I’ll start by saying I had a bit of trouble wording the title but I’ll try to elaborate on it. I find it can be a bit daunting at times figuring out what a decent entry point is in a series of video games without searching online first. Sometimes there will be ten games released across three different generation of consoles with reboots, prequels, and remasters and you can feel a bit left out of the loop if you start with the most recent release.
I’m wondering where people would recommend starting in other popular series like Nier, Final Fantasy, Armored Core, Ace Combat, Assassins Creed, Metal Gear, Metroid, Resident Evil, and so on.
It might make for a fun bit of Friday discussion and encourage some people to try out some new games.
Here’s my example:
With the Fallout series I’d say you could easily start with any game because you have a new protagonist each time and a lot of the lore is reintroduced. The exception being Fallout 2 because it feels a bit more like a direct sequel to the original.
I would probably recommend Fallout New Vegas as a starting point because it’s the fan favorite, has a few quality of life upgrades over Fallout 3, Fallout 4 adds a lot of extra mechanics to the game so going backwards in the series if you wanted more Fallout could feel a tad awkward and take some readjusting if you are accustomed to them, and the classic Fallout games can be a bit of a challenge if you aren’t used to old school RPGs.
I wouldn’t recommend starting with Daggerfall over, say, Skyrim or Oblivion, for example.
One must start with Arena, of course.
Then Battlespire and all the mobile exclusive games
I really tried to like Battlespire as a kid but didn’t make it far. Major disappointment after Daggerfall! I didn’t even know there were mobile games, glad I missed those.
I think the better question might be what series should you start from game 1, brcause thats a much tougher question. Just about all the long running ones you can hop in wherever and be fine. Where you wanna start with Mario? Don’t matter. Whats the play for Final Fantasy? Probably whatever the recommenders first one was. Megaman? X, 0, or basic its nbd.
Yakuza is one I’d say you either start from the beginning (Technically Kiwami, but 0 is fine) or start at Like a Dragon (7, as it has a new protagonist)
I would be curious to see which games would have you going back the furthest to fully get the story.
Maybe something starting off on something like the MSX or Intellivision that was never remastered.
I think the better question might be what series should you start from game 1, brcause thats a much tougher question.
Trails in the Sky.
2 picks up immediately after 1, and expects the player to already be proficient with the battle system from the start.
3 would be confusing and boring without having played the prior two games.
And yes, it’s a subseries, but still. Lol
I’m so glad I started the series from Trails in the Sky 1. I’m currently on Cold Steel 2 and it’s been a great time.
Mass Effect trilogy.
Black Mesa, if you are playing through the half life franchise. Also, probably one of the best remakes ever. I can’t think of a remake better than the original, and I played HL and Black Mesa back to back to be sure.
For final fantasy, quite literally just pick whichever one has a theme and/or gameplay style that looks interesting to you. As long as it’s not a sequel to a previous game you can pick any.
The only ones with sequels (some prequels) are VII, X, XII and XIII.
Although some could argue with XIII you can also start anywhere.
Well, I think you’d have a hard time finding anyone who’d suggest XI as a starting point too. Considering it’s a “dead” mmo
It’s not dead, I started playing it just a few years ago and had a blast for a few months. There’s even a thriving private server at the moment that even integrates with retroachievements as well which is wild.
HorizonXI for anyone wanting to know the server
Thus my quotes around “dead”. I’m well aware people still play it, it’s just an old design and if there are two Final Fantasy MMOs that someone could play, don’t you think almost everyone would suggest the one in active development, with a significantly larger playerbase, and the one that has had a much better critical reception? Seems obvious to me
Depends what kinda playstyle they want. If they want cookie cutter wow-style theme park mmo in it’s best form, xiv. If you want something unique and unlike anything else you can play right now. For better and worse, xi. Some people don’t like the look of modern mmos but might feel at home with a classic one
Forza Horizon lol
Also Far Cry. No story connection between the games although there is one minor recurring character.
Isn’t New Dawn a sequel to Far Cry 5?
Yes, you got me there. Forgot about New Dawn even though I finally played it for the first time a couple months ago.
I feel like I recall a lot of people saying it was kind of forgettable though I might be thinking about Far Cry 6.
What did you think of it?
