Resident Evil 2 (2019) - Beyond the Horror

After callbacks.

http://nukesandknives.blogspot.com/2019/04/resident-evil-2-2019-1998-callbacks.html

And 1998 original.

https://nukesandknives.blogspot.com/2019/04/resident-evil-2-1998-beyond-horror.html

Comes the grand finale.

Imagery is taken from various sources, hence why quality varies.

Copy and paste

RE Engine gives the perfect excuse to recycle items and backgrounds from Resi Evil 7.

Bolt cutters becomes cutting tool.

Fuse

Mini library

Stolen from Jack Baker's collection.

Creepy mannequins.

But wait.

The Evil Within

Staff

Awagomihs is Shimogawa (as in Teruhiro) spelled backwards.

Localisation team feature on Goddess statue.

And more.

Operations room

Related

Featured locker combination is CAP'com'.
There's also DCM and SZF, which if rearranged, becomes Devil May Cry and Street Fighter Zero (Japanese name for SF Alpha).
Why not keep it simple?

No doubt about this one.

Frank East refs Frank West of Dead Rising fame.

And of course.

"We Do It"
'Motto' refers to Yoshiki 'H' Hirabayashi announcing on Capcom's YouTube channel in August 2015 that remake was officially happening.
Producer from R&D 1 Division even wore a cool t-shirt for the occasion.

Details

Broken chain on floor and claw marks left on Orphanage front door are stunning touches.

Resi 3 remake is released on 3 April 2020.
HOLY FUCKING SHIT!
To whet appetites, observe the destruction that Nemesis 'probably' caused at RPD.

Secret room has a model of the police station.

Concept artwork of G Stage 5 shows William's head at bottom-right hand corner.

I don't really like this, but whatever.

Just over 9 months before the T-virus was unleashed upon Raccoon City, Brad was the face of S.T.A.R.S. recruitment poster.

1.5

Here's what made it from cancelled 'original'.

Elza Walker costume.

Firing range.

Tyrant with a hat.

Ada's trench coat.

Garms

Claire's Military outfit smacks of Vasquez and arm was Made in Heaven.

Tank top (ntbcw Classic top) vs Lara Croft (2013)

As for Leon.

Arklay Sheriff vs Nick Grimes (The Walking Dead)

Noir vs Sebastian Castellanos (The Evil Within)

Series miscellany

Ada unnecessarily wearing shades at night fails to upstage Wesker.

Annette randomly burning a corpse may be an obscure ref of using kerosene to prevent a 'dead' zombie from becoming a terrifying Crimson Head in the Gamecube remake.

Leon's licence plate M4T-ILD4 refs Matilda gun from Resi 4 (named after Natalie Portman's character from Leon), and Let Me Live can be found on Queen's album Made in Heaven.

Claire's Harley reads MD3 IN H3VN.

Fancy checking out posters of scantily clad women?

Opening sequence at Mizoil station does not disappoint.

Trend began in Resi Evil, and same poster was repeated in Nemesis.

Sticking with Resi 3.

Mikhail's Pierogis

Marvin vs Brad

Both are wounded in identical place.

Outbreak: File 2 is given lots of love.

Operation Report in West Office explains how Rita Phillips escaped. 

Blonde bombshell.

Her first initial (along with several others), is used to open Leon's desk.

Meat of Guide Pamphlet is very similar to Marvin's Memo.

Police station was originally an art museum you know.

Shoot fifteen Mr. Raccoon toys* to receive unbreakable knife.

*Also in File 1.

Miscellany

1.21 (possibly gigawatts) could be a nod towards Back to the Future.

Surname of Daniel Cortini may be in homage to Nine Inch Nails keyboard player Alessandro Cortini.

Carried by Zeus or Athena, Aegis is interpreted as a shield or animal skin.

HERE'S BRIAN!

Kubrick's classic has a lot to answer for.

Molten hot trivia alert.

When skulking around the Orphanage, you'll eventually hear a piece of music.

Oh, you wanna know what is?

Well as you asked so nicely.

It's the climax of Richard Wagner's epic musical drama Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), specifically Act III Scene III.

This is not, I repeat NOT listed in end credits.

In Leon's campaign, he and Ada will take a shortcut through Kendo's gun shop.
Banner of Ballistics ammunition is pretty hard to miss.

On meeting Ashley for the first time in Resi Evil 4, Luis famously remarks:

"Well, I see that the President's daughter equipped his daughter with ballistics too."

WTF?

There isn't much room for light relief, so I present my own.

 I like a fag as much as the next bloke, but I hardly think you could describe any cigarette as 'refreshing'.
Who knows, maybe Dingo Red taste of lager?

Gas station only allows 3 students at a time and only $30 is kept in register after dark.
So this place is basically advertising the fact that anybody can break in during the night and help themselves to a daily, if fairly modest Brucie bonus.
Brilliant security.

Missing persons poster at RPD is ridiculous.

As luck would have it, yours truly knows the whereabouts of Chanel Heatherton, Carl Beatty, Karlie Bair and Stephanie Winervine.
I'll just dial XXX-XXX-XXXX and give details.
"The number you have dialled has not been recognised, please check and try again."
Now why doesn't that fucking surprise me?

Take a look at the back of Cortini's motor.

There is a clear gap in the middle of SHE RIFF. 

Done on purpose?

Well maybe so, but when you nip around side.

Despite post obscuring view, said word is written how it should be.

(Frowns).

Near beginning of title sequence, illuminated sign of REDBU spins towards camera.

One would think another nod to The Shining, but that wouldn't make any sense.

My head hurts.

Poetry Slam and Rat Em Out!

In loving memory of those who served with the valor of lions, the nobility of unicorns, and whose ultimate sacrifice is as pure as the maidens of old.

Not quite William Blake, but good effort though Capcom.

Likeness steals

Claire is modelled on Canadian hottie Jordan Mcewen.

But why does she look so much like Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider reboot?

Who looks remarkably similar to:

Zoey (Left 4 Dead)

Tyrant

Okay, he's not as frightening as he was 21 years ago, but invincible bastard still shouldn't be fucked with.

I'm suggesting ugly mug is an amalgam of Dolph Lundgren and Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010).

Coincidence?

Robert Kendo vs Andy (Dawn of the Dead 2004)

Sure they look nothing like each other, but both own a gun shop.

To add further weight, Andy also has a daughter.

On the flip side, it's entirely possible that character in Zack Snyder's remake was 'inspired' by original dude.

Ooh, sorry about that babe.

Just so we're clear, there was a gun shop in DOTD (1978), but that doesn't count.

