History Main / SamePlotSequel

* ''[[VideoGame/GunstarHeroes Gunstar Super Heroes]]'', while formally a sequel to ''Gunstar Heroes'', recycles almost every level, boss fight, plot point, and music track from the original game.

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry2'' essentially rehashes the same plotline as ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry1''. Devil hunter Dante is invited by an ActionGirl to a remote island in order to stop demonic forces from raising an ancient demon sealed away in Demon World by Dante's father Sparda. The ActionGirl is later revealed to be a demon created by the BigBad. Dante comforts her by telling her "Devils never cry" and, after defeating the BigBad, the ActionGirl joins Dante's agency. The main difference between Trish and Lucia is that the former was actually working for Mundus then turned good at the end of ''[=DMC1=]'' while Lucia defected from Arius before the beginning of ''[=DMC2=]'''s story.

* ''Film/TheHangoverPartII'' was nearly a note-for-note copy of the original, with the gang getting together for another bachelor party, another drinking session, another morning hangover, another member of the party missing, Alan slipping the others drugs again, another madcap quest to find the missing person...
* ''Film/HomeAlone2'' is basically the first ''Film/HomeAlone'' again. Complete with traps, MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold, being out in a city rather than at his house, and so on.
* ''Teen Wolf Too'' follows a cousin of the main character in ''Film/TeenWolf'', who is also a teen and also discovers that he is a werewolf. The only difference is that instead of using it to become an ace at basketball, he uses it to become an ace at boxing.

* ''Film/EscapeFromLA'' is essentially a remake of ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'' almost plot point for plot point. Snake is captured and then enlisted by the dystopian U.S. authorities to break into a former city that is now a huge prison island (Manhattan and Los Angeles, respectively) to retrieve an important person and prevent a war. Even characters are remarkably similar: Cuervo Jones is The Duke, Maps to the Stars Eddie is Cabbie, etc.
* ''[[Franchise/TheChroniclesOfRiddick Riddick]]'' creators David Twohy and Creator/VinDiesel expressed in interviews that they specifically wanted to avoid this when they made ''Film/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'' by not simply doing a remake of ''Film/PitchBlack'' only with bigger and meaner monsters. However, the sequel was then criticized for veering ''[[OutOfGenreExperience too far]]'' away from its premise by placing Riddick, a knife-happy VillainProtagonist in a SciFiHorror--into a ''Star Wars''-esque ScienceFantasy space epic as the [[TheChosenOne last hope]] of saving the universe from the thrall of an evil empire. The next movie, simply titled ''Film/{{Riddick}}'', then played this straight. Once again Riddick is stranded on an uninhabited planet before nightfall arrives and the whole planet is swarmed with hostile aliens, requiring the humans to retrieve energy batteries to power a ship and escape.
* ''Film/FrightNight2NewBlood'' is an odd case where it's ''officially'' a sequel to [[Film/FrightNight2011 the 2011 movie]] (which was already a remake to [[Film/FrightNight1985 the 1985 movie]]), but it's really just the same plot *again*, character names and all. Teenage boy suspects that his neighbor is a vampire, recruits a horror TV star to reluctantly help him, [[spoiler:his best friend and girlfriend get turned]], final battle where the vampire is killed by sunlight. The only real difference is that [[GenderFlip the vampire is a woman this time around]] and is implied to be a historical figure like Dracula, namely UsefulNotes/ElizabethBathory. Which makes you wonder why they didn't just make it a DivorcedInstallment, since a bunch of rag-tag heroes fighting a vampirized Bathory has enough potential by itself.

