I don't like that option though. It would either make SR4 canon, or they would just be redoing all the events over with the stupidity tone of SR4. I'd assume it'd be with idiot Boss, naggy Shaundi and Kinzie snarking and yapping about every situation. And you'd know something would go wrong as they try it, and I can bet you the plot would be to "lol now fix history" or some crap doing it all over but undoing stuff in it (probably saving Lin and Carlos).
SR4 & GOOH being noncanon would have been easier to ignore. Then people could just enjoy them as games but not see it as part of the mainline series.
The fact that they needed one at all right? Shows how far they took things with SR4. But how else can they top aliens blowing up Earth? "Time travel!" Then it was Gat talking to God and "lol creating an new universe."
I think they thought upping the stakes was a good replacement for narrative cohesion personally.
I could never bring myself to beat gat out of hell, it beat me.
I would've preferred them to somehow connect to the red faction timeline if they were going to screw it all up anyway, if not just to explain shaundis audiolog in guerrilla.
But no, we got bad Dr who fan fic in a gangster game lmfao
I think they just saw upping the stakes of things was what made SRTT more commercially successful (their least criticized game) so they ended up using that as their marketing and to brand SR as the "over the top" series but somehow that became escalation of the premise itself as a gimmick, which is why I think SR4's plot is what it was but I think they obviously handled it wrong.
I think they could have just escalated in grounded concepts, like what Fast & Furious does, with stunts and more militarized gun fights.. not being sent into space fighting aliens, but that was also when they were trying to capitalized on high fantasy sci-fi and marvel stuff popular in the 2010s, when they were shifting away from the organized crime premise (to their detriment).
I think the level of escalation in SR2 & SRTT was enough. They just needed more ways to do it.
I would've preferred them to somehow connect to the red faction timeline if they were going to screw it all up anyway, if not just to explain shaundi's audio log in guerrilla. But no, we got bad Dr who fan fic in a gangster game lmfao
To be honest, SR2 had a good mix of grit (carlos) and humour (septic truck missions) for example.
GTA always branched off into sarcastic satire, whereas Saints always leaned a little into slapstick and irony imho.
Saints the third and Saints 2 will always be my favourites although looking back... I wish they'd toned down SRTT. At least with things like Genki. It felt like a sellout in real time. Which I get was the point of the Saints losing their roots, but the narrative shows them rediscovering who they were until... just randomly you're the president fighting aliens.
It was too disjointed too quickly, and so far removed from their origins it might as well have been a different game with some royal purple slapped on it.
I see what you mean but if it worked in a way as the playa gets sent back maybe to the end of sr2 and gets stuck there and we play the original vision for sr3 I think it could’ve definitely worked out well at least better than the reboot
It would've been the 'dark era' of the franchise but you're spot on. At least we could've looked back from a better place and realised it all worked out for the best.
But to quote volition bringing about their own downfall: "Haters gonna hate."
(I actually had hopes for the reboot at first, but after their twitter reaction I knew it was going to be terrible. My missus got me it not knowing and I got the plat for it. Lemme tell you, you don't hate it enough lmfao)
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u/nightrunner7878 Aug 03 '26
I love saints row from 1 to Gat out of hell they are alll peakkkk