41 year old man plays Resident Evil games for the first time, mostly hates them

[Ash]

RE4 was indeed the most notable step towards action, though I don't mind because it is the only worthwhile game with Resident Evil in the title since then (well...I still like RE5 as a coop game). However, RE5 took yet another few steps from that, with co-op, some cover shooting, even WORSE more ridiculous story somehow (anime superman wesker, boulder punching, Chris being turned into generic roided up action hero) and dropping the horror theme further.

 

[Raskens]

Nooo not the remaster/remake! The original OG 1996 release goddamn it. I'm in the minority here on the codex in this belief though, apparently. The belief that they ruined it. Makes me wonder how many actually played the OG release to completion.

I've played it and I found some puzzles better, but other than that I didn't find it better at all. Why do you prefer it?

 

[Ash]

I explained why on previous page. Mostly art, music and more believable premise because of said art. I will say the original could have used more darkness though. There's some dark areas but should have been more. Still very much creepy nonetheless.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

Dunno, the Chimeras were perceived by me as sci-fi, bio-engineered and did the trick for me. The scared the fuck out of me when I was 10...obviously I have nostalgic ties to the original, but I don't think I am wrong about things they should have done differently e.g tamer art changes, leave soundtrack alone or extend only. Music in particular can be rather subjective, but see for yourself the differences. Mansion Basement is an obvious butchery. It is barely music in the remake.

Checking, I remember them being smaller and more green. Maybe my memory is just really fuzzy.
But anyway, the music, I don't really have nostalgia for the original's music, since I originally played it years after the REmake, but my opinion is that generally the GCN/PS2/Xbox era was when gaming music sort of turned into generic atmosphere than any serious attempt at making music. I listened to some of both and I don't remember any of it from my original playthroughs. (beyond save game room and the memetic Mansion Basement song) Out of context, hearing midi-ish rock music in a RE game sounds wrong to me. Otherwise, yeah, it beats the remake's soundtrack by a mile. I don't think you're wrong about anything. A mansion, even one with hordes of walking corpses in it, shouldn't turn into such a decayed place in so little time. Though the less said about any potential smells, the better.

 

[Machocruz]

REmake is awesome, one of the best remakes and games ever made, but, like RE2 remake, it does not obsolete the original. In fact, I find it' rarely the case where a remake replaces the original, since a remake is usually more than just a graphical update. It's like when you have a couple great film adaptations of a novel, one old, the other more recent. There are usually enough different elements to make each a worthwhile. Also interesting to compare and contrast the different visions.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

I didn't realize there are substantial differences between the REmake and the original. Based on all the endorsements I've seen of REmake, I assumed it was basically a 1:1 version of the game, but with updated visuals and twin-stick support added. I don't own a PSX (or a Saturn. Lawl.), and I'm slightly averse to emulation because I find it's generally an imperfect recreation of the original, but my curiosity is piqued by this discussion. Perhaps I'll check out the original version when I have a hankering for a replay a few years down the line (which I definitely will).

On the REmake front, I just reached the Residence with Jill. I'm playing mostly blind*, and I think I've kind of fucked up a lot so far (which is great). I finally found a shotgun a little while ago, but it's only because I accidentally got my buddy Richard (who?) killed, the hallways are full of Snyder-esque running zombies, and I have zero defensive items. It's entirely possible that I'm wrong because this is my first time through and I am, again, playing mostly blind, but the amount of C&C that this game is at least pretending to is extremely impressive, and as far as I know unparalleled in non-RPGs/Adventure games. It's bizarre, but the game it's most strongly reminding me of in terms of overarching design philosophy is Laura Bow: The Colonel's Bequest (which as some may know is one of my favorite games of all time and also one that I feel is bizarrely ignored and maligned by critics and history). This could of course go up in a flash of smoke if upon replays the C&C/character campaigns turn out to be cosmetic window-dressing, but the promise is definitely there. Somewhat ironically playing this game has very slightly increased my disdain for RE4. They had something special and unique in the gameplay format of the first game, and, whether or not they intended to, they threw it in the garbage in order to pave the way for the era of decline.


