And I don't get that feeling. I see the new powers and new graphics and see a new game in a world I'm familiar with.
Also you did argue that New Super Mario Bros 2 was one of the games that uninterested you yet it did the exact same thing Sonic 2 did compared to the previous game in its series. Both added new levels and a few new gameplay mechanics yet play rather close to the one before.
You see, it's the main thing, Sonic 2 add new stuff, like new stage and more and feel different. New Super Mario 2 add new stage and stuff (just like Sonic 2), but yet it fail and feel the same. How can a game can succeed and an another one could fail by doing the exact same thing? The answer is not about what you do, but more like HOW you do it.
I could take Zelda Ocarina Master Quest and upgrade the graphic and call it ''Zelda Ocarina of Time 2'' if i want. But yet, it would fail as a sequel because it would feel like more of the same as Ocarina of Time (just with upgrade graphic and new layout). A sequel should be more of the same serie, not more of the same game. This is the goal of what an expansion pack is, not a sequel.
Let's talk about expansion pack a bit, shall we? An expansion is mainly to add more from a specific game. An expansion can be stand-alone (like Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon or Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare for exemple), or can need the original game which it's based on (like Doom 3 Ressurection of Evil or Call of Duty United Ofensive for exemple). Either way, an expension add more from a specific game. It could be a sequel from a story perspective, or just add alot of new element to the game. For game like Zelda Ancient Stone Tablet, this game is a sequel (story-wise) from a Link to the Past. As a stand-alone expension from a Link to the Past, this game share the same gameplay mecanic, even the same location and more. But you play with a new character, set with new mission and objectif, totally new donjon and find new hability and more.
Call of Duty United Offensive is an expansion pack from the first CoD for PC, and add new mission in the same contiunity from the first game, new weapon (like the flamethrower or the G43 for exemple), objectif and add new gameplay feature, like sprinting and more.
Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon share the same gameplay as for Far Cry 3, but set a totally new story in a totally different setting, with new gun, hability, ennemy and more. The gameplay is the same as Far Cry 3, but tweek as well. Your character run faster and jump higher (because you play as a cyber-commando).
Overall, this is what a expension pack is: Take a game and add more to it. It could be for the story, the gameplay, etc, or all of that combine.
But what about the DLC, then? DLC are just some water-down expansion created for the sole purpose for making quick cash.
So, if an expension is more from a same game, a sequel have to be more from the same franchise, which lead us to my next point: game like Link to the Past 2 for 3DS!
Link to the Past 2 look too much like the original Link to the Past to feel like a sequel. Because of this and the graphic, it look more like a remake, but because of the different layout, it's more like an expansion pack than a sequel. So, because the game is graphickly better, it could be see as a remake, but because of the new layout, it's more of an expansion (not a sequel, because it look too much of the same). In the end, it's too similar to be a sequel, but too different to be a remake.
It's the same thing with game like Sonic 4 Episode 1: It look too much like Sonic 1 and with enhance graphic, this game is more of a remake. But with new level layout, it's couldn't be a remake. So in the end, this game is too similar to Sonic 1 to be a sequel, but it's too different to be a remake. So it's more of a terrible in-between.