Rip offs

Tyrant breaking through vs Nemesis breaking through (Resident Evil: Apocalypse)

Both (more likely the latter), stink heavily of Arnie doing the same at Cyberdyne building in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Best is saved until last.

Cut scene continues vs Robocop 2

Baddies clock oncoming threat.

Vehicles approach at high speed.

Ramming targets inside wall.

Damn I'm good.

The Irishman - The scoop and digest

After languishing for years in development hell, Martin Scorsese's epic crime drama is finally here.

Robert De Niro - Frank Sheeran
Al Pacino - Jimmy Hoffa
Joe Pesci - Russell Bufalino
Stephen Graham - Tony Pro
Harvey Keitel - Angelo Bruno

Summary

In 1950s Philidelphia, truck driver Frank Sheeran becomes a hitman and begins to do 'jobs' for mobster Russell Bufalino.

It isn't long before powerful Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa recruits Sheeran as his chief bodyguard.

An elderly Sheeran reflects on his career with pride and regret.

Majestic

First things first.  How do ILM's de-aging effects hold up?

Very impressive, but not perfect.

Body movements can be out of sync with character's age and De Niro's mince pies are almost neon blue.

Importantly though, it's largely unobtrusive.

De Niro and Pacino are excellent, but Pesci is simply sensational.

Cross this guy at your peril.

Leads inevitably chew the fat for long periods, but unlike Tarantino's Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood, sequences drip with suspense.

Sometimes, silence is golden.

Kudos to Steven Zaillian by the way.

Although decades are shuffled like a deck of playing cards, editing supremo Thelma Schoonmaker ensures transition is seamless.

One word to describe the last 20 minutes or so?

Heartbreaking.

While Goodfellas remains king, this comes mighty close.

And yeah, the famous 'I heard you paint houses' conversation between Hoffa and Sheeran plays out, just like it did in real life.

Video game interquels, prequels and sequels

Interquels

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel - between Borderlands and Borderlands 2¹
Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword - between Ninja Gaiden (2004) and Ninja Gaiden II (2008)
Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge - between Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie
Metroid: Other M - between Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion
Final Fantasy IV Interlude² - between Final Fantasy IV Advance and The After Years
God of War: Ghost of Sparta - excluding flashbacks, set between God of War and Betrayal
Transformers: Age of Extinction³ - between War for Cybertron and Fall of Cyberton
Daxter - between Jak and Daxter and Jak II: Renegade
Street Fighter Alpha - between Street Fighter and Street Fighter II
Street Fighter IV - between SF II and SF III: New Generation
Street Fighter V - between SF IV and SF III: New Generation
God of War: Ghost of Sparta - between God of War and God of War II
Resident Evil: Survivor - between Resi 3 and Code: Veronica
Resident Evil: Revelations - between 4 and 5
Resident Evil: Revelations 2 - sequel to Revelations and 5
Shadow of the Hedgehog - between Sonic Heroes and Sonic Battle
Yoshi's New Island - between Yoshi's Island and Yoshi's Island DS
Assassin's Creed Rogue - between Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Assassin's Creed III
Batman Arkham VR - between Arkham City and Arkham Knight
Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom - between Ninja Gaiden (1988) and The Dark Sword of Chaos
Sacred Citadel - between Sacred and Sacred 3
Klonoa: Empire of Dreams - between Klonoa: Door to Phantomile and Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil

¹Tales from the Borderlands is an episodic comedy graphic adventure set some time after BL 2.
²Exclusive to PSP compilation Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection.
³also before events of film of same name.

PS3, 360 and PC versions of Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands follow the same storyline, but Wii and PSP have their own.  However, all are set between The Sands of Time and Warrior Within.

Because they can, DS game takes place after The Two Thrones.

Star Wars

Okay, Disney have consigned most to Legends Continuity, but that's not gonna stop me feeling the Force.

Yoda Stories, Shadows of the Empire and TIE Fighter - between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi

Lethal Alliance, The Force Unleashed and Empire at War - between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope

Rogue Squadron - after A New Hope, before The Empire Strikes Back and after Return of the Jedi

Force Commander - between A New Hope and Return of the Jedi

Novel interquels

Hitman: Enemy Within - between Hitman 2: Silent Assassin and Hitman: Contracts
Gears of War: Aspho Fields - between Gears of War and Gears of War 2
Halo: First Strike - between Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2
Resident Evil: Caliban Cove - between Resi Evil and Resi Evil 2
Resident Evil: Underworld - between Resi Evil 3: Nemesis and Code: Veronica
Fable: The Balverine Order - between Fable II and III
Resistance: The Gathering Storm - between Fall of Man and Resistance 2
Driver: Nemesis - sequel to Driver 2 and prequels Driver: San Francisco

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and sequel Shadow of War are set between Tolkien's seminal literary works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Film interquels

Star Trek (2013) - between Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness
X-Men: The Official Game - between X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand
Saw and Saw II: Flesh & Blood - between Saw and Saw II
Fast & Furious: Showdown - between Fast Five and Fast & Furious 6
Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier - between Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes
Alien: Isolation - between Alien and Aliens
Zombieland: Double Tap - Road Trip - between Zombieland and Zombieland: Double Tap

Film trilogies

Alien Trilogy⁴, Star Wars Arcade Trilogy and Die Hard Trilogy are obvious examples, but the following less so:

Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures⁵
Spider Man: Friend or Foe
The Lord of the Rings: Tactics
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II - Rogue Leader
The Godfather (1991)

⁴Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien are tackled (in that order).
⁵Plays out in order films were theatrically released.

Lego Star Wars: The Video Game adapted Episodes I-III and sequel Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy obviously did the rest.

So why not sub first The Prequel Trilogy?

(Rolls eyes).

Each film was adapted separately for SNES and known as the Super Star Wars trilogy.

1985 arcade Empire served as a sequel to Star Wars (1983), so was released after Jedi (1984).

Sequels bearing same name

Bionic Commando (2009) is a sequel to 1988 NES game (based on 1987 arcade of same name).

Latter game was remade in 2008 as Bionic Commando Rearmed, and got its own sequel in 2011.

Clock Tower originally appeared on Super Famicom in 1995.

Remake and sequel of sorts was released a year later for PS1 and because EU and NA called it Clock Tower, many thought it was the first game.

In Japan, it was known as Clock Tower 2.

Alien Syndrome (2007) is set roughly 100 years after 1987 arcade.

Mixing it up, the first Parasite Eve is actually a sequel to Hideaki Sena's 1995 book of same name.

Parallel sequels

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 - before Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield and after Rainbow Six: Vegas.

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis - before and after Resi 2.

