History Main / SequelNumberSnarl

->''"VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII is the tenth game in the Franchise/KingdomHearts series."''

* Had the planned ''VideoGame/{{Pico}}'' game ''Pico 2'' been completed and released accordng to plan, it would have been the fifth official game in the series. The second game to feature Pico was ''Pico V.S. Bear'', and the second game overall was ''Nene's Interactive Suicide''. In this case, the "2" is supposed to indicate following up on plot points established in ''Pico's School'', the game it was to be a direct sequel to.

** ''Double Dragon II'' could refer to the arcade game ''[[VideoGame/DoubleDragonII Double Dragon II: The Revenge]]'' or its console adaptations (most notably the NES version), as well as an original Game Boy sequel to the first game. The Game Boy version was actually repurposed from a canceled sequel to the Technos arcade game ''Renegade'' that was titled ''The Renegades'', but the story and graphics were redesigned when the publisher shift from American Technos to Acclaim in order to fit into the ''Double Dragon'' canon. The game would be released in Japan as a ''Kunio-kun'' spin-off, but with chibi-style graphics similar to ''VideoGame/RiverCityRansom'' instead of the more realistic style of the original ''Kunio-kun''.

* All the ''VideoGame/MaddenNFL'' entries are numbered after their year of release with the exception of the 2014 edition, which was titled ''Madden 25'' to [[MilestoneCelebration commemorate the 25th anniversary]] of the original 1990 Sega Genesis game. The series would resume to regular numbering with ''Madden 15'', so it remains to be seen what they'll do when they eventually get to the actual 2025 edition.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManAndBass'', originally released in 1998 for the Super Famicom in Japan as a cheap alternative to ''VideoGame/MegaMan8'' aimed at younger players who haven't transitioned yet to the newer generation of consoles at the time (the [=PlayStation=] and Sega Saturn), was at one point nicknamed among fans "Mega Man 9". An official ''VideoGame/MegaMan9'' wouldn't be released until a decade later in 2008. Internally the game was titled ''Rockman 8.5''.

** Since the Famicom port of ''Gradius II'' was never released outside Japan, many people at the time (particularly in the U.S.) assumed that ''Life Force'' was being counted as the second game in the series when the Super NES port of ''Gradius III'' was released in the west with its numbering intact.
** Note that the original ''Gradius'' itself, much like ''Salamander'', began development as a sequel to another Konami game, ''Scramble'' (which was released in 1981). However, this connection was not obvious to many people until ''Scramble'' was featured in the pre-title sequence of ''Gradius Galaxies'' for the Game Boy Advance. ''Scramble'' had another sequel prior titled ''Super Cobra''.

->''"VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII is the tenth game in the Franchise/KingdomHearts series."'' [[labelnote:Actually...]]It's the ''eleventh''.[[/labelnote]]

* All the ''VideoGame/MaddenNFL'' entries are numbered after their year of release with the exception of the 2014 edition, which was titled ''Madden 25'' after the 25th anniversary of the original 1990 Sega Genesis game. The series would resume to regular numbering with ''Madden 15'', so it remains to be seen what they'll do when they eventually get to the actual 2025 edition.

** Finally, 2021 saw the release of Windows 11.

** In the year 2000, Windows NT shifted to Title By Year too: Windows NT 5.0 was released as Windows 2000 Professional (and Windows 2000 Server). As a result, the next consumer Windows was released as Windows Millenium Edition (or "Windows ME") instead of with a year. Internally, it's numbered 4.9.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Mother}}'' series is straightforward enough... in Japan. ''Outside'' of Japan, ''Mother 2'' was the first game released, as ''VideoGame/EarthBound''. However, the first ''Mother'' game was initially considered for release in the United States, and a nearly finished prototype to this end, titled ''Earth Bound'' (spelled as two words), was found in the late 1990s. For the purposes of keeping things straight, this English version of the game was commonly referred to as "[=EarthBound=] Zero" in fan communities until its official release on the Wii U'z Virtual Console as ''VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings'' in 2015. ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'', [[NoExportForYou which still remains officially unlocalized]], is mostly called by its Japanese title and never as ''[=EarthBound=] 2''.

