A naming convention for sequels in which the sequels follow the pattern of Name, Name II, Name 3D, Name: Word. The first two sequels have explicit numbers in their names, regardless of what subtitles they may have, thus establishing a pattern that all sequels will be Numbered Sequels or sometimes Lettered Sequel. The third sequel, however, has no number but only a word or phrase to identify it as different from the first, usually linking the two by Colon Cancer. This naming change may be part of an attempt to rejuvenate a dying franchise, but often is a reliable indicator of quality (sort of a franchise equivalent of Names to Run Away from Really Fast). It should be noted that while this explicitly refers to four-work series, it should not preclude examples where the word sequel first happens in the fifth or later work. On the other hand, it should not include remakes of the original work.
The fourth work is often bad enough to kill off the entire franchise. As a consequence, this usually involves Sequelitis. Related to Oddly Named Sequel 2: Electric Boogaloo and Stopped Numbering Sequels. See also Recycled Title.
In Asia, this may also be done because Four Is Death—as a result, it tends to be more indicative of superstition than quality.
Examples:
open/close all folders
Films
- Beverly Hills Cop I, Beverly Hills Cop II, Beverly Hills Cop III, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.
- BIONICLE: Mask of Light, BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui, BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows, BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn
- Final Destination 1, Final Destination 2, Final Destination 3, The Final Destination. They went back to numbers for Final Destination 5 after a failed attempt to use Letters 2 Numbers with 5nal Destination.
- Friday the 13th (1980), Friday the 13th Part 2, Friday the 13th Part III, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. The next four sequels sported numbers again, this time combined with subtitles, up to Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan... and then came Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday.
- Halloween was numbered up to Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, but the sixth one was simply called Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, before being followed by various reboots and remakes.
- Hellraiser (1987), Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, Hellraiser: Bloodline.
- Highlander (1986), Highlander II: The Quickening, Highlander III: The Sorcerer, Highlander: Endgame
- Jaws 1, Jaws 2, Jaws 3-D, Jaws: The Revenge.
- Leprechaun, Leprechaun 2, Leprechaun 3, Leprechaun 4: In Space, Leprechaun in the Hood, Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood.
- Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible II, Mission: Impossible III, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.
- A Nightmare on Elm Street was numbered up to A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child before Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare.
- The Return of the Living Dead, Return of the Living Dead Part II, Return of the Living Dead 3, Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis, Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave.
- Rocky kept numbered sequels until Rocky Balboa, the sixth movie.
- Shrek 1, Shrek 2, Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After.
- Star Trek went all the way to Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country before Star Trek: Generations.
- Superman, Superman II, Superman III, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace and lastly, Superman Returns
- The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Terminator Salvation
- Les Visiteurs, Les Visiteurs II: The Corridors of Time, Les Visiteurs: Bastille Day.
Video Games
- Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World. An odd situation, as the Japanese release of World has the full name of Super Mario Bros. 4: Super Mario World. Meanwhile, the English release of Yoshi's Island gives it the subtitle Super Mario World 2, while the full name is just Super Mario: Yoshi's Island in Japan.
- Sonic the Hedgehog 1, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic and Knuckles. Justified, as Sonic and Knuckles was meant to combine with Sonic 3 for one whole gaming experience.
- Silent Hill 1, Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3. Then, numbers and subtitles: Silent Hill 4: The Room, Silent Hill: Ørigins. All subsequent games have only subtitles.
- Quake, Quake II, Quake III Arena, Quake IV, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
- Breath of Fire, Breath of Fire II, Breath of Fire III, Breath of Fire IV, Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter. Only in the U.S., where Dragon Quarter was marketed as a Gaiden Game. In Japan, the fifth game is indeed Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter.
- Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero 2, Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock, Guitar Hero: World Tour. Amusingly, it was followed by a return to numbered sequels with Guitar Hero 5, and back to words with Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.
- Subverted with the Grand Theft Auto franchise: After Grand Theft Auto III came Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which everyone assumed was the official Part IV, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, assumed to be Part V. Turns out the last two were sub-stories of III, as the REAL Grand Theft Auto IV would be released a few years later, followed by Grand Theft Auto V.
- Call of Duty 1, Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 3, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: World at War, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Call of Duty: Ghosts, etc.
- The Crash Bandicoot series started with numbers (Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped) but after Crash Team Racing, they replaced numbers with subtitles and never looked back (although this is only true outside of Japan, where Wrath of Cortex and Twinsanity were numbered “4” and “5” respectively). Numbers would return with Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (even in Japan, despite the aforementioned Wrath of Cortex), due to the series ignoring the games after Warped.
- Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Donkey Kong Country Returns, and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.
- Mass Effect 1, Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3, and Mass Effect: Andromeda. Justified, as it is meant to separate Andromeda from the original trilogy.
- Civilization I, Civilization II, Civilization: Call to Power, Civilization III, Civilization IV, Civilization Revolution, Civilization V, Civilization: Beyond Earth, Civilization VI, Civilization VII, and this doesn't include official spin-offs not wearing the name such as Sid Meier's Colonization, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, and Sid Meier's Starships, or entries that lost their license such as Call to Power II.
- The Assassin's Creed series has flip flopped between numbers, subtitles, and a combination of the two. They are as follows: Assassin's Creed I, Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Assassin's Creed III, and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. After this, however, the numeric sequels were dropped and all sequels have been subtitled.
- Dragon Ball games:
- The Dragon Ball Z: Budokai series has Dragon Ball Z Budokai, Dragon Ball Z Budokai 2, Dragon Ball Z Budokai 3 and Dragon Ball Z Infinite World.
- The Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series has Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi, Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2, Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3 and Dragon Ball Z Tenkaichi Tag Team. This is averted for the Japanese titles, as the Sparking! series always had words to indicate it being a sequel. The subtitle for the fourth mainline console game, Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is incidentally a number, with this subtitle being used worldwide instead of using Budokai Tenkaichi for the Western release. The choice to use Sparking! ZERO as the subtitle, according to the game's producer Jun Furutani
, was less to indicate it being a prequel, but being a Jumping-On Point for newcomers.
- Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II, Mortal Kombat 3, Mortal Kombat 4, Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Mortal Kombat: Deception, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon.