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| 3 | %% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thank you! |
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| 6 | ->''"Rumors are swirling about '''another''''' Film/{{Gremlins}} ''film. It probably won't be called'' Gremlins 3, ''but it'll have Zach Galligan in it as Billy Peltzer. He'll have a cameo warning a new kid about the Mogwai and the three rules. So it's not a remake, it'll technically still exist in the'' Gremlins ''universe and time, but-- who are we kidding, folks?!"'' |
| 7 | -->-- '''[[WebVideo/MisterPlinkettReviews Mr. Plinkett]]''', discussing Soft Reboots in his ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' review |
| 8 | |
| 9 | You have a classic property, one that's made money hand over fist for you for years, perhaps decades, but now, it's getting a little long in the tooth. Maybe it's dated, maybe [[AudienceColoringAdaptation recent installments have tarnished its name]], maybe it's just bogged down in ContinuityLockout. Perhaps you've just finished the story you wanted to tell, or you're still telling that story and don't want to ruin it yet. Or maybe you've finally been given the budget to make the entry in the franchise you'd wanted to make years ago but couldn't afford. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | Resetting the thing to bring in new fans sounds like a good idea, but maybe the core storyline is still interesting if you can get rid of the bad superficial elements that accumulated around it over the years, or [[FranchiseOriginalSin peel back the exaggeration of its problems over time]]; maybe you're about to release it into a wider market where [[NoExportForYou they never got the previous entry]] while pleasing existing fans; maybe you want to make a straight sequel but have to take a new direction because of [[RealLifeWritesThePlot drastic creative team changes]]; or maybe you're simply [[OldGuardVersusNewBlood afraid of the backlash]] to a ContinuityReboot. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | What to do? Well, perhaps a "softer" approach will serve. Instead of starting over, dip into the Troper Well and pull out a way of explaining you're not ''really'' tossing away the classic stories the fans love. There are many ways to accomplish this: |
| 14 | * It could take place after a lengthy TimeSkip, allowing you to make a SamePlotSequel with a new generation of characters and a few old favorites popping in for a ContinuityCameo. |
| 15 | * It could be an AlternateTimeline that diverges from the "main" timeline thanks to time travel shenanigans, so you can do a fresh, modern take on iconic scenarios while the main timeline exists in parallel. |
| 16 | * It could start with a {{Retool}} where the setting and scenario are significantly changed and the cumbersome or outdated aspects are dropped. |
| 17 | * It could be a prequel with younger actors where all the things the old audience knows are hinted at, without being burdened by excessive continuity that will drive off new audiences. |
| 18 | * It could be a side story taking place in the same universe that ''coincidentally'' features characters or situations the old audience is familiar with. |
| 19 | * It could treat the original with BroadStrokes, so that the things the old audience liked happened for sure, but the things they didn't like didn't happen. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | Essentially, a Soft Reboot has many elements of a reboot, and feels a lot like one, without actually getting rid of the old continuity. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | Contrast the "hard" ContinuityReboot, in which the old story and continuing plotlines are explicitly kept, but minimally/mostly copied and started over from Day 1. Also not to be confused with a SoftReset or CanonDiscontinuity. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | ---- |
| 26 | !!Examples: |
| 27 | |
| 28 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 29 | |
| 30 | [[folder:Anime and Manga]] |
| 31 | * ''Anime/{{Bakugan}}'' did this every season but there are two particularly notable examples, the 2018 and 2023 reboots notwithstanding: |
| 32 | ** ''Gundalian Invaders'' is a unique case because the last ten episodes of the previous season were dedicated to setting up this one, but it otherwise largely ignores the previous seasons. Bakugan Interspace is now the main hub for brawling, Dan and the gang move to a new city, and all of the past main characters have vanished except for Dan, Marucho, Shun, and Julie (who doesn't even have her Bakugan anymore). The series also dropped the "Battle Brawlers" subtitle from this season onwards, and the episode title font also changed. |
| 33 | ** ''Mechtanium Surge'' was originally intended to be only 26 episodes, concluding the remaining threads from Seasons 2 and 3. But then 20 more episodes were ordered before ending the show, forcing the creation of a whole new plotline in which the main cast moves to a city populated by Bakugan. Despite not being a new season, it has all of the changes of one, including a change in supporting cast and villains, new outfits for the main trio, and new Bakugan partners for Marucho and Shun. |
| 34 | * ''Manga/DragonBallZ'': |
| 35 | ** The Artificial Humans (Android) Saga does to the manga as a whole in regards to the Earth cast. Prior to this StoryArc, Earth was portrayed as a world full of wonders, anthropomorphic animals, powerful martial artists, among other things that made the world have a very cartoony feeling. By the Artificial Humans arc, most of Earth's population consisted only of humans who can believe some nobody is the savior of the planet and diminish anything impressive the human cast does as "cheap tricks". This tonal change also applies to the next (and final) story arc, the Buu Saga; despite being LighterAndSofter, it still uses the previous arc's concept of Earth. |
| 36 | ** The Saiyan Saga counts as one for the manga in general, beginning with a TimeSkip and full-blown GenreShift that [[NothingIsTheSameAnymore completely changes the status quo]], introduces concepts that become franchise mainstays going forward, and establishes [[DarkerAndEdgier a very different tone]] compared to the original ''Manga/DragonBall''. That it serves as a decent introduction to the overall series despite being in the middle of it is one reason ''Dragon Ball Z'' managed to be such a success in the States despite getting localized [[SequelFirst before its predecessor]]. |
| 37 | ** The Buu Saga could be seen as another attempt on Toriyama's part of doing one for the series. Coming off the heels of the Cell Saga ending with Gohan becoming the new protagonist and Goku KilledOffForReal, the Buu Saga starts with another drastic TimeSkip, this time seven years into the future. Gohan is now a teenager, his younger brother Goten is introduced to series, and the series now follows Gohan's adventures as a fish out of water attending high school. |
| 38 | * ''Manga/HanaukyoMaidTeam'': The series was first animated in 2001, but production problems caused its premature ending. It was rebooted in 2004 as ''Hanaukyo Maid Team: La Verite''. The second series takes place in the same continuity, with a number of differences (both small and large) between it and the first show. |
| 39 | * ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': |
| 40 | ** The first three parts (''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood Phantom Blood]]'', ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency Battle Tendency]]'', and ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]]'') tell a fairly complete story with ''Stardust Crusaders'' being planned as the ending. Nonetheless, ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable Diamond is Unbreakable]]'' was created afterward, but only loosely connects itself to the previous parts through the Stand Arrow (introduced during ''[=DiU=]'') and Jotaro and Joseph, only bringing in elements from the previous parts when needed, and even then in mostly loose terms, telling a plot largely disconnected from ''Stardust Crusaders''. |
| 41 | ** More so than ''Diamond is Unbreakable'', its predecessor ''Stardust Crusaders'' functions in this manner despite its connections to Parts 1 and 2. While it does feature Joseph and DIO, with the occasional cameo from Suzi Q, its ties to the previous parts are far and few between. Plus, Hamon is barely used and gets replaced with a new power system of Stands, which, at the time, came out of left field. |
| 42 | * ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamF91'' was intended to be one for ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' as a whole after ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack Char's Counterattack]]'' wrapped up more or less all the ongoing character arcs from the previous installments, featuring a completely new cast of characters and a new antagonist faction rather than yet another [[TheRemnant Neo Zeon group]]. This didn't really stick, though and most subsequent (non-AU) stories have been side stories to the original ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' or {{interquel}}s (though Creator/{{Sunrise}} did promise to focus more on late-UC stories going into TheNewTens and beyond, as evidenced by ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamUnicorn'', ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamNarrative'', and a theatrical adaptation of ''Literature/MobileSuitGundamHathawaysFlash''). |
| 43 | * The ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' [[Anime/PokemonTheSeries anime]] has done this four times. |
| 44 | ** To tie in with the soft reboot of the games, the ''[[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Black and White]]'' [[Anime/PokemonTheSeriesBlackAndWhite seasons]] [[SnapBack reverted]] Ash back into a novice ten-year-old trainer with only Pikachu, Iris and Cilan taking the roles of tomboy Misty and group chef Brock respectively. Ash continued to make references to past adventures and characters, however. |
| 45 | ** The ''[[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Sun and Moon]]'' [[Anime/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoon seasons]] did this yet again, though less explicitly. And once again, past adventures continued to be mentioned; specifically his Kanto journey, with him briefly visiting Brock and Misty and vice versa during the course of these Alola seasons. |
| 46 | ** The following season, ''[[Anime/PokemonJourneysTheSeries Pokémon Journeys]]'', takes it a step further; instead of traversing the [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Galar region]], Ash spends most of his time in Kanto and travels to every region instead as a research assistant, revisiting past friends along the way. |
| 47 | ** ''Anime/PokemonHorizonsTheSeries'' follows up on the globetrotting approach taken by ''Journeys'', but it's most notable for being the first season of the show that doesn't feature Ash Ketchum (or ''any'' past character) at all; instead, it focuses on new protagonists Liko and Roy as they travel the Pokémon world with an adventure corps known as the Rising Volt Tacklers. |
| 48 | * ''Anime/SevenHeavenlyVirtues'': While the show takes place in the same timeframe as ''Anime/SevenMortalSins'', it doesn't follow the same continuity nor does it continue the same story. Instead, it focuses on an entirely new story with a [[LighterAndSofter softer tone]]. |
| 49 | * The ''Anime/TransformersRobotsInDisguise'' anime (''Car Robots'' in Japan) is a weird one: created at a time when the ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' franchise was at a low ebb in Japan, but also when pretty much everything took place somewhere in the G1 timeline. As a result, while nothing in the original series ''contradicts'' G1, the actual G1 cast is very conspicuously absent and the conflict is totally unrelated. The American dub of the series would make it a fairly definitive hard reboot, mostly by changing character names to their G1 counterparts... while the Japanese take moved in the exact opposite direction, with later stories managing to squirrel ''Car Robots'' into a mostly forgotten period of ''G1''. Notably, the series to follow, ''Anime/TransformersArmada'', was ''definitely'' a hard reboot in both countries. |
| 50 | * The various ''Franchise/YuGiOh'' anime spinoffs are designed to tell standalone stories each time, but ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' and ''Anime/YuGiOh5DS'' at least try to maintain a semblance of continuity. ''GX'' is set as a direct sequel to the original ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' and features tons of cameos and {{Continuity Nod}}s to the original series while focusing on an entirely new cast, setting, and lore. ''[=5Ds=]'' is set in ''New'' Domino City and is all but stated to be a DistantSequel, with Tetsu Trudge, a very minor one-off character from the original series, becoming an AscendedExtra in ''[=5Ds=]'', but otherwise has nothing to do with ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' or ''GX'' whatsoever. Starting with ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'', the following anime did away with this aspect entirely and are set in new universes each series, save for ''Anime/YuGiOhGORUSH'', which is a [[spoiler:[[StealthSequel Stealth Prequel]] ''and'' a StealthSequel to ''Anime/YuGiOhSEVENS'']]. |
| 51 | [[/folder]] |
| 52 | |
| 53 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 54 | * Arguably, a Soft Reboot happens whenever a new writer is chosen for a long-running comic book, such as those starring Franchise/{{Superman}} and Franchise/{{Batman}}. When the previous writer finishes his/her run, they try to conclude as many plotlines as possible so that the new writer can have a clean slate to work with. While the new writer is not obligated to reference anything from the previous run, they occasionally do so if it compliments the current story. |
| 55 | * ''ComicBook/CaptainAtomArmageddon'' helped serve as a soft reboot for the Creator/{{Wildstorm}} Comics universe. |
