Soooo...what the hell happened to the Resident Evil franchise?!

[bikingjahuty]

First off, I've been a big Resident Evil fan ever since the early 2000s. Code Veronica was actually my introduction to the series and while the game kicked my ass, and I actually was unable to progress due to exhausting most of my items before a boss battle, the game still left an impression on me and made me an instant fan. I then played RE2 and RE3 which I thought were very good. But the RE game that made me fall head over heals in love with the franchise was REmake on the Gamecube. I actually bought a Gamecube for this game; not Melee, not Luigi's Mansion or Windwaker, nope, REmake. Pretty much after that I went back into the franchise and replayed everything I hadn't already played, plus everything that I had. I found myself loving games I'd returned to even more than when I first played them and for a while RE was one of my favorite game franchise. Sure there were some disappointments, mainly with the spinoff titles (I'm looking at you Dead Aim and Outbreak), but none of it tarnished my opinion of the franchise overall.


WARNING: Potentially controversial opinions ahead!


When RE4 was announced I wasn't too sure about it, mostly because the change from fixed backgrounds and third person tank controls, to a third person shooter perspective. Still, I was open minded about it and bought the game for Gamecube shortly after it came out, and while it was a long time ago, I remember mostly enjoyed it...mostly. What really bothered me about RE4 was how it didn't feel like the RE games I'd grown up loving, and I'm not even talking about the gameplay. Rather, there were no zombies and you were killing villagers and cultists in a weird rural setting. Also, the switch from survival horror to a more actiony game also left me feeling conflicted about what had happened to the franchise. Unfortunately my unease with the direction with the series would be solidified with RE5 where you're mowing down villagers in Africa who happen to be infected with a parasite like in RE4. I never beat RE5, mostly because I was like "WTF am I even playing right now!" For these same reasons I've never played RE6 and the mainline subsequent games in the franchise...at least until tonight.


I just beat RE3:Remake and I absolutely loved it just like I did with RE2:Remake. The gameplay was obviously very different, but the story, feel, and pretty much everything about it was faithful to the games they are based on, and that's despite the changes to the plot in those remakes. So after beating RE3 I was like, "okay, I want to play a newer RE game, which one should I play?" I decided to go with RE7, mostly because of how unfamiliar I am with it, but also because it was a radical departure from the ultra action, third person shooter, "gotta save the world and punch giant boulders" crap in RE4, RE5, and RE6. In all honesty I forgot the game was in first person, but after a few hours of playing I'm honestly more put off by RE7 than I was with RE4 or RE5. It literally doesn't feel like a RE game AT ALL! It's essentially a first person haunted house walking sim with shallow gameplay inter spliced between jump scare scenes. The only real connection, and I use the word connection very loosely here, is how the Baker family became what they are and it having to do with the whole Bio Terrorism theme that was a big part of RE4 through RE6. Yeah, I actually spoiled the plot since I almost didn't believe I was playing an RE game; I'd have never known I was playing an RE game if it wasn't for the box the disc came in.


And now with RE8 we have vampires, werewolves and all kinds of other supernatural shit, again in first person. Gone are the days of scifi horror of corporate experiments going dramatically wrong and you having to figure out how to survive against seemingly impossible odds in a modern city or mansion being used a front for evil experiments. Out with cool environmental puzzles, backtracking to unlock previously closed off areas, and upgrading your arsenal. Now we have horror themed walking sims...great...


TL;DR

What are your opinions on how the RE series has reinvented itself so much over the years? Does it bother you as much as it does with me or are you a big fan of where the series is today? Does the lack of continuity after RE4 and especially after RE6 bother you?

[kamikazekeeg]

I thought Resident Evil 7 was the most RE experience that had been done since probably REmake.  After the mess the series turned into after RE4, they brought it back down to a more secluded location like the first game was, it's a proper survival horror action game, and the shift to first person made it the first time that Resident Evil was actually scary.  I really can't disagree more with the idea that this isn't Resident Evil as it 100% is.  The only thing I could understand being put off by is the first person aspect, but that's a personal preference as I'm fine with both the first person of RE 7/8 and the third person of RE2/3 Remake.  I think they are both valid options and I think they are going to start giving players the options on how they want to play from the get go with future releases due to what they are doing RE8.

