See, sometimes an honest-to-god sequel simply isn’t in the cards. There are many reasons for this. Perhaps the studio that originally made the game is now defunct, and the rights are lost – in this case, the only choice is to create something entirely new. Perhaps the developer has already told the story they wanted to tell, and feel that it’s time to move on to something new – all while retaining the feel of the series they’ve come to know and love as much as their fans.
Or maybe they were just inspired by someone else to make something grand. Whatever the case, there are quite a few games out there which draw heavy inspiration from – and are considered successors to – the games of yesteryear. Some you might know better than others.