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[cvxfreak]

Welcome to the NeoGAF RESIDENT EVIL Community Thread. This thread will eventually be moved to the Community Forum.

As with the FINAL FANTASY Community Thread, this thread will serve as a place to discuss the Resident Evil (Biohazard) series. Good discussions to be had in here include:

• Tank Controls - Yay or Nay?
• Traditional vs. New Style Resident Evil
• Best and Worst games in the series
• Whatever happened to Sherry/Barry/Rebecca/etc.

As for actual rules, I'll just reuse Kagari's from the FF thread:

• No dirty, obnoxious fanart.
• Please don't insult other members for any reason. Let's all have fun here.
• No linking to scans or any other content that doesn't belong here. You should know this already.
• This isn't really a thread for news, so please keep that in their respective topics.
• To be helpful in discussion, please list the RE game you're talking about in bold at the start of your post.

And now, a very quick run down of the main games in the series:

Resident Evil (1996/2002) - PlayStation, PlayStation Network, Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo DS, Wii, Sega Saturn, Microsoft Windows
Taking place in 1998, S.T.A.R.S Alpha Team's Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine are on a mission to rescue the Bravo Team and are trapped within a zombie-infested mansion that holds a very dark secret.

Resident Evil 2 (1998) - PlayStation, PlayStation Network, Nintendo 64, Nintendo GameCube, Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows
On September 29, 1998, two months after the Spencer Estate incident, Claire Redfield (Chris Redfield's sister) and Leon Kennedy (a rookie cop) enter and subsequently try to escape the vastly infected Raccoon City and the clutches of William Birkin and his horrendous transformation.

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999) - PlayStation, PlayStation Network, Nintendo GameCube, Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows
Taking place simultaneously with Resident Evil 2, Jill Valentine, tries to escape Raccoon City and is chased by Nemesis in the process.

Resident Evil CODE: Veronica (2000) - PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Nintendo GameCube, Dreamcast, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows
On December 27, 1998, three months after Resident Evil 2, Claire Redfield continues searching for her brother, only to end up captured and sent to Rockfort Island. Claire encounters Steve Burnside and together they try to escape the accursed island, only to discover the secrets of the Ashford family. Chris Redfield later learns of his sister's capture and goes to rescue her, but his old captain, Albert Wesker, awaits.

Resident Evil Zero (2002) - Nintendo GameCube, Wii
A prequel to Resident Evil starring Rebecca Chambers and Billy Coen. The game begins a day before the Spencer Estate incident (Resident Evil) where Rebecca stumbles upon a convict named Billy Coen and together they try to escape the the Arklay Mansion from James Marcus' sinister "leech" plan.

Resident Evil 4 (2004) - PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Nintendo GameCube, Wii, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, Zeebo, iPhone, iPad
Taking place in 2004 in Southern Europe, Leon Kennedy ventures to the Las Plagas-infected village to search and rescue Ashley Graham, the American President's daughter. During this mission, he discovers the evil plan of the Los Illuminados cult and encounters Ada Wong again.

Resident Evil 5 (2009) - PlayStation 3, PlayStation Network, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows
Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar venture to a remote village in Africa called Kijuju and discover that the villagers are infected with an advanced strain of the Las Plagas (Resident Evil 4). They also find out that Albert Wesker, Chris Redfield's long time rival, is working with Excella Gionne, the head of Tricell Africa, to develop the Uroborus virus.

Resident Evil: Revelations (2012) - Nintendo 3DS
Set in 2005, Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine venture to a luxury cruise ship and discover that the ship has experienced a viral outbreak. An organization called Veltro is responsible for the incident and apparently has the capability of infecting much of the world if their demands aren't met.

Thanks to:

- ULTROS! for the descriptions and images, and for the idea for the thread
- Yama for the banner
- Kagari for providing a template for this thread and for moving it to the Community Forum in due time

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Sue me for never being bothered by tank controls.

 

[sleepykyo]

No dirty, obnoxious fanart.