| 56 | * A company-wide example is ''ComicBook/DCRebirth''. After the hard reboot ComicBook/New52 relaunch made [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks so many unwanted changes]] to the DC lore that it alienated their fanbase and potential readers, DC integrated as many aspects of the old pre-''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'' timeline as they could. The result was that characters got [[CharacterRerailment rerailed]], [[EnsembleDarkhorse old favorites]] [[TheBusCameBack returned]], and core aspects of the lore were fully restored after being removed entirely, all while cleaning up much of the DarkerAndEdgier tone which some felt was an attempt to resurrect the maligned [[MediaNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks Dark Age]]. It still takes place in the post-''Flashpoint'' continuity, but many would say it feels proper again. |
| 57 | * Kieron Gillen and Esad Ribic's ''ComicBook/{{Eternals|2021}}'' is a soft reboot of Creator/JackKirby's ''ComicBook/TheEternals'', with many elements building on Neil Gaiman’s previous soft reboot. The first issue reintroduces the characters while showing just how they fit into the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, while also acknowledging some of the continuity that came before in ways that the readers will understand. And much like ''ComicBook/XMen2019'' (see below), it also uses data pages to convey a lot of worldbuilding information. |
| 58 | * ''ComicBook/Punisher2023'' is a soft reboot of ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'', following up from the aftermath of [[ComicBook/Punisher2022 the previous run]], and having a similar premise, with the biggest difference being [[LegacyCharacter Joe Garrison taking up Frank Castle's mantle]]. |
| 59 | * ''ComicBook/{{Spawn}}'': Following Al Simmons' return, the comic instituted a retcon that ignores everything that happened between Al defeating Malebolgia and his suicide. |
| 60 | * ComicBook/{{Superman}} has ''Action Comics'' #241, which introduced a vastly different look for the Fortress of Solitude and a different explanation for how it functioned, and came right before the introduction of a lot of other major elements of his 1960s-and-onward stories, such as Brainiac, Kandor, Bizarro, Supergirl, and the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes. Because of this, while DC has never explicitly made a statement on where it sits in continuity, many fans treat it as the "true" start of Superman's Earth-One Silver Age incarnation. |
| 61 | * The 2017 ''ComicBook/{{Youngblood|2017}}'' relaunch has a largely new cast of characters, a SettingUpdate, a restarted numbering of issues, a new art style, a different tone, and a general theme that largely criticizes the NinetiesAntiHero archetype that series was known for. It even titles itself as ''Reborn!'' That said, it is fully in the same continuity with the '90s comics and freely references past events from the original era, and even feels like a sequel in many ways as it is a reboot. |
| 62 | * ''ComicBook/XMen'': |
| 63 | ** "Giant Sized X-Men #1" and the following ''X-Men'' #75, which [[PutOnABus got rid of most of the original team]] so it can focus on new main characters, and beginning the franchise's future of having tons of characters. |
| 64 | ** "Adjectiveless" ''X-Men'' #1-3, the last stories of Chris Claremont's seventeen year run, which re-establishes the X-Men's status quo after the lengthy ''Muir Island Saga'' with a (relatively) small team, with some of Claremont's previously running plotlines just gently forgotten. |
| 65 | ** ''ComicBook/XMen2019'', which started in 2019, was repeatedly described as a reboot for the entire ''X-Men'' brand that's still in-continuity with the Franchise/MarvelUniverse. The new Krakoa status quo is introduced and serves as a launch point for several series, with other series exploring its many facets and its resurrection protocols allowing for dead characters to return. Characters very rarely make explicit reference to prior continuity -- though they still do, occasionally -- and there's a time jump that distances the current stories from the most recent X-stories. The well-worn idea of mutants being hated and feared is paid lip-service but gives way to distrust of Krakoa ''specifically'' as a political entity, while mutants going extinct is used to motivate the new status quo, rather than ''as'' the status quo. |
| 66 | [[/folder]] |
| 67 | |
| 68 | [[folder:Fan Fiction]] |
| 69 | * ''Fanfic/TheTwoCommanders'' is this to the author's prior work, ''Fanfic/ConquestInTheNameOfAdvancement'' - while some acknowledgements are made to the prior story, ''The Two Commanders'' expands on concepts that were not focused on in the original, with WordOfGod even discouraging readers from reading the first story to avoid confusion with how certain plot elements are handled. |
| 70 | * ''Fanfic/WelcomeToPrehistoricKingdom'' is the sequel to ''Fanfic/PrehistoricParkReturnedFromExtinction'', but also introduces new concepts and expands on ideas that got lost in the original story's long and disjointed run. In a similar case with ''Fanfic/TheTwoCommanders'' (which, despite both stories being soft reboots, share the same continuity), the author asked that the previous story not be read to avoid confusion with the new one, compounded here because the first few chapters of ''Returned from Extinction'' are ''[[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness extremely unpolished]]''. |
| 71 | [[/folder]] |
| 72 | |
| 73 | [[folder:Film -- Live-Action]] |
| 74 | * The CreativeClosingCredits for ''Film/TwentyTwoJumpStreet'' implies this of the film's relation to the ''Series/TwentyOneJumpStreet'' TV series, where the current Jump Street officers meet the original cast, thirty years later, calling them "legends." |
| 75 | * ''Film/{{Prometheus}}'' and ''Film/AlienCovenant'' are prequels to the ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' universe which alter some long-held ideas about the setting. |
| 76 | * ''Film/BatmanForever'' nominally takes place in the same continuity as Creator/TimBurton's ''Film/BatmanFilmSeries'' films, but it changes the design of Gotham, introduces a new cast -- including doing away with Creator/MichaelKeaton as Batman (Alfred's and Gordon's actors still stay on for the next two movies) -- and goes over Batman's origin after ''Film/Batman1989'' did the same. |
| 77 | * Both cinematic adaptations of ''Series/CharliesAngels'' (the [[Film/CharliesAngels2000 2000s duology]] and the [[Film/CharliesAngels2019 2019 film]]) are this to [[Series/CharliesAngels the original TV series]]. They each feature different actors as John Bosley (Creator/BillMurray in 2000, Creator/PatrickStewart in 2019) and focus on new teams of Angels, but they're all set in the same continuity. (The 2011 television series, however, was a hard ContinuityReboot.) |
| 78 | * For the most part the plot of ''Film/TheCraftLegacy'' is [[SamePlotSequel similar]] to the ''Film/TheCraft'', though with four new witches and an updated setting to 2020, although the third act goes in a different direction and the final scene in particular confirms it's a sequel [[spoiler:by bringing back Nancy Downs, one of the main characters of the 1996 film]]. |
| 79 | * ''Film/{{Desperado}}'' is supposed to be the sequel to ''Film/ElMariachi'', and there's a flashback recreating a scene from that movie, but the characterization of the Mariachi is very different: in the first movie he's just an ActionSurvivor who gets into trouble with gangsters by happenstance and in the end they just let him go, while in the second he's an ActionHero looking for trouble and out for revenge against similar and connected gangs, which the first movie did not really hint or indicate was going to happen. Since the climax of the first movie was changed due to [[RealLifeWritesThePlot real-life issues]] (they ran out of money and/or time), it feels like the second movie follows a BroadStrokes version of the first where the unused, much more violent climax where he blasts his way out and kills everyone happened (and this is similar to its own climax). Plus he was recast, from the more boyish and innocent everyman-looking Carlos Gallardo to the brooding, smoldering Creator/AntonioBanderas. |
| 80 | * ''Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse'': Due to a rotation of upper management, every couple of films could be considered a soft reboot in trying to distance itself from the movies that came before in some form. |
| 81 | ** ''Film/JusticeLeague2017'' was largely directed by Creator/ZackSnyder but he left in post production and the film was heavily remade by Creator/JossWhedon in an attempt to capture the same popularity of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse. The tone is significantly lighter than ''Film/ManOfSteel'' or ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', and sometimes even contradicts some plot points. ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'' is the original movie that was trying to be made and is much closer in tone while also more fully integrated with the plot points the previous films were trying to set up. |
| 82 | ** ''Film/TheSuicideSquad'' is this to ''Film/SuicideSquad2016''. The film only reuses four characters from the original movie. One of the original characters dies before the opening credits and another dies at about the midpoint. It follows a new story and new team. The events of the first movie are implied at best but also Harley just shows back up as part of the team again, with ''Film/BirdsOfPrey2020'' ignored as well. |
| 83 | ** ''Film/BlackAdam2022'' positioned itself as being a new center point for the franchise, largely ignoring the events of ''Film/Shazam2019'' despite being classic arch enemies. The ending was even trying to hype a conflict between him and Superman, but utilizing the classic ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'' theme rather than one used for ''Film/ManOfSteel''. |
| 84 | * The official trailer for ''Film/Ghostbusters2016'' [[NeverTrustATrailer implied]] that the new film would be a soft reboot of [[Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}} the series]] ("30 years ago, 4 scientists saved New York") but the film turned out to be a complete ContinuityReboot and the line was referring to the actual movie. |
| 85 | * ''Film/GIJoeRetaliation'' was made in response to the lukewarm reaction to ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseofCobra'', which was considered too high-tech to the point of lacking tension (everyone had a tool or vehicle to solve the problem), too many characters showing up and dropping out of the narrative and relied too much on slick CG for their action scenes. ''Retaliation'' grounds the series by [[SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome having the main team killed off]] in the first act and reducing the cast to a handful of people who are short on supplies and resources, officially disavowed, and labeled as rogues and terrorists. It still technically follows ''Rise of Cobra'', but the tone of the movie is MUCH different. |
| 86 | * ''Film/TheGirlInTheSpidersWeb'' is an in-continuity sequel to ''Film/TheGirlWithTheDragonTattoo2011'', but with a completely different cast and creative team behind it. |
| 87 | * ''Film/TheGrudge2020'' exists in the same continuity as [[Film/TheGrudge the American trilogy]] and was similarly produced by Creator/SamRaimi, but features an entirely different cast of characters and retains only the same basic concept of the previous films. |
| 88 | * The ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' series did this twice, not counting the ContinuityReboot [[Film/Halloween2007 in 2007]]. |
| 89 | ** ''Film/HalloweenH20TwentyYearsLater'' took only the [[Film/Halloween1978 first two]] [[Film/HalloweenII1981 movies]] in the series as canon, throwing out the entire "Curse of Thorn" storyline from the later films (one of their most widely-criticized elements) as well as series protagonist Laurie Strode's [[BusCrash offscreen death]] before the events of [[Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers the fourth movie]], mainly so it could have Laurie face off against Michael again. |
| 90 | ** ''Film/Halloween2018'' did the same, but also got rid of the second film, which introduced the twist that Laurie was the long-lost sister of the ImplacableMan villain Michael Myers, a plot element that also came in for criticism over the years (including from Creator/JohnCarpenter [[CreatorBacklash himself]]) as [[FranchiseOriginalSin having led to the excesses]] of the later films. Instead, it was billed as a direct sequel to only the first film, with Laurie serving as a [[NeverMessWithGranny grizzled mentor figure]] to her daughter Karen and granddaughter Allyson, who take her place as the series' new {{Final Girl}}s. |
| 91 | %%* The ''Franchise/{{Highlander}}'' universe... [[ContinuitySnarl oy]]. |
| 92 | * The ''Film/JamesBond'' films also used to work like this. Each time the lead actor changed, the series was effectively soft-rebooted. The effect is most palpable with Creator/TimothyDalton's first movie ''Film/TheLivingDaylights'' which also had new faces for recurring characters Miss Moneypenny and Felix Leiter, and Creator/PierceBrosnan's first movie ''Film/GoldenEye'' which also had a new Moneypenny, an entirely new stand-in for Leiter and a new, female M. Both movies also happened to invoke RememberTheNewGuy with Russian characters Bond was familiar with, yet had never appeared before. It helps that the series, for the most part, never really had much continuity to begin with, beyond the occasional ContinuityNod to [[spoiler:the death of Bond's wife Tracy]] in ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService''. All this changed with ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'', which was a ''hard'' ContinuityReboot and established a firm continuity for the franchise that persisted all through the Creator/DanielCraig era. |
| 93 | * Creator/JJAbrams has a bit of a knack for this. |
| 94 | ** 2006: The Film/MissionImpossibleFilmSeries has had multiple different directors, so stylistically it's been all over the place, but ''Film/MissionImpossibleIII'', which he directed, was where the ContinuityCreep started, and all subsequent films have been in its shadow. |
