Like it or not, sequels are a staple of the video game industry. A well-done sequel can expand a successful concept, reboot a flagging franchise, fix the glaring flaws of an original game, or even revive a series years after it's been presumed dead.

Here are five that did none of the above—sequels so pointless we might have been better off without them.

We feel the influence of the original Devil May Cry whenever we play a third-person action game with lots of melee combat, from Bayonetta to God of War. This sequel, however, failed to live up to expectations, with careless graphics and iffy combat. It sold well—even without innovation or effort, Devil May Cry is just inherently fun—but to this day, Devil May Cry 2 remains the black sheep in the franchise's history. Fortunately, Capcom was able to turn things around with the next iteration, and this setback is more or less forgotten. As it should be.

For whatever reason, Sonic just didn't have Mario's success when it came to entering the 3D era. Whereas Super Mario 64 showed the world how platforming should be done with an extra dimension, his speedy hedgehog competitor just couldn't seem to get things to work. Sonic Adventure received some acclaim in Sega's Dreamcast days, but since then, Sonic has been pretty much dead outside of the retro gaming world.

Sonic 4 promised what many fans have been waiting for: The blue mascot would return to his 2D glory, taking on a new set of stages in high definition. Unfortunately, instead of combining nostalgia with fresh gameplay, Sonic 4 simply retreaded the ground that the original three games covered. It's not a terrible game by any stretch, but it doesn't hold up next to the sheer brilliance and innovation that characterized the original series. It even pales next to other new 2D games, such as 'Splosion Man and Super Meat Boy. Maybe the next episode, due out next year, will be better.

Mario hasn't always had it easy. After the smash hit Super Mario Bros., Nintendo tried to follow it up twice, and failed both times.

The company's original attempt to create Super Mario Bros. 2 was released only in Japan. (It later came stateside in Super Mario All-Stars, as "The Lost Levels.") Instead of pushing the franchise forward, it simply continued where the old game left off, with a series of levels that were far more difficult than anything in the original and featured almost no changes to the graphics. The game also pranked the player repeatedly. For example, it would give out items that looked like mushroom power-ups but were actually lethal.

Sensing that this wouldn't go over very well in the U.S., Nintendo of America decided to make a different game. But rather than going back to the drawing board, the company took a game that had been released in Japan as Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, swapped in sprites from the Mario universe, and called it Super Mario Bros. 2. It's a good game, certainly, but it's not a Mario game; you can't even jump on enemies to kill them.

Fortunately, Super Mario Bros. 3 fixed all these problems—proving that even a needless sequel sometimes needs sequels.

With Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Bioware created a true masterpiece, combining its RPG expertise with the Star Wars license to great effect. However, the sequel was a shining triumph of mediocrity.

It's not that the game is bad; it's that it's unfinished. It's obvious that it was rushed, from the slapped-together plot to the occasional glitches. It would have been better to hold off on a sequel, rather than duping KOTOR fans with this unworthy follow-up.

As I stated here, I am ridiculously cheap and usually wait a year before buying games. However, after enjoying Resident Evil 4 as much as I did, I plopped down $60 to preorder this thing at GameStop. There are no words to describe how disappointed I was.

The one good thing about Resident Evil 5 is that the graphics are a solid step into the HD era. Other than that, the game's problems are many. The emphasis on co-op is weird for a series that emphasizes isolation. If you let the A.I. control your partner, the game becomes much more difficult. The zombie animations look pretty much the same as they did the last time around, as though Capcom couldn't afford another trip to the mo-cap studio.

Resident Evil 5 didn't just fail to keep moving forward after Resident Evil 4; it was a solid step back. Honestly, I prefer to think of Alan Wake as the true sequel to RE4, even if it's only a spiritual follow-up from a completely different team with lots of other inspirations. I'm still hoping that Resident Evil 6 can recapture the magic of RE4, but I certainly won't be preordering it.

No doubt, this list is incomplete—it's just the sequels I've found most disappointing as a gamer. Tell me what I missed in the comments.

By Robert VerBruggen
CCC Contributing Writer

*The views expressed within this article are solely the opinion of the author and do not express the views held by Cheat Code Central.*