Yesterday Origins - before and after Yesterday.

Destroy all Humans! Big Willy Unleashed - before Path of the Furon and after Destroy all Humans! 2.

Darksiders III - takes place during II and before vast majority of original.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow - sequel to first film, prequels others and a re-telling of the Curse of the Black Pearl.

Suikoden Tactics - spin-off serves as prequel, side-story and sequel to IV.

Tron: Evolution - precursor to Tron: Legacy and sequel to both graphic novel Tron: Betrayal and Wii/DS games Tron: Evolution - Battle Grids.

Film prequels

Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler's Green
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
Watchmen: The End is Nigh
James Cameron's Avatar: The Game
The Terminator: Dawn of Fate
Terminator: Resistance
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - The Game
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter

The Blair Witch Project received three prequels:

Volume I: Rustin Parr, Volume II: The Legend of Coffin Rock and Volume III: The Elly Kedward Tale.

John Wick Hex is a narrative prequel to film trilogy and although released after John Wick: Chapter 2, Dynamite Entertainment's five-issue comic series John Wick prequels original film.

Film sequels of same name

Blade Runner (1997)

Excellent point-and-click begins shortly after film's opening, with rookie Ray McCoy assigned to hunt down Replicants accused of murdering animals.

In truth, it's a sidequel, as new plot intersects.

Years before Denis Villeneuve's sequel, the first to continue and also contradict events of film was K. W. Jeter's novel Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human.

For example, written word claims Pris is human.

From Dusk Till Dawn (2001)

Ignoring events of Texas Blood Money and prequel The Hangman's Daughter, bullshit story goes like this.

For some reason, Seth is aboard high-security floating prison the Rising Sun and condemned to death for the murders Richie committed.

Vampires attack and chaos ensues, giving Seth and fellow inmates the opportunity to fight for survival and escape.

The Thing (2002)

Cpt. Blake's military rescue team is sent to investigate the carnage at Outpost 31 and nearby Norwegian camp.

NPC AI is primarily dictated by fear/trust system, as sanity levels of squad members can lead them to literally 'crack-up'.

Despite adding depth to playing experience, peeps splitting off and transforming into monsters at pre-determined moments makes interesting mechanic feel like a waste of time.

Also, alien design lacks imagination.

Timecop (1995)

Picking up directly after original ends, Max Walker is on a mission to right wrongs of Dr. Kleindast and ultimately bring inventor of time travel technology down.

Blade II (2002)

Six months after film's conclusion, Dr. Grant reveals the Arcan vampire clan are extracting 'dark energy' from humans to create a race of super vampires.

Daywalker and Whistler are on hand to foil heinous experiment dubbed Project: Vorpal.

Hulk (2003)

8 years after film ends, Dr. Crawford receives some of Bruce Banner's power from touching Gamma Orb and mutates into Ravage.

But the real enemy is Leader, and his private army of subordinates.

Miscellany

Iron Man 2 - story in console and portable versions are set after film, but iOS and Blackberry PlayBook beg to differ.

Star Trek: Hidden Evil - sequel to Star Trek: Insurrection.

Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters - tie-in/sequel.

Aliens: Colonial Marines - Fox approved sequel to James Cameron's classic.

Alien: Isolation - set 15 years after Alien, Ripley's daughter Amanda searches for mother.

Scarface: The World Is Yours - pseudo sequel retcons 1983 film's ending so Montana survives.

Wanted: Weapons of Fate - set a few hours after film.

Back to the Future: The Video Game - five-part episodic tale begins in 1986.

Jaws Unleashed - 30 years after events of original, Michael Brody's marine biologist captures and transports Jaws to Amity's marine theme park for research.

Die Hard: Vendetta - five years after Die Hard with a Vengeance.

Treasure Planet: Battle at Procyon - five years after original.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order - five years after Revenge of the Sith and everything else before A New Hope.

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis - a year after the Last Crusade.

Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine - 9 years after the Last Crusade.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game (2009) - the closest we ever got to Ghostbusters 3.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife will be a sequel to Ghostbusters II, not 2016 female-led reboot.  Personally, it just feels wrong to make another without Harold Ramis.

The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer - alternate sequel to original film.

Evil Dead

Hail to the King - 8 years after Army of Darkness.
A Fistful of Boomstick - sequel to HTTK.
Regeneration - not a sequel to Boomstick, but imagines what happened if Ash wasn't sent back in time at the end of Evil Dead II.

Jurassic Park

1994 Mega CD/Sega CD game is set after events of film and Telltale's four-part episodic adventure Jurassic Park: The Game also had the same idea.

1993 Sega arcade of same name is set 'few months later...'

Jurassic Park Part 2: The Chaos Continues is a non-canonical sequel to original.

The Lawnmower Man

Mediocre sci-fi fantasy is most famous for Stephen King suing filmmakers for attaching his name to title, as apart from gardening machine, had absolutely nothing to do with horror short of same name.

Platform-based efforts (apart from Mega Drive), continue story at point when film ends, as we enter cyberspace to destroy the Doomplayer and The Shop.

Game Boy begins like SNES, but not for long.

Unlike console big brother, extra sequence is given back story.

We're told 5 years after stopping Jobe, we actually failed, as he escaped through a 'back door' into the world computer network.

Angelo rescues Jobe from the Doomplayer and together, they drive to The Shop to defeat him.

Hell, we even get Space Harrier sections, but we still have no fucking idea who antagonist is.

Released for PC and only in Japan for PS1, Cyberwar was a sequel to game, not film.

Angelo is sent to virtual reality to tear Jobe a new asshole.

So with that said, plot ignores Game Boy version.

Err...

Appalling movie sequel Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace came out in 1996.

Blair Witch (2019) is completely unrelated to 2016 film of same name.

I have no idea if it's meant to be a 'sequel', but whatever, it's set 2 years after The Blair Witch Project, which took place in 1994.

Former police officer Ellis Lynch joins a search party at Black Hills to help find missing boy Peter Shannon.

Going further, it could also be described as an alternate sequel to original and/or alternate prequel to said film.

Finally, Stranglehold is the sequel to Hard Boiled and will apparently be made into a film.

Multiple prequels (and sequels)

Metaseries milked Final Fantasy VII dry of Materia.

Films

Last Order - details the destruction of Nibelheim
Advent Children - 2 years later

Video games

Before Crisis - 6 years before
Dirge of Cerberus - 3 years later
Crisis Core - 7 years before

Suikoden

After third game, things got tasty.

IV - prequel to original
V - another prequel to original, but set after IV, so also a sequel to Tactics

So chronologically, main series goes IV, V, original, II and III.