| 95 | ** 2009: The rebooted ''[[Film/StarTrek2009 Star Trek]]'' films take place in an AlternateTimeline, with an aged alternate Spock's presence confirming that everything that happened in the original ''Franchise/StarTrek'' [[Franchise/TrekVerse universe]] still happened... just not to this continuity. WordOfGod always maintained that said original timeline still exists; it was eventually re-visited in ''Series/StarTrekPicard''. |
| 96 | ** 2015: ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', which takes place 30 years after ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', is the first ''Franchise/StarWars'' film since Lucasfilm was purchased by Disney, and the first film to feature no involvement from Creator/GeorgeLucas, is considered this, being largely a SamePlotSequel that takes a lot after the first ever Star Wars film, ''Film/ANewHope''. Straight from the opening crawl, the Jedi have been destroyed again with Luke stated to be the last of them again. The Empire is resurgent in the form of the "First Order", and the Republic which had been restored by the Rebel Alliance is functionally destroyed by them around the midpoint, leaving only the "Resistance". Leia is back in an administrative and conventional military role after being teased to become a Jedi in the future, and even Han is a smuggler again. In light of the Prequels in particular, after Anakin brought balance to the Force and ended the Sith, new darksiders are around who are Sith in all but name. The inimitable Mr. Plinkett, who provides the page quote, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miVRaoR_8xQ#t=57m1s discusses this at length.]] |
| 97 | * ''Film/JumanjiWelcomeToTheJungle'' is this for the 1995 film ''Film/{{Jumanji}}'', in it the eponymous boardgame reinvents itself as a videogame, and it contains nods to the original movie, like showing the shack where Alan Parish lived for 26 years. |
| 98 | * ''Film/JurassicWorld'' recognizes the events of ''Film/JurassicPark1993'' but glosses over or ignores the events of the sequels, the movie is essentially a re-telling of the first movie, while moving the [[MythArc overarching story]] into a new direction. |
| 99 | * ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'' recasts Max with a new actor and is a semi-SamePlotSequel to ''Film/TheRoadWarrior''. There are points of visual continuity with the previous movies and an ActorAllusion that ''might'' be a returning character, but character ages and the timeline are wrong and it isn't possible to reconcile everything perfectly. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools Not that it matters, though.]] According to Creator/GeorgeMiller, Max is meant to be a legendary figure in the Wasteland, with each film's story representing a different tale told about him. |
| 100 | * Film/MonsterVerse: |
| 101 | ** ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'' is a soft reset of the franchise. ''Film/Godzilla2014'' and ''Film/KongSkullIsland'', though very different from each other in tone, both presented the universe as fairly realistic and grounded aside from the presence of giant monsters. Monarch is depicted as a fairly small outfit in both films, relying extensively on the U.S. military to get anything done. ''King of the Monsters'' ups the ante considerably with the addition of more monsters (one of whom is [[spoiler:an extraterrestrial]]) and reimagines Monarch as a massive organization with incredibly advanced technology and seemingly endless resources. |
| 102 | ** ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' follows the same direction but takes it even further, moving the setting into the near-future and adding even more advanced tech via Apex Cybernetics, and going much further into the pseudoscience of the "Hollow Earth" the previous films had only alluded to. The end result is a barely recognizable as the same universe that the 2014 film established. |
| 103 | * ''Film/OceansEight'' takes place in the same continuity as the Creator/GeorgeClooney films, but Clooney's character has supposedly died and the film follows a new cast of con artists. |
| 104 | * ''Film/PacificRimUprising'' takes place a decade after [[Film/PacificRim the first film]] in an almost unrecognizable setting and features an almost completely different cast of characters, including Stacker Pentecost's [[RememberTheNewGuy previously unmentioned]] son Jake. It's also a SamePlotSequel with a much LighterAndSofter tone and visual style, seemingly intended to give the property a fresh start since it was released nearly 5 full years after the original. |
| 105 | * ''Film/ThePredator'' acknowledges the events of [[Film/{{Predator}} the first]] [[Film/Predator2 two films]], while also bringing aspects from ''Film/{{Predators}}'' regarding clan warfare between rival factions. Because ''Franchise/AlienVsPredator'' isn't considered canon with the individual ''Alien'' and ''Franchise/{{Predator}}'' series, its two films are ignored. |
| 106 | * Not only is ''Film/Scream2022'' an example, it also (as per [[MetaFiction series tradition]]) discusses this trope, which it refers to as a "re-quel". The film treats all of the prior films in the ''Film/{{Scream}}'' series as canon, with references to their events littered throughout, but the focus of the plot is mainly on a new cast of teenage protagonists modeled on those of [[Film/Scream1996 the first film]], with series protagonists Sidney, Gale, and Dewey now in supporting roles. It is speculated that the killer is attempting to create one of these for the ''[[ShowWithinAShow Stab]]'' series (''Scream''[='=]s in-universe RippedFromTheHeadlines version of itself). [[spoiler:This turns out to be correct. The killers Richie and Amber believe that the best ''Stab'' films are BasedOnATrueStory and that this is why the series lost its way after the third, eventually bottoming out with ''Stab 8'', an extremely controversial revisionist take on the series by Creator/RianJohnson (with explicit allusions made to the divisive reception of ''Film/TheLastJedi''). As such, they carry out a new killing spree that they hope will inspire a new movie to return ''Stab'' to its former glory.]] |
| 107 | * ''Franchise/StarTrek'' |
| 108 | ** ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'' is a heavy stylistic shift compared to ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'', focusing more on the nautical elements of ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' while also bringing back the villain Khan from one of the more notable episodes. While TMP was trying to be akin to ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'', WOK centers around ship-to-ship combat. |
| 109 | ** ''Film/StarTrek2009'' is presented like it is an OriginsEpisode for the original series cast, but is actually an AlternateTimeline concerning a TimeTravel incident from the future of the TNG-era, serving as both a sequel to ''Film/StarTrekNemesis'' and prequel to TOS. This was used as an excuse for a major visual and tonal overhaul, much more action packed and focused on big set pieces. |
| 110 | * ''Franchise/StarWars'' |
| 111 | ** The prequel films had a dramatically different visual style compared to the original trilogy, trading a UsedFuture for more of a RaygunGothic. The plot was also centered more at the heart of a democracy in crisis compared to a [[LaResistance ragtag Rebellion]] fighting TheEmpire. This was largely intentional by Creator/GeorgeLucas, as he wanted the films to have their own identity and tell a story he was truly invested with. |
| 112 | ** After Creator/{{Disney}} bought the franchise the entire ExpandedUniverse was wiped, leaving only the six films and ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' as canon. Due to references to the past that exist in these sources, much of what came before the movies in universe is implied to have still happened, though in BroadStrokes. Most of what comes after the end of the Original Trilogy is open to be contradicted by new entries to the series, however. Disney has been [[CanonForeigner importing fan favorite concepts and characters]] from ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' into canon over the years. |
| 113 | * ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' is basically this to the [[Film/{{Thor}} previous]] [[Film/ThorTheDarkWorld two]] Thor movies. Instead of the mostly HighFantasy take, it's a PlanetaryRomance [[GenreThrowback that owes a lot]] to 1980s sci-fi (particularly ''Film/{{Flash Gordon|1980}}''), and the slapstick has been ramped up. Thor spends very little time on Earth, so the human supporting cast is nowhere to be seen, and after two movies of AGodIAmNot, the Asgardian characters outright call themselves gods (which is more in line with the comics). |
| 114 | -->'''Creator/TaikaWaititi:''' We basically just destroyed everything that went before. It's what Ragnarok is: the death of the world and its rebirth. This film is a rebirthing of all those characters. It's like a reboot, but we didn't have to recast. |
| 115 | * ''Film/TransformersFilmSeries'': |
| 116 | ** ''Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction'' follows a conclusive victory in ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'', but in the interim Human/Autobot relations were severed and a CIA official sponsored a Private Military Corporation to hunt down all Decepticons still on Earth, but secretly targets Autobots as well and they go into hiding. This scenario creates new human protagonists and justifies the massive change in the Autobot cast as well. |
| 117 | ** ''Film/{{Bumblebee}}'' is an even further departure (to the point that it's seen as ambiguous whether it's this or a full reboot). More or less, the broad strokes of the story could fit before the first film, and even explains a few aspects of it (where Sector 7 came from, why Bumblebee lost his voice and how he got to Earth, how he got his Camaro body, the characters to die in the film do not appear in the live-action films), but a number of aspects are different (Bee came to Earth for a reason aside from the Allspark, Megatron is absent from Cybertron but Sector 7 doesn't seem to know about him, the entire plot point of Transformers in World War II from ''Film/TransformersTheLastKnight'' is quietly forgotten). This is aside from the considerably different tone and character designs. |
| 118 | * ''Film/XMenFirstClass'' is a prequel to the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'' taking place four decades prior to the first film, but whilst it keeps certain factors in place, it alters several others, such as Xavier and Magneto's first meeting and how Magneto acquired his helmet. ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' goes further in this regard by undoing some of the events in the first few films, with the CloseEnoughTimeline at the end. This is further shown by ''Film/XMenApocalypse'' featuring young versions of some of the original trilogy's characters (the director even said that the CosmicRetcon from ''Days of Future Past'' resulted in people appearing earlier than before in the new continuity). |
| 119 | [[/folder]] |
| 120 | |
| 121 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 122 | * The ''Literature/LandOfOz'' was created by Creator/LFrankBaum, but after his death the series was continued by Creator/RuthPlumlyThompson and then John R. Neill, who added a lot of their own characters and ideas. The fourth author, Jack Snow, choose to only acknowledge Baum's stories without directly contradicting those of his successors. Thompson, at least, reportedly preferred that her own characters not be used by other writers. |
| 123 | [[/folder]] |
| 124 | |
| 125 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 126 | * The second season of ''Series/BuckRogersInTheTwentyFifthCentury'' changes the setting from the main cast being on Earth and defending it from assorted threats to basing it on a starship and taking on a more ''Franchise/StarTrek''-style show, with essentially no mention of any events from the first season. |
| 127 | * ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' the series takes up where [[Film/BuffyTheVampireSlayer the film]] leaves off, except that it considers the original screenplay to be canon and not the actual film, which wound up [[ExecutiveMeddling quite different]] than Creator/JossWhedon wanted. In particular, Buffy was apparently expelled from her old school for arson ("that gym was ''full'' of [[LastSecondWordSwap vampi...asbestos]]"), which did not happen in the film. Eventually, a comic called ''The Origin'' was made that told Whedon's version of the story. |
| 128 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'' has had many over the decades, often coinciding with a change in showrunners and/or Doctors. |
| 129 | ** After Creator/TheBBC mandated more Earthbound stories, the Third Doctor's tenure saw him exiled to Earth, where he turned from a cosmic hobo to a debonair action hero alongside an elite military commando team called UNIT. Copious location shooting, spy thriller plots, and excellent stunt work gave the show an entirely different feel to the "base under siege" stories of his predecessor, the Second Doctor. |
| 130 | ** Season Eighteen, the beginning of John Nathan-Turner's reign as executive producer, immediately distanced itself from the previous season (edited by Creator/DouglasAdams, with all his usual silliness) with a long, somber shot of the Fourth Doctor sitting morosely on a beach. Cold, rigid, high-minded scientific concepts and a solemn, brooding atmosphere pervaded Creator/TomBaker's last season in the role, a far cry from the goofy piss-taking of "The Horns of Nimon" just one season previously. |
| 131 | ** In one fell swoop, "Remembrance of the Daleks" completely undid years of increasingly lackluster stories with a well-plotted, tightly-written homage to the series' twenty-fifth anniversary and immediately redefined the Seventh Doctor from a bumbling incompetent who hangs off ledges for no apparent reason during his first season into a dark and mysterious figure who walks like a man and talks like a god. |
