This is the game with the fart jar! Saints row 1 and 2 are great black comedy classics in the open world gangsta genre. However, as I get older, laughing feels even better. So I see myself replaying this game and the fourth more than anything. This game is endlessly replayable and hilarious. It dosen't take itself seriously and instead embraces the insanity of it all.
I didn't click as much with Saints Row 2, but this game I got hooked into when it was free on PS+ ages ago. I think this game is incredibly fun, but I'm sure that some of the writing and scenarios haven't aged well. Overall still a fun game, probably the best in the series if you don't mind the crazier things that happen.
Saints row the third was a game I got free with gold when I was honestly way to young to be playing this shit. To a literal child to scared to play GTA this was incredible, and while with time I can say its humor doesnt hit quite as hard for me (still has some good moments though) The third is a genuinely interesting sequal that I think deserves more credit for what its going for than many are willing to give it. 2 is still a fucking masterpiece PLAY SAINTS ROW 2 FOR GODS SAKE. and play this one its good.
SR3 was a pretty good open world game, or at least it was at launch. It doesn't hold up super well now in my opinion. Since the game was being built on an updated engine with new animation systems, etc, a lot of what was built in SR1 and 2 could not be reused to save on development costs. So the scope of SR3 is smaller in a lot of ways when compared to SR2.
Also, as someone who worked at Volition for a while, the reason why all future SR stuff was more like 3 and less like 2 is that 3 was the franchise's biggest seller. The people that really wanted more SR2 type stuff routinely showed up as a very small minority in user and market surveys, even when there were explicit calls for the fanbase to rally and really make themselves heard. That's sadly the reality of the whole thing.
Also, as someone who worked at Volition for a while, the reason why all future SR stuff was more like 3 and less like 2 is that 3 was the franchise's biggest seller. The people that really wanted more SR2 type stuff routinely showed up as a very small minority in user and market surveys, even when there were explicit calls for the fanbase to rally and really make themselves heard. That's sadly the reality of the whole thing.