The 2nd playthrough is such a disappointment. I don't feel motivated to continue playing even if I do finish it. It's actually quite fun for the first loop of the station because it ramps up the pace so quickly, but after that it's the same game more or less.
Also disappointed with some of the boss fights. It seems like you're made to get fucked up especially if you don't get a perfect rotation, like the crane fight which is a glorified QTE with insta-death possibility. I'm nearly sure that some of the bosses feel like they have a timer that makes them easier to beat if you're taking too long, but I could be wrong.
Leons playthrough is kinda shitty because of the QTE crocodile and the Ada section where wasting bullets can be a game over, or getting caught by Mr X. The thought of trying to no-save this game makes me feel ill.
Lastly I did appreciate the nod to old Resident Evil mechanics, something I never fully figured out before. When aiming the gun you should raise the weapon while standing still and do not move your aim until the crosshair centers. Seems to put them more reliably. I played the game a lot better this time. It runs contrary to older Resident Evil games. Dumping power weapons into a boss is a complete waste of ammo. Power weapons are based used on enemies that need to be removed permanently and quickly. The best weapons against bosses are the grenades and knife. I always wasted them as escape weapons on my first playthroughs as I tried to save as much ammo as possible for bosses.
Also I don't like Mr.X anymore. He was fun, but now that he's so predictable on replays it's annoyance having to make my routes longer. I can count the number of times he has hit me in my 40+ hours using my fingers. If he was like a boss that dropped rewards or something like RE2 original it might've been good.
17/12/19 edit:
After many restarts and cancelling a run at G3 because I wouldn't finish under 2 hours, I finally finished Claire 2nd for the very first time and got the S+ rank. S+ rank in this game is snow joke. It's one of the hardest ones I've done and I think it would be borderline impossible to zero save S+ rank for 99.9% of the playerbase. G2 especially is just too much a pain in the ass.
I fucked up a few times and had to walk back for a minute. The biggest fuckup was doing it all with no SMG. So in hindsight the plan should've been to grab the "tome" at the library just before placing the medallions and going underground. That way on reentry you can drop the tome into the statue hand, get the jewel, combine with the jewellery box outside STARS office and get the SMG right after that before going for the clocktower.
So I went for a first save upon entering Irons office and before the next save I had the dilemna of at what point do I save to make a trip from the sewers to the station for the SMG, just in case I needed to fork my run 2 ways;
1. Without the SMG (10+ minutes?)
2. Going back to the SMG
Ended up gambling and doing the sewers without the SMG and then saving after placing the plugs with the thought I could fetch it after saving Sherry in a forked run if I needed it.
But just make sure you have a resource with all the codes and stuff. There's no point making dummy saves to brute memorise the codes by yourself. Codes in the lab area especially, as they dont change and save you doing two returns for the hatch and the sprinkler vial.
Don't know if I'm going to do the other routes yet. I've always preferred playing as Claire and Jill. Leon might be more difficult? I'm just having nightmares about failing the crocodile QTE or dealing with the sewer monsters. However, Jill was more difficult in REmake even though at a glance one would think it's easier because of the lockpick and the grenade launcher. Not sure if there's an HP difference between Claire and Leon here or whatever else.
The OCD in me might compel me. Seems a bit strange trying to perfect 2nd run first but I find it more intense in terms of pace and it's more difficult so I loved trying.
Also make sure to lock fps to 60. No cheese allowed.
18/12/19 edit:
So I'm doing Leon B right now and naturally I've been thinking of the differences between the 2.
- I might prefer Claire's revolver.
- Dealing with the dogs might be a bit more difficult than the lickers possibly. I game-overed from dodging a dog then having it bite me in the back for big damage.
- Only touched the shotgun for a few kills so far. Being able to eliminate and zombie with a gun that has such plentiful ammo is a massive benefit, flame rounds nor acid rounds are reliable for killing zombies in 1 hit and are expensive. Nades can kill groups if they since in the fire splash zone long enough. Most useful if they're all on the floor already.
- I miss having the fire nades for lickers because it stuns them and a pistol shot or two will fully kill.
- Getting the jack for the library is the biggest difference. Claire can enter from the weapons storage side. Leon has to circle round the murder hall with the licker so there's no quick "get GL and kill licker" option. Takes a little while longer. If Mr X is activated this is more difficult.
- The big difference. Big big big. The ladder from the roof breaks for Leon before facing Mr X, however this is to force you to go passed the crashed chopper. Why? Because Leon can explore the almost the entirety of the station at this point with no Mr X. Claire does not get this option here.
- It might be longer but would be a lot easier, eliminating all the enemies including the station revisit spawns. Can also enter the STARS office for free.
- After that of course Claire can return to the station form the sewers and there will be no MrX, while for Leon there will always be MrX.
Interesting to see the differences.
