The Sims 2: Every Returning Sim From The Sims 1

The events of The Sims 2 take place around 25 years after The Sims 1. Many characters return, older but not always wiser. Children from the first game are now adults, while adults are either elders or deceased of old age. This is great for lore-focused players, as they can continue their previous storylines with canon events of TS1. And it isn’t just the base game’s lore, as families from multiple expansions intertwine.

Some returning Sims are not fully playable, but instead fill out the family tree, memories of the living, or arrive as ghosts in the night. It is possible to revive dead Sims with devices like the Resurrect-O-Nomitron from TS2: University, a similar process as rebirthing Sims in TS4. However, this mainly works for Sims that have a physical gravestone or urn. Attempting to resurrect only a memory will lead to glitches, including possibly corrupting save data.

10 Jennifer And John Burb Are Purely Optional

Two Classics Reduced To Bit Parts

When setting up a new save in TS2, tucked away in the Family Bin are two returning Sims, Jennifer Pleasant and John Burb. Jennifer was also an optional starter Sim in TS1, while John is from the Old Town neighborhood in TS1: Unleashed. It is unclear how they met, as Jennifer claims they were high school sweethearts, while John doesn’t remember a thing.

Aside from raising a young daughter, Lucy Burb, Jennifer and John aren’t involved with any of the major dramas around the town of Pleasantview. They are acquainted with Jennifer’s brother, Daniel Pleasant, but otherwise don’t have many connections. This is likely a symptom of being inside the Family Bin instead of the town itself.

9 Daniel Pleasant Can’t Wait To Cheat On His Wife

He Has Fallen Far From Grace

Like his sister Jennifer, Daniel was a potential default starter Sim during TS1’s game setup. Something has gone haywire since those childhood days. He met a wife, Mary-Sue Oldie, who believes in the good of people, and had two twin daughters, Angela and Lilith.

But, as of the start of TS2, Daniel is having an affair with the local Pleasantview maid, Kaylynn Langerak. It is implied that Kaylynn may be tempting Daniel to cheat. However, in later DLC for The Sims 3, it is shown that Daniel was already uncommitted to Mary-Sue while on their honeymoon in Sunlit Tides.

8 Diane And Jeff Pleasant, Brad And Tiffany Burb Are Footnotes

They Are More Important Dead Than They Ever Were Alive

While Jennifer, Daniel, and John get some focus in TS2, all four parents are pushed to the sidelines. They begin deceased, and are mostly just memories to fill out their children and grandchildren’s history. Just like their kids, they originate from the same places: the Pleasants in TS1’s setup and the Burbs from TS1: Unleashed.

A sad revelation during TS2 is that Jeff never achieved his personal dream of walking on Mars, his main goal in TS1. It is also a little confusing if he or Diane died first or how. Both Jennifer and Daniel have conflicting memories of their parents' lives, and no one else in Pleasantview knew of them.

7 Bob And Betty Newbie Have A Broke Legacy

The Family Will Always Struggle

Just like the Pleasants and Burbs, Bob and Betty have already died when starting a new save in TS2. This is a little worrisome since they were many players' go-to family as they served as the tutorial Sims in TS1. However, TS2’s Pleasantview strongly showcases their canon daughter, Brandi Broke. Her husband, Skip, drowned in a pool and left her with two - soon to be three - kids to raise.

To give Brandi more depth, Betty’s lineage is further explored. Her birth name is Simovitch, and her parents were Vadim and Fatima. TS3 focuses on the Simovitches living in Riverview 50 years before TS2. However, there is a major continuity error as the third game reveals that Skip is only a few weeks younger than Bob and Betty, making it controversial that he married Brandi.

There Are Too Many Malcolms

Someone playing The Sims 1: Legacy Collection for the first time might be confused about where the Landgraabs are. The family was not in the PC release and were instead specifically made for the expanded console versions on PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox. Some would argue that that isn’t the real TS1, while others are adamant that it is legitimate.

The Landgraabs are fully established in TS2: Open For Business, where they have control of Bluewater Village, and also ties to Sim State University, including their own secret society. The main playable Sim is Malcolm Landgraab IV, who comes from a long line of Malcolms. However, it is unclear if any of them are the TS1 Malcolm, as none are married to Mom Landgraab - unless she really was the long deceased Margret or Marion in Bluewater Village.