God of War

Chains of Olympus - prequel to original
Ascension - prequels entire series

Dead to Rights

II - prequel to original
Reckoning - prequel to II
Retribution - re-imagining/reboot of original

So three games later, and we're no further on with story.

Across the board

Devil May Cry

Chronologically speaking:

Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening*

Devil May Cry

Devil May Cry 2

Devil May Cry 4

Devil May Cry 5

The Animated Series is sandwiched between original and sequel.

*In 2005, a manga prequel was published.

Dead Space

Rail-shooter Extraction prequels original, animated horror film Downfall takes place during events of Extraction and sequel Aftermath bridges the gap between Dead Space and Dead Space 2.

2008 comic series, simply titled Dead Space, serves as a prequel to Extraction and Downfall.

Wii game came bundled with one-shot comic of same name, so prequels prequel.

2010 novel Martyr is set about 200 years before first game and comic Salvage is set between original and Aftermath.

Ignition prequels 2 and mobile game (another Dead Space), is set after original but before 2.

Dead Space 2: Severed is set 3 years after Extraction, with DLC taking place shortly before sequel.

2012 novel Catalyst is set 250 years after Martyr, 2013 comic Liberation prequels Dead Space 3 and DLC Awakened picks up immediately after main game.

The Scorpion King

2002 film served as a prequel to both The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns.

Direct-to-DVD effort The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior follows a young Mathayus seeking vengeance after witnessing his father's death at the hands of military commander Sargon.

Video game Rise of the Akkadian prequels original film and Castlevania-esque GBA effort Sword of Osiris served as a sequel to film, so separate to Akkadian.

Third in film series Battle for Redemption picks up where TSK left off (presumably ignoring Osiris), and was followed by direct sequel Quest for Power.

Numberless fifth Book of Souls brings us bang up to date.

One more boys and girls.

The House of the Dead

2 follows 1996 original and III is set in 2019.

4 takes place in 2003, with pointless mini-sequel Special picking up soon after climax, as Kate teams up with 'G' to destroy Pandora's Box.

Overkill is a spin-off and non-canonical prequel to original, and the only game to not name bosses after Major Arcana tarot cards.  Prelude to an Overkill served as a prequel comic.

Giving 'The' marching orders from title, House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn is set in 2006, so a sequel to 4 and another prequel to III.

Uwe Boll's infamous House of the Dead calls itself a prequel to original game.

I find that hilarious, because gameplay footage of THOTD 2 is awkwardly edited in (usually during atrocious action sequences), and sometimes - for no FUCKING reason.

Bearing same title as film, Artisan Entertainment brought out a very short tie-in prequel comic.

Michael Hurst's stand-alone sequel House of the Dead II was a slight improvement and Dead and Deader was originally called House of the Dead 3, but was forced to drop name due to licensing issues.

Pure coincidence of course, but the alternative name for 1978 horror Alien Zone is The House of the Dead.

Film interquels, prequels and sequels

Interquels

Dead Rising: Watchtower - between DR 2 and DR 3

Dead Rising: Endgame - between Watchtower and DR 3
Jeepers Creepers 3 - between JC and JC 2
Black Panther - between Captain America: Civil War and Thor: Ragnarok
Rings (2005) - between The Ring and The Ring Two
Tekken: Blood Vengeance - in an alternate timeline, between Tekken 5 and 6
Batman: Gotham Knight - between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight
Solo: A Star Wars Story - between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope

The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury is set between Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick, and was followed by video game sequel Assault on Dark Arena.

Unlike live-action counterparts, the CG Resident Evil movies are set in the same universe as video games.

Degeneration - between 4 and 5
Damnation - sequel to Degeneration and before 6
Vendetta - between 6 and 7

Non-numbered prequels

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Zulu Dawn
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
Ouija: Origin of Evil
Cube Zero
Seoul Station
The Thing (2011)
The First Purge

The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
Monsters University

Carlito's Way: Rise to Power

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning

Hannibal Rising

Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd

Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

Leatherface

Numbered prequels

Final Destination 5

Tarzan II

Messengers 2: The Scarecrow

Tremors 4: The Legend Begins
Vacancy 2: The First Cut
From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter
Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge
Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings
Missing in Action 2: The Beginning
The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior
Insidious: Chapter 3
Tekken 2: Kazuya's Revenge
DragonHeart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse
Exorcist IV: The Beginning
Cold Prey 3

Death Race 2

Internal Affairs II

Bambi II

Paranormal Activity 3

Parallel sequels

The Godfather Part II

One part tells the story of new Don Michael Corleone, protecting the family business in the aftermath of an attempt on his life, and prequel covers his father Vito, from childhood beginnings, to founding family enterprise in New York.

Following Mario Puzo's death in 1999, Mark Winegardner penned The Godfather Returns, a sequel to original book which runs concurrently with Part II.

Final book The Godfather's Revenge deals with the fallout of Part II.

Video game The Godfather II is based on 1974 film sequel, and follows original character Dominic.  As with original, plot intersects with that of film's narrative and explores new situations.

Paranormal Activity 2

Begins in August 2006 and concludes on 9 October 2006 (day after events of original), where a possessed Katie murders Daniel and sister Kristi, kidnapping Hunter in the process.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Prologue is set in 1912, with a young Indy (River Phoenix) attempting to retrieve the Cross of Coronado.  Meat then jumps to 1938, so 2 years after Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Shaft (2019) prequels Shaft (2000) and soon becomes a sequel.

The Huntsman: Winter's War is both a prequel and sequel to Snow White and the Huntsman.

The frankly embarrassing Annabelle Comes Home plays out unseen aftermath of The Conjuring's opening scene, as demonologists take pigtails to Artefact Room, with meat occurring a year later in 1969.

300: Rise of an Empire takes place before, during and after original.

REC 3: Genesis takes place before, during and after the first two films.

Back to the Future Part II very briefly begins in 1985, jumps to 2015, an 'alternate' 1985, and finally back to 1955 (running concurrently with original and beyond), setting up final part of seminal trilogy.

The Grudge (2020) takes place during the events of The Grudge (2004) and The Grudge 2 (2006).

Death Race 3: Inferno is both a sequel to Death Race 2 and prequel to Death Race.

The latest in remake series Beyond Anarchy takes place after Death Race.

Sequels of same name

Keeping things simple, Halloween (2018) is the sequel to Halloween (1978).

Shaft (2000) is both a remake and story sequel to 1971 original.

This doesn't count, but for shits and giggles.

Because it was initially announced that Kiefer Sutherland would be reprising his role as Dr. Nelson Wright, we thought Flatliners (2017) was a sequel to 1990 film.