I put it off for a long time but I enjoyed it co-op. It was relatively short, the antagonists weren’t that compelling or even very present in the story, but I felt like it was greater than the sum of it’s parts and I enjoyed re-visiting Far Cry 5 locations with post-apocalypse appearances. Like “Hey, here is the island where you started FC5” and “Hey, here is the gas station at the rural intersection where you had to steal the truck.”
I’ve played Far Cry 2 through most of 6. If you don’t recognize particular references, there’s nothing that makes them substantial otherwise in the sea of creative, humorous descriptions of everyone/everything else.
I would say it’s similar with assassin’s creed, keeping it in the family of “ubisoft series gamers love to shit on”. The references are in the same style as other database entries, so you’re not missing anything if you’re unfamiliar. I’ve played 4 through Odyssey.
I’m trying to think of other series and keep landing on the same reasoning, actually. Yeah, I love having more basis for the lore in other series, but I don’t feel I’m missing much without every reference. I mean, Ace Combat was my personality for a few months when 7 came out, prompting me to replay 4 and 5 and buy Zero and 6. As others have said, the main thing is if you do choose to go backwards, things get clunky for both general game and specific series development reasons. Assin 4 was my most recent AC (tried 3, beat Unity>Ody, then beat 4) and man, parkour is tough. I gave up on 3 because it was so awkward and I was too old to learn at the elder age of like 23.
I gotta say though, Forza Horizon 1 remains my favorite. There’s certainly some nostalgia tied to it because it set me up for impossible expectations in the car community (especially now in the post-covid takeover bullshit). It had a more concise campaign and had some story attached to it. I’m up to 4 and it just drops me in like “this is just what you do now” and every race unlocks 4 more races with no end in sight.
The Witcher. The first 2 games are real bad.
Any action/fighting/shmup franchise because the stories are typically nonexistent/shit anyway:
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Bayonetta: I recommend the original as a starting point for an authentic action experience, but Bayonetta 2 is more beginner-friendly.
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Devil May Cry: either 3, or 5 will work—3 if you’re after a challenging experience, and 5 if you’re looking for an insane combo simulator. 1 could work as an entry point, but it’s too old and will not appeal to everyone.
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Ninja Gaiden: I recommend the original Ninja Gaiden 2 on XBOX (not Sigma) if you’re after nonstop action, and Ninja Gaiden Black if you’re more of a souls-like fan.
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Crimzon Clover: World EXplosion is the superior game.
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Under Night In-Birth: I recommend Sys:Celes because it’s the only one with functional netcode.
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Persona 4 Arena Ultimax because it’s the only Persona Arena game, they just started at Persona 4, and the story has tie-ins for Persona 3 and 4.
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Guilty Gear: start with XX Accent Core Plus R if you need the “the most Guilty Gear” because every character has the most moves they’ve ever had throughout the series. -STRIVE- for beginners, and Xrd if you find XX inaccessible. OG Guilty Gear is a broken artifact, maybe to be admired, but not taken seriously.
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DoDonPachi: DaiOuJou: widely regarded as a shmup goat and the best DoDonPachi game. I recommend the Black Label release.
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The witcher 3 can be played with a great experience even with no background on the series!
I started with number 2 and felt a bit lost. I wonder if it would have been easier to start with 3 in that case.
I think genuinely yeah. 2 built on 1 iirc. 3 is sort of its own thing insofar as the overall story arc
Good to hear. I tried to start with 1, but just can’t do with those controls.
The story of witcher 1 is still quite good and worth experiencing. I’d suggest playing it on easy only so the bad gameplay doesn’t matter too much.
I try to forget but it haunts me
With Grand Theft Auto I would say you could start anywhere. Each game features a different protagonist and they play quite different to each other.
I would say playing 4 before 5 is probably a good idea because it doesn’t feel like as much of a tremendous leap compared to going from Vice City to San Andreas. Going from 5 back to 4 would probably make things like the car physics stand out even more.