5 Gunther And Cornelia Goth Are On Fire

Cornelia Has An Infamous Downtown Sibling

Mortimer’s parents were fairly old when they debuted in Old Town from TS1: Unleashed. Considering the 25-year time jump, it is fully expected that they have died during TS2. No mention is given of their cats, Hecuba and Menelaus, who are also likely to be dead.

Gunther and Cornelia wind up dying in two separate fires and are buried on the Goth family lot. However, the graveyard also shows that Cornelia was originally a Crumplebottom and was Anges’ sister all along. There is no record of how Gunther and Cornelia first met, with TS3 even showing that Gunther didn’t know other Crumplebottoms by the time Mortimer was a child.

4 Agnes Crumplebottom Has A Successor

Oh No, She Left A Spare

The crotchety NPC that terrorized TS1: Hot Date, Agnes Crumplebottom, is thankfully long gone and buried in TS2’s base game. As previously mentioned, she was retconned to be Cornelia Goth’s sister, though no evidence of this is updated in The Sims 1: Legacy Collection. In that game, Agnes will be just as hostile to Gunther, Cornelia, Mortimer, Bella, or Cassandra if they show any form of affection.

Despite her death, another Crumplebottom has taken her stead in TS2: Nightlife. Only known as Mrs. CrumpleBottom (that’s a capital B now), this second coming dresses and acts just like her predecessor from 25 years in the past. Any Sims in love will likely be smacked by her purse or otherwise harassed.

3 Mortimer And Bella Goth Are Wrapped Up In A Conspiracy

Affairs, Aliens, And Clones

Despite the demise of most other original TS1 characters, Mortimer and Bella Goth are still around in TS2. They even wound up having a second kid, Alexander Goth, who is also an odd growing child in The Sims 4. However, Bella has gone missing, with it seeming as if she was abducted by aliens while having a potential tryst with her soon-to-be son-in-law, Don Lothario.

However, switching over to the town of Strangetown, Bella can be found roaming the streets as a pre-made townie. She has no idea who any of the Goths are and seems more interested in the Curious and Specter families. Maybe the aliens wiped her memory and dropped her off, or perhaps this Strangetown version is an impostor or clone.

2 Michael Bachelor Hopefully Didn’t Flirt With His Sister

Retcons Don’t Mend The First Entry

The Bachelor house was another optional default pick when starting up TS1. Michael was the exact opposite of the Pleasants, as he was just a single character to learn the game’s mechanics. In TS2, it is revealed that Bella Goth is his sister, named Bella Bachelor before marrying. This can make it really uncomfortable for players that made Michael and Bella hookup in TS1.

In TS2, Michael has already died, but not without having first married local party girl Dina Caliente. From her memories, Michael was her first kiss when she was a teen, which is a bit creepy considering their age difference. But with him dead, Dina has her eyes set on Mortimer and Don; either will do.

1 Cassandra Goth Is In The Middle Of A Love Hexagon

A Hook For The Sims 3

Cassandra Goth is in her prime during TS2, having been one of the iconic children in The Sims 1’s base game. As an adult, she is engaged to the notorious Sim womanizer, Don Lothario. However, he wouldn’t mind getting some action with Kaylynn Langerak, Dina Caliente, her twin Nina, and possibly Cassandra’s own mother, Bella.

But, it is possible Cassandra and the other suitors got revenge on Don’s schemes. In The Sims 3, Don seemingly reappears in Riverview 50 years in the past, having been beamed by some device controlled by a group of “giggling women.” But, this gives players reign to cause major time paradoxes in The Sims 2, like having Don seduce Fatima Simovitch or causing the premature death of Bob Newbie.

The Sims 2

Life Simulation

Systems

Released: September 14, 2004

ESRB: E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Crude Humor, Mild Violence, Suggestive Themes
Developer(s): Maxis
Publisher(s): Electronic Arts
Engine: 3D engine
Multiplayer: Local Multiplayer
Franchise: The Sims
Platform(s): PC, macOS, Nintendo Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Nintendo DS, PS2, PSP, Xbox (Original)

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