The Prequel Problem

[Cu-Neo]

A good prequel that comes to my mind would be Dragon quest 3 and Deus Ex human revolution the things that happen in that game are the foundation for the world you see in Deus ex 1

 

[RageBurner]

True, Dragon Quest 3 is a very good example.

 

[Ikagura]

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.

I'd say even more.

A sequel being mediocre or bad wouldn't have much of an impact on the previous entries in any franchises. I mean you could act as if Halo never had any story after the events of 3.

As for prequels if it completely ruins the lore and story it will retroactively affect the previously released entries set chronologically after.

Unless you make your series in a way that every entries are self contained stories with slight references to other.

I'd also dare saying that sometimes when you hint some lore about the past of a world it would kill the "mystique" if it was fully shown (which is why I'm against a Seven Hours War Half-Life spinoff).

 

[usenet]

No love for the Street Fighter Alpha series?! Great trilogy from Capcom at their best, and is explicitly a prequel to Street Fighter 2. Not sure if this really counts though, it's a whole lot easier to make a good prequel for a series with very loose preexisting lore (sorry to all the street fighter story fanatics out there )

And the music... sniffles... the music!!!

 

[RageBurner]

Ah, right! I like Alpha more than any game that either preceeds or follows it, actually. The only issue I have is that with Alpha 3 specifically the music is terrible. I'd rather they re-used the tracks from Alpha 1 and 2 for existing characters and kept the new music for the newcomers only, and even then, I'd have preferred remixes from Super Turbo for those.

 

[Another Iori]

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?

'The Woman Called Mine Fujiko' (Precursor of the original series).

5 April 2012–28 June 2012, 'The Woman Called Mine Fujiko' (It is a television series of 13 episodes)

Successors to this series:
21 June 2014, 'Lupin the Third Jigen's Gravestone' (Cinematographic work of 50 minutes).

4 February 2017, 'Lupin the Third Goemon's Blood Spray' (Cinematographic work of 53 minutes).

31 May 2019, 'Lupin the Third Mine Fujiko's Lie' (Cinematographic work of 57 minutes).

Upcoming in 2025:
'Lupin the Third the Movie' (Provisional title).

 

[Ikagura]

No love for the Street Fighter Alpha series?! Great trilogy from Capcom at their best, and is explicitly a prequel to Street Fighter 2. Not sure if this really counts though, it's a whole lot easier to make a good prequel for a series with very loose preexisting lore (sorry to all the street fighter story fanatics out there )

And the music... sniffles... the music!!!

What I liked about Alpha was mostly bringing back Street Fighter 1 characters as well as linking it more to the Final Fight series.

 

[ThirdEidolon]

Arkham Origins was pretty solid, in hindsight, so was Peacewalker and Snake Eater.

Post automatically merged: Dec 11, 2024

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

0 takes place concurrently. It's not really a prequel. It's only a prequel to the end of the first game because it reveals how Operation Skuld formed.

 

[Ikagura]

Arkham Origins was pretty solid, in hindsight

I actually liked the game but it was still inferior to City.

Haven't played Knight yet.

I forgot but did I mention that one?

I think you can technically play this as your first Ys game but you'll miss a ton of reference towards the first two games (and Memories of Celceta to a lesser extent since this was made before the remake of Ys IV).

Back then this game was literally a prequel to Zelda 1 which still managed to not conflict with the previous two entries.

I still wish they made a prequel to Minish Cap set after Skyward Sword.