*I've started to refer to a hint guide that states which inventory items are relevant to particular rooms, because I'm just really not enjoying that part of the game (yes, you all knew I would find something to bitch about, bring on the decline/shit/retadred ratings, bitches). I think I might have not minded it as a younger person with free time, but as a grown man who basically has maximum 1.5 hrs/day to play videogames while my son takes a nap, constantly guessing about which inventory items I might need to fully explore hallway X and then having to backtrack to an item box when I find out I've guessed wrong feels like unnecessary bloat and artificial difficulty inflation. Also it's completely fucking retarded that I can have an empty weapon in my inventory, find a clip of ammo, and be unable to use it because my inventory is "full". What the ever-loving fuck? I'm perfectly willing and able to suspend my disbelief over unrealistic systems/mechanics that actually make a game more fun, but that's just pants-on-head level speshul, and it doesn't lead to any sort of interesting design space.

 

[Black Plague]

I don't own a PSX (or a Saturn. Lawl.)

https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Resident_Evil

*I've started to refer to a hint guide

It was made for retards, no need for a guide.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

If you ever play the original, keep in mind the PC version adds some stuff that I do believe screws with the difficulty of the game. Was it an assault rifle or a MAC-10? Something automatic and a bit out of place in the otherwise semi-automatic selection of weapons. After that none of the ports are any different than the originals, outside of control schemes and potentially glitches.
Also, I can't really give a decline to someone who likes Laura Bow, but c'mon dude. If you can't remember which door needs which key, write it down on a post-it note or something.

 

[Ash]

memetic Mansion Basement song

Out of context, hearing midi-ish rock music in a RE game sounds wrong to me

Not the directors cut version, that's terrible. The original 1996 release.

 

[Ash]

*I've started to refer to a hint guide that states which inventory items are relevant to particular rooms, because I'm just really not enjoying that part of the game (yes, you all knew I would find something to bitch about, bring on the decline/shit/retadred ratings, bitches). I think I might have not minded it as a younger person with free time, but as a grown man who basically has maximum 1.5 hrs/day to play videogames while my son takes a nap, constantly guessing about which inventory items I might need to fully explore hallway X and then having to backtrack to an item box when I find out I've guessed wrong feels like unnecessary bloat and artificial difficulty inflation. Also it's completely fucking retarded that I can have an empty weapon in my inventory, find a clip of ammo, and be unable to use it because my inventory is "full". What the ever-loving fuck? I'm perfectly willing and able to suspend my disbelief over unrealistic systems/mechanics that actually make a game more fun, but that's just pants-on-head level speshul, and it doesn't lead to any sort of interesting design space.

Usually I hate this argument (I have WORK and KIDS OMG!) and just figure it is an excuse for a lack of brain cells, but RE inventory is a bit overly limiting and has frustrating use cases such as the ammo thing you described. It's fine as Jill, but playing as Chris you get two less inventory slots AND have to use small keys (which takes up inventory space) as opposed to lockpicks. Kinda sucks. Still, glad the game has meaningful inventory management at all, unlike the newer titles or even some old greats like Silent Hill.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

Not the directors cut version, that's terrible. The original 1996 release.

Oh, I was saying I remember the Mansion Basement because it was a meme and someone mentioned it previously. I definitely looked up the original, unless this wasn't there...?

First thing that plays on one RE OST playlist for some reason.

 

[Deflowerer]

The original credits song was actually this:

 

[Black Plague]

memetic Mansion Basement song

Out of context, hearing midi-ish rock music in a RE game sounds wrong to me

Not the directors cut version, that's terrible. The original 1996 release.