| 132 | ** When the show came back in 2005, showrunner Creator/RussellTDavies could adequately be described as a man utterly terrified of continuity running amok, like in the 1980s. Information about the Doctor and the show's lore was tightly controlled and parceled out in the tiniest possible portions. When it became an enormous hit, he relaxed this policy (cf. "School Reunion"), but never truly abolished it. Even the montage of previous Doctors in "The Next Doctor", the most 'for the fans' moment in his tenure, was included solely on the suggestion of producer Julie Gardner, whose judgement he trusted specifically because she was ''not'' a classic Whovian. |
| 133 | ** Both Davies and Moffat also rapidly established potential CosmicRetcon "crisis" events during their eras to explain why things they didn't like in continuity might not have happened any more -- the Last Great Time War for Davies, and the [[spoiler:destruction and recreation of the entire universe]] in "The Pandorica Opens"/"The Big Bang" for Moffat. |
| 134 | ** Series 10 does this for the Twelfth Doctor. The first episode starts off with the Doctor having been a lecturer at a university for [[TimeSkip some time]] after the events of the previous season, and sets up a plotline regarding a mysterious vault beneath it that the Doctor is charged with protecting. It also introduces Bill Potts and sets up her and Nardole, who was previously introduced in a Christmas Special, as his new companions. |
| 135 | ** Davies does this again in a bigger way with “The Giggle”: [[spoiler:The Fourteenth Doctor doesn’t regenerate into a new form but instead performs a “bigeneration”, splitting Fifteen off as his own incarnation. Fourteen decides to retire on Earth (until he is ready to regenerate into Fifteenth for real), while Fifteenth is busy having adventures of his own]]. This effectively allows for a smooth transition from the original revival series handled by BBC Wales to a new era that is handled by Davies' new production company. |
| 136 | * ''Series/TheGoodPlace'' loves these and does these OnceASeason. This is generally done by erasing characters memories. This is all that will be said [[WalkingSpoiler for the benefit of anyone who hasn't finished the first season]]. |
| 137 | * ''Series/TheHardyBoysNancyDrewMysteries'' had a soft reboot on the ''Franchise/NancyDrew'' half of the show in Season 2. Most of the River Heights were recast (including, later on, Nancy herself), but the only explicit change in continuity is the reintroduction of Ned, now played by Rick Springfield instead of George Oh'Hanlon Jr., as a hotshot young lawyer that Nancy has supposedly never met before. |
| 138 | * ''Series/HawaiiFive0'' (the 2000s series) to ''Series/HawaiiFiveO'' (original). They're in the same continuity as each other--a [[MonsterOfTheWeek Killer of the Week]] from the previous series appeared in a straight-up sequel episode in the reboot--but the fact that both series' main casts are named the same is left unmentioned. |
| 139 | * ''Series/HighlanderTheSeries'' was originally a prequel to the first ''Film/{{Highlander}}'' film, but eventually became an AlternateContinuity where the events of the first film ''did'' happen, but Connor and the Kurgan were not the last Immortals, so Connor did not become "The One". Because of this, the series ignored both ''Film/HighlanderIITheQuickening'' and ''Film/HighlanderIIITheSorcerer''. ''Highlander: The Raven'' was set in the same continuity. |
| 140 | * The Heisei era of ''Franchise/KamenRider'' is one to the Showa era. While the Showa era had overarching elements like the characters of [[TheMentor Tobei Tachibana]] and the [[HijackedByGanon Great Leader]], the Heisei era shows, despite taking place in the same universe as the Showa ones (as the {{crossover}} movies show) all focus on storylines that are entirely contained within their respective seasons. Effectively, each new series is its own Soft Reboot that presents a new setting and characters, while keeping some {{Recurring Element}}s like [[TransformationTrinket transformation belts]] and "Kamen Rider" as the title of its heroes. |
| 141 | * ''Series/PrettyLittleLiarsOriginalSin'' is one of the original ''Series/PrettyLittleLiars'', taking place in the same continuity but in the different town of Millwood with a new group of Little Liars and A. |
| 142 | * ''Series/RedDwarf'' Series VIII starts with the original hologram Rimmer having left the crew to become Ace Rimmer and replaced by a version of Christine Kochanski from an alternate universe; and the entire crew of Red Dwarf being resurrected by nanites, including a new, human clone of Rimmer. The season ends with the new Rimmer alone on an abandoned Red Dwarf in flames fleeing from the GrimReaper. ''Recap/RedDwarfBackToEarth'', after a significant TimeSkip InUniverse and in RealLife, opens with Rimmer (either "Ace" or the clone) as a hologram again, Kochanski long dead [[spoiler:actually faked her death to leave Lister]] and the Dwarfers once again alone on an intact ship. The events leading up to this seeming hitting of the ResetButton apparently took place in a never actually made Series IX. |
| 143 | * ''Franchise/StarTrek'': |
| 144 | ** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' was a reboot of the premise using an entirely new cast, using a TimeSkip of about 80 years from the then recent movie ''Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome''. |
| 145 | *** ''The Next Generation'''s third season was also a soft reboot of the show to some extent, featuring less involvement from Creator/GeneRoddenberry, a new set of uniforms, and a slight cinematography shift from the first two seasons. A lot of ''Trek'' fans consider this to be [[GrowingTheBeard the point where the show started to get good]]. |
| 146 | ** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' spent the first two seasons with the crew dealing with local politics in the Delta Quadrant and having to deal with moles and traitors on the crew. The third season starts with them wrapping up all of those plotlines and moving into a different region as they focus on making the trip home. |
| 147 | ** ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' was episodic for the first two seasons before making the third season more of a serialized MythArc. This served as a workable kick of adrenaline, and the fourth season more of a balance with mini-arcs. |
| 148 | ** ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' is set in ''Star Trek'''s "prime universe" ten years prior to ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', making it an {{interquel}} to ''TOS'' and ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise''. However, it uses considerably different aesthetics from both series. |
| 149 | *** The show itself utilizes a semi-anthology format, where each season keeps a handful of characters but features several newcomers to join the crew. The end of the second season features a major change, where they TimeTravel 900 years into the future and a place entirely untouched by any prior Trek lore, and the third season highlights their story as FishOutOfTemporalWater. |
| 150 | * ''Series/StrikeBack'' had two of them: Seasons 2 (''Project Dawn'') and 6 (''Retribution'') both started from scratch with new characters and plotlines. |
| 151 | * ''Series/SupermanAndLois'' has scant references to the wider Franchise/ArrowVerse setting, as while a few previously established characters have shown up, [[Series/Supergirl2015 Superman's own cousin]] is conspicuously absent and not even alluded to. The show's depiction of Kryptonian stuff also clashes at times with the previous show's, particularly with the visuals of Superman's Fortress and Jor-El being played by a different actor with a whole different look. However this can be handwaved away to a degree due to the ''[[Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths2019 Crisis on Infinite Earths]]'' crossover event which did reboot the universe or rather multiverse. In that event Lois gives birth to a son, but in the show she and Clark have twins who are already teens and it's set in the present just as ''Crisis'' was. |
| 152 | * The fourth season of ''Series/TwentyFour'' was a marked departure from Season 3, which saw the premise and character set change drastically between seasons. It was the first season in the series to get a prequel (included on the Season 3 boxset, which was released in the leadup to the season), showing Jack getting fired from his job at CTU due to (plot-enforced) drug use in the preceding season, starting a new relationship and working in a completely different role. When the season started, all of the previous season's characters were gone, save for Jack, President John Keeler and Chloe O'Brian, while the enemy force transitioned from largely Eastern-European terrorists to Middle Eastern antagonists living among society (in a clear nod to UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror). It was also the first season in the series to begin with a six-episode "pod" that had Jack investigating and rescuing Secretary James Heller and his daughter, Audrey (Jack's girlfriend), in an episode that was largely unlike anything the show had done up to that point (the first twenty minutes being a sustained action setpiece that follows Jack as he infiltrates and rescues them from an enemy compound). However, as the season went on, several characters returned (likely motivated by fan demand), such as Tony Almeida, Michelle Dessler and David Palmer. Conversely, characters who had debuted in this season -- including new CTU Director Erin Driscoll, CTU agent Sarah Gavin and Heller himself -- were gone by the midpoint, with the original characters largely taking the focus of the plot by the final episode. |
| 153 | * ''Franchise/UltraSeries'': |
| 154 | ** While the original Showa-era entries in the '60s and '70s all took place in a single continuity, when the series returned in the Heisei era (the '90s) it started constantly rebooting in most new installments, with little-to-no contact between continuities. But eventually, all these continuities were established to take place in a [[TheMultiverse Multiverse]]; allowing each series to begin fresh with a new Ultraman on a new Earth while still heavily referencing the old series -- for instance, some of the new heroes are SpinOffspring sons of the earliest ones, and others engage in PowerCopying prior Ultramen. |
| 155 | ** The earliest example was 1971's ''Series/ReturnOfUltraman'', only the ''third'' ''Ultraman'' series, which starred a hero (later designated "Ultraman Jack") that was an {{Expy}} of the original ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'' after the quite different ''Series/{{Ultraseven}}'' while still being in direct continuity with both. ''Series/UltramanNeos'' is similarly a back-to-basics installment that attempted to mimic the classic series, featuring straight Expies of both the original Ultraman and Ultraseven (though this was during the Heisei era when every installment was a ''hard'' reboot, and it only became a soft one in retrospect). |
| 156 | ** ''Series/UltramanTriggerNewGenerationTiga'' is largely an updated remake of ''Series/UltramanTiga'' made [[MilestoneCelebration to celebrate Tiga's 25th anniversary]]. However, besides the fact that TheMultiverse is already well-established at this point, one character displays knowledge of the events of ''Tiga'' and makes it clear to the audience that Tiga and Trigger coexist in different universes. One episode even has Tiga make a guest appearance to fight alongside Trigger. The following season, ''Series/UltramanDecker'', is a similar remake of ''Tiga''[='s=] own successor ''Series/UltramanDyna''. |
| 157 | [[/folder]] |
| 158 | |
| 159 | [[folder:Toys]] |
| 160 | * The 2009 Bara Magna line of ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' was meant to be this, taking place on a new planet, setting up a new plot and cast, removing signature elements like [[MaskOfPower Masks of Power]] and [[ElementalPowers element-wielding]] Toa heroes -- but still carrying the same aesthetics with some differences, i.e. helmets replacing masks, Glatorian having element-inspired armor but no in-universe powers and ground vehicles replacing flying craft. The 2001-2008 MythArc concluded with [[TheBadGuyWins Makuta winning]], so the ongoing story was put on temporary hold. This soft reboot only lasted half a year, after which the previous 8 years of lore spilled back into the story, bringing back masks, elemental powers, Toa, and continuing the plot from where it had left off, but this time from a new perspective. The DirectToVideo movie of that year hinted at past events but didn't go in depth [[JumpingOnPoint for the sake of new fans]]. This setup lasted until 2010, when Franchise/{{Lego}} discontinued the series, which they had been planning since at least 2008 -- effectively meaning the Bara Magna saga ended up as a ReTool that was doomed from the start, despite there being plans to go on for at least two more story arcs and exploring even more new planets. |
| 161 | [[/folder]] |
| 162 | |
| 163 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 164 | * ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore'': |
| 165 | ** ''Armored Core 2'' is set nearly a century after the events of the original trilogy and moves the setting from Earth to Mars, with the storyline making a few quick references to concepts from the previous games. After it, the series would establish a convention of new numbered entries being hard reboots. |
| 166 | ** ''Nexus'' features an overhauled engine and new play mechanics putting more focus on the simulation aspect series, and does not allow part transfer from ''3'' or ''Silent Line''. The game starts a new story arc and makes no reference to characters or concepts of the previous two games, leaving the corporations Crest, Kisaragi and Mirage as the only story elements linking both halves of the ''Armored Core 3'' timeline together. |
| 167 | * ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII'' does this to the original saga even if it was concluded: brand new game mechanics, new protagonist with different background, completely new story set more than 100 years after. But there are references to the originals, and some returning characters that help tie the stories. |
