Current Events > Do sequel games still come up with dumb reasons why you lose your stuff...

(+) Yeah! (+)

from previous games? Like it gets lost, sold or damaged?

yes, as they have to

Gotta come up with something, otherwise you're OP from the start.

As recently as Zelda TotK actually, from my knowledge. Link starts off with max health and stamina from BotW, and promptly loses it all when Ganondorf awakens.

Yes, and I wish Kingdom Hearts would stop doing it already. Just give us a slightly larger or slightly flashier moveset from the start instead of canonically putting Sora under a babyfication curse every fucking game. No one cares that the menu says "level 1" at the start of a new adventure.

Trails be like "lol your old stuff is not compatible with the new orbment" and there's no option to just keep using the old one

Elden Rings DLC used the excuse that everything is so overpowered and you need Scadutree fragments to level up your strength to match theirs.

So yeah, sadly games still use it.

They could just make out like the new threat is just that much more powerful than those from the first game.

In God of War Ragnarok there's some dumb line at the start of the game I can't remember exactly what it is, but it's something like "too bad our equipment's magic enchantment fizzled out" or something.

Which I guess is fine since Gog of War is rather famous for its hard progression reset at each installment, but it came off as telling whereas other games would show how it works, usually as a joke.

.hack games just put a level cap on each game, and had better equipment each title.

Ehh, I'd rather have them come up with some silly reason as opposed to just not having your stuff in a new game for no reason at all. I kind of like when it feels at least somewhat organic to the story, even if you know it's just for gameplay purposes.

DodogamaRayBrst posted...

In God of War Ragnarok there's some dumb line at the start of the game I can't remember exactly what it is, but it's something like "too bad our equipment's magic enchantment fizzled out" or something.

Which I guess is fine since Gog of War is rather famous for its hard progression reset at each installment, but it came off as telling whereas other games would show how it works, usually as a joke.

The explanation was that Fimbulwinter was warping things across all the realms and it basically drained the magic from their gear.

Jedi Survivor doesnt even strip it away. You just keep it.

I like Like a Dragon's reasoning that Ichiban basically just got an actual job in between games and got lazy and rusty due to becoming a salaryman that could help people outside of fighting.

Metroid Dread continued the tradition but didn't really explain how Samus lost her upgrades except possibly from shock?

Ultima VII did this the best you went to a new island and a lightning storm destroyed all your stuff. You had it before you got there.

I was not so hard on where are my powers but leave it to Lord British to eventually get it.

StealThisSheen posted...

I like Like a Dragon's reasoning that Ichiban basically just got an actual job in between games and got lazy and rusty due to becoming a salaryman that could help people outside of fighting.

you don't even really need a justification with the ichiban games. he kind of larps when he fights (he's imagining the people he fights are video game enemies), so you can just say he started another video game in his head or something.

pauIie posted...

you don't even really need a justification with the ichiban games. he kind of larps when he fights (he's imagining the people he fights are video game enemies), so you can just say he started another video game in his head or something.

I actually agree with this and felt like the prologue for infinite wealth was tooo long. I like how they worked in a story, for it but despite some funny moments damn that game starts slow. And I like slower burns too.

It ultimately was stupid. I didn't need to see Ichiban lose his job to Kickstart things.

My favorite is in the Ys games. Adol, just loses his sword at the beginning of each game to the point that it's a running joke in universe.

I don't even know the Ys universe in general well. There's Dogi and most of them are just him losing his memory.

Would you prefer how they do it for FF7 Rebirtth where they give you no explanation whatsoever for why you only have a tiny fraction of the Materia and starting weapons?

NoxObscuras posted...

My favorite is in the Ys games. Adol, just loses his sword at the beginning of each game to the point that it's a running joke in universe.

The other running joke is that it's usually a shipwreck that causes him to lose all his stuff too.

FridgeBeard posted...

Metroid Dread continued the tradition but didn't really explain how Samus lost her upgrades except possibly from shock?

