History Main / SurprisinglyImprovedSequel

** Windows 8, while not outright hated like ME or Vista, was a [[BrokenBase very polarizing]] iteration of Windows due to its numerous UI changes, the new Metro apps, and [[ToughActToFollow coming off the heels of the much-beloved Windows 7]] (which it removed several features from). Soon after, Microsoft released it's UpdatedRerelease Windows 8.1 to address its detractors' complaints. While still not considered as good as 7, it's near-universally considered to be an improvement over 8 for expanding functionality and tweaking the user interface to be more desktop-friendly.

* ''VideoGame/{{Blinx}}'' was a decent 3D Platformer that was heavily criticized because of it's [[NintendoHard insane difficulty]] and janky gameplay mechanics. ''Blinx 2: Masters of Time and Space'' heavily dials back the difficulty and fixes most of the issues with the gameplay, and is generally better received as a result.

* ''Film/BadBoysForLife'' puts more focus on the characters given [[SequelGap after 17 years]] [[CharacterAgedWithTheActor the actors are now playing 50-something cops]], and has a less frantic approach than its predecessor, and was very well-received as a result - it even outscored the other two on Website/RottenTomatoes!

** ''Film/BrideOfChucky'' is viewed as a much better film than the two previous films, with its HorrorComedy approach being highlighted.

* ''Franchise/TheFastAndTheFurious'' starts out in typical {{Sequelitis}} fashion. [[Film/TheFastAndTheFurious2001 The first one]] wasn't particularly well received, and the following entries got progressively disdainful critical receptions (54 -> 36 -> 38 -> 28 on Website/RottenTomatoes). Then ''Film/FastFive'' was released and was generally considered by critics to be a solid heist flick. ''Film/FastAndFurious6'' didn't get as much critical acclaim but is still considered a worthy sequel to its predecessor. ''Film/Furious7'' became the most critically well-received and the highest-grossing of the series, which can partially be attested to the film acting as a touching send-off to Creator/PaulWalker and his character Brian O'Conner (as Walker DiedDuringProduction in an unrelated car accident).

** ''Film/SawVI'' was regarded by fans and critics alike as a huge improvement over the two previous two sequels, and generally regarded as a worthy successor to the original trilogy. Whereas ''Film/SawIV'' and ''Film/SawV'' were criticized for being reliant on [[ExcusePlot perfunctory]], [[KudzuPlot increasingly convoluted]] lore, ''VI'' featured a story that had some level of prescience, character arcs, and clever twists on top of creatively gory traps. Unfortunately, it ended up becoming the series' resident AcclaimedFlop (likely due to moviegoers having been burned twice by prior films), convincing Creator/{{Lionsgate}} that [[Film/Saw3D the next film]] ought to be the last.

** ''Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier'' was an unmitigated disaster and is usually (alongside ''[[Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness Into Darkness]]'' as seen below) seen as the worst ''Trek'' film ever made, with a poor plot, appalling special effects and a focus on Kirk (and to a lesser extent the big three) that reduced most of the cast little more than extras. Three years later ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry'' was seen as both a massive return to form and a fitting send off for the original cast as they were (for the most part) retiring from the franchise at that point.

* ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' has two cases, both of whom also made sure to disregard whatever happened in the other sequels, the 20th anniversary ''Film/HalloweenH20TwentyYearsLater'' (only took the first two movies as canon) and the 40th ''Film/Halloween2018'' (only took the first).

** After two films where Pinhead suffered VillainDecay and an overuse of splatter horror while losing the creepy atmosphere, [[Film/HellraiserInferno the fifth in the series]] returns Pinhead to his roots and tones down the gore a lot by moving to mainly psychological horror.

** ''Film/SawVI'' was regarded by fans and critics alike as a huge improvement over the two previous two sequels, and generally regarded as a worthy successor to the original trilogy. Whereas ''IV'' and ''V'' were criticized for being reliant on [[ExcusePlot perfunctory]], [[KudzuPlot increasingly convoluted]] lore, ''VI'' featured a story that had some level of prescience, character arcs, and clever twists on top of creatively gory traps. Unfortunately, it ended up becoming the series' resident AcclaimedFlop (likely due to moviegoers having been burned twice by prior films), convincing Creator/{{Lionsgate}} that [[Film/Saw3D the next film]] ought to be the last.

* While the original ''VideoGame/{{Dragon Quest|I}}'' scores points for being the UrExample for many EasternRPG tropes, it's aged terribly compared to the first installments of ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' and ''VideoGame/PhantasyStar''. ''VideoGame/DragonQuestII'' fares worse since it can't even play the innovation card. ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'' on the other hand takes the basic job class system and expands on upon it. It also most likely contains the UrExample of the MonsterArena and building a new town. The Platform/GameBoyColor [[VideoGameRemake remake]] is even better, adding a new job class, a BonusDungeon, a redone localization, and a whole lot more.

* While the original ''VideoGame/{{Dragon Quest|I}}'' scores points for innovation, it's aged terribly compared to the first installments of ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' and ''VideoGame/PhantasyStar''. ''VideoGame/DragonQuestII'' fares worse since it can't even play the innovation card. ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'' on the other hand takes the basic job class system and expands on upon it. It also most likely contains the UrExample of the MonsterArena and building a new town. The Platform/GameBoyColor [[VideoGameRemake remake]] is even better, adding a new job class, a BonusDungeon, a redone localization, and a whole lot more.