| 168 | * ''VideoGame/BlasterMasterZeroIII'' reveals that [[spoiler:the ''VideoGame/BlasterMasterZero'' trilogy is set roughly 10 years after the events of ''Chou Wakusei Senki - Metafight'', the original Japanese version of the ''Blaster Master'' series. The series successfully disguises its status as one by pretending to be a full-on ContinuityReboot for most of the first two games, with ''Zero'' being a remake of ''Blaster Master'' with a similar plot but introducing elements from later ''Blaster Master'' games (and hints at the revelation as early as its true ending)]]. |
| 169 | * ''VideoGame/ContraIIITheAlienWars'' is basically a remake of ''Contra'' with updated graphics and new mechanics. The final BossRush of the game is even a compilation of several bosses from the first two ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' games. |
| 170 | * ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'': |
| 171 | ** The duology of ''VideoGame/CrashOfTheTitans'' and ''VideoGame/CrashMindOverMutant'' were an effort to do this for the series; the console versions' gameplay was more of a BeatEmUp than previous entries, the characters received heavier redesigns than in the past, and there are characterization differences, [[SameCharacterButDifferent most notably with]] [[TheBrute Tiny Tiger]] (who goes from DumbMuscle to an AffablyEvil FriendlyEnemy and ''[[AdaptationSpeciesChange becomes an entirely different species of cat]]''), but past games are still referenced, and are still considered to be in the same continuity. [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks Fans didn't take this too kindly]], so Creator/RadicalEntertainment attempted a full ContinuityReboot of the series, but then [[WhatCouldHaveBeen that got the axe]], and in 2017, Vicarious Visions made [[VideoGame/CrashBandicootNSaneTrilogy remakes of the original three games]]. |
| 172 | ** Crash would do this again in 2020 with ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot4ItsAboutTime'', accepting continuity from the [[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot1996 first]] [[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot2CortexStrikesBack three]] [[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot3Warped games]] (and, by extension, the ''N. Sane Trilogy'' remakes) while starting a new timeline from there, though according to the developers, [[https://press-start.com.au/features/2020/06/23/crash-4-interview-retro-mode-doctor-neo-cortex-quantum-masks/ the other games still exist as part of a multiverse]] and characters from the post-Naughty Dog games still appear. |
| 173 | * ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'' is the first game in the franchise to be fully directed under Hideaki Itsuno's watch, and given its nature as a {{prequel}}, it features plot points that contradict or {{retcon}} those from ''[[VideoGame/DevilMayCry1 DMC1]]'' (directed by Creator/HidekiKamiya), most notably the revisioning of Vergil's character. |
| 174 | * ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSin'' is this to the ''Divinity'' games, but in contrast to other examples of this trope, it actually is set further in the ''past''. As [[http://divinity.wikia.com/wiki/Timeline this timeline]] shows, ''Original Sin'' is set in 4 AR, the first game in the series (''VideoGame/DivineDivinity'') is set in 1217 AD. Thus, ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSinII'' is closer to the other games than this one. |
| 175 | * ''VideoGame/DOOM2016'' was marketed as a return-to-form for the ''Franchise/{{Doom}}'' franchise: a lone SpaceMarine fighting TheLegionsOfHell in a MegaCorp facility built on Mars, just like the "classic" 1993 {{Shareware}} trilogy, thus new players could enter and enjoy ''2016'' without ever playing the previous games. However, the appearance of the protagonist with the epitaph "Doom Slayer" and ApocalypticLog information found throughout the game suggests the character is actually the "Doomguy" from the old games, though lore entries in ''2016'' simultaneously conflict with that theory. The {{sequel}} ''VideoGame/DOOMEternal'' sets the record straight: [[spoiler:the Doom Slayer ''is'' Doomguy, who locked himself in Hell from the ending of ''VideoGame/Doom64'' fighting the demons for an unspecified amount of time. Due to the dimensional nature of Hell, Doomguy wound up in an AlternateUniverse, where Hell follows him to the world of Argent D'Nur. Doomguy fights with the Argenta against Hell and becomes the former's champion, whereby he turns into an EmpoweredBadassNormal that is the Doom Slayer from the Makers. Leading an offensive into Hell, the Slayer is trapped and found by the Union Aerospace Corporation, leading up to the events of ''2016'']]. |
| 176 | * ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'' is ostensibly a sequel to ''VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings'', taking place around ten years later, but it feels more like a full-on re-imagining. Three out of the four main party members resemble the protagonists of the first game, but few references are made to the original outside of returning enemies and music tracks. Even the one returning character, [[BigBad Giygas]], both [[YouDontLookLikeYou looks]] and [[AlmightyIdiot acts]] so differently from before that he may as well be a totally different character. |
| 177 | * ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'': |
| 178 | ** There is a 200-year TimeSkip between ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', after the first four games in the main series (as well as the DungeonCrawler spin-off ''Battlespire'') all took place over a span of roughly 34 years. This essentially made the game act like a soft reboot, while still being able to fit into the timeline. |
| 179 | ** The series got around this with its other spin-off games, ''Redguard'' (an ActionAdventure game with few RPG elements) and ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline'' (an MMORPG) by having them set several centuries before the main series but still fitting neatly into the established timeline of the series. |
| 180 | * ''VideoGame/{{Fallout|1}}'' and ''VideoGame/Fallout2'' were isometric turn-based [=RPGs=] both set in post-apocalyptic UsefulNotes/{{California}} and tended to be focused primarily on the issue of survival in a world after nuclear war. ''VideoGame/Fallout3'', ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', and ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' are set significantly later (with ''3'' and ''4'' being set on the other side of the country), have more focus on the RetroUniverse setting and indications that the pre-Great War era was, in some senses, a CrapsackWorld, and instead of showing people just trying to eke out an existence show civilization rebuilding with the major conflicts not being simple survival but what type of societies will emerge. In addition, ''3'' abandoned the turn-based combat system and isometric perspective in favor of an FPS with RPG elements, with future games following suit. ''VideoGame/Fallout76'' does however revisit the post-apocalyptic survival themes of ''1'' and ''2''. |
| 181 | * ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'' is this for ''The Franchise/{{Compilation|OfFinalFantasyVII}} of VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', keeping the ''Compilation'' lore in BroadStrokes but including only minimal appearances from ''Compilation'' characters, and using appearances for the characters based on combining their ''Compilation'' looks with their classic appearances. There's also a lot of RevisitingTheRoots and CharacterRerailment, with characters who had been [[{{Flanderization}} reduced to one major character trait]] in spin-offs reappearing here as well-rounded and complex individuals. The ValuesDissonance of both the original and the ''Compilation'' has also been re-examined: the game excises the insensitive racism, sexism and homophobia of the original, but also the sympathetic Shinra portrayal in the ''Compilation'', in favour of focusing on the need for radical political change and the dignity of the communities of people in Midgar living in Shinra's shadow. At least, such ''appears'' to be the case [[TheEndingChangesEverything up until]] the game's TwistEnding, where it turns out that [[spoiler: ''Remake'' is actually a StealthSequel to the original game via AlternateTimeline, with several characters now having precognition of future ([[TimeyWimeyBall past?]]) events, while Sephiroth -- who may or may not be a post-''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'' Sephiroth -- is actively working to prevent the course of history from playing out like it did in 1997]]. |
| 182 | * The ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' [[ThematicSeries series]] has multiple universes, and while direct and [[NonLinearSequel non-linear sequels]] ''do'' exist, there has been an essential "main" timeline (''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Shadow Dragon]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Gaiden]]'' [[note]]as the title suggests, a GaidenGame to the Archanea games, set on a continent across the sea known as Valentia and featuring a handful of returning characters; its VideoGameRemake, ''Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia'' would [[CanonWelding more conclusively link together]] ''Gaiden'' with Marth's adventures[[/note]], and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem Mystery of the Emblem]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Genealogy of the Holy War]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 Thracia 776]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Awakening]]''). Interestingly enough, this has happened twice within that timeline. The Jugdral games (''Genealogy of the Holy War'' and ''Thracia 776'') are set in the distant past of the Archanea ones (''Shadow Dragon'' and ''Mystery of the Emblem''), while ''Awakening'' is set in the distant future. Being set in the distant future allows ''Awakening'' to have a ton of [[CallBack Call-Backs]] and {{Mythology Gag}}s to Archanaea, ''Gaiden'', ''and'' Jugdral all at once, whereas Jugdral's only ties to Archanea are within the lore (particularly with [[GreaterScopeParagon Naga]] being a major player in the backstory of both settings). |
| 183 | * The ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' series has one with the Playstation-exclusive [[VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4 2018 entry of the same name]] and its sequel ''VideoGame/GodOfWarRagnarok''. Kratos returns as the main protagonist, now much older (even sporting a TimePassageBeard), and has a partner in his travels in the form of the son he had with his second wife Faye, named Atreus. The gameplay also has a very different feel as the combat is now more HackAndSlash than the Greek era's StylishAction button-mashing, and the setting switches to Midgard and interacting with characters from the Nine Realms of Norse mythology, but it is in no way a ContinuityReboot as it takes place decades after the events of ''VideoGame/GodOfWarIII'', and there are many references to Kratos' past actions as the Ghost of Sparta and Greek god of war, of which deeply haunts him into the present. |
| 184 | * ''VideoGame/HaloInfinite'' has been described as a "spiritual reboot" of the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series by its developers. It directly continues on from the events of ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'', but it also takes a RevisitingTheRoots approach to its gameplay and narrative while establishing a new status quo for the ''Halo'' universe moving forward. Indeed, the events of ''Halo 5'' and its aftermath are discussed in cutscenes and audio logs (mostly in regard to Chief trying to discover Cortana's ultimate fate), but the game feels more inclined to start something new, making it feel like we missed the actual ''Halo 6''. |
| 185 | * The ''Franchise/{{Hitman}}'' series got a soft reboot via the ''VideoGame/WorldOfAssassinationTrilogy'', which goes out of its way to avoid mentioning the more gonzo sci-fi elements found in past entries, but as a whole was primarily designed to give the series a consistent continuity. ''VideoGame/Hitman2016'' describes the other games in ways that don't strictly contradict ''[[VideoGame/HitmanCodename47 Codename 47]]'' and the later references to it, while the tie-in ''ComicBook/Agent47BirthOfTheHitman'' comic goes out of its way to fix various plotholes between the games pre-''[[VideoGame/HitmanAbsolution Absolution]]'', as well as establish a consistent backstory for 47, Ort-Meyer, [[spoiler:Subject 6]], and Diana). The trilogy mentions a few of the missions from the previous games (Beldingford from ''[[VideoGame/HitmanContracts Contracts]]'', D'alvade from ''[[VideoGame/HitmanBloodMoney Blood Money]]'', and Hayamoto from ''[[VideoGame/Hitman2SilentAssassin Silent Assassin]]''), and the "Legacy" cinematic shows off the canonical kills for one target from each of the earlier games, implying they all happened even if the storylines around them didn't. |
| 186 | * ''VideoGame/KillerInstinct'': Due the last game being released [[SequelGap way back in 1996]], the 2013 game for Platform/XboxOne went for this trope to avoid ContinuityLockout for the benefit of newcomers to the franchise. While the 2013 has been frequently referred to as a reboot, certain story threads of the prior games are still acknowledged, such as the nature of Jago's tiger spirit [[spoiler:(actually the spirit of Gargos)]] and Jago and Black Orchid being half-siblings. Most notably, the character Tusk is revealed to be [[CompleteImmortality an ageless immortal]], meaning he is the same exact character as the one from the second game (set in the prehistoric past due to TimeTravel) rather than being a LegacyCharacter (as is the case for Kim Wu and Maya Fallegeros). |
| 187 | * ''Franchise/TheKingOfFighters'' is prone to doing so when a new StoryArc begins: |
| 188 | ** Creator/{{SNK}} went into ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters99'' completely overhauling the bread and butter of the formula that had dominated the series up until then -- former protagonist Kyo Kusanagi was relegated to LivingMacGuffin status as K' took his place as protagonist, the 3-on-3 fights were boosted to 4-on-4 with the [[AssistCharacter Striker system]], and the mystical {{Orochi}} was replaced as the main antagonistic force by the more sci-fi NESTS cabal. [[AudienceAlienatingPremise It didn't quite work out]], and by ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2002'' most of the old Orochi Saga staples and characters had came back. |