* ''The Cutting Edge'' has three direct-to-video sequels. Each of those repeats the same basic formula: a professional ice skater needs a partner, who turns out to be someone from a different, less artistic sport (hockey player, rollerblader, hockey player, speed-skater). They become not only skating partners but also fall for one another. But there will usually be a RomanticFalseLead or miscommunication to add some drama, only for there to be declarations of love right before (or even during) the competition. Also, in two of the four cases, the romance doesn't last to the sequel. Only the couple from the original movie stays together (even if [[TheOtherDarrin played by different actors]]), while their daughter's marriage doesn't last, and the daughter's student's romance lasts only as long as her partner's skating career. We don't know anything about her second romance, since there wasn't a fifth movie. In every movie but one, the professional skater is female, while the amateur is male.
* ''Film/PacificRimUprising'' follows the plot of ''Film/PacificRim'' pretty much beat for beat. The main character of each film is a disgraced former Jaeger pilot who gets coaxed back into service and teamed up with a female rookie whose parents were killed by Kaiju. Both films start with a replacement for the Jaeger program being proposed, only for a sudden disastrous attack to make the Jaegers relevant again. Both film have the majority of the Jaegers destroyed so that there's only four left to repel the biggest kaiju attack to date. Both films' climaxes involve [[spoiler:the heroes self-destroying their Jaeger in a last-ditch effort to avert a catastrophic event that is worse than any one Kaiju]].
* ''Film/BillAndTedFaceTheMusic'' reuses plot elements from ''Film/BillAndTedsExcellentAdventure'' (Billie and Thea's subplot uses the same premise of using time travel to gather historical figures for a specific purpose) and ''Film/BillAndTedsBogusJourney'' (a robot from the future travels back in time on a mission to kill Bill and Ted, sending them to the afterlife where they meet Death).

* Crops up in some ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' sequel books. In particular, the ''Night of the Living Dummy'' books all have a female protagonist who has issues with one of more siblings (or cousin, in ''III''); the living dummy (first Mr. Wood, later [[BreakoutVillain Slappy]]) comes to life and does cruel pranks, which the protagonist is blamed for; he declares the protagonist to be his slave, and then gets defeated with help of the sibling(s). Most have a twist where another dummy/doll is actually alive, too. The ''Most Wanted'' book ''Son of Slappy'' finally mixes things up somewhat by having a male protagonist and a plot about Slappy putting him under MindControl (though this is still mostly a variant of the "protagonist blamed for the dummy's pranks" idea).

* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
** Bowser invades the Mushroom Kingdom and kidnaps Peach, so Mario has to travel around the country/island/world/galaxy to save her. In most scrolling games he just has to get from point A to point B. In most 3D games he has to collect about 70 [[MacGuffin MacGuffins]] of power to find Bowser's true hiding spot, and can keep going to collect all 120 for 100% completion.
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' bizarrely went as far as to have the same plot of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy.'' In both games Bowser invades on the day of the Star Festival which only happens once every 100 years. Meaning the ending of the first game reset the timestream, the sequel takes place 100 years in the future, or the creators really don't care about the details of reusing an ExcusePlot[[note]]The official statement from the developers is that it's a "reimagining" of the original ''Galaxy'' but [[ExcusePlot without any of the lore]], which was the result of ExecutiveMeddling from Shigeru Miyamoto[[/note]]. The main difference is in the first one Mario ends up on the comet observatory with Rosalina, and in the sequel he's on the Faceship Mario with Lubba.

* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' has [[RecurringElement a whole series of archetypes that recur between games]] but are typically played with and subverted. On the other hand, there's Roy's game, ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade The Binding Blade]]'', which arranges these elements like [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Marth's first title]] and plays out like am mix of ''Shadow Dragon'' and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem Mystery of the Emblem]]''.
* ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'': You are a young adult moving out and you arrive in a village where you are the TokenHuman. You don't have enough money to pay for a house but are allowed to pay your debt little-by-little. ''New Leaf'' changes up the plot with you becoming the mayor of the town.
* ''VideoGame/EarthBound'': Earth is being invaded by aliens and you and the friends you make along the way must travel around the Earth collecting portions of a special melody. In fact Earthbound's plot is so similar to that of ''VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings'' that it could be considered a stealth remake.
* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'':
** ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' is essentially a fleshed-out version of the original ''VideoGame/{{Metroid|1}}'', predating [[VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission the actual remake]] by a full decade: Space Pirates steal a Metroid and bring it to their fortress on planet Zebes with the intention of breeding Metroids as bioweapons, so Samus Aran is hired to stop them. She goes to Brinstar, where she defeats Kraid and acquires the Varia Suit; she goes to Norfair, where she defeats Ridley and acquires the Screw Attack; she activates statues based on Kraid and Ridley in order to enter Tourian; she fights her way through the Metroids in Tourian and defeats Mother Brain; and finally she escapes Zebes before a time bomb explodes. Completing the game fast enough removes Samus's helmet, and completing it even more quickly shows her in a revealing outfit.
** ''Videogame/MetroidOtherM'' is a Same Plot ''Prequel'' to ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion''. In both games, Samus must investigate a massacre in a space station (Biologic Space Laboratories/BOTTLE SHIP) divided into sectors based on habitats from Zebes, follows the order of someone named Adam (a computer/Adam Malkovitch), finds herself reminiscing about her past and finds out [[spoiler:that the Federation plots to recreate the Metroid through a secret hatchery]]. Notably in both games, Samus faces Nightmares and a resurrected Ridley. The main difference is that ''Other M'' has subplots not present in ''Fusion'' (the Deleter and "MB").
* ''VideoGame/Bayonetta2'' despite having a different initial premise than [[VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}} its predecessor]] (in the first game, Bayonetta investigates her past while in the second she tries to find a way to rescue her friend Jeanne from Hell) ends up rehashing several plot points and scenes. In both game, Bayonetta wanders in an old city with ties with the supernatural (Noatun and Vigrid), stumbles upon a mysterious child who's being targeted by the ennemies (Cereza and Loki) and regularly fights with a EvilCounterpart (Jeanne and the Masked Lumen) who turns to be a pawn of the OmnicidalManiac BigBad ([[spoiler:Father Balder and Loptr]]). At the end of both games, [[spoiler:the BigBad uses the Eyes of the World to summon a gigantic mass destroying deity (Jubileus and Aesir). Bayonetta and her redeemed rival defeat it by [[SummonBiggerFish summoning an even bigger one]] (Queen Of Sheba and Omne).]]
* {{Subverted|Trope}} by ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising''. While the premise is essentially an inversion of ''VideoGame/KidIcarus''[[note]]in the original, Pit escapes the Underworld and ascends to Skyworld to defeat Medusa after she's already won; in ''Uprising'', Pit descends into the Underworld to stop Medusa before she can win again[[/note]], it follows several very familiar story beats, such as Pit fighting Twinbellows, Hewdraw, Pandora, and T(h)anatos; collecting the Three Sacred Treasures in order to defeat Medusa; and then celebrating his victory with Palutena as the 8-bit credits roll. And then [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle Hades tears through the credits]] and reveals that the game isn't even halfway over yet! After that point, ''Uprising'' features a completely new story that no longer relies on repeating the original game's beats.

* Both ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'' games have the same basic plot; the empress is removed from her throne[[note]]Thankfully, Emily isn't killed like her mother was[[/note]], and the player finds and (potentially) kills everyone involved in the conspiracy. Taken UpToEleven as you can even play the second game as Corvo, the protagonist of the first game, who even spends most of it trying to rescue the same person as last time. The Outsider even lampshades the similarity if you play as Corvo.
* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX'', originally a desktop browser game exclusive to Japan, was remade as ''Unchained χ'' for mobile devices, but the remake curiously omits the climactic ending of ''χ''. [[spoiler:The sequel arc, ''Union χ'', reveals that ''Unchained χ'' was actually an example of this trope, with the new Union leaders using their power over dreams to allow the other, slumbering Keyblade wielders to relive the events of ''χ'' without the trauma of the Keyblade War. The implication is that ''Unchained χ'' is actually this sanitized dream.]]
* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry2'' essentially rehashes the same plotline as ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry1''. Devil hunter Dante is invited by an ActionGirl to a remote island in order to stop demonic forces from raising an ancient demon sealed away in Demon World by Dante's father Sparda. The ActionGirl is later revealed to be a demon created by the BigBad. Dante comforts her by telling her "Devils never cry" and, after defeating the BigBad, the ActionGirl joins Dante's agency. The main difference between Trish and Lucia is that the former was actually working for Mundus then turned good at the end of ''[=DMC1=]'' while Lucia defected from Arius before the beginning of ''[=DMC2=]'''s story.
* ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' pretty much lives on this trope, at least since the second one. Each new game starts with the Yellow Turban Rebellion, more or less, and up until the seventh entry ended at the Wuzhang Plains. Each new entry has added new game mechanics, [[PromotedToPlayable previously generic NPCs now available to play as]] and more/different parts of the story to go through. When the franchise is based on [[Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms a book]], there's only so much you can really do.
* ''VideoGame/GroundhogDayLikeFatherLikeSon'', the SequelInAnotherMedium to the movie ''Film/GroundhogDay'', is essentially just ''Groundhog Day'' with a SettingUpdate. You play as the son of Phil Connors, Phil Connors Jr., who starts out as a {{Jerkass}} social media influencer (rather than a weatherman), becomes trapped in the titular GroundhogDayLoop, finds out that he's in a time loop, and uses it to become a progressively better person and break out of the loop.

