I won’t downvote you for having an opinion on a game that doesn’t align with mine. Diverse thought is what makes conversation interesting!

I suspect part of the issue is that what D3 and D4 are is significantly different from what D2 was. Story-wise I think they’re all about the same level of “good but not amazing,” but in terms of gameplay they differ a lot. Largely because D3 and D4 came so much later in the evolution of the ARPG genre.

D2 is much slower paced, more difficult, requires much more careful play. D3 and D4, in my experience, are mostly about moving fast and getting the most and biggest numbers on the screen. Not that there isn’t difficulty available in D3 and D4, but that difficulty is very different.

D3 and D4 almost feel like a different genre, so if you go into them expecting more of the same feel as D2, it can be disappointing.

Of course my position on this could be because I’ve had much more experience with 3 and 4 than I’ve had with 2.