Overall, I think the series has never been better.  I am slightly biased in that I never thought the original games were that great, I was never fond of the fixed camera/tank controls and it wasn't till RE4 I actually loved an RE game, but I've really enjoyed these new ones a lot.  I'm already planning to replay Village for the third time once the update/DLC comes out in a week or two that adds in third person controls and the final story DLC.  They are my favorite horror games pretty much.  There have been missteps as I think RE8 is making that RE4 lean a little too closely and we know where things went after RE4, and RE3 Remake was a pretty notable downgrade from RE2R, not to mention the multiplayer failings of RE2/3 Remake, but my outlook on the future is still quite positive with the series with the hopefully good Resident Evil 4 Remake and inevitable Resident Evil 9.

[telekill]

Perhaps I have a unique viewpoint on the series as I was a fan of the game since I first saw screenshots getting a very minimal plotline in a GamePro magazine back in 1995. Yes... before the first game launched. I enjoyed the first game so much that I've bought it multiple times over the years including the original long box for PS1 and the Directors Cut the day it released on PS1. I still have my Director's Cut copy on my wall of fame:

https://vgcollect.com/images/gallery/4/44383/4_re_shadowbox.jpg

So what made Resident Evil... Resident Evil? Well for me, it was the mystery and the characters. They mystery being, what caused the virus. The location of the original was great, adding a ton of atmosphere but it was never the horror aspect. The story arch of Chris vs Wesker became the reason I kept coming back.

I enjoyed RE2 as well as they added to the mystery. This time the mystery was how did the virus get loose? RE3 was essentially a side game. If the two games were new to today's era and released today the third would have easily been released as DLC.

Code Veronica should have been the third in all honesty instead of being the side game. I bought my Dreamcast primarily for it and got to play the demo on a Dreamcast kiosk as they imported the Japanese version. The opening blew my mind. Still holds up as one of the best openings IMO. Combining Claire with Chris vs Wesker later in the story was incredible and I was happy to eventually get an extended version on PS2. This is the RE that really needs the Remake treatment. Not the upcoming RE4 remake.

RE Remake blew my mind when I first saw the graphics. They still hold up today oddly enough. RE Zero had the same great graphics but the story wasn't as good and we already had the mystery solved thanks to the first game. So Zero never really held up for me regardless that I enjoyed Rebecca's character.

That brings me to RE4. The shift in controls was odd and at first, it didn't feel like RE until I played the demo. I had the happy position in life to work at a game store when the demo released and when we weren't busy, I was playing the Gamecube demo. I got insanely good with the controls as well. By the time the game released I was destroying the villagers like none other. They also kept... the mystery. What turned the villagers? I thought we had this crap contained?

When RE5 released and it was Chris (my favorite character) vs Wesker... I was automatically on board. The mystery was gone but the characters were intact and they added some really fun co-op. The story of the game is they finally finished the arch of Chris vs Wesker. It was done, and due to that, I feel that this should have been the end of the series.

RE6 had a ton of characters. I think there were 7 different stories that all intertwined like a messy casserole. It was obvious Capcom was trying to merge the two fanbases they had created between the original games and the RE4 and 5 fans. They were also trying to tie up all the loose ends. The one they forgot was Jill. Jill was my second favorite RE character and we got to learn nothing of her road to recovery after being brainwashed by Wesker in the 5th game. She deserved it more than Jake, Piers or Helena. It was nice though to see Sherry return and what her path ended up being. This is when the series started to nose dive for me.

Keep in mind, I've never really been about horror games through all of this. Obviously... the RE series is survival horror so when they moved away from horror more towards action, I was just fine with that... so long as the mystery and the characters were intact.

Insert RE Revelations 1 and 2. No mystery. Characters were horribly written when they shouldn't have been. A side character was so badly written he actually made me cringe. Other side games from the inception of the series were mostly bad. Only the two Outbreak games were really any good IMO from the side games.

In comes RE7 in first person perspective. Horrible idea from Capcom. I played the demo and it felt nothing like RE because there was no mystery for me. None of the characters were present. I even tried it in VR for a few hours and just couldn't get into it. Resident Evil was essentially dead to me by this point as I can't stand first person perspective in most games these days.

Remaking RE2 and 3 were great. It was revisiting the classics, done really well in modern graphics. They actually did a really good job on these but I have zero interest in RE4 remake.

Then RE8 was announced as a first person game based on the Twilight movies. Do you want to be part of the the sparkly vampire or the werewolves team? I didn't even bother playing it.

For all intents and purposes, the series died for me at the conclusion of RE5. There was no need for the numbers to continue. If they wanted to do RE7, it shouldn't have had the 7 in it. They could have used it as a reboot or simply a VR spinoff. I won't be bothering to buy anymore RE games unless something changes.

Side Fun Fact: Apparently this is my 700th post. I made it a good one. 