* 'Anime/TransformersHeadmasters'' was usually regarded as a complete slog - despite being a much-prized G1 continuation, it suffered from terribly bland characters, a repetitive structure, and the pacing of a drugged tortoise. Compared to ''The Headmasters'', the cast for ''Super-God Masterforce'' is smaller and hence there is more time to focus on the individual characters, making them more engaging/interesting (heroes in the first half, villains in the second half). In particular, for many Transformers series, fans are often annoyed by human kids being shoehorned into the episodes, but Masterforce for the most part avoided the shoehorn feel by its own premise of humans becoming Transformers. The individual episodes and especially the series' various overarching plots are better written too, with surprisingly more mature themes alluded to (For a kids series). Across the western fandom, it is generally regarded as the best Transformers anime that Japan has offered to date, despite the atypical premise for a Transformers series.

* ''Anime/TransformersHeadmasters'' was usually regarded as a complete slog - despite being a much-prized G1 continuation, it suffered from terribly bland characters, a repetitive structure, and the pacing of a drugged tortoise. It was followed by ''Anime/TransformersSuperGodMasterforce'', which was much better-crafted and more ambitious, but suffered from a barely coherent narrative and being a HenshinHero series with few actual Transformers. The third in the series, though, is ''Anime/TransformersVictory'', which struck a balance between the craft of ''Masterforce'' and the approachability of ''Headmasters'', resulting in a decently-paced and entertaining romp with beautiful animation and a likable cast, laying a lot of the groundwork for the ''Anime/BraveSeries'' in the process. It seems third time's the charm.

* ''ComicBook/SecretWars2015'' is generally considered this. The original ''ComicBook/SecretWars1984'' though iconic and full of great moments is still largely an excuse for a load of Marvel heroes and villains to fight and in a greater sense to sell toys. ''ComicBook/SecretWarsII'' is only really known for characterising the Beyonder and giving him a human form (a guy with a mullet in a white suit). The 2015 ''Secret Wars'' has vastly improved writing and is a big WinBackTheCrowd particularly for ComicBook/TheFantasticFour and undos Doctor Doom's years of VillainDecay.

* ''Anime/{{Wz}}'' is the sequel to ''Anime/HandShakers'', an anime largely considered one of the worst ever made and is even downright unwatchable in some cases (the CGI-heavy shots and wild camera movements have been reported to give some viewers motion sickness and headaches), but it managed to clear the very low bar set by it. While it still suffers from many of the same mistakes its predecessor also committed, the fact that it reined in the crazy camera movements and the technology behind its production to make itself watchable was a surprise improvement to viewers.

** Windows 8, while not outright hated like ME or Vista, was a [[BrokenBase very polarizing]] iteration of Windows due to its numerous UI changes, the new Metro apps, and [[ToughActToFollow coming off the heels of the much-beloved Windows 7]] (which it removed several features from). Soon after, Microsoft released Windows 8.1 to address its detractors' complaints. While still not considered as good as 7, it's near-universally considered to be an improvement over 8 for expanding functionality and tweaking the user interface to be more desktop-friendly.

* The first ''VideoGame/{{Frogger}}'' game from Creator/{{Hasbro}}, ''Frogger: He's Back!'', received a mixed-to-negative response from critics due to the game's [[NintendoHard high level of difficulty]], which can largely be chalked up to the gameplay being an awkward mix of the original arcade game's rules (three lives, OneHitPointWonder, [[CheckpointStarvation no checkpoints]]) imposed onto a puzzle platformer (the frogs the player has to collect are scattered in maze-like levels, filled with [[EverythingTryingToKillYou all sorts of deadly hazards]]). Also owing to the difficulty was the game's realistic JumpPhysics controls and occasional bouts of EventObscuringCamera. The sequel ''Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge'', developed by Creator/BlitzGames (the first game was made by [[Creator/SonyComputerEntertainment SCE Cambridge]]), retooled the gameplay into a more conventional platformer (the maze-like levels are now streamlined into a linear direction so players no longer have to search for the frogs) and [[SequelDifficultyDrop toned down the game's difficulty]] (the frogs now act as checkpoints, and lives are easier to obtain). The game also had better controls, a better camera, and added collectible coins, which unlocked more characters and multiplayer modes. The result was ''Frogger 2'' being much more positively received by reviewers.

* ''Film/TheMatrixResurrections'' was considered by many reviewers an improvement over the two {{Contested Sequel}}s of 18 years prior (especially ''Revolutions'').

** Rick Remender's ''ComicBook/UncannyXForce'' run is this to every ''X-Force'' run before it. Previous runs (with the exception of Peter Milligan's, which was deliberately InNameOnly) tend to be criticized as poor attempts to be [[DarkerAndEdgier edgy]] and relevant, often seen as embodiments of everything wrong with UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks. In contrast, Remender's run is praised for its intelligent writing and {{Deconstruction}} of the NinetiesAntiHero concept. It's now regarded not just as the best ''X-Force'' comic, but as one of the greatest ''X-Men'' comics ever.