| 189 | ** ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2003'' served as another one -- once again overhauling the gameplay, this time with the [[TagTeam Multi-Shift]] feature, but also [[PutOnABus dumping]] a lot of then-series mainstays such as [[VideoGame/FatalFury Andy Bogard]] and [[VideoGame/PsychoSoldier Sie Kensou]] alongside having Ash Crimson become the new protagonist as both Kyo and K' were pushed to the sidelines, and introducing a brand new group of villains in Those from the Past. Again, by ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXIII'', most of these changes had been reversed, and the arc itself was far less distanced from the Orochi Saga than the NESTS Chronicles due to various plot developments (such as the underlying plot to [[SealedEvilInACan unseal Orochi]] and the presence of the children of Rugal Bernstein, the series' StarterVillain). |
| 190 | ** ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXIV'' serves as yet another soft reboot of the series. While, unlike previous attempts, it didn't radically change the gameplay or roster, it did overhaul its presentation; namely, by [[VideoGame3DLeap being the first mainline installment with 3D graphics]]. It also brought in a new protagonist in Shun'ei and a new storyline officially introducing TheMultiverse to its lore. Interestingly, despite being intended as a JumpingOnPoint for newcomers (with the backstory indicating that it's been many years since the last KOF tournament to reflect the SequelGap), ''XIV'' is probably the most continuity-heavy start of a new saga [[VideoGameLongRunners to date]], [[ContinuityLockout requiring knowledge of not only previous entries but entirely different SNK series and IPs in order to fully grasp the story]]. |
| 191 | ** Though a spin-off as opposed to a mainline entry, ''VideoGame/KOFMaximumImpact'' arguably counts as well -- it's an AlternateContinuity more closely tied to ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' and ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting'' than the main installments (such as Southtown being a prominent location and the first game following in ''Real Bout''[='s=] stead by having Geese Howard dead [[SchrodingersCast in this timeline]]) but mainly focuses on an original story, with the games [[VideoGame3DLeap using 3D models]] and the roster consisting of various regulars and [[OriginalGeneration completely new faces]] [[CanonForeigner exclusive to this sub-series]]. ''[[TheAnimeOfTheGame Another Day]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/KOFMaximumImpactRegulationA Maximum Impact Regulation "A"]]'' would backslide a bit from this, as the story began {{Continuity Drift}}ing into plot elements established in the Tales of Ash that began with ''2003'' (the most recent StoryArc at the time the ''MI'' series was running). |
| 192 | * ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' essentially soft reboots every time there's a major console release. After all, "legend" is right in the title, so several games end up being retellings of a standard "Zelda myth": there's always a hero, a princess, and evil overlord, etc.; the details may change but it's still the same story at its core. They've been connected into a series timeline, but such connections are usually an afterthought. That said, the following two games are more explicit reboots than others in the series: |
| 193 | ** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'' was marketed to be the origin of the [[LegendaryWeapon Master Sword]] and the series as a whole, but in practice, the game was closer to a reboot rather than a traditional prequel while still being in continuity with the rest of the series. The game's story added several {{Retcon}}s and new central elements to the franchise's lore, particularly [[spoiler:that the unending conflict between Link, Zelda, and Ganon is an extension of the DivineConflict between the goddess Hylia and Demon King Demise]]. Many of the series' staple races such as the Zora and Kokiri are also removed to introduce new ones such as the Mogma, Parella, and Kikwi. Gameplay-wise, the game still introduces many new elements to the series such as motion controls, an upgrade system for items, a [[DowsingDevice tracking system]] to look for plot-relevant items, and a medallion system to give certain status buffs. |
| 194 | ** [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] by the "Wild Saga": ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'' was initially stated to be set in the ''Zelda'' timeline ''somewhere'' ([[ContinuitySnarl Zelda continuity is complicated]]), but taking place thousands of years after each potential timeline branch, meaning it could be in any of the three (or they could've even merged together). However, its direct sequel ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom Tears of the Kingdom]]'' muddles the situation over whether it's a soft or hard continuity reboot, as the game [[spoiler:provides a completely different origin for Ganondorf and the Kingdom of Hyrule as a whole, stating that Hyrule was founded by a union between the [[BenevolentPrecursors Zonai]] and Hylians while Ganondorf became the original Demon King by stealing a Zonai Secret Stone]]. This makes it [[AmbiguousSituation ambiguous]] whether the two games are supposed to override the previous continuity entirely or still takes place long after the previous games with the establishment of a new Hyrule. |
| 195 | * ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'' is set in a different galaxy from the Milky Way, over 600 years after the original trilogy, with the characters having gone into stasis at about the same time as the events of [[VideoGame/MassEffect2 the second game]] and in intergalactic space during the events of [[VideoGame/MassEffect3 the third game]], allowing the creators the opportunity to not have the climactic events of the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' trilogy (and the different endings and player choices) be referenced. This is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] at one point when a news broadcast mentions they've sent a message back to the Milky Way but haven't heard a response yet. |
| 196 | * ''VideoGame/MaxPayne3'' went in this direction due to the fact that practically every named character from [[VideoGame/MaxPayne the first two games]] was dead by the end of ''Max Payne 2''. Max has gone from being a cop in New York to a bodyguard in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Tonally, the game feels less like a film noir and more like a modern summer blockbuster. Also, the run-and-gun gameplay of the first two games is abandoned in favor of slower, [[TakeCover cover-based]] gameplay. Why Max went from New York to Sao Paulo is also addressed in several flashback levels. |
| 197 | * ''Franchise/MegaMan'': |
| 198 | ** ''VideoGame/MegaMan11'' acts as one for the ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' series. The game begins with a DreamSequence showing [[BigBad Doctor Wily]] and [[BigGood Doctor Light's]] initial [[WeUsedToBeFriends falling out]] over the Double Gear system, establishing the series' main conflict for new fans, providing tantalizing new details of the series' {{backstory}} for veteran fans, and setting up the game's new gameplay mechanic for both. |
| 199 | ** There are definite signs that ''VideoGame/MegaManX7'' is meant to be this for ''VideoGame/MegaManX''. Though taking place after ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX6 X6]]'', there's an unknown TimeSkip between that game's near-apocalyptic setting and this game's restored civilizations, previously introduced story elements (like Dynamo, Isoc, Wily's influence on Zero and the others, and Alia's CharacterDevelopment) [[AbortedArc are unceremoniously dropped]], Axl is introduced as the YoungerAndHipper alternative to X, and the intro stage is a NostalgiaLevel based on ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX1 X1]]'''s iconic highway. Also, [[BackFromTheDead somehow]], [[HijackedByGanon Sigma returned]]. ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX8 X8]]'' would undo some of the rebooting, such as returning the gameplay to pure 2D and restoring X as a full protagonist. |
| 200 | * ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' is a continuation of ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake'', but heavily redesigns the gameplay and characters while also releasing into a market that never got the previous entry (and only a [[BadExportForYou garbled version]] of the entry before that). The fact that the games have [[WholePlotReference nearly identical plotlines]] goes on unremarked, and Campbell remarks that the previous game is now in BroadStrokes by stressing that only he and Snake ''truly'' knew what happened to him in Zanzibar Land. The tone of the game is now much darker and cinematic, and the addition of voice acting and camera angles allows the characters to express significantly more complex emotions, with Snake going from a funny, quipping ActionGenreHeroGuy who uses strange gadgets to a much broodier and more subdued character. |
| 201 | * ''Franchise/MortalKombat'': |
| 202 | ** ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'', although marketed as a remake of the [[VideoGame/MortalKombat1992 first]] [[VideoGame/MortalKombatII three]] [[VideoGame/MortalKombat3 games]], is actually one of these. The story follows the immediate aftermath of ''VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon'', in which [[TheBadGuyWins Shao Kahn emerges victorious in Armageddon]], leading Raiden to send a message to his past self about the future that holds for him. Thus the game focuses on Past Raiden's attempts to change destiny, and while it's not necessarily for the better, it does alter the events going forward. Fans have dubbed the game, alongside its sequels ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' and ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'', the "Rebooted Trilogy". |
| 203 | ** ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1'' once again refreshes the series' lore, albeit in a much grander way than ''Mortal Kombat 9''. The game focuses on the timeline created by Liu Kang after he became the new Keeper Time in one of the possible endings of ''Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath'', and many characters, relationships, and plot developments have significantly changed. |
| 204 | * ''VideoGame/Persona3'' can be considered this to the ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' series. ''Persona 3'' was the game that introduced many of the elements that the series would continue to use going forward: the protagonist being a wild card and assigned the Fool Arcana, Igor being in charge of the Velvet Room, [[RelationshipValues Social Links]], and emphasis on the [[SimulationGame day-to-day school life]] of the protagonists. InUniverse, ''VideoGame/Persona1'' and ''VideoGame/Persona2'' are rarely referenced, leading to ''3'' effectively being the "first" game in the modern ''Persona'' storyline. |
| 205 | * ''VideoGame/Pikmin4'' isn't a continuation of ''Pikmin 3'', but rather diverges from the events of [[VideoGame/Pikmin2001 the first game]]. In fact, the game begins with a retelling of ''Pikmin 1'' with [[AlternateContinuity some key differences]]: namely that Olimar befriended a green "space dog" which he named Moss while searching for his missing ship parts, that he is able to send out an S.O.S signal that kicks off the actual game, and that [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption he remains stranded on the planet despite his best efforts]] (becoming victim to the first game's BadEnding). |
| 206 | * ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': |
| 207 | ** Done out of necessity in Gen III. Due to technical limitations, you couldn't transfer any Pokémon from the first two generation, cleanly cutting off the Game Boy and Game Boy Color games from the rest of the main series, which has allowed players to [[OldSaveBonus bring Pokémon from previous generations into newer ones]] (e.g., you can transfer that Mawile you caught back in 2003 into an entry released [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield over fifteen years later]]). While these games have seen remakes, as well as later re-releases, that allow you to transfer those Mons into future entries, any Pokémon you caught on an original copy of ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow,]] [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Gold, Silver, or Crystal]]'' are forever stuck there. It also defined what a new generation meant for the series going forward, since it was set in an entirely new region that was disconnected from the previous ones in both geography and story, save for some minor {{Continuity Nod}}s and cameos. This was in contrast to [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Generation II]], which, while introducing new Pokémon and game mechanics as a new generation should, had much more continuity with Generation I. Its story picked up several plot threads from ''Red and Blue'', and its region was right next to Gen I's, which could even be visited in the post game to show players how things had changed during the 3 year TimeSkip between games. Generation III and onwards would make much cleaner breaks from prior gens with more standalone regions and stories. |
| 208 | ** ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' are widely considered this among the fandom, in large part due to having no prior Pokémon accessible during the main game, with players forced to become familiar with a completely new set of 150 Pokémon. Gen V as a whole is also seen as the point where Game Freak started putting greater emphasis on story, as it became the first (and so far only) generation that saw [[VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2 direct sequels that continued the villain team plotline]], as opposed to {{Updated Rerelease}}s that expanded or reimagined the existing story. |