[vivigamer]

I actually think RE as a franchise is stronger than it's ever been! This is on big part to the dedication Capcom have put to re-releasing most of the games on modern consoles. Just having the series accessible has allowed me to really embrace the series more - Sure, the original versions of RE2/3 aren't available (yet) But I'm very content with the Remakes... (Well not RE3R but i can play RE3 on my PS Classic...)

Regarding content, I felt RE fell of the rails at RE4 - I respect what it did technically but I found a lot of the enviornments really goofy - Like the Castle area or even an Eygyptian theme cavern... I played through it this month with a friend as we're replaying the series and still feel RE4 is amongst the weakest of the series. It has good moments but it really is a mixed bag for me.

RE5 - I Love as an action Co-Op game, from this perspective it is among the best in the industry! But, as a RE game... once again the tone is just very ill-fitted to the franchise.

RE 6 - I... Like this game. Really do! I think Chris' Campaign is actually decent even storywise. But once again I view this in the same way as 5, fantastic Co-Op action experience - Especially the mercs mode!

RE 7 - This, this is where Resident Evil is re-born! Easily within my top-3 of the series! Fantastic Setting and compelling throughout! I also appreciate Ethan as a minimalistic character, he's enough of a character to at least re-act to what is happening but never too intrustive for the 1st- person set-up of the game.

RE 8 - ... Hmmm, once again I feel this leasn towards the RE4 side of things - Having too much varied content to where it loses it's Identity, I enjoyedt the early portions of the game adn the Castle within this game actually worked better this time but I found a lot of the other sections of the game over the top and really different to what I expect from the series. The game is okay, but no way near as atompsheric as RE7.


Truth be told the only game I really can't stand is RE Zero, the gimmick for controlling two character throughout the game is beyond tedious! As is the lack of an Item Box, so inventory management is just frustrating. I actually prefer to the the story through the Umbrella Chronicles shooty game instead - Which was a lot more repsectful to the stories than I would have expected from a Light-Gun game.

Despite not enjoying RE8 as much, I am still very optimistic to where the serise is going next, there is a lot of mystery to explore and having a wealth of well established characters I'm curious to see what happens in an RE9.

[burningdoom]

I love the RE series. I like the old games better, but I still enjoy the newer entries nonetheless. And I love that we're getting remakes of the old ones.

Though I was one of the few that really didn't like VII. Too much running and enemies were far too overpowered. I want to blow monsters/zombies away in RE games.

RE2 is my all-time favorite, followed by RE3: Nemesis. The originals are the best, but still enjoyed the remakes a lot.

[dhaabi]

I can't comment much regarding the evolution of the series. However, what I can comment is that the series now represents what the original game was meant to be regarding player perspective and controls.

Series creator Shinji Mikami is on record discussing how the game was planned with a first-person perspective without tank controls. But, due to both technical limitations and developer inexperience in working with 3D, the third-person perspective and tank controls were implemented. Even when told that these elements make the original game scarier, Mikami shrugs it off with embarrassment as just a workaround.

Mikami even continues by saying that Resident Evil 4 is his "revenge," as the game evolves past these constraints and utilizes an over-the-shoulder perspective while focusing more on action.

[Cartagia]

Love where the series is right now.  We've got 7 and 8 alongside the remake series (thought the 4 remake seems pretty unnecessary to me), so there are essentially two different directions the franchise is going right now, and I really like them both.  REmake2 and 7 are two of my favorite entries in the series.  Honestly the biggest issue I have with 7 and 8 is how much they seem to think that the audience cares about Ethan, who is dreadfully bland protagonist.

[bikingjahuty]

Too much running and enemies were far too overpowered. I want to blow monsters/zombies away in RE games.

Definitely this. I love the confidence an upgraded weapon or a more powerful weapon like an assault rifle or shotgun gives you until you run into some stronger enemy type like a hunter and then you feel like a total lightweight again. On top of that I feel like VII at least takes itself too seriously. Although I'd argue 5 and 6 didn't take themselves seriously at all. 0-4 seemed to have that perfect balance. VII just feels tonally opposite to the older games in a lot of ways.

[bikingjahuty]

I can't comment much regarding the evolution of the series. However, what I can comment is that the series now represents what the original game was meant to be regarding player perspective and controls.

Series creator Shinji Mikami is on record discussing how the game was planned with a first-person perspective without tank controls. But, due to both technical limitations and developer inexperience in working with 3D, the third-person perspective and tank controls were implemented. Even when told that these elements make the original game scarier, Mikami shrugs it off with embarrassment as just a workaround.

