Aspiritual successor (sometimes called aspiritual sequel) is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous product or work, but (unlike a traditionalprequel orsequel) does not explicitly continue theproduct line ormedia franchise of its predecessor, and is thus only a successor "in spirit".[1][2] Spiritual successors often have similar themes and styles to their preceding material, but are generally a distinctintellectual property.[3]
In fiction, the term generally refers to a work by a creator that shares similarities to one of their earlier works, but is set in a differentcontinuity, and features distinct characters and settings. Such works may arise whenlicensing issues prevent a creator from releasing a direct sequel using the same copyrighted characters and names as the original.
Arthur Conan Doyle'sSherlock Holmes stories, published between 1887 and 1927, drew a large number ofpastiches from other authors as early as the 1900s to capture the same mystery and spirit as Doyle's writings. Subsequently, Doyle and his publishers, and since then Doyle's estate, had aggressive enforced copyright on the Holmes character, often requiring authors that were publishing stories to change any use of Holmes' name to something else. The name "Herlock Sholmes" became one of the more common variations on this, notably inMaurice Leblanc'sArsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes, with the Sholmes character having a personality similar, but not quite exactly like Holmes to further distance potential copyright issues.[4]
The characterSolar Pons, a pastiche of Holmes, appeared in several books not authorized by the estate of Conan Doyle beginning in 1945. These copyright issues have continued into contemporary times: in the caseKlinger v. Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd. (2014), it was determined that the characters of Holmes and Watson were in the public domain. However, certain story elements were under copyright until 2023.[5]
In films and television shows, spiritual successor often describes similar works by the same creator or starring the same cast. For example, the showParks and Recreation is a spiritual successor toThe Office.[6] Both are workplacemockumentaries developed byGreg Daniels, featuring satirical humor and characters being filmed by an in-universe documentary film crew.
The film10 Cloverfield Lane was not originally scripted with any connection toCloverfield. When the film was acquired byBad Robot, producerJ. J. Abrams recognized a common element of a giant monster attack between the two films, and chose to market10 Cloverfield Lane as a spiritual successor toCloverfield to help bring interest to the newer film, which allowed him to establish a franchise he could build upon in the future.[7]
Spiritual successors are common in Indian film industries, particularly Bollywood, where films marketed as sequels do not share continuity with their predecessors.[8]
Spiritual successor games are sometimes made by the same studio as the original, but with a new title due to licensing issues.[9] Some examples of these include:
TheDark Souls series byFromSoftware was inspired by the studio's earlier game,Demon's Souls, an exclusive title for thePlayStation 3. BecauseSony Interactive Entertainment held the rights toDemon's Souls, the studio was unable to produce a direct sequel on other platforms, leading them to create a new property with similar gameplay mechanics.[2][10]Demon's Souls itself was a spiritual successor toKing's Field.[11]
Irrational Games'BioShock is a spiritual successor to their earlierSystem Shock 2. WhileSystem Shock 2 was met with critical acclaim, it was considered a commercial failure, and publisherElectronic Arts would not allow a third title in the series. After several years and other projects at Irrational, as well as being acquired by a new publisher2K Games, the studio developedBioShock, with a similar free-form narrative structure.[12][13]
Shadow of the Colossus was considered a spiritual successor toIco byFumito Ueda, who directed both games as leader ofTeam Ico. Ueda expressed that he did not necessarily want a directcanonical connection between the games, but that both had similar narrative themes and elements that he wanted players to interpret on their own.[14]
Alternatively, a successor may be developed by some of the staff who worked on the preceding game, under a new studio name. Examples of these include:
Yooka-Laylee is a spiritual successor evoking the style and gameplay ofRare'sBanjo-Kazooie. It was developed byPlaytonic Games, which consisted of many former Rare staff members, including composerGrant Kirkhope. Yooka and Laylee, the game's animal protagonists, serve as direct stand-ins for the original game's Banjo and Kazooie.[16]
Mighty No. 9 closely resembles the gameplay and character design of theMega Man series, which project leadKeiji Inafune worked on before leaving Capcom, and is considered a spiritual successor.[17]
P.N.03 has been called the spiritual predecessor ofBayonetta for its "combat...with stylish dance-inspired movements" and "flashy, energetic, intense" gameplay and character design.[22]P.N.03 directorShinji Mikami later co-foundedPlatinumGames, the studio that developedBayonetta, andBayonetta director and PlatinumGames co-founderHideki Kamiya also directedResident Evil 2,Devil May Cry, andViewtiful Joe, the last of which was part of theCapcom Five withP.N.03.
The upcoming gamePhysint, set to be directed byHideo Kojima, has been envisioned as the spiritual successor to theMetal Gear series (published byKonami and directed and produced by Kojima until his departure from the studio in 2015) as a return to the 'tactical-espionage' genre.
The term is also more broadly applied to video games developed by a different studio with no connection to the original, and simply inspired by the gameplay, aesthetics or other elements of the preceding work. Examples of such games include:
The gameCities: Skylines (along with othercity-builder games) is considered a spiritual successor to theSimCity series, both focusing on constructing and managing a simulated city.[23]
TheMother series (known asEarthBound outside Japan) has directly inspired a number of pixel-art, role-playing indie games featuring children in playable character roles as spiritual successors to the series. These includeUndertale andCitizens of Earth.[25][26]
War for the Overworld (succeedingDungeon Keeper) crossed through several of these categories over the course of the development. Originating as a fan-made direct sequel toDungeon Keeper 2, the game then became a spiritual successor with only thematic connection after moving away from theDungeon Keeper IP. Finally, the hiring of returning voice actorRichard Ridings presented a direct staff connection to the original.[27][28]
TheHonda CR-Z is regarded as the spiritual successor to the second generationHonda CR-X in both name and exterior design, despite a nearly two decade time difference in production.[30][31] TheToyota Fortuner SUV is a spiritual successor to theToyota 4Runner SUV mainly because they both share the same platform as theHilux pickup truck. TheCanon Cat computer wasJef Raskin's spiritual successor to theApple Macintosh.[32]
^Carreker, Dan (2012).The Game Developer's Dictionary:: A Multidisciplinary Lexicon for Professionals and Students. Cengage Learning. p. 206.ISBN978-1435460829.
^"2007 Tokyo Auto Show Preview: Honda CR-Z".Inside Line.edmunds. 2007-10-09. Retrieved2008-02-22.Honda says the name of its sporty two-passenger concept for Tokyo — CR-Z — stands for "Compact Renaissance Zero." But it's no accident that the car and its name evoke fond memories of the old Honda CRX from the late '80s and early '90s.
