I remember back in the early-to-mid 2010s, prequels suddenly became the hot ticket in the gaming sphere. We got so many new prequels,Borderlandseven released “The Pre-Sequel” as a deliberate riff on the practice. While some believe that prequels are a bit of a lazy substitute for a proper sequel, I like to view things a little more optimistically.
10 Best Video Game Prequels Of All Time
Prequels in video games are nothing new, but these are the pick of the bunch.
The best kind of prequel is one that builds upon an aspect of a game’s story or setting that we’re missing crucial information on; characters that are only mentioned posthumously, major events that are only hinted at or trapped behind flavor text.
These prequels can fill the gaps in these narratives, giving us insight into aspects of the greater story that we previously could only speculate on, while of course, being fun and interesting games in their own right.
I wouldn’t mind some more prequels on my plate, so long as they’re prequels to these particularly well-received games.
9Star Fox 64
The Doomed Voyage Of James McCloud
Star Fox 64
In the opening crawl ofStar Fox 64, we get some basic backstory on the evil scientist Andross, his exile from Corneria, and subsequent resurgence on the planet Venom. This is followed by the original Star Fox team, consisting of Fox’s dad, James McCloud, alongside Peppy Hare and Pigma Dengar, flying to Venom, Pigma betraying the team, and James going M.I.A.
Unfortunately, that’s basically all we ever found out about that initial attack, even in subsequent games and remakes like Star Fox Zero. As much as I would genuinely love, y’know,anynew Star Fox content, it would also be really cool to have a new game starring James and the original crew.
We could see the differences in their Arwing tech, maybe get a view of the planets of the Lylat System before the Venomian invasion, and learn how in the heck James and Peppy actually managed to tolerate being in Pigma’s company for more than five minutes.
I admit, my interest in this is largely fueled by fan content like A Fox in Space, which portrays James in a very rugged fashion. Would an actual prequel game be like that? Probably not, but I can dream.
8Alan Wake
Tor And Odin’s Excellent Adventure
Throughout the originalAlan Wake, the Dark Presence regularly taunts Alan, calling itself an ancient entity that has repeatedly found new hosts to “dream it free.” We know this means those with an artistic inclination, with notable examples being Alan himself, Thomas Zane, and the Anderson Brothers. It’s those two brothers in particular that I’d like to know a little more about.
According to supplemental information from both Alan Wake and Alan Wake 2, the Anderson Brothers actually come from a long lineage of seers, able to see supernatural elements in the world that would otherwise be obscured.
As part of their activities as the Old Gods of Asgard, they drank moonshine with unfiltered water from Cauldron Lake, which put them in contact with the Dark Presence. Doing battle with the Presence was how Odin lost his eye, among other injuries.
All this is to say, I would like a hard-rockin’ prequel where we get to play as the Andersons in their prime, battling the Dark Presence and belting out awesome guitar solos. It’d be cool for the story, and it’d be an excuse for another incredible rock number.
7Final Fantasy X
Braska, Jecht, And Auron’s Pilgrimage
Final Fantasy 10
ThroughoutFinal Fantasy X, we regularly hear about the incredible exploits of Yuna’s father, High Summoner Braska, and much to Tidus’ chagrin, his legendary guardian, Jecht. Everything we hear about Braska and Jecht’s pilgrimage to defeat Sin consists mostly of random rumors from the people and the occasional anecdote from Auron, who was also in the crew.
Even if we know how that pilgrimage ultimately ended, I can’t be alone in wanting to see those three get their own proper roadtrip adventure. It might not be as much of an actual roadtrip as Final Fantasy 15, but I like Auron and Jecht enough as characters that I want to see more of their dynamic outside of just second-hand stories.
On a technical level, it would be cool to see Spira through a modern lens, with either real-time or turn-based RPG action reminiscent of Final Fantasy X, perked up with some modern sensibilities and quality of life. Technically, we could get that from a remake rather than a prequel, but I’m not sure Final Fantasy X is old enough to warrant the full remake treatment. Yet.
6Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Boss And The Cobras
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004)
BeforeBig Boss was the “Greatest Soldier in the World,”that title was held by his mentor, simply known as The Boss. InMetal Gear Solid 3, itself a prequel, we see how Naked Snake was forced to kill The Boss and received his codename of Big Boss, but we don’t know much about Boss herself, nor her compatriots in the Cobra Unit.
Do weneedto know more about them? Maybe not. Do Iwanta game where I can play as the original Greatest Soldier in the World? Yes. Yes, I do.
All we really know about the Cobras was that they were a group of superhuman soldiers founded and led by The Boss, back when she was known as The Joy, and bankrolled by the Philosophers, all for top-secret missions during World War II. We don’t know how any of them got their abilities, beyond some mild retconning in Metal Gear Solid 5 that The End and The Pain’s abilities came from parasites.
All of this could play into a prequel game in a handful of ways, such as traditional Metal Gear stealth missions as Boss, sniping challenges as The End, or more straightforward offenses as The Pain or The Fury, to give a few ideas.