| 209 | * ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'' went through this shortly after Creator/{{Compile}} lost the series to Creator/{{Sega}} for good. ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyoFever'', Sega's first major entry in the series, established an all-new setting and all-new characters. The only links to Compile's games are [[TheArtifact original protagonists Arle and Carbuncle]] thanks to an inadvertent dimensional warp; even then, Arle isn't given any more prominence than the minor characters while Carbuncle is an OptionalBoss. Starting with ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo15thAnniversary'', the series slowly reintroduced characters from the older games and gave Arle more prominence, but with varying levels of changes applied to fit with the rest of Sega's characters. |
| 210 | * ''VideoGame/{{Rengoku}}'': The second game requires no knowledge of the first game, though there are some spoilers shared by both games. All named characters are given new personalities and elaborate backstories. While Purgatory is namedropped in the flashbacks, the current Rengoku is simply called the Tower, while [[spoiler:the second tower that heavily resembles the one from the first game is called HEAVEN instead]]. |
| 211 | * ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'': |
| 212 | ** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' completely retools the gameplay into [[ActionizedSequel a much more action-oriented style]] with an over-the-shoulder perspective and resolves basically every lingering plot thread from previous games with a brief, minute-long cutscene at the very beginning, and goes with a much DenserAndWackier tone throughout. Unusually for this trope, the PlayerCharacter is shared with a previous game -- namely, Leon S. Kennedy from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2''. |
| 213 | ** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard'' goes for a completely different feel with its gameplay which trades the third-person perspective and action-oriented focus of the previous three numbered entries for a first-person perspective based around inventory management, uses a completely new focus character with no ties to the previous heroes, and doesn't make its connections toward the other games explicit until late in the game. |
| 214 | * ''VideoGame/SakuraWars2019'' is a soft reboot of the ''VideoGame/SakuraWars'' franchise, following [[SequelGap a decade-plus hiatus]] since ''VideoGame/SakuraWarsSoLongMyLove''. The game takes place in the same series setting, albeit a decade after the last game, with a new Imperial Combat Revue taking center stage (led by a veteran of the original organization), as well as [[GenreShift changing the combat system from turn-based tactics to real-time hack-and-slash]]. |
| 215 | * ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'': The fifth title serves as a soft reboot of sorts, focusing on the earlier parts of the era, particularly those regarding [[UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga Nobunaga]], akin to the first installment of the series. Many characters from previous titles [[PutOnABus were cut from the roster]] and many returning ones had their personalities and story roles drastically changed. Even the series' poster boy, [[UsefulNotes/SanadaYukimura Yukimura Sanada]], is nowhere to be seen because he'd be too young at that time. |
| 216 | * ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndThePiratesCurse'' has Shantae work with her longtime rival Risky Boots, and at the end of the game, the two part on amicable terms. This gets at best an obscure passing reference in ''VideoGame/ShantaeHalfGenieHero'', where Risky Boots is once again the main villain. To cap it off, the first level of the game is [[NostalgiaLevel a semi-remake of the intro stage from the original game]]. One of the Scuttle Town villagers [[LampshadeHanging hangs a lampshade]] on this by way of LeaningOnTheFourthWall. At least part of this may have been because ''Pirate's Curse'' and ''Half-Genie Hero'' were initially in development at the same time, so it was uncertain which would come out first. Regardless, the status quo from ''Half-Genie Hero'' carries over to ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndTheSevenSirens''. That said, characters and concepts introduced in ''Pirate's Curse'' (and ''Risky's Revenge'', from which ''Pirate's Curse'' was a direct follow-up), such as the Barons, do appear in ''Half-Genie Hero'', and Shantae recognizes them. |
| 217 | * ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' has seen many of these happen. |
| 218 | ** ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' served as the ''Sonic'' franchise's first soft reboot. Simultaneously a bid to recapture old fans and gain new ones, it overhauled the art style from bright and surreal to be more muted and realistic. The character designs for most characters was also overhauled to be lankier and "edgier" instead of the softer, round designs of the classic games. Finally, ''Sonic Adventure'' was the first game in the franchise to have an in-depth story, being much DarkerAndEdgier than the Genesis games and including much CharacterDevelopment for most of the cast. ''Sonic Adventure''[='=]s direction would go on to define the franchise from that point forward. |
| 219 | ** ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'' and ''VideoGame/SonicColors'' did away with the continuity and character bloat of the ''Adventure''-era games, with Sonic, Tails and Eggman (plus Amy in ''Unleashed'') being the only returning characters and the plot being completely self-contained. ''Colors'' in particular is far more goofy and lighthearted than any of the ''Adventure''-era games. |
| 220 | ** ''VideoGame/SonicForces'' references previous titles while at the same time leaving out a lot of things from previous games. Most blatantly [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome there are no humans]] besides [[TokenHuman Eggman]]. There's a world war going on but G.U.N. is nowhere in sight and there aren't even minor human [=NPCs=] anywhere. Instead, for the first time in the games, we have FunnyAnimal minor characters appearing. The game also doesn't include some previous areas such as Station Square and instead takes place near a nondescript "City." |
| 221 | * The ''VideoGame/{{Soul|Series}}'' series has ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburV'', which [[TimeSkip jumped ahead 17 years]], replaced much of the longstanding cast with successors, and featured a new storyline. In fact, the game's director, Daishi Odashima, originally wanted it to be called ''Soul Edge 2'', in order to mark a new direction for the franchise. Unfortunately for Odashima, [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks said "new direction" did not take with fans at all]]. [[AuthorsSavingThrow As a result]], ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburVI'' [[{{Unreboot}} promptly returned to the original setting]]. [[spoiler:Later plot developments would add wrinkles, however: ''V'' [[ArcWelding still exists]] in [[AlternateTimeline the new timeline]], but is considered by [[MyFutureSelfAndMe both Cassandras]] as a [[CrapsackWorld horrific]] BadFuture that [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong cannot come to pass]]. Unsurprising, as in that timeline, her sister Sophitia is dead, Pyrrha becomes a new host for Soul Edge and [[TautologicalTemplar Pat]][[NominalHero rok]][[UngratefulBastard los]] [[TheScrappy exists]].]] |
| 222 | * ''VideoGame/StarOcean'' essentially did this with [[VideoGame/StarOceanTillTheEndOfTime the third game]], then went the NonLinearSequel route after that. The first two games (plus the spin-off) in the series take place within the span of 25-30 years, everything after that is either in the distant future or, in the case of ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheLastHope'', in the distant past. |
| 223 | * ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'': |
| 224 | ** The original ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' was itself one of these. The game is a large departure from prior ''Mario'' games such as ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' and ''VideoGame/MarioBros'', which had shown urban-themed environments in comparison to SMB's fantasy kingdom. It also introduced new sets of characters, including a new antagonist. It could have been a completely new series were it not for the return of Mario and Luigi. |
| 225 | ** ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' served as this for the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' franchise, especially in the West, where it marks the point at which the Western canon (Mario being a plumber from Brooklyn, the name "Princess Toadstool", and so on) was brought into line with the Japanese canon. |
| 226 | ** ''VideoGame/WarioWareGold'': Not only does ''Gold'' introduce a new artstyle that would become the norm for the series onwards, its plot is very much a souped up version of the original ''Mega Microgame$'', with Wario deciding to make games after being inspired by some TV news, phoning his friends to help him out and then trying to cheat on them of their pay at the end (and failing). |
| 227 | * ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' continues the continuity of the first two games, but in terms of gameplay, acts essentially as a loose remake of ''VideoGame/{{Metroid|1}}'', taking place on the same planet, with roughly the same plot and the same boss enemies, with a few new surprises. |
| 228 | * ''VideoGame/Thief2014'' was originally marketed as a reboot of the ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}'' universe, following a character who appears to have a drastically-different origin story (he no longer gets a "power" from a mechanical eye after having one ripped out, but gets it from looking directly into the Primal Stone's energy). However, as the game goes on it, it gradually becomes clear that the game is actually a StealthSequel to the original trilogy, which takes place several hundred years after the events of the original trilogy: both the Keepers (the overriding magic-wielding BigGood) and Karras (the BigBad of ''VideoGame/ThiefIITheMetalAge'') in various bits of lore and art found throughout The City. The Clocktower appears to be the same one seen in the "Life of the Party" mission in ''The Metal Age'', while an abandoned chapel, "Our Lady of the Iron Litany", appears to be an abandoned Hammerite chapel. The "Queen of Beggars" is implied to be either a descendant or the last remaining member of the original Keepers, while the Keeper Library (visited in ''VideoGame/ThiefDeadlyShadows'') is visited midway through the game, lying derelict underneath the House of Blossoms. There are also suggestions that the Garrett in this game is a descendant of the original Garrett, via a sidestory where the player can find bits of lore about the latter within Moira Asylum. |
| 229 | * The ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' series has a reboot between the fifth game, ''VideoGame/TouhouKaikidanMysticSquare'', the last game for PC-98 and the sixth game, ''VideoGame/TouhouKoumakyouTheEmbodimentOfScarletDevil'', the first game in the Windows series (though it actually happened with the release of the seventh game, ''VideoGame/TouhouYouyoumuPerfectCherryBlossom'', as extra material from sixth game makes it clear it was written in mind with PC-98 being canon). From all the characters in the PC-98 era, only four reappear in the Windows era, two of which are the series main characters Reimu and Marisa. The works in the Windows era sometimes reference the PC-98 games, but never in a way that solidifies their canonicity. When asked about this, series creator ZUN merely stated the PC-98 games are "canon until contradicted by a Windows game." |
| 230 | * Both ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein2009'' and ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder'' are this for the 2001's ''VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'' and each other, featuring the same villain Deathshead and the Kreisau Circle from that game, but incorporating elements of a "Black Sun Dimension" and an {{alternate timeline}} where Nazis won WWII, respectively. ''The New Order'' also includes the return of Caroline Becker from the 2009 game, though noticeably different from before. ''RTCW'' is a more traditional run-and-gun experience, ''Wolfenstein (2009)'' is more ''Call of Duty''-esque, and ''The New Order'' attempts to blend the playstyles together. |
| 231 | * ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'' is one to the ''[[VideoGame/LikeADragon Yakuza]]'' series at large. For the first time since ''VideoGame/Yakuza4'', it introduces a completely new cast of playable characters, complete with a new protagonist in Ichiban Kasuga, as Kazuma Kiryu's journey had reached its end in ''VideoGame/Yakuza6''. It also introduces a new setting, as a majority of the game is now set in the Isezaki Ijincho district of Yokohama instead of the Kamurocho district of Tokyo, as was series tradition since [[VideoGame/Yakuza1 the original game]]. Furthermore, whereas the previous installments in the series were open-district [[BeatEmUp Beat 'em Ups]], this one is a [[TurnBasedCombat Turn-Based]] [[EasternRPG JRPG]] (while still maintaining the open-district nature of the previous titles) akin to ''Franchise/DragonQuest'' or ''Franchise/{{Persona}}''. The subtitle being a translation of the series name in Japanese would also allow Sega to ease international players into its use when they dropped ''Yakuza'' as a franchise title going forward with the eighth game (in favor of ''Like a Dragon'', a literal translation of the original Japanese title of ''Ryū ga Gotoku''), further distinguishing Kasuga's games as a new beginning. |
| 232 | * ''VideoGame/YsVITheArkOfNapishtim'' is one for the ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}'' series. From this game forward, the series starts making a serious effort to craft a consistent ''Ys'' lore. However, all games to follow also treat the pre-''Napishtim'' games in BroadStrokes where they acknowledge them at all, and ''Ys III'' and ''IV'' have both been replaced in the canon by remakes. |
