What was the first game with new game plus?

The term "New Game Plus" was first coined in 1995 with the release of the Super Nintendo role-playing game Chrono Trigger, but the concept existed in games prior to this. New Game Plus (typically abbreviated as NG+) refers to a gameplay mode that becomes available after completing a game, allowing the player to restart the game while retaining certain elements and advantages from their previous playthrough.

A Brief History of New Game Plus

While Chrono Trigger popularized the term, examples of NG+ can be traced back to much earlier games:

• 1986 – The Legend of Zelda: Allowed players to start a second quest after finishing the main quest, with remixed dungeons and increased difficulty.

• 1988 – Ghosts ‘n Goblins: Unlocked a "second quest" after completing the very difficult first playthrough.

• 1990 – Dragon Quest III: Introduced a post-game scenario only accessible after completing the main story.

• 1990 – Super Mario Bros. 3: Unlocked access to play as Mario in the Mario Bros. arcade game after completing the main game.

So while the concept has existed for decades, Chrono Trigger was the first to give it a proper name and featured implementation. Chrono Trigger‘s NG+ allowed players to retain their levels, techniques, equipment, and story-related events after finishing the game. This encouraged additional replayability to see the various story branches.

Why Have New Game Plus?

There are a few key reasons developers add NG+ modes to their games:

• Replayability – By giving players a head start on their next playthrough, it allows them to explore different choices, endings, and playstyles.

• Increased Challenge – Many NG+ modes ratchet up the difficulty, providing a steeper challenge for experienced players.

• Completion – It gives players a chance to fully complete any unfinished side content without having to start from scratch.

• Continued Progression – Keeping character growth and gear often allows for further development in the NG+, rather than hard resetting progress.

Notable Examples of New Game Plus

While now commonplace, some games have leveraged their NG+ modes in creative ways:

• Dark Souls – Mostly increases enemy difficulty but also alters some item locations, enemy behavior, and boss loot drops.

• Dead Rising – Lets you retain your character level and learned skills while removing key story items, modifying certain events.

• Bioshock 2 – Unlocks cheat codes and allows equipping weapons and plasmids simultaneously, altering gameplay.

• Transistor – Adds procedural generation to redo the story with randomized enemy and obstacle placements.

• NieR: Automata – Completely transforms the second playthrough, revealing new story elements and gameplay systems.

• Control – Adds new outfits, alters some cutscenes and dialogue, and boosts Jesse‘s abilities.

The Legacy of New Game Plus

While the term originated in 1995, the core concept of NG+ continues to be a popular way for developers to increase replay value and provide a heightened challenge to experienced players. It lets gamers carry over their progress into a new experience, rather than forcing them to start from scratch. Modern examples like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and God of War (2018) show that the feature still feels fresh even today.