So many nice recommendations here but here are some of my recommendations in genres (in top 5 form). All of them have PC ports (but not all of the series may be available on PC)
Platformers:
- Rayman
- Sonic
- Wonder boy
- Shantae
- Trine
RPGs
- Final Fantasy
- Tales of Series
- Star Ocean
- Elder Scrolls
- Pathfinder
Some noteworthy mentions for RPGs
- YS
- Mana
Shooters:
- Medal of Honor
- Shadow Warrior
- Doom
- Call of Duty
- Wolfenstein
Puzzles, point and click: Note: This was very hard to list since most of them are standalone and those that are not have interesting plot lines that you will not appreciate unless you play in order such as Syberia, Gabriel Knight, Secret Files. Walking Dead)
- Myst (You can play in any order but it would be nice to play the sequels or prequels)
- Broken Sword (Don’t touch 4 and 5 but you can play in any order and it would be nice to play the sequels or prequels)
- Life is Strange (1 and 2 are standalone stories)
- of Loathing series (It has turned based combat but very fun)
- Nancy Drew
I would say I prefer them in the chronological order of their release date. Some of the series I have listed completely have either loosely, small references or completely standalone only sharing a “franchise name”
Do none of the Final Fantasy involve each other?
Xcom 2: War of the Chosen
This is, I believe, the last entry in the series. DLC is confusing, but I feel like WotC fundamentally changed things in ways I enjoyed. It added a captain system similar to Shadow of Mordor and has half the main characters from ST:TNG doing the voice acting. I started this series at the very beginning (90’s? Early 2000’s?) and can recommend only the first and second games. However, consider their age and thus I probably enjoy those old ones out of nostalgia.
Counter Strike
I’ve heard you can pick and choose where to start with any sport franchise.
Very few game sequels are that tied in to it’s predecessor narratively that this is an issue. I would say the vast majority of games are designed to be picked up from anywhere in the series.
Even Mass Effect, where you play as the same character throughout a multi game story arc, still has each game giving the player an on ramp, and each game having it’s own miniature arc to play through.
Mass Effect is one that while every game is independent enough, I’d still say it’s best experienced as the trilogy. You will miss out on stuff in later games
Spoiler for a game old enough to vote
Wrex apparently dies on Virmire if you don’t. My partner started at 2, that was her experience. She played me1 shortly after and yeah, was upset she’d missed out even though he’s not a companion in 2 or 3 outside of Citadel DLC.
Wrex is a solid character, Krogan story just wouldn’t be the same without him. If I recall he’s a part of the reason Mordin changes his view on the Genophage. If you betray the Krogan and pretend to cure it (which I’ve never done, nor will, there’s a limit to how I’ll play renegade), Wrex will see through the deceit, his brother won’t.
There’s also a small misc quest with a certain recurring character in 3 that has an ending idk I’ve ever seen before that requires you to have done certain things in ME1 and not got that person killed in ME2.
There’s a point in the third game that determines the fate of 2 different species that can play out very differently based upon actions you’ve made across the series. And the “best” version depends on your completing the loyalty quests of multiple characters in ME2 before a certain trigger point.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Hooked me and then I explored lots of the rest of the series!
Yeah I was gonna hop in here and say Fallout. New Vegas has all the themes of the classic series with the easier to play gameplay of the 3D era. That said though, I really don’t think you can start wherever with that series - IF you want a clear picture of what it’s about. I started with Fallout 3, and that definitely muddies the series themes a bit. Fallout 4 comes around and the realistic themes of humanity’s repetitive follies are all but thrown out the window to focus on the scifi, retrofuturism, and apocalyptic aspects of the series. Fallout 1, 2, and NV are the continued story of society rebuilding and making the same mistakes we always make as a species. Only the first one is a post apocalyptic game, 2 and NV are post-post apocalyptic with large communities and states starting to form.
No hate on the fun there is to be had exploring bombed out ruins, I still love Fallout 3 and I put in a good bit of time with Fallout 4. But while the West Coast tells the story of society rebuilding, with people making adobe houses reasonably soon after the bombs fell and eventually manufacturing concrete, the East Coast is full of convoluted reasons for why society hasn’t rebuilt yet in 200 years and everyone still lives in scrap metal shacks. Not that Fallout games are all realism, but I think the Bethesda games sacrifice the realism of how humanity functions to add more scifi components - and that’s just not what Fallout’s all about.
I should probably say an actual game series I think you can pick up at any game though, and I’ll have to go with Metal Gear Solid. Fantastic story that’s convoluted and told out of order. It doesn’t matter where you start, you’re always going to have fun! I recommend MGS1 for anybody with a day job, and MGS5 for anyone who wants to sink some hours into a sandbox.