Of course, that turned out to be bullshit.

However, Sutherland did return in remake/re-imagining as different character Dr. Barry Wolfson.

Multiple prequels and sequels

Alien: Covenant - sequel to Prometheus which prequels Alien.

Will series continue? Who knows?

Lots of shorts were released to promote both.

Also, 2014 novel Out of the Shadows is set between Alien and Aliens.

Sea of Sorrows and River of Pain complete canonical trilogy.

Blade Runner Black Out 2022, 2036: Nexus Dawn and 2048: Nowhere to Run all set up Blade Runner 2049.

Underworld: Endless War is an animated feature collecting three tie-in stories to explain what happened before the events of Underworld: Awakening.

Hannibal Rising and Red Dragon prequel The Silence of the Lambs.

After Ridley Scott's gory eyebrow raiser Hannibal, acclaimed TV series of same name incorporated elements of Thomas Harris' novels Red Dragon, Hannibal and Hannibal Rising, and also served as a prequel to Jonathan Demme's classic.

Michael Mann first adapted Red Dragon as Manhunter in 1986.

Annabelle is a prequel/spin-off to The Conjuring and Annabelle: Creation prequels former.

Like Captain America: The First Avenger, The Nun (2018) is chronologically the first in universe.

Speaking of MCU.

Overall, Captain Marvel prequels Iron Man, The Avengers, Guardians Vol. 1, Infinity War, Endgame and even TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

It's worth noting that opening segments of others briefly pre-date jazz hands.

Guardians Vol. 2 (1980), Ant-Man and the Wasp (1987), Guardians Vol. 1 (1988) and Ant-Man (1989).

Zombieland: Double Tap - The scoop and digest

Ruben Fleischer's long overdue sequel coincides with original's tenth anniversary.

Woody Harrelson - Tallahassee
Jesse Eisenberg - Columbus
Emma Stone - Wichita
Abigail Breslin - Little Rock
Rosario Dawson - Nevada
Zoey Deutch - Madison

Summary

Over the past 10 years, Tallahassee and co have become expert zombie slayers and live in their new home at the White House.

During this time, the undead have evolved.

Homer (dumb), Hawking (intelligent) and Ninja (appear from nowhere).

Initially abandoning them, Wichita returns to inform the guys (who have since taken ditzy barbie doll Madison under their wing), that Little Rock is heading for hippie commune with pot happy pacifist Berkeley.

This outrages Tallahassee who has nothing against hippies, but just wants to beat the shit out of 'em.

Fearing for her safety, they embark on a road trip to Graceland.

En route, they encounter a super-zombie that proves extremely difficult to kill, with Columbus quickly nicknaming it the T-800.

Anybody would think dude was named after the Terminator or something?

Look out Babylon, here they come.

Mid-credits

Back in 2009 and while promoting Garfield 3, Bill Murray witnesses the zombie outbreak begin. Making his escape, he takes out several zombies in various ways.

Post-credits

Murray is shown earlier practising coughing up a hairball as joke for his interview.

Bloody good fun

Statue of Columbia movie logo coming to life and defending herself against zombies sets the tone.

Okay, there isn't much originality, but I was very satisfied.

Chemistry between leads remains as strong as ever and dumb blonde didn't irritate me.

Humour doesn't always work and 'zombie kills of the week' involving combine harvester and Pisa tower were pretty dull.

Aside from Little Rock stating 'I love the smell of gunpowder in the morning' and numerous T2 refs, video games steal limelight.

Early on, Columbus wears a Dragon's Lair tee and Tallahassee rolls barrel down staircase yelling 'Donkey Kong, motherfucker!'

Action sequences consistently entertain and climax with T-800 horde was very impressive.

However, I have one major issue.

After been formally introduced to Hawking and Ninja, we never see either type again.

So what's the fucking point of having them in the first place?

Yeah...

Doctor Sleep - The scoop and digest

Mike Flanagan adapts Stephen King's novel of same name, which also serves as a sequel to Kubrick's classic and combines elements of original novel.

The whole nine yards then.

Ewan McGregor - Dan Torrance
Rebecca Ferguson - Rose the Hat
Kyliegh Curran - Abra Stone
Cliff Curtis - Ben Freeman
Zahn McClarnon - Crow Daddy
Emily Alyn Lind - Snakebite Andi
Selena Anduze - Apron Annie
Robert Longstreet - Barry the Chunk

Summary

Still traumatised by events at the Overlook, a hard-drinking Danny (now Dan) is doing his level best to distance himself from society.

But when fellow telepath Abra (as in cadabra) tracks him down, alcoholism takes a back seat and ass is dragged back into the supernatural world.

She requires his help to escape from Rose the Hat's cult The True Knot, who in their quest for immortality, suck gifted children dry of 'steam' to delay aging process.

In order to fend off head shine vampire, Dan must literally revisit the past.

Shined off

For nearly 2 hours, I was really bored, but third act woke me up.

Of course, nostalgic sequence owes everything to Kubrick's genius.

Complete with dodgy accent, McGregor was okay, as are those in support, but Ferguson is neither menacing or interesting.

Who knows if intentional, but when True Knot are feeding, glowing eyes smacks of Village of the Damned.

Source material is largely followed, but primary change is how Rose dies.

In the book, with the help of Jack's spirit, she's pushed off a high platform, but here - Dan unleashes the Overlook's ghosts from one of his boxes who swarm all over her.

I suppose the ultimate question is would we give a shit if this didn't exist?

Probably not.

The confusing world of video game prequels and sequels

Unless absolutely necessary, I aim to ignore reboots and not get bogged down with exploring franchises as a whole, as that will undermine primary theme.

EU - Europe
JPN - Japan
NA - North America
ntbcw - not to be confused with

Sometimes it's down to localisation, and Dynasty Warriors (ntbcw unrelated Capcom arcade Dynasty Wars), is a prime example.

Due to some asshole christening spin-off Shin Sangokumusō as Dynasty Warriors 2, all English titles are a number ahead of their Japanese counterparts, and trend is unlikely to ever fucking change.

That's where sympathy ends.

Rampage 2: Universal Tour is a sequel to World Tour, not original.

Quake II is not a sequel to Quake, as plot wise, Quake 4 is.

Doom 64 is actually the sequel to Doom II.  Doom 3 rebooted series and received its own sequel in 2016, simply titled Doom (another soft reboot).

Super Bomberman 3 doesn't follow 2, but is actually a remix of PC Engine effort Bomberman '94, which was later republished as Mega Bomberman for Mega Drive.