Mikami even continues by saying that Resident Evil 4 is his "revenge," as the game evolves past these constraints and utilizes an over-the-shoulder perspective while focusing more on action.

I guess in a way the older games with their fixed perspectives were a happy accident. It definitely increases the amount of dread and tension having that fixed perspective. And while I'm not one of those people that claim the old tank controls were secretly genius, they certainly added to that feeling for better or worse. I will be the first to admit that I actually enjoy the remakes of 1-3 more than their originals, mostly because the gameplay feels so refined and smoothed out while not detracting from what made the originals so special, at lest for 2 and 3. Still, I thoroughly enjoy the originals too.

[kamikazekeeg]

Too much running and enemies were far too overpowered. I want to blow monsters/zombies away in RE games.

Definitely this. I love the confidence an upgraded weapon or a more powerful weapon like an assault rifle or shotgun gives you until you run into some stronger enemy type like a hunter and then you feel like a total lightweight again. On top of that I feel like VII at least takes itself too seriously. Although I'd argue 5 and 6 didn't take themselves seriously at all. 0-4 seemed to have that perfect balance. VII just feels tonally opposite to the older games in a lot of ways.

I don't know how you really get that VII is "too serious", it's so ridiculous and over the top with a lot of its influences being Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Saw, and even brings in like found footage horror stuff.  It has a couple serious moments dotted throughout, but that's just something I'd attribute to decent writing and  good acting, something RE as a series isn't particularly well known for lol

[burningdoom]

Too much running and enemies were far too overpowered. I want to blow monsters/zombies away in RE games.

Definitely this. I love the confidence an upgraded weapon or a more powerful weapon like an assault rifle or shotgun gives you until you run into some stronger enemy type like a hunter and then you feel like a total lightweight again. On top of that I feel like VII at least takes itself too seriously. Although I'd argue 5 and 6 didn't take themselves seriously at all. 0-4 seemed to have that perfect balance. VII just feels tonally opposite to the older games in a lot of ways.

I don't know how you really get that VII is "too serious", it's so ridiculous and over the top with a lot of its influences being Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Saw, and even brings in like found footage horror stuff.  It has a couple serious moments dotted throughout, but that's just something I'd attribute to decent writing and  good acting, something RE as a series isn't particularly well known for lol

But Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Saw are serious as a heart attack.

[Cartagia]

RE7 is probably the most serious (and IMO easily the scariest) game in the franchise but it is still incredibly campy.

[kamikazekeeg]

RE7 is probably the most serious (and IMO easily the scariest) game in the franchise but it is still incredibly campy.

I'd agree with viewing it that way, it's absolutely the most serious in regards to how tragic everything is with the family, the story with Ethan and Mia, there's some genuine emotional beats, but it also gets crazy bonkers and has a lot of the hallmarks you'd expect from RE.

[undertakerprime]

The controls may have been clunky in the first few games, but I loved the series through RE4. RE2 was definitely my favorite, followed by Code Veronica and RE4. REmake was amazing and set the standard for how remakes should be done.

Then RE5 happened…
I HATED that game. I eagerly bought it, played it for 10 minutes, and never played it again. It’s NOT Resident Evil, it’s a cooperative third-person action game. I never play co-op games anyway and RE5 puts a huge emphasis on it, so that was another strike against it.
I heard RE6 was even worse so I never bothered with it.

Haven’t returned to the series since. I downloaded the free demos for the RE2 & 3 remakes but haven’t tried them yet. Also want to try REVIII, which looks pretty good and much more “Resident-evily”, just haven’t gotten around to it.

[kamikazekeeg]

Since the timing worked out, there was a Resident Evil showcase today.  Resident Evil 4 Remake is looking really good and while I'm sure it won't have everything the original did, getting to experience the most prominent sections of that game again with way better gameplay is going to be so nice.  The original RE4 was and might still be my favorite of the series, though RE7 and RE2R are circling around that quite comfortably.  It's the sorta thing where I don't love the gameplay of RE4 as much as I use to, but I've played that game more than any other at this point in terms of a start to finish run, across multiple game consoles across almost 20 years now lol

They also showed off RE:Verse, that incredibly terrible multiplayer game that was supposed to come out with Village, but they've delayed it till now.  It actually looks better visually, they were trying for some weird art style before and it was super garbage, but it looks more decent and might have more depth.  Not that I think it'll be good, multiplayer is the one thing Resident Evil continues to get wrong after all this years (Outbreak being an exception), but it's free if you own Village, so I'll give it a try at least.  Maybe it'll be better than that awful Resistance multiplayer they tried to do with RE3 lol