Resident Evil - good music
Resident Evil Director's Cut - good music

Resident Evil Director's Cut "Dual Shock version" - Clowns farting in basement

 

[Ash]

Not the directors cut version, that's terrible. The original 1996 release.

Oh, I was saying I remember the Mansion Basement because it was a meme and someone mentioned it previously. I definitely looked up the original, unless this wasn't there...?

First thing that plays on one RE OST playlist for some reason.

This is the credits/end game. Can play whatever they want there without concern for theme. Game is over.

 

[booksarecool123]

Welcome one and all to another installment of Simmons playing a critically well-regarded game that has been sitting in his backlog* and then finding it to be basically crap and whining about it.

(To be fair upfront, I have not completed RE4; I just got to the castle, and it's possible the game will redeem itself because I am apparently only about halfway through).

It is one of the only things on the gamecube resembling a game so nintendo fans hyped it up more than it is. I personally kinda enjoy it

 

[Manjuice Nutella]

I have to admit I smiled upon seeing the OP, I also played it some years ago. I guess, because I wanted to check out some Amityville horror in Spain, or something?

And then halfway through the game you get into that weird castle, where you encounter... some fucking midget in a leprechaun hat, being an evil mastermind or something? Yeah, I just smh'ed and uninstalled it. Also I think even Deadly Premonition had more exciting combat than that.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

Mostly art

 

[Deflowerer]

Also I think even Deadly Premonition had more exciting combat than that.

Trolling detected.

As for OG vs REmake, I'm one of those who slightly prefers OG in that it's one of the few horror games that aesthetically leans towards classic Euro-horror films (think of the Italian gialli / horror films of 70s / 80s) besides obvious direct homages like Clock Tower 1.

 

[Tacgnol]

It's not worth debating Ash on REmake. He has an irrational hatred of it which when pressed mostly seems to come down to "They made X green" or "They made Y too dark".

The remake of the first game was pretty much the pinnacle of pre-rendered backgrounds and still looks amazing to this day.

It's a shame Capcom lost the original art so the remaster was just an upscale rather than Zero which actually had re-rendered backgrounds.

 

[Ash]

Spoiler

Mostly art

This is a completely bullshit, disingenuous comparison. That was the ONE room in Resident Evil that was empty, and it always seemed very intentionally so (e.g in process renovation). So stupid.

Post BS comparisons, lay down the ad hominems and simplify my arguments with strawmen. No, not "x is green". Color in general is largely removed. Gamecube fanboys. Not worth it.

 

[Black Plague]

https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Resident_Evil

Resident Evil Classic REbirth
Requires Japanese MediaKite release version 1.01.
https://archive.org/details/biohazard-mediakite-pc

DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE HORROR OF PC

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

My wife and son were gone visiting her family this weekend so I managed to finish REmake up. Overall, I really enjoyed it. Solid 9/10 easy. The second half definitely comes off as more linear and action-oriented than the first which is a slight decline, but it’s still pretty good. Despite fucking up a fair bit for the first half of the game, I managed to get what I think is the “good” ending by saving Chris and Barry. There are still a few things from the first half of the game that I’m unsure of whether or not the game offers “real” C&C on, so future replays may affect my impression of this. I also noticed early on what Ash pointed out about the decayed aesthetic of the mansion being at odds with the narrative, but ultimately really didn’t care. The game looks quite good, even in 2021, and that’s from the strength of the art design.

+The tone of the game is great. Horror is a very hit-or-miss genre for me, but I love horror-comedy when it’s done well, and this game had me both genuinely laughing and genuinely creeped out at various moments. The Trevor family story in particular was pretty well done and have enough creepy background that I was genuinely freaked out in the Lisa sequences, even though I could tell that mechanically she is a trivial challenge.

