Some of these didn't get sequels because they were made in a time when sequels weren't yet the norm. Others didn't get sequels because there was no money, or no interest, or no developer. Some got terrible sequels that ruined a franchise.
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All these games deserve a good sequel, or perhaps a remake of some sort.
Secret of Evermore was much critized for not being Secret of Mana 2. It's the only game developed by Square USA and attempted to cater more to Western tastes. Of course, most people who ended up playing the game were JRPG fans and many of them didn't care much for the Westernization.
To me, the game represents how great a JRPG can be if you don't try to make it as Japanese as possible. The story and setting are rather original, the game has great visuals, music and a decent sense of humor. The gameplay was obviously shaped after that of Secret of Mana, but improved in several ways. The original alchemy (read: magic) system makes the game even more interesting and rewarding.
Secret of Evermore is one of my favorite RPGs of all time and definitely deserves a sequel. Even just the same game with a new story and new settings, characters and enemies would be greatly appreciated.
The Leisure Suit Larry series used to be a funny, naughty series of adventure games. Then creator Al Lowe was kicked to the curb and Leisure Suit Larry was turned into a series of crass, decidedly unfunny minigame collections.
Leisure Suit Larry may not be a series that could thrive today in its original form (due to its AO-ratings and the fact that adventure games are dead), but it deserves to go out in style with one final point'n'click adventure game from the loving hands of Al Lowe.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time struck a perfect balance between puzzling platforming action and a basic but satisfying combat system. The game's atmosphere was amazing.
Then the prince went all emo, the world went all metal and the gameplay went all button-mashy. The lackluster platforming and the frustrating combat might have been tolerable if the later games still oozed Arabian Nights like Sands of Time did, but instead one is tortured with horrible noise (screamo deathstomp fartcore metal I believe) and a screen so dark one can barely see what's going on.
I haven't played the 2008 Prince of Persia game yet. It certainly seems more appealing. At any rate, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time definitely deserved better sequels than the two games that followed it.
What's cooler than flying an airplane? Flying a SPACESHIP and fighting OTHER SPACESHIPS! In a time when space combat simulators seemed to be dead and forgotten, Freelancer reminded us how awesome the genre is and that it's perfectly possibly to create this kind of game with up-to-date gameplay.
What should we get in a sequel? Well, joystick support for one. Perhaps even some Steel Battallion-like monster controller. More ships, more weapons and a bit more variety would be welcome additions as well.
The Tony Hawk series peaked with THPS4. Great gameplay, a bit of messing around, some weird missions, interesting locations and tons of stuff to do.
The series jumped the shark with the two Underground games, which went a little overboard with the Jackass-inspired nonsense. Those games were still alright, but started a downward trend which brought us all the way to Tony Hawk: Ride, also know as The Worst Reason Ever To Buy An Expensive Peripheral.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 was as good as Tony Hawk games were going to get on the hardware available at the time. They should've let the series rest after that (or perhaps after THUG) and picked it up again this generation.
Sure, 'we' (read: Japan) got Mother 3. But we should have gotten EarthBound 64! It wouldn't have aged well and might not have made it to the West either, but maaan! EarthBound in threee deee!
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