Bomberman 64: The Second Attack is a sequel to Bomberman 64 (1997), ntbcw 2001 Japanese only game (also called Bomberman 64).

Although never called so, Super Metroid is basically Metroid III.  Metroid II: Return of Samus was remade for 3DS in 2017 as Metroid: Samus Returns.

Blood Roar 4 is the sequel to III, but Primal sandwiched inbetween ruined things.

Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (ntbcw Red Alert 3), followed Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun.

At least Command & Conquer 4 is a sequel to Tiberium Wars.

Blood Omen 2 isn't a sequel to Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain.  Instead, it's set after and in an alternate timeline created by Soul Reaver 2.

Errr...

Killzone 2 is a direct sequel to Killzone: Liberation, not Killzone.

The Goonies II is a sequel to Famicom original, not film.

Samurai Shodown III: Blades of Blood and IV: Amakusa's Revenge are set after original, but before II.

Events in Sam V and controversial update Sam V Special (last ever official Neo Geo game) occur before 1993 original.

The impressive Samurai Shodown (2019) is best described as a soft reboot.

Privateer 2: The Darkening is not a storyline sequel, but spin-off to Wing Commander: Privateer.

Why did they drop WC brand? Who knows?

Shadow Warrior 2 is a sequel to 2013 reboot, not 1997 original.

Gauntlet II is the sequel to Gauntlet (1985), not Gauntlet (1988).

XCOM 2 is the sequel to 2012 reboot/remake XCOM: Enemy Unknown, not 1994 original.

Civilization IV: Colonization is a remake of Sid Meir's Colonization and separate to Civilization IV.

Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear follows Rainbow Six.

Medal of Honor: Warfighter is a sequel to 2010 reboot.

Silent Hill 3 is a bit of an odd one really, as it's assumed either the Good or Good+ ending was achieved in original, otherwise Harry's daughter Heather was never born.

Regardless, it's set 17 years later after Silent Hill.

Battlefield 2 is the follow up to Battlefield Vietnam and Vietnam is the expansion pack for Bad Company 2.

Sounding like the first, the badly titled Battlefield 1 was actually the fifteenth.

Battlefield V continued the WWI theme of its predecessor and is the only game of the modern era to currently have no DLC.

The sequel to Final Fantasy X was not XI: Online or XII, but actually X-2, and the first direct sequel in long-running series.

X-Men 2: The Clone Wars (1993) is the sequel to earlier Mega Drive original X-Men, not 1992 Konami arcade.

There was also another game of same name released in 1994 for Game Gear.

8 bit home computer pickings are slim, but whatever.

Jet Set Willy II: The Final Frontier moonlights as a new game, but just an expanded version of original.

Who Dares Wins is the motto of the SAS, which is also a 1982 film.

In 1985, we got Who Dares Wins II for C64, Speccy et al (predictably, jack shit to do with said film).

But what happened to...

Well it's quite an interesting story.

Original did exist (for literally a matter of days), but Elite (who owned the rights of converting Commando), got wind of WDW and gained an injunction to prevent it from being sold.

'Sequel' was essentially the same game, but with redesigned levels.

Interviews with designer Tomonobu Itagaki indicates the Xbox Ninja Gaiden games prequel NES series.

Rather amazingly, so does Ninja Gaiden Shadow on Game Boy.

The first three Professor Layton games (Curious Village, Diabolical Box and Unwound Future) later got their own prequel series (Last Specter, Miracle Mask and Azran Legacy).

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is the prequel to Quake II and Fire 'n Ice (known as Solomon's Key 2 in EU) is the prequel to Solomon's Key.

Perfect Dark (Game Boy Color) is set in 2022 and Perfect Dark Zero on 360 (remastered in 2010), takes place before GBC game in 2020.

N64 original was set in 2023.

The upcoming Descent (2019) is set in 2136, so prequels 1995 original (2169).  Descent II and 3 followed each other.

Before moving on, I need to unload my Heavy Machine Gun.

Metal Slug 4 takes place one year after 3, but 5 occurs one year after 7.  6 is a month after 3 and 7 (and revised PSP version XX), takes place two years after 4.

Metal Slug (2006) is set two years after the original Metal Slug and before Metal Slug 2/X.

1st Mission and Metal Slug Advance are 'first' and 'last' games respectively.

Lovely.

Non-numbered prequels

Turok: Evolution
The Last of Us: Left Behind
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes
Halo: Reach
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Silent Hill: Origins
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
Baten Kaitos Origins
Resident Evil Zero
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates
Dead to Rights: Reckoning
Divinity: Original Sin
Batman: Arkham Origins
Assault Suits Valken

Heroes of Mana

Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero

Not that you'd know it, but The Inpatient is set 60 years before Until Dawn.

Although set in the same universe, Art of Fighting prequels Fatal Fury.  This is especially obvious when fighting young Geese (and hidden character) in Art of Fighting 2.

Numbered prequels

Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
Gargoyle's Quest II
Myth III: The Wolf Age (series is unrelated to 1989 text adventure and Myth: History in the Making)
Dark Reign 2
Sniper Elite III
Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix
Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
Panzer Dragoon II Zwei
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
Lost Planet 3
Driver 76
Five Nights at Freddy's 2
Drakengard 3
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Mortal Kombat 4
Serious Sam 3: BFE
Yakuza 0
Fallout 76
Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir
Red Dead Redemption 2
Dead to Rights II

Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins

Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation

Sequel in name only

Breath of Fire III, IV and 6.  Dragon Quarter only retained V in Japan.

Others include:

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
Fatal Frame III: The Tormented
Slayers Royal 2
Fighting Force 2
Red Steel 2
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 4: The Room
Alundra 2
Dino Crisis 3
King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder!
King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride
Clock Tower III
Layers of Fear 2

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen, V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride and VI: Realms of Revelation is dubbed the Zenithian trilogy, due to flying castle Zenithia appearing in all three games, and completely separate to Erdrick trilogy.

VI is a prequel to IV and most recent entry XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, is a fucking prequel to III and chronologically the very first game.

And I'm not even getting into spin-offs and remakes (which contradict originals).

Multiple sequels

Perona 2: Innocent Sin and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! and Spyro 2: Season of Flame
King Kong 2: Ikari no Megaton Punch and King Kong 2: Yomigaeru Densetsu
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8 bits) and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Mega Drive)
Serious Sam: The Second Encounter and Serious Sam 2
Samurai Shodown II and Samurai Shodown! 2
Space Invaders Part II and Space Invaders II
Double Dragon II: The Revenge and Double Dragon II
Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
Frogger II: ThreeeDeep! and Frogger 2

Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge is a sequel to 1997 remake.

