How has Resident Evil changed? (Topic)

There are horror series whose century has already passed, and then there is Resident Evil, which through time remains the trendsetter of the genre's canons. The series had ups and downs when it seemed like the series had died, however it was rehabilitated. We'll talk about how Resident Evil has changed.

Classic three

As we have already told in the history of horror games, the main developer Tokuro Fujiwara originally planned to make a remake of his game Sweet Home. However, the concept of the game was changed towards zombies to attract a Western audience, and the house was made similar to the hotel from the movie "The Shining". They also decided to abandon the first-person camera, adopting the experience of cinematic angles from Alone in the Dark.

This is how the first part of the series was born. As a result, we got a game full of mysteries, an interesting story about zombies, viruses and a secret corporation, and tenacious opponents.

In 1998, a sequel was released. The fans had to wait two years, as conflicts arose between the main game designer and the leadership of Kapk. The first wanted to finish the story of the game in the second part, but the management was against it. The project was postponed as the plot was rewritten, which infuriated fans.

We got the story about the young police officer Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield, GG's sister from the first part. The scale of the game has increased, and all successful solutions from the previous part have been transferred to the new one.

Interaction mechanics also appeared in it. So Leon could visit locations where Claire was already and vice versa. The game not only developed the series technically, but its lore, becoming a worthy sequel.

The third part became a kind of spin-off that continued the story of Jill Valentine. The action, as in the second part, took place in Raccoon City, however, the main character faced in it not only the zombies already familiar to the series, but also Nemesis - a killing machine. He chased the heroine throughout the entire game, which created tension. The creators were inspired by the second part of The Terminator, where GG was also pursued by a merciless killer.

The game came out dynamic, and the realization that you are being pursued by an immortal creature forced you to make decisions faster. But players complained about the lack of puzzles, and that the plot sank a bit. And it was precisely the fact that the game did not generate much excitement and pushed Capcom to change.

Farewell to the classics

The transitional stage between the classic and the new stage was the prequel to the first cut called Zero. In the story that reveals even more secrets of the mansion from the first part, the main innovation was the ability to switch between GG - STARS employee Rebbeka Chambers and criminal Billy Cohen.

However, the fans didn't really like the AI of the enemies. The game was even called the "nanny simulator." But that was the only negative. In general, everyone loved her, but also the realization came that the classic concept of the series was a little boring. This is how she appeared ...

Another, but no less iconic game

Further, the evolution of Resident Evil brought it in 2005 to the fourth part, where the gameplay was completely changed. New mechanics have appeared, locations have become less linear and open, the camera has become dynamic, and a revolutionary difficulty mechanic has also appeared in the game (we wrote about this separately)

With the already familiar Leon Kenedy, we killed new enemies, such mutant sectarians. According to early plans, Leon was originally supposed to go to the Ambrela headquarters, where he would receive super strength, having become infected with a new virus. Then, they wanted to send him to a castle with paranormal phenomena ... It was also decided to abandon the dialog selection system, but hand-to-hand combat was added.

The game frightened with unexpected attacks and the atmosphere of a decaying Spanish village, and fascinated with the written characters and plots. Minus is the damn annoying ... daughter of the president, which we needed to save.

Step back

The next stage of evolution, Resident Evel, was a little mutated in a bad way. The fifth part about Chris Retfield, who researched bioterrorism in Africa, had a great setting, frightening monsters and beautiful graphics, and even hardcore. But the fifth cut became more like an action game than a horror and practically did not frighten. But that did not stop it from becoming the best-selling game in the series (11 million copies sold).

The real problem started later in 2012. Here Capcom overdid it with metamorphoses. The game had 4 lines of storytelling, as well as a complete slant in action. It's a shame, but the plot was weak, and the storylines of Chris Retfield were like a shooter with bad dialogue and underslasher. Although it paid for itself, the press and gamers called it a disappointment and a big step back, turning the great horror into a walk-through shooter.

Renaissance of Evil

And now, 5 years later, the studio did the same as in 2005 - it returned the game to its former greatness. The seventh cut was from the first person, heightened the atmosphere and, most importantly, scared. Our enemies not only experienced reflexes and reactions, but also minds. Puzzles and non-linearity are also back. The developers have changed the visual towards realism.

And if you play it in a VR helmet, then from fright you can open a brick factory ... The whole game world appreciated the new work of Capcome, so the game became one of the best last year.

The main series of Resident Evil has gone this way with ups and downs. We just have to wait for the remake of the second part.

The Topic of Article: How has Resident Evil changed?.
Author: Jake Pinkman