| 233 | [[/folder]] |
| 234 | |
| 235 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 236 | * ''Franchise/AceAttorney'': |
| 237 | ** ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'' was meant to be this for the series, set after a TimeSkip and starring new protagonists. ExecutiveMeddling demanded that Phoenix be in the game, however, and despite having been disbarred in-story he ended up becoming a one-man SpotlightStealingSquad to Apollo's character development and personal arc. [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies The next]] [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice two games]] [[TheBusCameBack brought back more and more of the old characters]], while still managing to give Apollo and the new cast more development than they had in their debut game. |
| 238 | ** ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney'' also does this to the series, being set over 100 years in the past (in Meiji Japan and Victorian London) and starring new protagonists, with very minimal connections to the original series. |
| 239 | * After [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc two]] [[VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair games]] and [[Anime/DanganRonpa3 an anime]] set in the same universe, ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' is set in an alternate universe with a new cast of characters. In a twist, [[spoiler:the pre-reboot games still exist in the new timeline... ''as [[MetaSequel works of fiction]]'']]. |
| 240 | [[/folder]] |
| 241 | |
| 242 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 243 | * This trope was used as a nickname for the shift in ''Webcomic/EndTown'' from Albert and Gustine to Wally and Holly. |
| 244 | * ''Webcomic/IronNailAfternoon'' is a soft reboot of long-running webcomic ''Webcomic/SmokeFurAndStone'', which ran from 2013 and included various spin-offs and additional short comics. The creator felt that it was difficult to do justice to the growing number of characters, backstories and ever-expanding canon in a series that updated twice a week, hence the decision for a soft reboot in the form of ''Iron Nail Afternoon''. |
| 245 | * ''Webcomic/MagickChicks'': It was originally intended for readers to be able to pick up the series without needing to read its parent comic, ''Webcomic/EerieCuties''. But after two [[RequiredSpinoffCrossover major crossover arcs]], along with characters from both comics [[CrossoverCameo making appearances in the other]] and certain events overlapping, the two [[SharedUniverse became so entwined]], that [[ContinuityLockout it was no longer possible]]. Which eventually lead Creator/GiseleLagace and David Lumsdon (the co-writers of both series) to do a soft reboot [[http://www.pixietrixcomix.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=563524#p563524 to help newer readers.]] |
| 246 | [[/folder]] |
| 247 | |
| 248 | [[folder:Web Videos]] |
| 249 | * ''WebVideo/UnwantedHouseguest'': The series didn't have clear continuity back when it was just music videos, but the introduction of Aberfoyle Manor as a permanent setting in 2020 seems to fall into this category. It doesn't explicitly contradict past videos, and it came a bit after the Houseguest's appearance changed, but it did radially alter the status quo of the series, and introduce ongoing narratives. |
| 250 | [[/folder]] |
| 251 | |
| 252 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 253 | * As of Season 5, ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' has had these OnceASeason: |
| 254 | ** Season 5 (Archer: Vice) [[spoiler:saw Isis shut down and the cast becoming drug dealers then the end of the season was a completely serialized story that saw them become involved with a civil war in a Central American nation.]] |
| 255 | ** Season 6 was the exception as the show mostly just stuck with the formula of the last four seasons. |
| 256 | ** Season 7 [[spoiler:saw them move to L.A and become private investigators and for the most part ignored the arcs off all the over seasons]]. |
| 257 | ** Season 8 (Archer: Dreamland) [[spoiler:was completely unrelated to the other seasons transporting the cast to the 40's as stock characters in a film noir plot were Archer is a private detective investigating the murder of his partner while working for a shady crime lord.]] [[spoiler:[[AdventuresInComaland This is all a dream Archer is having while in a three season coma]]]]. |
| 258 | ** Season 9 (Archer: Danger Island) [[spoiler:is a tribute to late 30's action/adventure stories with the cast on a remote South Pacific island]]. |
| 259 | ** Season 10 (Archer: 1999) [[spoiler:is a tribute to old Sci-Fi series with the cast exploring space in a [[{{Zeerust}} retro-futuristic]] vision of outer space]]. |
| 260 | ** Season 11 going forward has Archer return to the Spy Agency roots of the series along with [[spoiler:Archer dealing with a world that changed quite a lot while he was in a three year coma, such as Lana getting married. Additionally, he has to make use of the ‘Tactile Cane’ to help him overcome his physical difficulties until the end of Season 12. While Season 13 looks to continue the Spy Agency angle, the show will be different due to the passing of Jessica Walter.]] |
| 261 | * Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse: |
| 262 | ** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' is effectively this to ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''. While taking place in the same continuity and made by the same people, ''Beyond'' is set in the fifty years after ''TAS'' and the tone is very different to match. Whereas ''TAS'' used a retro ArtDeco style (or "dark deco") to evoke the image of old serials from the '30s and '40s, and featured an AnachronismStew all over the place that gave the impression of a retro city, ''Beyond'' takes its futuristic setting in stride aspects like with mutagen, BioAugmentation, {{Animesque}} influences, sleek and conceptual designs for their buildings and vehicles, and is more likely to remind one of ''Manga/{{Akira}}'' or ''Manga/GhostInTheShell'' than '40s serials. Furthermore, there's a [[LegacyCharacter new man]] running around as Batman, the [[YoungerAndHipper teenage]] Terry [=McGinnis=], as opposed to the standard [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]]. Even the music is a contrast, favoring dirty industrial rock and electronica as opposed to the orchestral themes of before. |
| 263 | ** ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'''s first season largely tried to avoid referencing the events of ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' and ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', with WordOfGod admitting it was done so that it would be more accessible, and as such [[BroadStrokes only brought up the prior shows vaguely]]. But later on, [[ZigZaggedTrope this approach was dropped]] in favor of directly continuing off of plot points established in the prior shows that would be more familiar to longtime fans, and going for a more tightly knit approach with its storytelling instead. |
| 264 | * ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' can be watched as an independent storyline compared to the original comic, and a few details of the pilot don't actually gel very well with the comic lore (most glaringly, the fact that Huey, Dewey and Louie apparently aren't yet Junior Woodchucks). However, it can also be seen as a continuation of the comics; all a reader of the comic needs to know is "Donald has gone off to the navy and so Huey, Dewey and Louie are living with Scrooge in [=McDuck=] Manor", and they're good to go. (Despite the minor {{Continuity Snarl}}s this creates, the 2010 ''ComicBook/DuckTales'' comics confirmed it takes place in the same continuity as the comics.) |
| 265 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'' seems to have done this twice. |
| 266 | ** Season 6 onward did this with the introduction of Poof, as changes include NegativeContinuity becoming more apparent, various recurring characters [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome disappearing from the setting]], [[spoiler:"Timmy's Secret Wish" infamously justifying a [[ComicBookTime Floating Timeline]]]], and Timmy's future from the ending to ''WesternAnimation/ChannelChasers'' outright ignored in favor of a different future depicted in three live-action movies. |
| 267 | ** Season 10 did this with the introduction of Chloe, a girl that Timmy has to share Cosmo and Wanda with, with said season seeming to ignore ALL the movies. |
| 268 | * 2017's ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicSchoolBusRidesAgain'' takes place in a similar continuity to 1994's ''Literature/TheMagicSchoolBus'' and seems to have featured the same events, however it also [[SettingUpdate has the characters in modern times]] despite not aging. |
| 269 | * ''Momma Named Me Sheriff'' is this to ''WesternAnimation/MrPickles''; while technically a spin-off, it's really just the same show simply switching character focus. |
| 270 | * ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'': |
| 271 | ** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyG3'' had a reboot near the end. It's blatantly obvious in both the toyline and AnimatedAdaptation, as all ponies besides [[MinimalistCast the titular seven]] disappeared from the toy line completely and were either absent or DemotedToExtra in the specials. Two of the characters also changed very noticeably -- Rainbow Dash received [[SameCharacterButDifferent a personality overhaul]] and her accent changed from British to American, while Toola-Roola was completely redesigned and went from being a toy-only character to a main protagonist. |
| 272 | ** ''Franchise/MyLittlePonyGeneration5'' is set in the same continuity as ''Franchise/MyLittlePonyGeneration4'', but [[DistantSequel after such a long span of time]] that most of the previous works' events have slipped into legend and the world has changed drastically, functionally creating a new setting to explore while leaving room for occasional nods to older material. |
| 273 | * ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls2016'' serves as a soft reboot of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998''. The girls are still heroes, the old villains are still around, but Pokey Oaks Kindergarten is torn down early in the show (due to a clumsy moment on Bubbles' part) and the girls are sent to Midway Elementary School (apparently it's a K-12 school), the girls often fight newer foes instead of the old ones, Miss Bellum is PutOnABus, their personalities have noticeably changed, and they now can create HardLight constructs with little to no mention how they could. |
| 274 | * ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': |
| 275 | ** The show began going through one during the fourth to sixth seasons [[RunningGagged discarding old running gags]], taking focus [[OutOfFocus away from certain characters]] [[AscendedExtra and giving more to others]], and switching their style of humor from crude, shock-value to social commentary and political satire. Notable changes include stopping Kenny's OncePerEpisode [[TheyKilledKennyAgain deaths]], making Butters and Randy main characters, moving the boys to fourth grade and Mr Garrison discarding Mr Hat. |
| 276 | ** From Season 18 onward, the show began experimenting with serialization, having either {{Continuity Nod}}s, season-wide {{Central Theme}}s, or ongoing story arcs per season. |
| 277 | * The seventh and final season of ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'', ''Back to the Sewers'', takes the Turtles back to their time after ''Fast Forward'' sent them to the future, but aside from having the Turtles face some of their RoguesGallery from previous seasons, doesn't continue off of many previously lingering plots and characters. It also tweaks the internal chronology of the series somewhat to allow for the Cyber Shredder, that season's BigBad, to exist. |
| 278 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'': |
| 279 | ** Season 4 was a minor case of this: [[spoiler:The previous season finale and the season opener destroyed all of Hank and Deans backup clones, allowing them to finally start aging and [[DivergentCharacterEvolution developing their own personalities]]; Henchman #24 is KilledOffForReal, forcing [[ThoseTwoGuys Henchman #21]] [[TookALevelInBadass to start taking things more seriously]] and becoming CoDragons with Doctor Mrs. The Monarch; Brock quits his job as the Ventures' bodyguard, having a story arc separate from the family while still squatting at the Venture compound; and [[AscendedExtra Sargent Hatred, Dermott Fictel, Pete White and Billy Quizboy become main characters and the murderous moppets become major members of The Monarchs crew]].]] After this season, the show became more character-focused and starts setting up ongoing story arcs. |
| 280 | ** Season 6 was even more of this. Between Seasons 5 and 6, "All this and Gargantua 2" was released, which [[KilledOffForReal killed off a couple recurring characters]], ended all of the built-up story arcs and [[spoiler:saw the Venture Compound destroyed, the previous episode saw the Monarch lose everything except Dr. Mrs. The Monarch and Henchman 21 and moving into his childhood home]]. Then, in Season 6, as a result of the deaths of [[spoiler:Jonas Venture Jr. and The Sovereign]], Doctor Venture [[spoiler:becomes the C.E.O of a multi-million dollar company and moves his family to a huge compound in New York]], with Brock returning as his bodyguard. The Monarch, Doctor Mrs. The Monarch and Henchman #21 unofficially become main characters; The Guild of Calamitous Intent's Council of 13 go from being an OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness[=/=][[GreaterScopeVillain Great-Scope Villains]] to playing a more active role in episodes; The Monarch and Henchman #21 get paired up as a villainous duo; anyone who isn't affiliated with Venture Industries, The Council of 13 or occasionally the original Team Venture becomes OutOfFocus; and the show became more serialized with season long story arcs. Season 7, however, [[TheBusCameBack brought back many characters]]. |
| 281 | [[/folder]] |
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