* ''[[Franchise/TheChroniclesOfRiddick Riddick]]'' creators David Twohy and Creator/VinDiesel expressed in interviews that they specifically wanted to avoid this when they made ''Film/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'' by not simply doing a remake of ''Film/PitchBlack'' only with bigger and meaner monsters. However, the sequel was then criticized for veering ''[[OutOfGenreExperience too far]]'' away from its premise by placing Riddick -- a knife-happy criminal -- in a ''Star Wars''-esque space epic as the last hope of saving the universe from the thrall of an evil empire. The next movie, simply titled ''Film/{{Riddick}}'', then played this straight. Once again Riddick is stranded on an uninhabited planet before nightfall arrives and the whole planet is swarmed with hostile aliens, requiring the humans to retrieve energy batteries to power a ship and escape.

* ''[[Franchise/TheChroniclesOfRiddick Riddick]]'' creators David Twohy and Creator/VinDiesel expressed in interviews that they specifically wanted to avoid this when they made ''Film/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'' by not simply doing a remake of ''Film/PitchBlack'' only with bigger and meaner monsters. However, the sequel was then criticized for veering ''too far'' away from its premise by placing Riddick -- a knife-happy criminal -- in a ''Star Wars''-esque space epic as the last hope of saving the universe from the thrall of an evil empire. The next movie, simply titled ''Film/{{Riddick}}'', then played this straight. Once again Riddick is stranded on an uninhabited planet before nightfall arrives and the whole planet is swarmed with hostile aliens, requiring the humans to retrieve energy batteries to power a ship and escape.

* ''Film/EscapeFromLA'' is essentially a remake of ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'' almost plot point for plot point. Snake is captured and then enlisted by the authorities to break into a former city that is now a huge prison island (Manhattan and Los Angeles, respectively) to retrieve an important person and prevent a war. Even characters are remarkably similar: Cuervo Jones is The Duke, Maps to the Stars Eddie is Cabbie, etc.

* Actually subverted by ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'', which sets itself up as being a SamePlotSequel to ''Film/TheTerminator'': the machines send a Terminator back in time to kill John Connor before he can become a resistance leader, and so Connor sends someone to protect his own past self. The film's first act contains many scenes that mirror the first, with the Terminator played by Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger and his mysterious opponent, played this time by Robert Patrick, making their way around in the present day and trying to find their quarry, the only difference being that now they're looking for John himself rather than his young mother. Then comes the [[ItWasHisSled shocking twist]] that reveals that [[spoiler:Patrick's character is actually the Terminator the machines sent, while Schwarzenegger's Terminator is a re-programmed model sent by John]], at which point the plot goes off in a much different direction than the first film. Then again, there are some similarities: [[spoiler: The heroes are pursued by Patrick's T-1000 driving a semi tanker in a freeway chase. The destruction of the tanker seemingly kills the T-1000, which rises again and pursues the heroes inside a factory. After a pitched battle, the heroes succeed at the cost of one of their own. Additionally, there were cut scenes from ''Terminator'' where Sarah wants to attack the Cyberdyne factory, so it wasn't such a coincidence that's where they ended up]].

