10 Best Video Game Prequels
What's GTA III without Liberty City Stories??
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00:00 If sequel is a dirty word, then prequels are even more of a tricky proposition.
00:04 It's one thing to follow a plotline forwards from its conclusion into the next logical stage,
00:09 but being able to go backwards and make an engaging origin story is a tall order.
00:13 As it turns out though, there are plenty of good video game prequels that manage to tell
00:17 interesting stories and show us our favourite characters at different times in their lives.
00:21 I'm Sci for WhatCulture.com and these are the 10 best video game prequels.
00:26 Number 10 - Street Fighter Alpha
00:28 Once upon a time, the old joke went that Capcom were afraid to count to three. Street Fighter II
00:33 got numerous upgrades and became a cash cow for Capcom, both in the arcades and at home.
00:39 But it came time for a brand new entry in the series though that made for a lot of pressure.
00:43 Thankfully, Street Fighter Alpha paid off. Even after spending years tweaking Street Fighter II,
00:48 Capcom weren't resting on their laurels. Alpha introduced many important instruments to the
00:53 Street Fighter toolkit - air blocking, chain combos and the tiered super combo system,
00:58 which gives players a lot of choice about their super moves. Do you fire them off weak and often,
01:02 or wait for the all-powerful level 3 super? It's that one by the way, do that one.
01:07 Known in Japan as Street Fighter Zero, Alpha takes place between the original Street Fighter
01:11 and its sequel. In fact, it specifically references the Street Fighter II the animated
01:16 movie duel between Ryo and Ken and M. Bison. Street Fighter Alpha's placement in the timeline
01:20 between Saga and Bison's tournaments allowed for a more character-led style of storytelling,
01:25 with its cast wandering around the world pursuing their own goals. Alpha also introduced new
01:30 characters who would go on to be regulars such as Dan, as well as crossing Final Fight characters
01:34 into the Street Fighter universe. Number 9 - Pokemon Legends Arceus
01:39 For years, a portion of the Pokemon fanbase pined for the series to take some risks,
01:43 with the most vocal demand being an open world game. Even the most diehard fan could recognise
01:48 the series had been spinning wheels for a long time, at least from a gameplay perspective.
01:53 Being a spin-off, 2022's Pokemon Legends Arceus allowed Game Freak to try some new
01:57 things that largely pay off. At best, it can be described as a pseudo-open world,
02:02 but Legends breaks several tenets of the franchise, allowing players to battle wherever
02:06 they stand and be attacked by agitated wild Pokemon themselves if they're not paying enough
02:11 attention. Pokemon Legends takes place an undetermined amount of time before every
02:15 other game in the series, stylised on Japanese history. In the Hisui region, which will
02:19 eventually become the Sinnoh region, the Survey Corps are doing their best to study wild Pokemon
02:24 to catalogue them. This is eons before the technology of the Pokedex exists, and players
02:29 are tasked with filling out a book with their findings. Similarly, Pokeballs as we know them
02:34 aren't around, and so players must gather and craft apricorn fruit into pre-tech equivalents.
02:39 Pokemon Legends Arceus is a cute and charming look at the never-before-seen past of a world
02:44 familiar to so many gamers. Number 8 - Grand Theft Auto
02:48 Liberty City Stories Grand Theft Auto 3 changed the video game
02:51 landscape when it arrived, forever altering the look and feel of GTA itself. So it seemed
02:56 poetic that the first time the franchise went fully 3D on a handheld, it should be a game that
03:01 takes place within the same location and story. Liberty City Stories takes us back to Rockstar's
03:06 fictional version of NYC in 1998, three years prior to the rise of Claude and the events of
03:12 GTA 3. The game puts players in the shoes of Tony Cipriani, an important NPC in GTA 3,
03:18 and explores his past as he returns to the city to rise up the criminal ladder after laying low
03:22 for four years. This leads directly into Tony's position in Grand Theft Auto 3 where he's second
03:27 in command of the Leon family. The game makes very few concessions, considering it was originally
03:32 developed for and is best played on the PSP. The entire city is here, which can be explored
03:37 in a variety of vehicles whilst listening to one of several radio stations. Outside of the plot,
03:42 Liberty City Stories doesn't skimp on optional content like community missions,
03:46 street races and hidden packages. Returning to Liberty City is a joy,
03:50 allowing a nostalgic look back at the location that first catapulted GTA into the mainstream.
