Current Events > Remember that crazy jump in tone between Jak & Daxter and Jak II?

(+) Yeah! (+)

That was wild lol. The first game was like a Saturday morning kid's show in video game form. Then the sequel takes a notch up the ESRB rating, and now Jak is cursing, stealing cars and using guns, while going on a revenge quest in a dystopian future. Wtf lol.
I didn't know how to feel at the time when it got revealed, but I did end up loving the game (bad checkpoints aside) once I actually played it.

What other games pulled off something like that between titles? I can't think of too many off the top of my head. Beyond God & Evil 2 seems to have an extreme tonal shift from the first title, but it that game is never coming out lol.

Not necessarily from the first to the second game, but Saints Row certainly went on a wild ride in terms of tone.

Yeah it was wild. Crazy how good that series is tho.

s0nicfan posted...

Not necessarily from the first to the second game, but Saints Row certainly went on a wild ride in terms of tone.

Yeah, Saints Row was more gradual transition. The first game itself is pretty silly from the get-go, but they sure do go to some places by the time 4 comes around.

fan357 posted...

Yeah it was wild. Crazy how good that series is tho.

Funny thing is, I've only ever beaten J&D: TPL once, whereas I've beaten 2 & 3 multiple times. I guess they made the right decision.

God of War went from Ascension, full B movie adventure epic trash, with all the schlocky trappings of such, to a measured, respectful, considered story with deep character writing and resonant emotional moments.

im really impressed with how the series matured, and i love old GoW!

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time to its sequel Warrior Within.

Sequel seems to have a darker tone overall. I thought it was the most difficult of the three games too.

Just note the difference in their soundtracks:

Sands of time ost
https://youtu.be/naPhZbhDxMQ?feature=shared

Warrior within ost
https://youtu.be/k2445mpK8kQ?feature=shared

Iirc The Two Thrones (sequel after Warrior) reverted back to the tone of Sands of Time.

Bump.

Another example I can kind of think of is Rage. The original game was this super generic, brown and grey shooter that took itself fairly seriously.
The sequel took on a more over-the-top, pop-culty, Andrew W.K. meets Mad Max, comedy-leaning tone. Probably not the best example I could've thought of.
In the same vein, there was a similar jump from brown and serious to colorful and campy with the first two Borderlands and Watch_Dogs games.

But I don't know, Jak is still the more jarring example for me. And Beyond Good & Evil 2 too, I guess, but that barely counts.

I'm gonna KILL Baron Praxis!!

Blue_Inigo posted...

I'm gonna KILL Baron Praxis!!

Famous first words.

Dead Rising went from camp to dark and gritty.

Also sucks

Shadow the Hedgehog Prequel

Sly Cooper changed too but not as much

It went from a linear Crash Bandicoot-like game with stealth elements to a more open world. I always hated that change tbh and I love Sly Cooper 1

Blue_Inigo posted...

I'm gonna KILL Baron Praxis!!

I played that **** when it came out and I'll never forget that quote.

lilORANG posted...

Dead Rising went from camp to dark and gritty.

Also sucks

When did that happen? The games always struck me as dumb and campy. Granted, I only played DR2 (and hated it), so I don't really know where the series went after that.