* Had it gone into production, the Circle 7-produced ''Script/ToyStory3'' would have been a blatant rehash of ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'' - one of the main toys (Woody/Buzz) would have been forcibly taken to another location (Al's Penthouse/China), forcing the other main toy (Buzz/Woody) to form a team of other toys (Mr. Potato Head, Rex, Slinky and Hamm, with both Jessie and Bullseye tagging along in the latter) to save them. The captured toy would have befriended a group of similar toys during their efforts to escape and become enemies with another toy from their line, all of the toys would have had to deal with a delusional Buzz, and Andy's toys would have returned to his room without Andy realizing anything was amiss.

* ''VideoGame/Persona5Strikers'' recycles more than a few plot elements from ''VideoGame/Persona5'' with a few thematic elements from ''Persona 5 Royal'' for flavor, with many major new characters in ''Strikers'' having obvious parallels to characters from the original and even some story beats being recycled. [[spoiler:The FinalBoss is even called "The Demiurge", which is just an alternative name for Yaldabaoth in mythology.]]

* ''VideoGame/Persona5Strikers'' recycles more than a few plot elements from ''VideoGame/Persona5'' with a few thematic elements from ''Persona 5 Royal'' for flavor, with many major new characters in ''Strikers'' having obvious parallels to characters from the original and even some story beats being recycled.

* Actually subverted by ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'', which sets itself up as being a SamePlotSequel to ''Film/TheTerminator'': the machines send a Terminator back in time to kill John Connor before he can become a resistance leader, and so Connor sends someone to protect his own past self. The film's first act contains many scenes that mirror the first, with the Terminator played by Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger and his mysterious opponent, played this time by Robert Patrick, making their way around in the present day and trying to find their quarry, the only difference being that now they're looking for John himself rather than his young mother. Then comes the [[ItWasHisSled shocking twist]] that reveals that [[spoiler:Patrick's character is actually the Terminator the machines sent, while Schwarzenegger's Terminator is a re-programmed model sent by John]], at which point the plot goes off in a much different direction than the first film.
** Not that different: [[spoiler: The heroes are pursued by Patrick's T-1000 driving a semi tanker in a freeway chase. The destruction of the tanker seemingly kills the T-1000, which rises again and pursues the heroes inside a factory. After a pitched battle, the heroes succeed at the cost of one of their own. Additionally, there were cut scenes from ''Terminator'' where Sarah wants to attack the Cyberdyne factory, so it wasn't such a coincidence that's where they ended up]].

** ''WesternAnimation/ReturnToNeverLand'' is a sequel to ''WesternAnimation/PeterPan'', and uses many of the same plot elements: a child (this time only one instead of three) ends up in Never Land, teams up with Peter Pan and gets pursued by Captain Hook. Hook is still pursued by a hungry beast this time, except for some reason it's an octopus rather than a crocodile.
** ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook2'', the sequel to ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967'', still revolves around the dilemma whether Mowgli belongs to the jungle or the man-village, and Baloo still wants him to live in the jungle with him. Meanwhile, Shere Khan still pursues Mowgli to kill him.
* ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'' has many of the same story beats as ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo''. In both films the title character gets captured and put in an aquarium, while two other characters try to find them. There's an opening flashback, a school field trip where things go wrong, a scene set on a shipwreck, a glow-in-the-dark predator, some predators (sharks in the original, sea lions in the sequel) who are friendly to the protagonists, a goofy bird, a gruff character who tries repeatedly to escape the aquarium, a reunion with lost parents, and a climax in which dozens of fish perform an unlikely escape.