Oh right, it did actually explain it, though in the dumbest way possible. It's literally "ability amnesia." She suffered from such a big shock that she forgot her abilities and equipment, presumably because her suit is so ingrained into her brainwave patterns.

Still love the game though.

BakonBitz posted...

Oh right, it did actually explain it, though in the dumbest way possible. It's literally "ability amnesia." She suffered from such a big shock that she forgot her abilities and equipment, presumably because her suit is so ingrained into her brainwave patterns.

Still love the game though.

Well, considering it wasn't really Adam who was telling her that information, I just ended up assuming that Raven Beak stripped her of all her powers and put Samus in that situation so that he could manipulate her into becoming the Metroid hybrid.

I remember when people were complaining that stuff wasnt carrying over in from FF7 Remake to Rebirth

GeminiDeus posted...

Well, considering it wasn't really Adam who was telling her that information, I just ended up assuming that Raven Beak stripped her of all her powers and put Samus in that situation so that he could manipulate her into becoming the Metroid hybrid.

Right, I forgot about that. That could be plausible.

GeminiDeus posted...

Well, considering it wasn't really Adam who was telling her that information, I just ended up assuming that Raven Beak stripped her of all her powers and put Samus in that situation so that he could manipulate her into becoming the Metroid hybrid.

Yeah, this one is what I assumed too. If anyone knows how to mess with a chozo suit, it would be him too.

Metroid does this fairly common though (except Zero Mission, in which case she starts with a lower grade suit which can't use everything she finds, but that gets destroyed part way through the game so she can find her proper milspec/up-to-date suit in some ruins to use), some less dumb than others. In Prime, the suit simply takes severe damage due to the tutorial zone exploding, though one must ask why she didn't have her usual gravity suit upgrade and such equipped. In metroid fusion, the federation people trying to save her from her start-of-game X infection literally cut the suit apart while doing so. Other M is famous for basically forcing this by having her need authorization to use her upgrades.

I would have actually expected that whatever game is/will be taking place immediately after Fusion (potentially before Dread) would do this too, simply because the Fusion Suit is something of a slapped-together thing, and could simply be makeshift enough that it deteriorates after the end of the game. Which would make Fusion (or its most immediate chronological sequel) one of the few times that she loses what is definitely a fully upgraded suit, if so.

There are enough times though where she seems to just start with a lower grade suit that I sometimes have to wonder if she actually has multiple suits, and is stockpiling a couple fully-upgraded ones at a secret base somewhere in case of an emergency that requires them, and taking less upgraded ones to places she suspects has chozo stuff to find.

Honestly, the only thing that needs to change about this is the explanation part.

Leveling and stats and etc are such an abstract concept that it really doesn't matter why or make sense to have an in-universe justification for the number going from 100 to 1.

Most of the time, unless the sequel takes place literally seconds after the original ends, it's a pretty straightforward to assume they just got rid of it because they didn't have any need to keep two assault rifles, three handguns, five swords and a bazooka in their house or whatever. One exception might be Mega Man Legends where Trigger uses all his stuff on a daily basis as part of his job, but in plenty of cases it's fine to just be like that was years ago, why would they still have it?

The only part that even makes sense to feel like needs explaining away is abilities, like if you learned to elbow drop or whatever. And honestly, it's a decent question.

I remember Shenmue 2 having a sort of New Game Plus where the game starts with you getting mugged. Hence in canon why Ryo lost all his money from the first game.

But to do this they give you a bunch of money at the start, which you can spend entirely on junk from the shops right off the bat and sell it back the moment after you were mugged. Something the player would have absolutely zero reason to do unless they knew the future.

There's even an achievement for it.

Saints Row 3 had you fall from a plane into a new city where you had no respect

metralo posted...

yes, as they have to

Banjo Tooie pulled it off in 2000, sure you lost your extra honeycombs and I believe your other upgrades to capacity but the skills were still there.
Golden Sun: Lost Age also let you keep your shit.

metralo posted...

yes, as they have to

Facts.