Official screen or not, that revelations Jill picture seems kind of dirty.

 

[Chuck]

Resident Evil 4 is the best Resident Evil.

 

[Seda]

I've only ever played RE5. I played it to death, loved the co-op, loved mercenaries. Awesome game.

Maybe I'll download RE4 HD with the points Lima got me today.

 

[The Return of]

Yeah, I actually don't mind the tank controls. Hell, I even like them, but that's because I grew up playing a lot of Resident Evil.

Oh and Resident Evil Remake>All

 

[Salsa]

I love RE, RE4 is one of the best game ive played in my life.

That said, i lost all interest in the new 3DS one since they showed that ridiculous fighting game-level boobs lady in that god awful trailer.

Dont really go to RE for big wet boobs and panty shots i guess. Just gave me a bad vibe.

 

[Dacon]

I have no problem with tank controls but every argument against the series moving past them is complete nonsense.

If you took RE2, remade it with more aggressive enemy AI/added more creepy scenarios and kept the general brooding atmosphere it could be just as awesome as the original. RE games were never tense/unnerving for me because of the controls.

Also REmake is fucking ten kinds of awesome.

 

[MechaX]

My secret confession is that I actually did not enjoy REmake, like at all.

*Folds arms* Come at me, GAF.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

Do you like my garden?

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Also Resident Evil 3 blew my mind when I just noticed that the enemies are randomized. I died and when going through a room that had zombies in it before it had those wall climbing mutant thingies.

 

[Yoshichan]

My secret confession is that I actually did not enjoy REmake, like at all.

*Folds arms* Come at me, GAF.

So basically, you don't like RE. Fair enough.

 

[WrenchNinja]

Awesome op cvxfreak.

I've been itching to replay the first Resident Evil again but that sale on the PSN store ended a while ago. So I thought I might pick up REmake for the Wii. Anyone play that version? Is it better or worse than the GCN version?

 

[Duxxy3]

It's funny, i was playing dead space 1 last night on my PS3 and i thought about resident evil's controls. If they moved over dead space's controls over to the RE series it would be a perfect middle ground between immobile tank controls and Q3arena fast as fuck controls.

 

[sleepykyo]

I have no problem with the tank controls in the old games and in (RE4 and RE5) Mercenaries, but they need to go pvp mp is going to be a part of the more action orientated REs.

 

[kyo_daikun]

My secret confession is that I actually did not enjoy REmake, like at all.

*Folds arms* Come at me, GAF.

The folding of arms won't save you, lisa trevor is going to rip you a new one.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Awesome op cvxfreak.

I've been itching to replay the first Resident Evil again but that sale on the PSN store ended a while ago. So I thought I might pick up REmake for the Wii. Anyone play that version? Is it better or worse than the GCN version?

Its exactly the same. You can even use GC controller to play.

 

[AAK]

My Ranking of Resident Evil Titles:

1) Resident Evil 2 (PS1)
2) Resident Evil 3 (PS1)
3) Resident Evil 4 (PS2)
4) Resident Evil 5 (PS3)
5) Resident Evil Code Veronica X (PS2)

Never Finished:

1) Resident Evil 1 (PS1)

Never Played:

1) REmake (GC)
2) RE0 (GC)

Comments about the series and its future:

RE became a full on 3rd person shooter game after RE4. There was no more sense of urgency or need to conserve ammo. You were basically a commando out to kill Spaniards and Africans. RE should really look at Dead Space for becoming an actual survival horror again. Dead Space where you only use your weapons when you absolutely need to and the remainder of the time resort to Kinesis. And when you do need to bring your weapons out, concentrate on dismembering them rather than simply head-shot --> kicking them. RE needs some kind of gameplay mechanism akin to what DS did to bring back the horror/survival feel which it did so well with RE2 and RE3 while retaining its new camera scheme.

 

[MechaX]

So basically, you don't like RE. Fair enough.