They also come in threes.

Gauntlet: The Third Encounter and Gauntlet III: The Final Quest
Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair and Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap

Mega Drive original Wonder Boy in Monster World was known in Japan as Wonder Boy V: Monster World III.

What?

For once, title makes complete sense, as it's the fifth in main series and third in sub-series.

Unrelated sequels

In layman's terms, each were developed by a different company.

Strider II (1990) and Strider 2 (1999)
Dragon's Lair Part 2: Escape from Singe's Castle (1987) and Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp (1991)
Barbarian II: The Dungeons of Drax (1988) and Barbarian II (1991)

Fairly amusingly, there was another Barbarian in 2002, but wasn't a remake or reboot to either 1987 'original'.  Instead, it was a Power Stone-esque 3D fighter.

Also, Strider was rebooted in 2014.

Misleading

After Turrican II: The Final Fight, shit got fucked up.

First there was Super Turrican (SNES) and a few months later, another different game of same name was brought for NES.

Super Turrican 2 was a direct sequel to SNES original (which obviously makes sense), but what the gyroscope?

With some enemy alterations, Turrican II on Mega Drive and Game Boy was re-branded as Universal Soldier.

When ported to Amiga, Mega Turrican was called Turrican 3: Payment Day.

Fourth game in the Double Dragon series was console exclusive Super Double Dragon (Return of Double Dragon in JPN).

Therefore, because previous game was not numbered, title of next game Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls (based on the 90s animated series), makes no fucking sense.

Modelled on NES ports and set shortly after the events of Double Dragon II: The Revenge, we did get a real Double Dragon IV, but not until 2017.

(Sigh).

The original Clock Tower appeared on Super Famicom in 1995.

Remake and/or sequel of sorts was released a year later for PS1 and because EU and NA called it Clock Tower, many thought it was the first game.

And rightly so.

In Japan, it was known as Clock Tower 2.

Clock Tower: The First Fear was a port of Super Fammy game and released for PS1 (1997) and Wonderswan (1999).

Japanese PS1 spin-off Clock Tower: Ghost Head was named Clock Tower II: The Struggle Within in NA and was never released in EU.

The excellent PC-Engine port of R-Type was released on two separate HuCards, awkwardly titled R-Type I (Stages 1-4) and R-Type II (Stages 5-8).

Title screens stating 'R-Type' and 'R-Type Part-2' contradict cover art.

Anyway, in order to play 'second half', one must beat Stage 4 and obtain mission code.

So if size constraints prevented entire game fitting on one card, then why the fuck did Turbo Grafx 16 version beg to differ?

Official arcade sequel Spy Hunter II bombed.

In 1992, things got more interesting.

Sunsoft ported NES version of Spy Hunter and obtained name rights from Bally Midway, leaving door ajar for another game.  As it turns out, Super Spy Hunter was more an OTT remake than official sequel.

As a side note, Super SWIV was guilty of the same crime.

SpyHunter (2001) is a remake/reboot and sequel to 1983 original and got its own follow up SpyHunter 2 a year later.

And just for a laugh, series was rebooted AGAIN as just Spy Hunter in 2012.

Choplifter II: Rescue Survive was intially released exclusively for Game Boy in 1991 and Choplifter III came out for SNES in 1994.

One rather large problem exists.

Said Game Boy game was remade for Game Gear and perversely, also for Game Boy in 1994 as Choplifter III.

Air Combat is a 1992 arcade game, and received its own sequel Air Combat 22 (reffing Namco's Super System 22 hardware).

1995 PS1 game was also called Air Combat, but completely separate to arcade game and sequel.

The kick to the bollocks is that it's known as Ace Combat in JPN.

As subsequent games retained Japanese title, it begs the question why PS1 game wasn't called Ace Combat in EU and NA.

Bust a Move was released outside of JPN as Bust a Groove.  Only trouble is, Puzzle Bobble went under the name of Bust-a-Move in NA.

Ha ha ha!

Puzzle Bobble 2 was called Bust-a-Move Again (sounding more like an update, rather than sequel).

As for the rest.

Puzzle Bobble 3 adopted several names:

Bust-a-Move 3 DX (EU)
Bust-a-Move 99 (NA)

Japanese N64 and PS1 ports were called Puzzle Bobble 64 and Puzzle Bobble 3 DX respectively.

For whatever reason, Puzzle Bobble 4 (Bust-a-Move 4) kept shit simple.

Super Puzzle Bobble was ported to the Gamecube in 2003 under three different titles:

Super Bust-A-Move All Stars (EU), Super Puzzle Bobble All Stars (JPN) and Bust-A-Move 3000 (NA).

But...

Another Super Puzzle Bobble (completely different to console entry of same name) was released exclusively for Japanese arcades in 1999.

Nine Circles of Hell

Mega Man (Limbo)

NES                                   Game Boy

Mega Man (1987)              N/A
Mega Man 2 (1988)           Mega Man II (1991)
Mega Man 3 (1990)           Mega Man III (1992)
Mega Man 4 (1991)           Mega Man IV (1993)
Mega Man 5 (1992)           Mega Man V (1994)
Mega Man 6 (1993)           N/A

Yep, two different sets of games on two different systems.

In 1992, another Mega Man appeared exclusively for DOS in NA, which was followed by Mega Man 3: The Robots are Revolting.

There was no Mega Man 2 because of some bullshit about Bit Man looking too similar to Top Man on the box art for Mega Man 3 (NES).

Apart from giving licence to Hi-Tech Expressions, Capcom had no involvement with either game.

Metal Gear (Lust)

Ignoring Snake's Revenge, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake is considered the official sequel.

Metal Gear 3 never came to be.

Metal Gear Solid (ntbcw Game Boy Color outing Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, released outside of Japan under same name) set the benchmark.

Initially brought in 2004, MGS 3: Snake Eater prequels original.

Following in the stealthy footsteps of Integral and MGS: Substance, expanded version Subsistence came out in 2005.

Peace Walker snubs Portable Ops and serves as a direct sequel to Snake Eater.

MGS V: Ground Zeroes is set a few months after PW and a stand-alone prologue to MGS V: The Phantom Pain (marking Hideo Kojima's final work at Konami).

MGS 4: Guns of the Patriots is set 5 years after MGS 2: Sons of Liberty.

Aleste (Gluttony)

Original was developed for Master System and MSX2.

When released outside of Japan, MS game (renamed Power Strike), could only be purchased in America via mail order.