+Puzzles. This was a major surprise to me, because the “puzzles” in RE4 are a total fucking joke, but there are some really good ones here. The standout was the billiard ball/oil lamp puzzle, which, while really gamey, is a pretty great puzzle and had me genuinely scratching my head for a bit. It seems clear RE was a game made by people who enjoyed point and click adventures. I wish more of this DNA had been retained for the franchise’s modern incarnations, but of course we all know that point and clicks died an ignominious death in the early aughts.

+Barry. Barry is maybe one of the most poorly written characters I’ve ever seen, and his whole purpose in the game seems to be to make Jill look like the biggest dumbfuck to have ever lived, but for some reason it just works. 10/10 would give Barry back his gun again.


Like I said earlier, the inventory system is by far the biggest problem. I’m all for limited inventories and strategic prioritization of what to pick up, but RE’s system is just completely retarded guesswork and insensible design choices. Inventory management is the only area in which I would say RE4 is an improvement.
Other niggling complaints:

-I played on the hardest difficulty available to me, and the game was largely still far too easy. I ended up with probably about 15 healing items and 18 magnum rounds sitting in the item box by the end of the game. Bosses in particular (especially the slowest moving snake known to man) were a joke outside of the final fight.

-I’ve never played a game with a fixed camera angle paired with a control scheme like this, and it largely works fine, but there are a few times that it just doesn’t. The sequences running from the boulders, and the puzzle with the statue that needs to be pushed onto a switch before the walls close in were probably the most difficulty I had with the entire game, and it was purely from wrestling with the controls and being disoriented by the camera angle changes. I definitely have poor spatial intelligence in general though, so perhaps that’s a part of it.

-Wesker is a boring villain. Obviously I played 4 first so it was spoiled for me that he was the big bad (also apparently now spoiled for me that he survived RE1) but I’m pretty sure I would have guessed that immediately anyways. But yeah, he’s a giant meh.


I think I’m going to take a break from this franchise for now, but I will certainly replay RE1 in a year or so. Other than that what direction should I go? RE2? REmake2? RE0? RE3? REmake3? None?

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

If its difficulty you're after, I think Code Veronica and the Outbreak spin-offs are best for that. Code Veronica has some...interesting difficulty choices, to say the least. The Outbreak games, on the other hand, are a collection of little scenarios during the T-virus outbreak in Raccoon City. One of the scenarios in the second game works best if you've played RE2 first though. Otherwise I'd just say don't play the later remakes until you've had your fill of the original series.

 

[Ash]

Just play the original, yes, original releases of the first 3 games and stop right there. The rest are either just simply mediocre or are inspired by RE4 but take all the wrong lessons/worst parts from it and none of the good. RE2 remake is OK I guess just like RE1 remake but I'd strongly recommend playing the original version first this time and not make the same gay mistake as before. RE3, definitely play the original version. The remake is trash in that instance, absolutely no debate to be had there. That is universally agreed by anyone with even half a brain.

Oh, and if you have a coop partner, RE5 is pretty fun purely in a gameplay sense and as a story even lamer than RE4 to laugh at. It's basically RE4's combat, weapon customisation, secret hunting, level design (though not as good yet still good), and minor secondary gameplay elements but with a friend. Game gets a lot of shit for its story, themes and further abandonment of survival horror which is all somewhat deserved, but as a game and couch coop with a girl/buddy it's simply fun and alright by me.

The game looks quite good, even in 2021, and that’s from the strength of the art design.

Remake does look pretty stunning. But it is also less visually varied in a pretty important way. The original RE still looks pretty great regardless, still a visual treat today, and here's the kicker: it actually comes in believable color! Who knew in 1996 everybody did not play on black and white TVs!? In the remake art wise they simply made everything bordering monochromatic and decayed and I cannot get behind the unbelievable and boring lesser visual variety, even if it's all sharper. I hated the art of Human Revolution for the same damn thing. For all its detail it is let down by a lack of color, and it also doesn't make realistic sense.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

In the remake art wise they simply made everything bordering monochromatic and decayed

That.

Is.

The fucking.

POINT!!!