Gallery: Gaming's 10 Best 'Threequels' Ever
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It's November, and that can only mean one thing: threequels. This month is stuffed with the third installments of everybody's favorite videogame series. We've already seen Battlefield 3, Gears of War 3 and Uncharted 3. On the way are Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Saints Row The Third. Somewhere over the horizon lie Diablo III and Mass Effect 3. That's a lot of threes. Which might not be a bad thing. Sometimes it takes three games before a series really hits its peak, learning from past mistakes and mastering the formula that its predecessors invented. To honor the times, Game|Life's writers have assembled a list of 10 game threequels that stand among the best of the best — not just within their own series, but throughout gaming history. Did we miss any? Let us know what you think. __Above:__ Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater ------------------------------- *Konami, PlayStation 2, 2004* While nobody can deny the quality and impact of the first two games in Hideo Kojima's influential Metal Gear Solid series, everything really clicks for entry number three. [Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gaming/gamingreviews/news/2004/12/65870) places you in the jungles of a Cold War-ravaged Soviet Union, where nuclear war seems like a terrifying inevitability and even the double-crossers get double-crossed. As Naked Snake (who will later come to be known as Big Boss, antagonist of Metal Gear), you have to traipse through wild rivers and military bases, eating fish and rodents to keep yourself energized as you attempt to stave off a nuclear catastrophe. Blending the series' traditional stealth gameplay with some new mechanics, like an intricate close-quarters melee system, Metal Gear Solid 3 is the most interesting entry in what's been a very interesting series. *—Jason Schreier*
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Mother 3 -------- *Nintendo, Game Boy Advance, 2006* I won't blame you if you haven't heard of Mother 3. This Game Boy Advance sequel to quirky SNES RPG EarthBound was never released outside of Japan. Too bad, because it's one of the best role-playing games of all time. It tells the story of an idyllic countryside village taken over by a growing dependence on technology and wealth. It's about a young boy who is forced to grow up early when he must cope with the loss of his family and the disturbing transformation of his once-peaceful home. It involves three strangers and a pet dog coming together to fight for what's important to them. It is about all these things and more. Packing an emotional plot and an addictive rhythm battle system, Mother 3 is one of the all-time greats. Lucky for you, [there's an excellent fan translation available](http://mother3.fobby.net/). Just try not to cry during the ending. *—John Mix Meyer*
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Duke Nukem 3D ------------- *3D Realms, PC, 1996* The franchise became a punchline during the 12-year wait for the execrable Duke Nukem Forever. But when Duke Nukem 3D first appeared in January of 1996, it was a great leap forward for PC shooters. Not because of the lo-res strippers and off-color dialogue, but because of the frenetic FPS gameplay. The game was one of the first shooters to really go nuts with what you could do in a 3D space, and featured crazy gear like holographic doppelganger versions of your avatar that you could use to distract foes. It led to some extremely memorable matches. Jerry Holkins rhapsodized about the unique play experiences earlier this year: "[I shot Gabriel once with a shrink ray](http://www.penny-arcade.com/2011/03/23), and he used his jetpack to fly out the window like an insect. Fifteen years ago. Still talking about it, about scenarios that to this day no game has managed to top." *—Chris Baker*
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Grand Theft Auto III -------------------- *Rockstar, Various, 2001* Grand Theft Auto III didn't invent the concept of a morally vacuous sandbox game: You'll find all of the basic elements in the series' previous outings. What made III special was the switch to a 3-D perspective. Rather than watch the mayhem unfold from above, like witnessing a revolt in an ant farm, the player-character and all of his criminal activity was put front and center on screen. That shift put an emotional hook on the action that captured gamers' imaginations worldwide — and horrified moral conservatives. Don't believe me? Try playing Grand Theft Auto III in top-down view and see how much less interesting/horrifying [a random killing](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gamelife/2011/10/9-for-9-games/?pid=2201) becomes. *—Daniel Feit*
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Heroes of Might and Magic III ----------------------------- *New World Computing, PC, 1999* Combining the character progression of a role-playing game with the addictive resource management of Civilization, the Heroes of Might and Magic strategy series became excessively popular among PC gamers in the late '90s. Heroes of Might and Magic III mastered the formula, delivering the perfect potpourri of balanced factions, powerful equipment and infectious gameplay. Subsequent sequels have experimented with new ideas (and even new names), but none have recreated the pure joy of Heroes of Might and Magic III. Even if the AI does like to cheat. *—Jason Schreier*
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The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past --------------------------------------- *Nintendo, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, 1991* A game that many rank among the greatest ever, A Link to the Past introduced countless traditions to the Zelda series, including the powerful Master Sword and seven wise Sages. While the first two Zelda games each offered their own expansive worlds to explore, A Link to the Past offers two: the normal realm and antagonist Ganon's twisted Dark World. To find all of the game's copious secrets, you'll have to comb both. *—Jason Schreier*
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Street Fighter III: Third Strike -------------------------------- *Capcom, Various, 1999* That's right: a threequel to a threequel. After churning out not-quite-sequels to Street Fighter II for more than a decade, Capcom's first two attempts at reinventing the fighting game didn't quite catch on. With Third Strike, it found the magic formula, creating what erstwhile Game|Life writer and Street Fighter expert Jared Rea calls "a completely different game." Not only were the game mechanics overhauled, he says, but the "muted color palette and more impactful sound design" gave it a look and feel all its own. Capcom has long since abandoned the game's first two iterations, but it has re-released Third Strike several times, including this year on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. *—Chris Kohler*
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Super Mario Bros. 3 ------------------- *Nintendo, Nintendo Entertainment System, 1990* Nintendo could release the third game in the Super Mario series today, and no one would know it was 20 years old. Filled with dozens of comical characters, a surprising variety of worlds to explore and packed to the gills with secrets, Super Mario 3 was light years ahead of its contemporaries. It was the best videogame in the world, and some still consider it the Mario team's finest work. (I personally think Super Mario World topped it, but this isn't a list of fourquels.) *—Chris Kohler*
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Super Metroid ------------- *Nintendo, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, 1994* Super Metroid (aka Metroid 3) perfectly encompasses both of its titles. It's a souped-up vision of the original Metroid as well as a continuation of the story from the first two games. It perfects things previous adventures never quite got right (finally, an in-game map system!) while adding more weapons and bosses, all the while asking players to wonder what will become of the little baby Metroid that Samus Aran found at the end of Metroid II: Return of Samus. The answer pays off in one of the best videogame endings of that era, all with nary a word spoken. Sadly, the series never reached these heights again: Subsequent Metroid games would rely increasingly on blocks of text that sucked all the mystery out of the (previously voiceless) hero. *—Daniel Feit*
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Zork III -------- *Infocom, PC, 1982* "As in a dream, you see yourself tumbling down a great, dark staircase. All about you are shadowy images of struggles against fierce opponents and diabolical traps." So began the 1982 Infocom title, the capstone of the first (only?) blockbuster franchise to emerge during the text adventure boom. It didn’t necessarily reinvent the wheel established in Zork I and II. Zork III offered the same mix of exploration, witty dialogue, and persnickety text parser found in the preceding installments. But there was a new goal, and a built-in time limit. You were tasked with assembling the garb of the Dungeon Master and convincing the Guardians of Zork that you were worthy of assuming that role. If you didn’t succeed within a certain number of turns, the realm was ravaged by an earthquake. A memorable work of interactive fiction. *—Chris Baker*