It would make sense for EU only Power Strike II to be a port of MSX2 JPN exclusive Aleste 2, but was actually a unique title, with Game Gear effort of same name (in EU at least), also different to console counterpart.  In JPN, portable effort was called GG Aleste II: Lance Bird.

Super Famicom entry Super Aleste, (Space Megaforce for EU and NA), is probably what most know.

Contra (Greed)

Apart from North American C64 port, Contra was called Gryzor for home computers.

Many say title change was because of the Iran-Contra affair, but a more plausible theory is that game was named after surname of 'new' protagonist Lance, who has a twin brother Bill, who only appears in Amstrad CPC's title screen.

Weird stuff.

But now, it's all about Nintendo.

To bypass German censorship, NES port was famously renamed Probotector (a portmanteau of 'robot' and 'protector') in EU.

Appleseed-esque robots RC011 and RD008 replaced human sprites.

Arcade sequel Super Contra was renamed Super C for NA and JPN, and Probotector II: Return of the Evil Forces (EU).

Irritatingly, first Game Boy outing had a different name for each region.

Operation C (NA), Contra (JPN) and Probotector (EU).

Epidemic spread to 1992 SNES classic.

Contra III: The Alien Wars (NA), Contra Spirits (JPN) and Super Probotector: Alien Rebels (EU).

For EU, Game Boy port was called Probotector 2, instantly confusing it with Super Contra's name in same region.

EU version of Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX on GBA was released under Contra brand without robot friends.

Mega Drive alternative set in 2641 (five years after The Alien Wars) was called...

Contra: Hard Corps (NA), Contra: The Hard Corps (JPN and wait for it, Probotector (EU).

Hard Corps: Uprising served as a prequel.

Final Fantasy (Anger)

1987 Famicom original was only ported to NES for NA in 1990.

But SNES (not Super Famicom) players were dealt a quite brilliant hand.

As sequel and Final Fantasy III remained exclusive to Famicom, Final Fantasy IV was called Final Fantasy II to avoid confusing NA.

Similarly, Final Fantasy VI was called Final Fantasy III.

For reasons unknown, they ignored V.

Subplots

Stand-alone beginners RPG Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (NA) was called Mystic Quest Legend (EU) and for JPN, the mouthful that was Final Fantasy USA Mystic Quest.

Mana

Seiken Dentetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden (JPN) began as a spin-off, so was re-branded as Final Fantasy Adventure in NA.

Game Boy original was remade twice, first as Sword of Mana (2003) and then as Adventures of Mana (2016).

SaGa

First slice of pie was translated as The Final Fantasy Legend for NA and never made it to EU.

For some reason, Final Fantasy Legend II and III (SaGa 2 and 3 respectively), ditched 'The' from title.

In Japan, the SaGa continued on Super Famicom as Romancing SaGa, and after 3, returned to NA as SaGa Frontier for PS1.

Castlevania (Heresy)

Following Vampire Killer and the bizarre Haunted Castle, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest was first true sequel.

Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge is the sequel to Castlevania: The Adventure, so separate to NES sequel.

Known as Akumajō Dracula in JPN, Super Castlevania IV wasn't a sequel to NES prequel Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, but an all singing and dancing remake of original.

But in North America, Konami amended the story for it to appear as a sequel to Castlevania II: Simon's Quest.

Akumajō Dracula (yet another remake) was released for X68000, and ported to the PS1 as Castlevania Chronicles.

Is there any fucking need?

Also, Castlevania Legends was originally a prequel to Dracula's Curse, but Koji Igarashi later removed entry from timeline.

Gradius (Violence)

Sorry, but the Vic Viper left me no Option.

When ported to numerous home computers (outside of JPN of course), it was called Nemesis.

MSX version (also called Nemesis) got its own sequel Nemesis 2 (unrelated to arcade sequel Gradius II).

Enhanced port Nemesis '90 Kai was exclusive to X68000.

There was more fun to be had on Game Boy, as portable powerhouse hosted another Nemesis, followed by:

Nemesis II (JPN), Nemesis II: The Return of the Hero (EU) and Gradius: The Interstellar Assault (NA).

In Konami GB Collection Vol. 1, Nemesis was called Gradius.

Similarly, sequel on Vol. 3 (Vol. 4 in EU), was named Gradius II: The Return of the Hero.

WHAT?

Zelda (Fraud)

Ignoring remakes and Oracle games, wonderful series isn't just taking the piss, it's having a Hyrule.

The Legend of Zelda was followed by direct sequel Zelda II: The Adventures of Link.

But after that.

A Link to the Past - prequel to original.
Link's Awakening - sequel to prequel.
Ocarina of Time - prequel to A Link to the Past.
Majora's Mask - sequel to Ocarina.
A Link to the Past and Four Swords - multi-player only game is a prequel to Ocarina.
The Wind Waker - set in one of the parallel timelines after Ocarina.
Four Swords Adventures - set hundreds of years after Twilight Princess in the 'Child Timeline'.
The Minish Cap - prequel to Four Swords.
Twilight Princess - after Ocarina and Majora's Mask in an alternate timeline from The Wind Waker.
Phantom Hourglass - sequel to The Wind Waker.
Spirit Tracks - sequel to Phantom Hourglass.
Skyward Sword - set before The Minish Cap.
A Link Between Worlds - sequel to A Link to the Past.
Tri Force Heroes - sequel to A Link Between Worlds.
Breath of the Wild - suggested to take place at the end of every storyline branch.

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?

I'll bet vital organs that untitled BOTW sequel won't be 'Zelda III'.

Bubble Bobble (Treachery)

My favourite, in a sick, sadistic way.

Arcade sequel was called Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2.

Who knows why, but title of NES game Rainbow Islands: Bubble Bobble 2 was shortened for EU.

But oh, oh BUT... oh.

Parasol Stars sounds like the result of a dangerous trip, but is actually Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands.

The Story of Rainbow Islands 2 (Atari ST, Amiga and NES)
The Story of Bubble Bobble III (PC Engine and Game Boy)

(Punches wall and boots nearest object).

Bubble Bobble Part 2 on NES and Game Boy were COMPLETELY different games, with the latter playing more like The New Zealand Story.

Bubble Symphony aka Bubble Bobble II was released in 1994, suggesting another alternative sequel to Bub Bob.

Next arcade 'sequel' was Bubble Memories: The Story of Bubble Bobble III.

I LOVE IT!

And just for a fucking laugh, Wonderswan got the unique Rainbow Islands: Putty's Party in 2000, with new female star (along with pixie-like creature Naughty) causing mischief.

As a side note, Bubby and Bobby cropped up during storyline.

Bubble Bobble 4 Friends is out this December on Switch.

Where will that fit in?

I dread to think.