Chairman Yang
if he talks about books, you better damn well listen
(Pictured above: Ace Combat Zero, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, Armored Core: Silent Line, and Mega Man Battle Network 3)
There was a special time, starting around the PS2 and ending around the 3DS, when primarily Japanese developers would produce iterative sequels at remarkable speed, thanks to a combination of reasonable development costs and lots of asset/engine re-use.
I didn't pay all that much attention to most of these games at the time. I'd maybe dip into and enjoy one or two from each series, then get fatigue from seeing samey-looking sequels, then forget about them. Reviewers and many players seemed to feel the same way.
I didn't realize how good we had it at the time.
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the time and budget that's put into a lot of modern games, sometimes even in the same series (look at Ace Combat 7 and the new Armored Core). I know we have more DLC than ever before. But I do miss the trend of developers building on their knowledge and existing technology, hitting their stride, and focusing on creating lots of great, iterative gameplay.
What do you think? What were some of your favourite games/series that had this sort of flowering?
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