Long story short: Capcom has announced that they are (finally) remaking Resident Evil 2.
Did you know that Resident Evil 2 was the first time I had ever put down a deposit and reserved a game? It was. From an Electronics Boutique, before they were all gobbled up by GameStop, and after they had gobbled up Babbages. It was in a mall that had two, before the mall itself died, and was more recently resurrected.
Back then, there were no pre-order specials, no artbooks, no collectibles, and no in-game content special for pre-orders. It was solely to ensure that the store wouldn’t possibly run out of copies before I could get my hands on one, because when I was in the tenth grade, surely the game would be such a hot commodity that I would have to reserve one to guarantee that I got mine as soon as I could get to the mall.
I remember going to Electronics Boutique and handing the jaded, pimply-faced cashier my copy of the duplicate form that I had paid ten dollars to reserve, months in advance. I remember him opening the drawer, retrieving a copy of RE2, and handing it over to me upon completion of our transaction. There were numerous copies in that drawer. The copy then in my hands, wasn’t my copy, it was just a copy. There were no envious gamers watching me walk away with my copy that I clearly had the foresight to reserve to guarantee, and I could have just as easily decided on a whim that I wanted RE2 on that day, and I would’ve been able to get it just as easily.
I didn’t have to reserve the game. But I did anyway, because I had loved the original Resident Evil so much, that when the sequel and its release date were announced, I about exploded with excitement.
And what an experience RE2 was. The introductions of integral core characters to the series, such as Leon Kennedy, Claire Redfield and Ada Wong*. The evolution of the T-Virus into becoming the G-Virus. The dynamic, concurrent storyline mechanism the game utilized, so that the game could basically be played over four times with a fresh journey.
*not forgotten is the fact that Ada is mentioned in RE1, but never introduced
In the history of Super Mario Bros. becoming Doki-Doki Panic, The Legend of Zelda being succeeded by The Adventures of Link, Final Fantasy VI rolling into Final Fantasy VII, among others, there is a laundry list of debatable bad sequels out there in video games.
[IN MY OPINION], Resident Evil 2 did not fit such criteria. It was everything that a sequel really should have been. Bigger, in the fact that the setting from a mansion in Raccoon City was now all of Raccoon City in its entirety. More firepower, in some new guns and weapons not dreamed up in the first game. Fresh faces, in all the aforementioned names, most of which end up being integral concepts throughout the remainder of the series, if not carried over outright. And a few modifications to game play style, again referencing the concurrent storytelling based on who you the player pick. All while not really leaving the core recipe from the first game, which is running around with limited ammunition, blasting zombies and other mutated creatures. AND, the game had even more bonus replay value, with the Hunk and Tofu unlockable games, based on how fast and effective you could complete the game.
I loved RE2. I played the ever-living shit out of the game, because this was during a time when people still played the ever-living shit out of games. There were no laundry list of achievements to fulfill and then move onto the next game and its own laundry list of achievements. You played every arc once to experience the stories and perspectives from each and every one. And then you played them all over again, because once you unlock the unlimited rocket launcher, it’s just so much fun to go through and blast every zombie, licker and William Birkin to smithereens, in as fast as you could.
I got good enough at the game to where I got a few S rankings, but mostly A rankings. I unlocked the Hunk game, although I was never able to beat it, because they’re hard as shit, but I wasn’t so good at the game to where I was able to unlock the Tofu variant. But I loved the game, played it a tremendous amount, much the same.
Like five or six years ago, I got my hands on the Nintendo DS re-release of RE1, then christened Resident Evil: Deadly Silence (D.S. GET IT). But it was basically RE1, but made portable.
And it was basically the best variation of the original RE1 ever released; being on a cart, load times for all the door animations could be skipped, and it was entirely possible to blow through the entire game in under two hours, easily.
The thing is, after enjoying RE1 all over again on the DS, I had really, really, really hoped that Capcom would do similarly for RE2. However, somewhere along the line, Capcom spouted some rhetoric about just how technologically superior RE2 was over RE1, and how it couldn’t happen on the DS, and that the bottom line was to not hold my breath because it just wasn’t going to happen. This was a tremendous letdown.
Throughout the last few years, the Resident Evil franchise has been somewhat sputtering. After basically reaching the top of the mountain with RE4, the general consensus is that RE5 wasn’t as good, and that RE6 was a pretty big letdown. I’m not going to agree wholeheartedly to those statements, as I did get a good deal of enjoyment out of both games myself, but in terms of story, gameplay, and perhaps just poor timing at their releases, they just weren’t capturing the same magic as earlier installments of the series did.
Furthermore, in that same span, Capcom had released all sorts of other Resident Evil themed titles, such as Outbreak, _____ Chronicles, random sequels on random platforms (3DS exclusive (initially) Revelations), and remakes and re-releases of the original RE1 as well as RE4.
As much of a fan I am of the series, the Resident Evil franchise really was spinning their wheels in the mud for quite a while. Remakes are kind of cheesy in the fact that they’re not really new games, since the plots and stories are nothing new; they’re for lack of a better term, fresh paint on old cars. Great for short-term gratification, but in the spirit of creativity and creation, they’re still nothing new.
Which brings us to now, the present, after hundreds of words, I’m getting to the point of what sparked this brog post. Capcom has (finally) decided to re-make RE2.
I mean, they have to now, because they’ve officially announced it, right? Because Yoshiaki Hirabayashi decided to have a 90 second monologue while standing in front of a large screen with “Resident Evil 2* Remake” on it, talked about how the decision to remake the game has been made, right?
Yeah no, I can’t say that I’m feeling too optimistic about this. Talk is cheap. Even the smallest clip of initial footage would garner some faith and excitement about this project more than this video did. Making an announcement video about something that could very well have easily been accomplished in a generic press junket is actually kind of worse, because it’s like saying “we’re putting effort into talking about making effort.”
Like when Valve used to announce dates for when the next announcement was coming. Fluff, that doesn’t actually accomplish anything.
Observations about the announcement video that I interpret:
- “Resident Evil 2” isn’t even in the same font as it originally was. The original logo treatment was in Impact (ironically what “Remake” is in)
- That it’s called “Resident Evil” in this video. Resident Evil is the western name for the franchise; it’s well known that it’s “Bio Hazard” out east, where the whole idea was birthed. Something about this notion implies to me that this project is kind of aimed towards the Western Hemisphere, because Capcom is greedy and figures Westerners are naive and suckers for throwing dollars at fresh coats of paint. Personally, somewhere in this speculation is an air of disrespect for that sentiment, and makes me lean towards the camp that Capcom is greedy, disrespectful, and just out to grub for money with as little effort as possible.
- “Game development is a long process and the team wants to deliver a remake that lives up to expectations”
In other words, this game will probably not be ready until like 2017, and won’t be released until it’s absolutely most optimal for them to do so.
The bottom line is that me personally, I do not feel any reason for optimism from a video announcing this news, alone. The Re-remake of RE1 was undoubtedly a prettier game to look at, but played as clunky as the Piss1 original, and the GameCube remake. Unless the remake of RE2 completely ditches the tank controls, and goes with a controller scheme closer to RE5 or RE6, the game is going to be crap, no matter just how good it looks. Getting your head ripped off by a licker because it can go wherever it wants while you’re stuck trying to turn 270 degrees to get a defensive shot off was never any fun. If they can integrate that into this supposed remake, then it’s off to a good start.
Also, it wouldn’t hurt to have some trashy alternative outfit for Claire Redfield. But that’s just a matter of personal preference.