** ''Film/JurassicWorld'', taking place two decades after the original ''Film/JurassicPark'', borrows many elements from it. Two children visit a park of genetically engineered dinosaurs run by a relative of theirs. Due to an error in the security system, dangerous dinosaurs escape and attack people, and the children get lost. [[spoiler:The main antagonistic dinosaurs get defeated by the very same UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex in both movies.]] Also, the general theme of human greed and interfering with nature is the same.
** ''Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom'' has been called essentially a remake of ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark'', with a [[{{Anvilicious}} heavy-handed]], almost obnoxious GreenAesop about an expedition being sent back to the dinosaur-filled islands after the original park broke down to retrieve as many specimens as possible, while a bunch of SmugSnake {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s attempt to profit off it. The dinosaurs break free and cause a rampage on the mainland, leading to a KarmicDeath for the [[CapitalismIsBad cartoonish capitalist villains]], and an ending speech by one of the previous film's characters that people will have to learn to live with dinosaurs roaming the Earth.

** ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', the seventh installment in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' film series, has a similar plot to the original trilogy, particularly ''Film/ANewHope'', to the point that ''The Force Awakens'' comes off as a soft remake. An evil [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Nazi-esque]] army, led by a sinister figure in black, constructs a space weapon that can destroy planets. A resistance member hides some information the villains also want in the memory of a droid, who gets stranded on a desert planet and found by an orphan with affinity to the Force. They escape the villains and encounter an old mentor figure who fought in the previous war [[spoiler:and has a connection with the main villain]]. They go to the villains' base, [[spoiler:the mentor confronts the villain and gets killed by him. Then an AcePilot of the resistance group destroys the base]]. A lot of the same things also happen in the same order and around the same time as in ''A New Hope''.
** To a lesser but still noticeable extent, this also applies to its sequel ''Film/TheLastJedi'', which has a very similar plot to ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack''. Both film start with the heroes' base being attacked by the villains. The heroes escape and are pursued, leading to a ChaseScene in space. Some of them go to a new planet and meet an unsavory character who eventually betrays them. Meanwhile, the main protagonist is trained by an old Jedi Master on a remote planet. They venture to a place connected to the Dark Side where they have visions of themselves. Later, they go confront the main villain, who reveals the truth about their parentage. The film also contains a few scenes that are quite similar to those of ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', notably when the protagonist is brought to the throne room of a powerful Dark Side-user [[spoiler: who ends up killed by his own apprentice]].

* ''Film/HomeAlone2'' is basically the first ''Film/HomeAlone'' again. Complete with traps, MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold and so on.

** In particular, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' (officially a direct prequel) reuses and fleshes out a lot of plot elements that were introduced in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link To the Past]]''. After a great war, the Triforce was lost to another realm. Lately, an evil priest/foreign king has gained the favor of the King of Hyrule and is using his position to manipulate events in order to steal the Triforce. After witnessing the tragic death of his father figure, Link goes on an adventure to acquire three {{Plot Coupon}}s so he can retrieve the Master Sword, which ends up locking him in another dimension. After master the different dimensions Link rescues and awakens the Wise Men/Sages and their power combined forces the evil manipulator to reveal himself as Ganon. In the final battle Link defeats Ganon. Several sidequest characters even had appropriate counterparts.

** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds A Link Between Worlds]]'' is a deliberate homage to ''A Link to the Past'' and therefore unsurprisingly follows a very similar story. Once again, an EvilSorcerer causes havoc in Hyrule and abducts the descendants of the seven sages to resurrect Ganon. You are tasked by Zelda and Sahasrahla to find the three Pendants of Virtue and obtain the Master Sord. Once you've done it, you land in the Dark World and have to rescue the descendants of the sage before facing the sorcerer in his lair. [[spoiler:This is an InvokedTrope on the part of the antagonists, not too dissimilar from ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 2|SonsOfLiberty}}''. The Triforce of Courage was sealed away in an unknown location, bound to the soul of the Hero, between the events of ''A Link to the Past'' and ''A Link Between Worlds''. In order to break the seal on it, the hero’s successor must show a display of true courage–so the antagonists set out to goad the new Link into reenacting out the closest thing they know to such a feat, the events of ''A Link to the Past'', in order to unseal the Triforce of Courage. This goes off without a hitch, but Link manages to keep the Triforce from their grasp in the end.]]