5Sly Cooper And The Thievius Raccoonus
Young Sly Or Conner’s Crew
Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves
By the beginning of the originalSly Coopergame, Sly is already a master thief, even without the teachings of the Thievius Raccoonus. He’s done his fair share of thievery around the world, and based on his interactions with Carmelita, already has a rap sheet a mile wide.
We never get to see Sly’s burgeoning years, though. He’s literally a self-taught thief, and has been since childhood. That could be worth exploring in a prequel.
The only potential problem with that idea is that, without his base skills or the Thievius Raccoonus, Sly might not be that fun to play as, and you wouldn’t have a playable Bentley or Murray to offset him. If that prequel idea is a no-go, here’s another one: what about Sly’s dad, Conner Cooper?
We’ve never even seen Conner from the neck down, notwithstanding a cartoony depiction in a Thieves in Time cutscene. According to the intro of Sly 3, he used to be quite the thief himself, running schemes the world over with Jim McSweeney and Dr. M. We know that crew eventually broke up over different priorities, Dr. M’s especially, but how did they get started?
4Elden Ring
The Shattering And The War
Elden Ring
Fextralife
FromSoftware’s games always like toplay a little close to the vest with their lore, preferring that you gather information yourself from dialogue and flavor text rather than putting it right in front of you. That said, I thinkElden Ring’s setting could give us a lot to work with for a prequel, and given George R.R. Martin’s contributions to the setting, it probably wouldn’t be unlike Game of Thrones.
There are a couple of spots where we could set an Elden Ring prequel, specifically during the height of Marika’s reign and the Golden Order, or right at the start of the Shattering and the subsequent war between the demigods.
I guess it would depend on whether we’re going for political intrigue and subterfuge, or good old-fashioned all-out warfare. Either could be made interesting from a gameplay perspective, though the latter would probably be easier and have more mainstream appeal.
The 5 Elden Ring Bosses With The Best Intros
Here is the ultimate compilation of the the list of Bosses with best intros in Elden Ring that reflect their roles and background
In that case, the question then is who we’d play as, since the Tarnished weren’t around back then. We could either control one of the demigods and go against large numbers of troops, Warriors-style, or be troops ourselves in a large-scale faction war. It might be fun for an online game.
3Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
After The Fracture, Before The Gommage
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Fextralife Wiki
As is established at the beginning ofClair Obscur: Expedition 33, the people of Lumiere have been venturing out into the continent since the Fracture launched their city away from the continent and into the bordering seas. The pursuit of The Paintress has been going on for 67 years, but as Verso explains, the original Expedition, Expedition Zero, had nothing to do with The Paintress.
The purpose of Expedition Zero (and this is where I think there’d be good prequel potential) was search and rescue, trying to find the citizens of Lumiere displaced by the Fracture and reconnect with the continent’s other races, like the Gestrals.
We know that this first Expedition did reach the Monolith, but there’s a whole continent and a lot of Nevrons between Point A and Point B that could do with some elaboration.
Of course, there is another element of Expedition 33’s story that could work for a prequel, arguably an even better one than Expedition Zero. But that’s major spoiler territory that’d be a little hard to explain without context. Let’s just say if you know, you know.
2Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening
Sparda’s Awakening
Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening
You might be thinking, “Didn’t we already get aDevil May Cryprequel in the form of 3?” Yes, we did, but that’s a prequel to Dante and Vergil’s story, not the wider story of the Devil May Cry world, which still has plenty of unanswered questions.
In the opening crawl of the original Devil May Cry, and at multiple other points in passing throughout the series, we’re recounted the legend of the Dark Knight, Sparda. He was a demon in the demon king’s command, one day he “woke up to justice,” and then he fought off demonkind and sealed the way between their world and Earth.
Even after all these years, we know precious little about Sparda beyond the fact that he was really,reallystrong and had an affinity forcool weapons. All we have to go on is the bonus costumes Dante sometimes wears that allegedly came from his wardrobe.
I’d love to get a Devil May Cry series prequel about Sparda to show us what, exactly, he was capable of in his prime, as well as what specifically caused him to “wake up to justice,” whatever the heck that even means.
Let Samus Have A Childhood
The overall chronology of theMetroidseries is… inconsistent, to put it mildly. According to the official timeline, the very first game in the series is still the original Metroid, but by that point, Samus is already a fully-established bounty hunter with a galaxy-spanning reputation. Even Metroid: Other M only gives us some brief glimpses of her Federation days, and nothing before that.
All we know about Samus’ adolescence is that her colony was wiped out by Ridley and the Space Pirates, and she escaped to Zebes to live and train with the Chozo. There’s an entire 11-year gap there in which she received Chozo DNA and was trained in combat arts that’s rife for prequel potential.
It’d be fascinating to see Samus receive her initial training, not to mention her first bonding with her Power Suit, which I imagine must’ve been a bit of a traumatic process in itself given its bio-mechanical nature. It’d be a good excuse for her to not haveall of her power-upsat the start of the game for a change, rather than someone clubbing her upside the head after a prologue like usual.
7 Best Anime Prequels, Ranked
Discover the anime prequels that deepened the stories we love, revealing powerful origins, hidden truths.