I love RE2 through RE4. I even have a soft spot for RE5 and CVX.

But REMake and RE0 just knew all kinds of ways to test my patience, both gameplay and story-wise.

 

[computers putin']

Resident Evil 4 was an instant classic, and I can only say that about maybe 3 or 4 other games

 

[Redd]

My secret confession is that I actually did not enjoy REmake, like at all.

*Folds arms* Come at me, GAF.

But.........why?

 

[The Return of]

The only RE game in the main series I haven't played is Code Veronica and honestly everything I've seen of the game just makes me not want to play it too.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

The folding of arms won't save you, lisa trevor is going to rip you a new one.

I've never been so frightened by something so slow in my life.

She made Michael Meyers look like Justin Bieber.

 

[Kandinsky]

I never got the tank controls hate, I had 0 issues with them..

RE4>REmake=RE2>Code Veronica>RE5>RE0>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>RE3

 

[Coxy]

tank controls and fixed cameras are better for horror, you can let the cameras have a bit of give for better view while still maintaining the direction

old style > new style

RE2 > CV > RE1 > RE3 > RE0 > RE4 > RE5

 

[krakov]

Love the series, Remake and 4 are both amazing and up there with some of my favorite games ever. I have no problems with tank controls and don't really see any other feasible solution, 4 and 5 still control the same only with a different perspective.

Would love to see a new entry in the series taking it back to more of a open world survival horror game. 5 was a decent game but an awful Resident Evil.

 

[MechaX]

But.........why?

I'll say that I think the two big things that REmake got right were Lisa and Itchy.Tasty. Definitely two of the stronger bits of horror in the series, in my opinion.

But good lord, that backtracking was absolutely out of control. Crimson Heads were a cool idea in concept, I'll give. But in practice, it really just added 10 minutes of backtracking to get gasoline to burn the body before it revives. I'll admit that I didn't find the backtracking enough to make me flat out quit like it did with RE0, but jeezus.

And that "Let's carry this explosive fuel around with us but if you run it'll explode enjoy slowly walking through like 10 corridors" was just... rraaagghh!

Story-wise, Jill and Barry's behavior... oh man, it bothered me even more than the original now that Capcom was actually trying to play their stupidity straight. Maybe I just should have picked Chris for that one..

 

[AAK]

Characters I want to be prominently featured in future titles:

1) Mr. Death
2) Sherry (Dammit Capcom, you can't just tease us with Wesker's report II and leave it at that!)
3) Ada

These characters I guess don't have much reason to return:

Rebecca <---- Just a fragile girl that probably doesn't have the drive to continue the fight
Barry <----- Got priorities with his family, plus he's too old
Billy <----- Guess he's got better things to do than save the world after they wrongly accused him

 

[Angry Fork]

RE1 is still the best one. It has a great mix of action and tension/scaryness. I greatly prefer these controls over the ones in RE4/5. I like fixed camera in general for these kinds of games.

RE2 had horror still but no tension (imo at least) and was over the top action.

I don't remember enough of 3 and Code Veronica.

Hated RE4, but I didn't get too far into the game maybe a couple hours. Have been meaning to give it another try but the HD version has aiming on the left stick with no option to change which is lolwut.

RE5 was good as an action game but only because I was able to play it with a close friend who knew his way around the game so I could just chill and have fun. If I had to play this game on my own with the AI it would be one of the worst ever probably. The game was terrible in terms of horror/fear though and the story/characters were pure shit. Wesker was raped, Umbrella crap was raped, everything.

RE should be rebooted by now. The story has gotten so ridiculous. Wesker has super powers and talks about global saturation crap. They try to take things too seriously now I wish they'd bring back the corny lines and bad VA. It was so funny/entertaining in RE1 and one of the best things about the game for me.

 

[Electivirus]

4 is my first and so far only Resident Evil title. Blew me away.

Tempted to try 5, but I've heard that the AI is kinda wonky and that it's much better with a friend.