03:56 7. Halo Reach Halo Combat Evolved began with the destruction
04:00 of the human colony Reach, and throughout the years, fans were told how integral this planet
04:04 and its fall were to the story. The last days of this planet were the battlegrounds for a bold
04:09 mission which saw a group of Spartans save the AI Cortana before she fell into enemy hands.
04:14 The final Halo game that original developers Bungie made appropriately was Halo Reach,
04:19 which allowed fans to explore the planet for the first time and meet the soldiers who
04:23 sacrificed themselves for the success of their mission. Standing out from Halo's standard sci-fi
04:28 pageantry, Reach was a darker and more despairing story that put players in the shoes of those
04:33 soldiers. Every Spartan who took to the fields of Reach will remember the gut punch that was the
04:38 final objective, survive, fighting in the haze for as long as possible knowing this is a story that
04:44 can't be changed. Mechanically, the introduction of armour abilities changed how every player
04:48 approached Halo's familiar combat, with sprinting and jetpack usage making things more fluid and
04:53 chaotic. It also grew the multiplayer portion of the series in every way, both the standard
04:58 PvP approach as well as the co-operative firefight mode and a bigger, more badass level creator.
05:04 A sublime bow out for Bungie and a superb prequel.
05:08 6. Castlevania III Dracula's Curse
05:11 For this entry, we're going way back to the past. To 1990, to the Nintendo Entertainment System and
05:17 to when Konami actually used to make games for their selection of IPs. Yes, I'm still bitter.
05:22 Castlevania III Dracula's Curse was the first home console Castlevania title in the series
05:26 not to star Simon Belmont and instead it introduced us to Trevor. Yes, that Trevor
05:32 from the Netflix series. Dracula's Curse provided quite a bit of the trajectory for the franchise's
05:36 overarching plot and the anime adaption by introducing us to Alucard, Cipher Belnades
05:42 and Grant Danesty. These four would-be vampire hunters give gamers a lot of choice when it comes
05:47 to different playstyles and how they can approach the sprawling world of Dracula,
05:51 which unlike the original game now has branching paths in its level selection.
05:55 It may not seem like much now, but considering the game is over 30 years old,
05:59 it was definitely a rare case when it came to player agency.
06:02 After Castlevania II, Simon's quest had tried to reinvent the wheel and got stuck on its own spokes.
06:07 Castlevania III was not just a stunning return to form, but set the stage for a lot of the future
06:12 of the series. Its degree of choice would go on to inform games like Symphony of the Night
06:16 and its plot cemented the foundation for the vampire-hunting Belmont lineage.
06:20 5. Deus Ex Human Revolution
06:23 Deus Ex's setting is one of conspiracy theories and nanotechnology exploring a world on the brink
06:29 of collapse due to warring factions and a deadly pandemic. By exploring the past of this scenario
06:34 in the series prequel, players can get a better understanding of how things got to the state
06:38 they're in. Set 25 years prior, Deus Ex Human Revolution's main character is Adam Jensen who,
06:43 after being involved in a terrorist attack, is enhanced with nanotechnology. The player explores
06:48 the growing social divide between the elites who have access to this power and the lower classes.
06:53 Importantly, Human Revolution really expanded and added detail to Deus Ex's world through its story
06:58 and incredible environments. Player choice is paramount. Combat is satisfying from both a
07:04 balls-out, gunned-down-everyone perspective, but also, importantly, if you choose to go slow and
07:08 stealthy. In terms of the story, Human Revolution's world is rich with optional content for
07:13 players looking to explore. Human Revolution retroactively laid the groundwork for the
07:17 original Deus Ex in wonderful ways and, despite Adam not being the most fleshed-out protagonist,
07:22 the game was so popular that he took the lead for the series' next entry, Mankind Divided.
07:27 Moreover, its blend of first-person action and RPG elements was something that many other games
07:31 took notice of in that console generation. 4. Devil May Cry 3 - Dante's Awakening
07:38 Devil May Cry 2 is widely considered to be a low point in Capcom's demon-blasting series,
07:42 and most can agree that it was certainly not the right way to follow up on the success of the first
07:46 game. It simplified gameplay in every way, and Dante's fun, obnoxious personality was basically
07:52 switched off like a lightbulb. The direction of the next game was clear - it needed to be
07:56 much more like the first Devil May Cry. Not only did Devil May Cry 3 - Dante's Awakening bring back
08:02 all the amped-up ridiculousness that fans loved, it also distanced itself from DMC2 by being a
08:07 prequel to the original. DMC3's plot perfectly ties into the first game by focusing on and
08:12 filling out the backstory of Dante and his relationship with his brother Virgil. There
08:16 are plenty of references to that first story, some cute and some clever, that make for a lot of 'aha'
08:21 moments for players everywhere. It truly feels like a love letter, and to some degree, an apology,
08:26 for the DMC2 misstep. More than that, it was a refreshing kick to the teeth, a challenging,
08:32 stylish action game that was truly the follow-up that fans had been waiting for.
