lufia 1, instead Lufia "2" was launched just as Lufia, without the 2. I enjoyed the game back then on the SNES, and got amazed when years later, when owning a PC and starting to get to the "roms and emulators stuff" found there were 2 Lufias, and that the one I played was really the prequel to another game. That said, Lufia "1" seemes incredibly hard to me with enemy strenght ramping up too much, so grinding was needed.

 

[Smiley Cat]

On my Region there were no Lufia 1, instead Lufia "2" was launched just as Lufia, without the 2. I enjoyed the game back then on the SNES, and got amazed when years later, when owning a PC and starting to get to the "roms and emulators stuff" found there were 2 Lufias, and that the one I played was really the prequel to another game. That said, Lufia "1" seemes incredibly hard to me with enemy strenght ramping up too much, so grinding was needed.

There's a nice hack for the first Lufia game on CDR called "Lufia & the Fortress of Doom Restored". It makes it less grindy.

 

[DRAKKO]

Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core

 

[Ikagura]

Ys Origin is quite good as a prequel using the engine used for the remake of the third mainline game.

But I do agree that prequels in general are riskier because any character being introduced that have never appeared before (or, chronologically, no longer appears after) already spoils their whereabouts (like them dying or quitting the team) and you cannot make them stronger than what they'll become.

The Metal Gear from MGS V is already contradicting the models seen in Metal Gear 1 and 2 (when Kojima didn't know the entire plan for his franchise).

I also dislike when a prequel ads a major retcon that changes the franchise completely or add a massive confusion or contradiction.

 

[Yousef]

I’m late to this thread but

 

[RageBurner]

Most of the good examples have been mentioned already, I feel. In a lot of ways, making prequels (good prequels), is just as challenging as making good sequels, I feel. A list of bad prequels would be much easier, and far more volumous haha.

 

[It's Thinking 2]

Most of the good examples have been mentioned already, I feel. In a lot of ways, making prequels (good prequels), is just as challenging as making good sequels, I feel. A list of bad prequels would be much easier, and far more volumous haha.

Because you are working backwards and basically just asking yourself "ok why did this happen? Where did this character originate from?" Pretty easy, really.

 

[RageBurner]

Because you are working backwards and basically just asking yourself "ok why did this happen? Where did this character originate from?" Pretty easy, really.

There is more room for "growing" the lore backwards, I agree, but still, careless writing might lead to contradictions, deus-ex-machina plot devices or other trite solutions to shoehorn a prequel. The challenges are similar, at least from my point of view.