Definitely interested in Revelations, though. Already preordered it and everything.

 

[ULTROS!]

I'm very OK with the new style because it's action packed and exciting, but it's less scary than the old style.

Here's my ranking:

Top Tier:
Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil Code: Veronica

OK Tier:
Resident Evil 0, Resident Evil 1

So-So Tier:
Resident Evil 3, Resident Evil 5

 

[Napalm_Frank]

They try to take things too seriously now

Boulderpunch.gif

For silly ranking:
Re2>Remake>RE4>CV:X>RE1>RE3>RE5>Zero>>>>>>UC>DC>DA>Survivor>Gaiden.

 

[The Return of]

And that "Let's carry this explosive fuel around with us but if you run it'll explode enjoy slowly walking through like 10 corridors" was just... rraaagghh!

If you are complaining about this, I'd definitely say the game just annoyed a lot, because you really only go through 3 doors and with not many zombies(Depends because you can kill the zombies before you do this part).

I honestly don't even set zombies on fire in REmake, because it really never felt like a necessity for me. At the end of the game I almost always end up with a ton of ammo(If I'm playing on Normal difficulty).

but yeah, I can see how it tests patience of people.

 

[Angry Fork]

Boulderpunch.gif

For silly ranking:
Re2>Remake>RE4>CV:X>RE1>RE3>RE5>Zero>>>>>>UC>DC>DA>Survivor>Gaiden.

rofl I forgot about that. Yea that's true. I guess I meant when it comes to the story and voice acting. It's become this big military save the world kind of thing and I liked the simplicity of the first game. Some guys got stuck in a mansion and you're trying to survive, that's about it. I love that.

Get a new cast and put them in some scary ass hotel or something and design a game around that I don't want to hear about some huge conspiracy or have a set piece where I'm parachuting out a plane and fighting zombies in mid air etc. it's just silly/over the top.

 

[Alligatorjandro]

The only ones I havent beaten are 0,1 and CV.

 

[MechaX]

Holy shit, Gaiden worse than Survivor? It can't be that bad...

*Goes to Youtube*

*MotherofGodgif*

If you are complaining about this, I'd definitely say the game just annoyed a lot, because you really only go through 3 doors and with not many zombies(Depends because you can kill the zombies before you do this part).

I honestly don't even set zombies on fire in REmake, because it really never felt like a necessity for me. At the end of the game I almost always end up with a ton of ammo(If I'm playing on Normal difficulty).

but yeah, I can see how it tests patience of people.

That trek seemed a lot longer than 3 doors, but I'll take your word on it.

REmake seemed to have a lot of issues that normally wouldn't get on my nerves individually in other RE titles that just kinda... combined. But again, I was at least able to beat REmake, so I can give it that point in its favor even if I didn't actually enjoy playing it. I don't think I'll ever complete RE0.

 

[Scum]

Tank controls plus fixed camera made Resident Evil fuck awesome! I also loved what Capcom managed to do with RE2 on the N64. :O
Oh, and my favourites would be Resident Evil 2, REmake and Resident Evil 4.

 

[Eyeh4wk]

Awesome thread cvxfreak, but I think you should include the spin-offs too. At least Resident Evil Survivor, and Outbreak.

The only RE game in the main series I haven't played is Code Veronica and honestly everything I've seen of the game just makes me not want to play it too.

You really should play it. IMO it's the best one from the last generation.

 

[~Devil Trigger~]

Resident Evil 4 is the best Resident Evil.

Boom

 

[Man God]

I'm also not a fan of Code Veronica. I think it tends to drag and some of the puzzles aren't great.

 

[The Xtortionist]

Resident Evil 4 is the greatest game of all time.

 

[kyo_daikun]

I've never been so frightened by something so slow in my life.

She made Michael Meyers look like Justin Bieber.

I think she freaked me out more for the fact it was a new boss, the others were fine as I was expecting them but lisa rattling around just scared the arse off me.