* ''VideoGame/MegaMan&Bass'', originally released in 1998 for the Super Famicom in Japan as a cheap alternative to ''VideoGame/MegaMan8'' aimed at younger players who haven't transitioned yet to the newer generation of consoles at the time (the [=PlayStation=] and Sega Saturn), was at one point nicknamed among fans "Mega Man 9". The official ''VideoGame/MegaMan9'' wouldn't be released until a decade later in 2008. Internally the game was titled ''Rockman 8.5''.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Mother}}'' series is straightforward enough... in Japan. ''Outside'' of Japan, ''Mother 2'' was the first game released, as ''VideoGame/EarthBound''. However, the first ''Mother'' game was initially considered for release in the United States, and a nearly finished prototype to this end, titled ''Earth Bound'' (spelled as two words), was found in the late 1990s. For the purposes of keeping things straight, this English version of the game was commonly referred to as "[=EarthBound=] Zero" in fan communities until its official release on the Wii U Virtual Console as ''VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings'' in 2015. ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'', [[NoExportForYou which still remains officially unlocalized]], is mostly called by its Japanese title and never as ''[=EarthBound=] 2''.

** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'', despite being essentially a sequel to the first three ''Resident Evil'' games on the original UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation}}, specifically ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' due to its focus on Claire Redfield and her search for her brother Chris, as well as the return of antagonist Albert Wesker to the series, it was not given a numbered title (in contrast to ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'', which was more of a parallel sequel to the first ''VideoGame/{{Resident Evil|1}}'', with the first half of the story actually taking place before ''2''). The reason for this being that ''Code: Veronica'' was co-developed by Capcom and Sega with the intent of being a [[UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast Dreamcast]]-exclusive. When Sega left the hardware race and discontinued the Dreamcast, the game was quickly ported to the [=PS2=] in the form of an expanded edition with additional cutscenes. Ironically the next numbered entry in the series, ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', underwent a similar situation: it was originally designed as a [[UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube GameCube]]-exclusive, but was quickly ported to the [=PS2=] due to the underwhelming sales of the ''VideoGame/{{Resident Evil|1}}'' remake and its prequel, ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0'', which were both intended to bring fans of the series to Nintendo's console.

* [=OnePlus=], an upstart phone maker from China, has had some similar bobbles. It has gone through 9 ordinal numbers, albeit skipping the OnePlus 4 model because FourIsDeath, but has augmented this with T models ("OnePlus 6T") starting with the 5, which some snide commentators have taken as a display of dominance over Apple (since T is the next letter over S).

** In the year 2000, Windows NT shifted to Title By Year too: Windows NT 5.0 was released as Windows 2000 Professional (and Windows 2000 Server). As a result, consumer Windows 5.0 was released as Windows Millenium Edition (or "Windows ME") but was a huge commercial flop.

** Finally, the 2015 release of Windows jumped a ''bunch'' of numbers, becoming ver. 10.0 and Windows 10 (with Windows Server 2016) instead of the obvious "Windows 9"... because naming it that would cause a ContinuitySnarl where programs would confuse it for Windows 95 or 98. As of 2020 subsequent releases are still "Windows 10", with a YYMM version number added to the "public" name (e.g Windows 10 version 2004 for Windows v10.0.19041.xxx)

* The 2014 edition of the ''VideoGame/MaddenNFL'' series was titled ''Madden 25'' after the 25th anniversary of the original Sega Genesis entry before resuming to the standard numbering for 2015 edition. It remains to be seen what they'll do when they eventually get to the 2025 edition.

** Within the mainline series, the chronology is still thrown off by ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'', an interquel between ''Super'' and ''Fusion''. The numbering scheme would return with ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'', being the proper sequel to ''Fusion'' and carrying the title of "Metroid 5".

** ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' has the same problem as the ''NSMB'' series: only console entries are numbered, so you have the original game plus nine numbered sequels. Then you add in all of the handheld games, which were released in-between the console games: ''-e'' (which makes use of the e-Reader accessory for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance, hence the name), ''Advance'', ''DS'', ''Island Tour'', ''Star Rush'', and ''The Top 100'' (the 100 referring to the amount of minigames in it; obviously it's not the 100th game). ''Super Mario Party'' doesn't have a number, but is the 17th game in the series, counting all of the above.

* The ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' Films. The series is fairly straightforward at first, with ''Film/{{Halloween|1978}}'', ''Film/{{Halloween II|1981}}'', ''Film/HalloweenIIISeasonOfTheWitch'', ''Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers'', and ''Film/Halloween5TheRevengeOfMichaelMyers''. Then things start to go off the rails with a sixth movie titled ''Film/HalloweenTheCurseOfMichaelMyers''. Following that, we get ''Film/HalloweenH20TwentyYearsLater'', an AlternateContinuity film that totally ignores the last three movies, and then a follow up to that film called ''Film/HalloweenResurrection''. It then becomes really hard to keep track of things with the 2007 reboot ''Film/{{Halloween|2007}}'' directed by Rob Zombie, and the followup to that film ''Film/{{Halloween II|2009}}'' two years later. Then, finally, we got ''Film/{{Halloween|2018}}'' in 2018, which is a sequel to the Original ''Film/{{Halloween|1978}}'' that discards all the previous films in the franchise. So, all told, there are three films in the franchise simply titled "''Halloween''", two films titled "''Halloween II''" and a film titled "''Halloween''" that serves as a direct sequel to a movie titled "''Halloween''."

* The ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' Films. The series is fairly straightforward at first, with ''Film/{{Halloween|1978}}'', ''Film/{{Halloween II|1981}}'', ''Film/HalloweenIIISeasonOfTheWitch'', ''Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers'', and ''Film/Halloween5TheRevengeOfMichaelMyers''. Then things start to go off the rails with a sixth movie titled ''Film/HalloweenTheCurseOfMichaelMyers''. Following that, we get ''Film/HalloweenH20TwentyYearsLater'', an AlternateContinuity film that totally ignores the last three movies, and then a follow up to that film called ''Film/HalloweenResurrection''. It then becomes really hard to keep track of things with the 2007 reboot ''Film/{{Halloween|2007}}'' directed by Rob Zombie, and the followup to that film ''Film/{{Halloween II|2009}}'' two years later. Then, finally, we got ''Film/{{Halloween|2018}}'' in 2018, which is a sequel to the Original ''Film/{{Halloween|1978}}'' that discards all the previous films in the franchise. So, all told, there are three films in the franchise simply titled "''Halloween''" Two films titled "''Halloween II''" and a film titled "''Halloween''" that serves as a direct sequel to a movie titled "''Halloween''."

* Discussed in WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd's video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEVzPCY2T-g "Chronologically Confused about Movie and Video Game Sequels."]] Also served as the basis for an episode of sister series ''WebVideo/YouKnowWhatsBullshit''.

->''"VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII is the tenth game in the Franchise/KingdomHearts series."'' [[note]]It's actually the ''eleventh''.[[/note]]

* ''VideoGame/FatalFury'': The [[AttractMode attract sequence]] of ''Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers'' markets it as the "7th Episode of ''Fatal Fury''", the previous ones being ''Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'' (first), ''Fatal Fury 2'' (second), ''Fatal Fury Special'' (third), ''Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory'' (fourth), ''Real Bout Fatal Fury'' (fifth) and ''Real Bout Fatal Fury Special'' (sixth). Out of these seven games, only ''Fatal Fury Special'' was an updated version of the previous game (''Fatal Fury 2''). The original ''Real Bout Fatal Fury'' carries over the character roster from ''Fatal Fury 3'', but has a completely different combat system than the one used in previous games, while ''Real Bout Special'' and ''Real Bout 2'' are each substantially different from the last as well. The pattern seems to be that numbered sequels were focused on introducing new characters, while the ''Special'' entries [[DreamMatchGame brought back previously retired characters]]. But then along came ''VideoGame/GarouMarkOfTheWolves'', which wiped the whole slate clean by bringing back only Terry Bogard. Between ''Real Bout 2'' and ''Garou'', there was also ''Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition'', a [[BroadStrokes retelling]] of the original ''Fatal Fury'' with the addition of characters from later titles (plus two newcomers and [[VideoGame/ArtOfFighting Ryo Sakazaki]], "returning" from ''Special'', as [[LegacyCharacter Mr. Karate II]]), and ''Fatal Fury: 1st Contact'', a portable version of ''Real Bout 2'' for the UsefulNotes/NeoGeoPocket Color.

* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' started out in chronological order, [[AnachronicOrder but]] the [[Literature/TheHorseAndHisBoy fifth]] and [[Literature/TheMagiciansNephew sixth]] books published are respectively an {{interquel}} (set during the TimeSkip at the end of the [[Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe first book]]) and a {{prequel}} (set before any of the other books). More recent editions of the series number the books in chronological order, but many fans still maintain that reading them in publication order is more rewarding, because the prequel contains [[CallForward references that only make sense if you've read the other books first]]. As for Creator/CSLewis himself, he never really cared about the order in which people read his books.

* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' started out in chronological order, [[AnachronicOrder but]] the [[Literature/TheHorseAndHisBoy fifth]] and [[Literature/TheMagiciansNephew sixth]] books published are respectively an {{interquel}} (set during the TimeSkip at the end of the [[Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe first book]]) and a {{prequel}} (set before any of the other books). Later editions of the series number the books in chronological order, but many fans still maintain that reading them in publication order is more rewarding, because the prequel contains [[CallForward references that only make sense if you've read the other books first]]. As for Creator/CSLewis himself, he never really cared about the order in which people read his books.

* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' started out in chronological order, but the [[Literature/TheHorseAndHisBoy fifth]] and [[Literature/TheMagiciansNephew sixth]] books were respectively an {{interquel}} (set during the TimeSkip at the end of the [[Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe first book]]) and a {{prequel}} (set before any of the other books). Later editions of the series number the books in chronological order, but many fans still maintain that reading them in publication order is more rewarding, because the prequel contains [[CallForward references that only make sense if you've read the other books first]]. As for Creator/CSLewis himself, he never really cared about the order in which people read his books.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' sequels consist of ''VideoGame/DoomII: Hell on Earth'', ''VideoGame/FinalDoom'' (built on the ''Doom II'' system), ''VideoGame/{{Doom 64}}'' (which is not a port of a prior game in the series despite what the SuperTitle64Advance may imply), ''VideoGame/{{Doom 3}}'', ''Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil'' (an expansion of the original ''Doom 3''), the 2016 game [[RecycledTitle simply titled]] ''VideoGame/{{Doom|2016}}'' (initially announced as ''Doom IV'') and ''VideoGame/DoomEternal''.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' sequels consist of ''Doom II: Hell on Earth'', ''Final Doom'' (built on the ''Doom II'' system), ''VideoGame/{{Doom 64}}'' (which is not a port of a prior game in the series despite what the SuperTitle64Advance may imply), ''VideoGame/{{Doom 3}}'', ''Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil'' (an expansion of the original ''Doom 3''), the 2016 game [[RecycledTitle simply titled]] ''VideoGame/{{Doom|2016}}'' (initially announced as ''Doom IV'') and ''VideoGame/DoomEternal''.

* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'': ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' and ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'' were called "Metroid 3" and "Metroid 4", respectively, in their opening sequences. ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' came out the same time as ''Fusion'', and was intended to be just an aside between the [[VideoGame/{{Metroid 1}} original]] and ''[[VideoGame/MetroidIIReturnOfSamus Return of Samus]]''. But then the ''Prime'' series was a runaway success, [[VideoGame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy forming its own subs-series]]. But within the ''mainline'' series, the chronology is still thrown off by ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'', an interquel between ''Super'' and ''Fusion''. The numbering scheme would return with ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'', being the proper sequel to ''Fusion'' and carrying the title of "Metroid 5".