08:35 3. Super Mario World 2 - Yoshi's Island When it comes to timelines for their games,
08:41 Nintendo is a company of two extremes. In some cases, we get intense, sometimes confusing,
08:46 and often hotly debated messes like the Zelda timeline. In others, we get something like the
08:50 Mario franchise, where all of its games seem to just take place in a timeless void. It's sort of
08:56 inconsequential which Mario games go where - after all, Mario saves the princess again isn't exactly
09:01 the sort of story that impacts a deep canonical lore. Super Mario World 2 - Yoshi's Island is a
09:06 rare exception to the rule, however, and in doing so, establishes a lot of truths about many Mario
09:12 characters. Clearly, Mario has known Yoshi since essentially his birth, and at the end of the game,
09:16 we even get a shrouded look at the adolescent Bowser. Whilst it's never made clear why Bowser
09:21 kidnapped baby Luigi, this encounter must be the first time that all these famous characters have
09:26 interacted. As for the game itself, whilst the original Super Mario World is the plumber's
09:31 beloved first jump to 16-bits, the prequel's gorgeous hand-drawn aesthetic makes it a
09:35 timeless classic in its own right. It is largely considered a masterpiece in the Super Nintendo's
09:41 already strong library, and one of the best 2D platformers of all time.
09:45 Number 2 - Yakuza 0
09:47 Yakuza has an incredibly dedicated fanbase, so it says a lot that many of them would agree that
09:52 the series' 2015 prequel is one of the best the franchise has to offer. Setting a game 17 years
09:58 before the original allowed for Yakuza's writing team to really explore mainstay hero Kazuma Kiryu's
10:03 character in new and bold ways. Instead of the man the established fanbase knew, Yakuza 0 introduces
10:08 a younger and more hot-headed take on the character. It also brings long-time fan favourite
10:13 Goro Majima closer to the forefront and makes him a main playable character for the first time.
10:19 In order to shake up the formula, Yakuza 0 innovates by introducing multiple fighting
10:23 styles for its protagonist to switch between. More than that though, the game is just the
10:26 perfect example of everything that the series has to offer. A dramatic, emotional story threaded
10:32 through a world of insane hijinks, numerous side games and hours upon hours of content.
10:37 Yakuza 0 being a prequel actually offers a great jumping on point for new players,
10:41 and as such was just what the series needed to establish itself better in the west.
10:46 Reports that Sega had sold more than expected, or that they had even been understocked in some
10:50 markets, show just how keen new players were to jump into the series.
10:54 1. Metal Gear Solid 3 - Snake Eater
10:58 Kojima always was keen to grow out the Metal Gear Solid series in interesting and realistic ways,
11:03 and the jungle setting for MGS3 was an opportunity to really transform the depth of the series
11:08 gameplay. Not only can players equip different styles of camo to better blend in with their
11:12 location, but they can also scrounge for food to make sure Snake isn't suffering from hunger.
11:17 It makes Snake's dependence on his surroundings very clear, and makes MGS3 a very different
11:22 prospect from its forebears. But this isn't the same Snake from MGS1 or MGS2.
11:28 Metal Gear Solid 3 - Snake Eater is, even 17 years after its release, the earliest entry into
11:33 the franchise's timeline. It stars Naked Snake as he infiltrates a Soviet Union base to save a
11:39 kidnapped scientist, but finds himself caught in a political coup. The winding story of MGS3
11:44 lays the groundwork for the series by telling the tale of Naked Snake's ascension to big boss,
11:49 but it also introduces many important aspects and characters that would go on to be major
11:53 parts of the former and future games. Unlike other entries in this list,
11:57 it's technically possible for players to mess with the MGS timeline via their actions,
12:01 although don't think you'll go unpunished if you kill important characters.
12:04 And the award for most unique game over screen ever goes to
12:08 Time Paradox if you take out anyone who needs to appear later down the line.
12:12 And that's the list, let us know what you thought down in the comments below,
12:16 and any other video game prequels that you very much enjoyed. Make sure you like this video,
12:21 share it with your friends, hit the notification bell and of course subscribe.
12:25 I've been Sy for What Culture and have a good week!