** Not that different: [[spoiler: The heroes are pursued by Patrick's T-1000 driving a semi tanker in a freeway chase. The destruction of the tanker seemingly kills the T-1000, which rises again and pursues the heroes inside a factory. After a pitched battle, the heroes succeed at the cost of one of their own. Additionally, there were cut scenes from Terminator where Sarah wants to attack the Cyberdine factory, so it wasn't such a coincidence that's where they ended up]].

* ''Anime/LoveLiveSunshine'' for the first eight episodes is essentially a beat-for-beat retelling of ''Anime/LoveLive'' with a different setting and [[{{Expy}} expies]] of µ's, the only real major difference being the [[TwoLinesNoWaiting presence of a B-plot.]] [[spoiler:However, a WhamEpisode 2/3rds of the way into the first season drastically changes things and begins to explore Aqours as not a copycat of µ's, but as a ''successor'' of µ's, playing into the CentralTheme of defying expectations and finding your own path.]]

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' bizarrely went as far as to have the same plot of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy.'' In both games Bowser invades on the day of the Star Festival which only happens once every 100 years. Meaning the ending of the first game reset the timestream, the sequel takes place 100 years in the future, or the creators really don't care about the details of reusing an ExcusePlot. The main difference is in the first one Mario ends up on the comet observatory with Rosalina, and in the sequel he's on the Faceship Mario with Lubba.

** ''Film/JurassicWorld'', taking place two decades after the original ''Film/JurassicPark'', borrows many elements from it. Two children visit a park of genetically engineered dinosaurs run by a relative of theirs. Due to an error in the security system, dangerous dinosaurs escape and attack people, and the children get lost. [[spoiler:The main antagonistic dinosaurs get defeated by the very same TyrannosaurusRex in both movies.]] Also, the general theme of human greed and interfering with nature is the same.

** Not that different: [[spoiler: The heroes are pursued by Patrick's T-1000 driving a semi tanker in a freeway chase. The destruction of the tanker seemingly kills the T-1000, which rises again and pursues the heroes inside a factory. After a pitched battle, the heroes succeed at the cost of one of their own]].

So, a sequel to your favorite work has just come out. When you go see/watch/read/play it, you notice that [[ItsBeenDone the plot]] [[RecycledScript is strangely similar to the first one.]]

* Happened deliberately in ''VisualNovel/SuperDanganronpa2'': [[spoiler:the BigBad planned their viral infection of the Neo World Program around the fact that the survivors or [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc the first killing game]] were watching the carnage unfold and knew they would (like heroes) jump inside the program to at the first opportunity if they saw students dying in droves in nearly the same manner they almost did. This both gave them an opening to escape into the real world along with a chance at revenge on the three survivors that did arrive in the final class trial]].

** To a lesser but still noticeable extent, this also applies to is sequel ''Film/TheLastJedi'', which has a very similar plot to ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack''. Both film start with the heroes' base being attacked by the villains. The heroes escape and are pursued, leading to a ChaseScene in space. Some of them go to a new planet and meet an unsavory character who eventually betrays them. Meanwhile, the main protagonist is trained by an old Jedi Master on a remote planet. They venture to a place connected to the Dark Side where they have visions of themselves. Later, they go confront the main villain, who reveals the truth about their parentage. The film also contains a few scenes that are quite similar to those of ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', notably when the protagonist is brought to the throne room of a powerful Dark Side-user [[spoiler: who ends up killed by his own apprentice]].

* ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', the seventh installment in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' film series, has a similar plot to the original trilogy, particularly ''Film/ANewHope'', to the point that ''The Force Awakens'' comes off as a soft remake. An evil [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Nazi-esque]] army, led by a sinister figure in black, constructs a space weapon that can destroy planets. A resistance member hides some information the villains also want in the memory of a droid, who gets stranded on a desert planet and found by an orphan with affinity to the Force. They escape the villains and encounter an old mentor figure who fought in the previous war [[spoiler:and has a connection with the main villain]]. They go to the villains' base, [[spoiler:the mentor confronts the villain and gets killed by him. Then an AcePilot of the resistance group destroys the base]]. A lot of the same things also happen in the same order and around the same time as in ''A New Hope''.