It would be incredibly lame, from a gameplay standpoint, to start loaded to the teeth and essentially maxed out. Video games need a sense of progression, from less to more.

Yeah. It's kinda pointless these days though and typically used to pad out content. Gotta take away all that rare grindy shit you got so you can get rare grindy shit+1

Mistere_Man posted...

.hack games just put a level cap on each game, and had better equipment each title.

The GU games do that, IMOQ only has a soft level cap so it is possible to get to level 99 in the first game, it'll just take a long time because you only get 1 exp a kill once you're more then a few levels higher then the monsters.

I was, and still am, legit disappointed that no BotW information carried over to TotK besides registered horses.

However, thinking more deeply on it right now as to why other things didn't carry over, including Korok Seeds and expanded inventory slots, it makes sense, but I am too tired and getting ready for bed to explain my thought process on it.

NoxObscuras posted...

My favorite is in the Ys games. Adol, just loses his sword at the beginning of each game to the point that it's a running joke in universe.

I love how Ys 8 he starts with the final weapon from Ys 5 and he promptly loses that in the shipwreck. His out-of-game journal laments losing it at some length, too.

Kamil posted...

I don't even know the Ys universe in general well. There's Dogi and most of them are just Adol losing his memory.

He only loses his memory in one game. (mods, that's not a spoiler, that's the initial presentation of the story for Memories of Celceta)

Jaguar34 posted...

Saints Row 3 had you fall from a plane into a new city where you had no respect

There's also a scene after the intro where the protagonist tries withdrawing money, but finds that their account has been frozen, likely by Morningstar. Would be nice if you could get it unfrozen after you basically take over the city.

Cassie posted...

Jedi Survivor doesnt even strip it away. You just keep it.

Survivor really did do it pretty well.

You did have to re-level a couple of powers, but you kept about 80-90% of the non-skill tree upgrades.

I think you even keep the rebreather.

DrizztLink posted...

Survivor really did do it pretty well.

You did have to re-level a couple of powers, but you kept about 80-90% of the non-skill tree upgrades.

I think you even keep the rebreather.

Tell me your game is a glorified expansion pack without telling me your game is a glorified expansion pack

Assassins Creed: Brotherhood tried this and mostly succeeded. But there is one glaring issue.

So, you get attacked while in the bath, your villa gets majorly damaged, and your weapons and armor are destroyed. The game even shows the previous ultimate armor set, the Armor of Altair, getting buried under rubble. The problem is, this armor was explicitly stated to be indestructible (being made with knowledge from the precursor civilization), so there's no reason it couldn't just be dug up, cleaned off, and slapped onto a new outfit.

Adding insult to injury, the replacement ultimate armor set, the Armor of Brutus, is the worst-looking ultimate armor set in the entire Ezio trilogy, and possibly one of the worst overall outfits in the series. You do thankfully get some cosmetic overlays so you can still run around in the Armor of Altair, though.

GeminiDeus posted...

Gotta come up with something, otherwise you're OP from the start.

I hate how some games literally did that between levels, even when the next level is literally in the same or next room (looking at you, GoldenEye and Perfect Dark!)

TyVulpine posted...

I hate how some games literally did that between levels, even when the next level is literally in the same or next room (looking at you, GoldenEye and Perfect Dark!)

I haven't played either of those games (because I'm not into FPS games), so would you mind explaining what happens in those instances?

RetuenOfDevsman posted...

Tell me your game is a glorified expansion pack without telling me your game is a glorified expansion pack

You can call Survivor many things, but it's definitely not a glorified expansion pack.

Most of the, dont even bother explaining. Its lame when its a series that was planned to be a connected thing from the start.

GeminiDeus posted...

I was, and still am, legit disappointed that no BotW information carried over to TotK besides registered horses.

To be fair, based on various things I'm not convinced TOTK is a direct sequel to BOTW in the traditional sense. Feels closer to like an alternate reality sequel where things are *almost* direct but not quite.