They thought the world was dizzying in 1982?? 2023 says "Hold my beer!"
Anyway, who's excited for the iPhone 15 launch?! YOLO!
I do feel sad that you never get 'more of' when it comes to sequels and such.
There's no reason why a proper sequel couldn't be made in a more modern era, but I am not holding my breath waiting for it to happen.
Koyaanisqatsi is one of those brilliant flashes of lightning in a gem bottle that will probably not happen for another couple of hundred years, if ever. There are many such flashes in various forms and formats - for example, the original Soul Calibur still has magic and charm that the soulless (how ironic) sequels just can't reach. There's a sharpness to the graphics as well, compared to the all-too-blurry and effect-gimmick-heavy sequels.
The playability is also extremely 'tight', for the lack of a better word.
The problem is, all the 'flashes' have sequels, but those sequels are nothing like the original, but people being moronic masses, are completely satisfied and don't seem to understand the difference.
Another good example is the old game 'Chrono Trigger'.
This is the most beautiful RPG I have ever played, it has humor, it has story (which I usually mind in a game, because games are for playing, not for sitting through some idiot's bad script that pretends to be a story, there are actual storytelling formats out there - but in this game, I don't mind it, as it's magnificent), wonderful spells, animations, sound effects.. and of course, like many magical things in this world, it has out-of-this-world kind of beauty in almost all of its music.
Even the 'depressing winter future' music (A Ruined World, if I remember) is just hauntingly good.
I could praise that game for pages and pages and never reach a point where I have nothing more to say, but my point is, it has a sequel: Chrono Cross.
The intro is promising, it has energetic music, kinda pretty, though very different and slightly off-putting visuals, and it was a cool thing back in the day for the camera to enter someone's eye (though the effect is ruined by the BLINKING!)..
So you think, yay, I loved Chrono Trigger, the sequel must be 'more of the same but expanded'.
You pretty much NEVER get that. Back to the Future II has nothing on Back to the Future. It's not expanding anything, it's just 'chasing a macguffin', a chaotic excuse for the sappy western they actually wanted to make. Sigh.
So with Chrono Cross, you are punched in the gut by one thing after another, until you can't take it anymore and you shut off the game.
There are good 'more modern' RPGs, like 'Ar Tonelico' and some of the 'Tales' games (but also awful ones - I sort of waded through many of them at one point, and found a handful of gems, lots of mediocre stuff, and a few absolute trash games), and of course the Xenosaga series (not sure about the sequels, but the first one is kinda good).
First, the musics have lost their magic. They're more 'high quality' on the technical level, more sound channels, perhaps real orchestras, same composer.. they should be better on all levels. But they're boring, slow, and every time I wake up a bit and think it sounds good, I realize it's only because it COPIES from Chrono Trigger, and evokes a memory of a better game in me.
The world is boring, the graphics are awful, the 3D is not cute like the hand-drawn sprites were, the story is uninteresting, the environment is linear and limited, when it was more open and free in Chrono Trigger, the sound effects are bland, stock and boring, .. need I go on?
The sequel is almost never as good as the original. There are a few exceptions, but Koyaanisqatsi belongs to those Chrono Triggers and Soul Caliburs of the world. There may be 'official sequels', but the magic is gone, there are no TRUE sequels that would expand upon the original while retaining its magical spirit and expertly crafted worksmanship, poignancy and message.
I would absolutely LOVE to see a PROPER sequel to Koyaanisqatsi, and if I had energy and the equipment, would want to make at least some kind of mini-version.