 

[Kazuma Kiryu]

GOD TIER:
Resi1 (damn, that remake was awesome, and the original was brilliant too)
Resi2
Resi4

OK TIER:
Resi3
ResiCV
Resi0

MEH TIER:
Resi5 (pretty much an action game, no horror elements whatsoever i thought, story was a mess too, the only redeeming feature to me was the coop, i ended up finishing the game 3 times with different people, but it just didn't feel like a resi game to me)

 

[sleepykyo]

S tier: RE2>RE4>
A: RE1>RE3
B: RE5>
C: RECV>RE0>RERemake.

Still think RE3 gets overlooked due to RE: CV being better looking (Dreamcast v. PS1), but RE3 did more in terms of game play. Tweaked the ammo management system by adding in ammo mixing and laid the groundwork for RE4 (dodge => melee attacks, survivor => mercenaries).

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Holy shit, Gaiden worse than Survivor? It can't be that bad...

*Goes to Youtube*

*MotherofGodgif*

Some strange part of me kind of likes Survivor with lightgun. I guess the fact that it is short as hell helps .

 

[Boney]

S tier: RE2>RE4>
A: RE1>RE3
B: RE5>
C: RECV>RE0>RERemake.

Still think RE3 gets overlooked due to RE: CV being better looking (Dreamcast v. PS1), but RE3 did more in terms of game play. Tweaked the ammo management system by adding in ammo mixing and laid the groundwork for RE4 (dodge => melee attacks, survivor => mercenaries).

wait what?

 

[Barack Lesnar]

Looking at the timeline, will RE6 around 2013-ish? I hope they save it for next-gen if that's the case. Make it like 2014 or 2015

 

[News Bot]

Before anyone bitches about the story, it would be advisable to go to http://projectumbrella.net for a while, if the story is even in your interest.

We've been making the story coherent for a few years now. Turns out if you want to understand the story, you simply cannot rely on the localized English versions. The translation work on them is pathetic, with many of the essential files being cut down, mistranslated, censored and simply having things made-up completely. The "cheesy" dialogue is also a result of the pitiful localization work.

There are no "plot holes" in the series, or even retcons. Only mistranslations, and other stuff which is just the result of people misunderstanding or placing too much importance in pre-rendered backgrounds or something silly (like the barricades in the RPD in BH3, which are destroyed by Zombies). CAPCOM have also already explained the fates of Sherry, Steve and other characters. The problem is, they have only offered the explanations in Japanese material. They generally release nothing worthwhile or pertinent to the plot in the West.

P.S. Fuck the "Resident Evil Wikia". It needs shut down.

2) Sherry (Dammit Capcom, you can't just tease us with Wesker's report II and leave it at that!)

They already explained it. She is in the protective custody of the U.S. Government. Wesker had access to her through spies in the department responsible for her. Also, the first Wesker's Report is generally not really canon. Also, she has her own stand-alone story set in an alternative universe.

Relevant Links

BIOHAZARD UMBRELLA CHRONICLES ~Prelude to the Fall~
BIOHAZARD 2 Official Guide Book
BIOHAZARD 3 LAST ESCAPE Official Guidebook - Complete Conquest of Nemesis
BIOHAZARD GUN SURVIVOR OFFICIAL GUIDEBOOK
BIOHAZARD CODE:Veronica Kanzenban Kaitai Shinsho
biohazard 4 Kaitai Shinsho
biohazard 4 Perfect Capture Guide
BIOHAZARD 5 Kaitai Shinsho
Chronology of Evil
BIOHAZARD Canon
BIOHAZARD archives II
INSIDE OF BIOHAZARD THE DARKSIDE CHRONICLES
Angela's Diary
biohazard 4 Incubate

 

[sleepykyo]

wait what?

I didn't like the Crismon Heads.

 

[brandonh83]

Still think RE2 is the best. Music, multiple scenarios, settings, action sequences... shit is the pinnacle of the series for me.

Remake has the best atmosphere though, and is by far the scariest installment.