Coming back home I never thought the day would come when I would be able to sit down and play this game on a current system. I thought it would forever remain an artifact, always there in the hallways of our minds, peeking out every so often when the subject is spoken of. Never did I think this game would be remade. Now that it has, I love it but I also have mixed feelings. Those of us who are fans of the Resident Evil franchise know-how in depth the story is, the plot twists, the puzzles the excitement of it all. Now, ever since the Resident Evil franchise is getting a much-needed reboot back in 2017, I can solemnly say that things are the way they should be. I know, not the answer you were expecting, but hear me out on this. Creating a game back in the 1990s is like creating a rough draft of a paper and with every rough draft, there has to be a final copy.
With creating that final copy you can run into many difficulties. With this remake, the focus was more refined and you had a clear objective and enemy that was to be fought. That focus was, the Nemesis the Umbrella Corporations beloved creation and horror child. It's not that there was no clear objective when the game released in 1999, it just felt all over the place and a little lackluster, in comparison to the remake. Having a clear point in a game that goes from A to B to C is a needed thing, when creating as extensive of a game as Resident Evil one cannot simply jump from C, then F then L.
Giving Evil a Name when you hear the name The Umbrella Corporation, what do you think of? Resident Evil, of course. You would also think of the T-Virus, the nemesis, raccoon city, a lot of things would start to come to your mind when that fictional company name sprouts up in a conversation. The umbrella corporation has been a fictional model for what not to do when it comes to how to run a company. Keeping secrets, bioweapon and human experimentation, a whole host of illegalities spring up. Some turn a blind eye, some take aim and fight the problem head-on even if it means finding out more than originally intended.
Giving evil a name isn’t an easy job, however, the Umbrella Corporation might have succeeded in doing so. Let’s take the concept of the Nemesis and look at the evolution of how it was represented in both games. In 1999, the Nemesis is this hulking creature that yelled S.T.A.R.S every time he would encounter Jill and give these weird grunts every time he would miss an attack. I felt like the character of the Nemesis didn’t scare me the way other characters did. Back in 1999, the character that is the Nemesis felt bland and unloved, that is until this remake happened. The Nemesis in Resident Evil Three Remake however is now given a clear definitive purpose, it's more clear to the audience why this creature is the way it is, why it's attacking Jill Valentine, and why it evolves into so many forms. The Nemesis is the evolution of greed, and the ultimate form of destruction, chaos, and demise of the Umbrella Corporation. We see the evolution of how each form of the Nemesis got angrier, more destructive, and move blood-hungry. The Nemesis is that personification of the company in which Umbrella created, a greedy self-serving monster.
Getting Rid of The Problem Each character plays a unique role in this game, setting this title apart from the rest. We really get to see Jill Valentine, even Brad Vickers in their own element and I feel like Jill, in particular, was taken more seriously in this remake than the first version in 1999. Besides the fact that Jill sounded like she hated everyone, and has a mouth on her a sailor would be jealous of, she’s pretty accurately depicted as far as behavior, movements, and even attitude goes, (even though the Jill Valentine from 1999 was a little tamer in my opinion). The goal that Jill has is simple, to take down umbrella. She’s hard-headed, witty, and is the only character that truly has an opinion. She moves with purpose in the games and I felt like that was something that was brought in the remake of the first game in 2003, and with every remake, after that, they kept Jill as this strong woman who didn’t bend to the rules or a hierarchy. She knew what she needed to do and she did it. As each character finds out the truth regarding The Nemesis and how corrupt the umbrella is, there is a sort of renascence moment that happens. It occurs with Jill, Brad, and Carlos the most within this game. The wool is lifted and an eerie logic fills like gas around their minds.
The Nemesis is there to get rid of the problem, and the problem is S.T.A.R.S. with the way in which the Nemesis was created in 1999 I never felt a sense of urgency with this character or a sense of fear. It was always just “oh, there’s enemy again, yelling stars” but in this remake, the character of the Nemesis is so vast and so diverse it made me truly love the way it was flushed out more, and it was more of an important role instead of just being an abnormally larger enemy that Jill has to face over and over again. Since the Nemesis is the representation of the greed for the umbrella corporation it's only fitting that if the creature grows in greed and malice, so does the company that created it. The umbrella corp. wants to get rid of their problems and hide the evidence along the way, this was made more clear in the remake I feel than in the first version of this game. Capcom did a lot of things right and made this game more fleshed out, and coherent that way each game is in a direct sequence of events, instead of just bits and pieces.
Bringing It All Back, Maybe… While the game is lacking in several puzzles, areas, and important story points from the first version, Capcom managed to bring consistency to the Resident evil world that we never really had, by condensing the game and tying in this sense of a moral resolution. We know who we are fighting and for what reason, this whole concept of knowing what Jill IS fighting for is made a lot clearer, I feel. I never thought Capcom would bring so much of the original game into the Remake either. Dario, Murphy, Tyrell, even Marvin from the second game, there is even a point where you can play as Carlos in two sections. One in R.P.D and one in the hospital. Granted, we played as Jill in R.PD in the original, but beggars can’t be choosers. The other thing that was not kept consistent and I still have an issue with is the complete erasure of multiple endings. In one of the endings you could fly away with Carlos and Barry Burton, In the remake, it’s just Jill and Carlos flying sky high avoiding vaporization. There is also a severe lack of puzzles in the game which is probably why it was so short. I wanted to use more brains than brawns, but ok Capcom… Will we get the things that were not in the remake put into a DLC? Is it lost forever? Does Capcom assume that we as players don’t want to think our way through things? I’m not quite sure. But the clarification of the role of the Nemesis, and how it is tied to the ever-growing greed of the umbrella corp is something that is beautifully done, well-paced, and the last boss battle with Nemesis, truly breathtaking.
Closing thoughts…
Resident Evil Three: Nemesis was a big part of my childhood, and back in the day was fun in its own rights (for the time in which it was released). The remake while it was amazing, graphically stunning there is a lot missing, and had all of the bits been added in an appropriate way it would have not only made the game longer but would have been an accurate depiction of the original. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that change needs to be made, and there were several that were made that really benefited the game as a whole, but when one takes away the points that make the story vibrant that’s when I have an issue. As a whole, I loved the game and for me, it has replayability, Capcom brought back a lot of our favorite characters, including ones that I never thought would see the light of day EVER again! Carlos was better-rounded and empathetic, Jill was still sassy and her character seemed more vibrant. All around it was a wonderful, nostalgic experience that I enjoyed wholeheartedly. Do I wish certain things were in the remake? Yes, but as a whole, the game was constructed beautifully and I would highly recommend getting this for new and old Resident Evil fans alike!
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