Rebirthing Horror in a Modern World

Capcom did not see the contents of this review before its release Horror has a home in the thrill of chase, the discovery of a chilling story, and the characters we play as. Resident Evil 1,2, and 3 holds not just a bounty of nostalgia but are titles that have cemented in gaming history as horror staples.   This series inspired an entire genre of survival horror games such as The Evil Within and Outlast,  even inspiring some indie titles such as The Deepest Sleep and Crow Country just to name a couple.  The Resident Evil series birthed survival horror in its entire note-checking, zombie-moaning glory.           Throughout my time playing the PC ports I had a re-occurring thought about the remakes. With Resident Evil 1 Remake being the first game I ever played I found that playing through the first and then at the halfway points of two and three of these games, these titles are much Like a trust fall you just have to have faith that you will be caught, and things will see itself through to the end.     

Photo source: My gameplay

                                           Resident Evil 1: 1996 Welcome Home:            Coming back to the Spencer Mansion feels like I’ve been away at school for a semester, arriving home to a place that welcomed me with open arms, and love bites from zombies. It’s both incredible and hilarious to watch the live-action cut scenes, the way the video was edited in the late 90’s, and how the narrative design was performed through the voice acting. The controls were easy to map out and configure (this goes for 2 and 3 as well), and the puzzles held a certain charm to them that carried across all three Ports.              Resident Evil 1, was one of the first games that gave us a true suspenseful survival horror experience, and when the remake of this title released it not only raised expectations from companies in what was to be expected, but also paved the way for the possibilities of what gaming could, and would become.  Let’s take the Pc ports of these games for what they are for the period they came out in. The 90s were continuing the age of exploration in gaming, creating something fun for the consumers to play.  We can’t possibly review a game from 1996 in the same lens that we review a game that just came out in 2024, it wouldn’t be a genuine discussion. There are so many ways that Shinji Mikami and his team (I’m assuming) wanted to approach Resident Evil One, but because of the lack of sophistication of computers and technology, and what could be done at the time, it limited the way games were crafted from a creative and technological standpoint. So when we look at games like the Resident Evil series in the 90’s let’s appreciate how much they were able to manage with the technology available.       Some of the main things I noticed in this game were just how much was changed in the remake. The remake implemented so much substance that added meat to what Resident Evil One is. Like Lisa Trevor, Crimson Heads, each room has its ambiance soundtrack, and lest we not forget the addition of multiple different rooms even in the mining area, as well as changes to the dialogue and voice acting.             Let’s look at it from the angle of a rough draft, the 1996 version was the skeleton of a project that had yet to take form. When the remake came into existence it defined what a remake should look like.  While yes there are imperfect things about the remake, no title will ever be a perfect game, the overall way that the remake was approached honored the original game and its core message was to the player. Survive, find the truth, and exist in the moments that seem fleeting.

Photo source: Reddit

                                                Resident Evil 2: 1998 First Day on the Job:             I remember watching my niece when she was six years old play this game right after I had finished the remake of the first game in 2003. Seeing her giggle every time Claire died built a core memory that was both worrying and showed me my first sense of community in gaming. I never got to finish Resident Evil 2, so getting to play through it now is a joy. Getting to hear the original dialogue and compare it to the remake, seeing how the world of Raccoon City looked, and how everything played out is fascinating. Playing through the entirety of the remake and comparing it to the original makes the process of both playing and reviewing these titles interesting because what I think of the remakes now as a result has changed entirely.             The ideas and concepts evolved with every Resident Evil game, the way the puzzles evolved from the first game (then changed a lot in the remakes depending on the difficulty).  Overall, the original Resident Evil 2 wasn’t as enjoyable for me as the remake of the game. Whether that’s because the remake was the first version I played all the way through, or because I didn’t enjoy the original's pacing which felt clumsy. What is apparent is the voice acting and character development in this game, the developers really upped the ante in terms of how the game was approached. Resident Evil 2 added more dread, and that was amplified in the remake, creating this harmonizing balance between the anticipation of what’s coming around the corner and the possibility of a space with first aid a mere moments away.            Seeing how the different stories evolved from Claire to Leon was fun, even though I knew the outcome. The original somehow seemed to surprise me when I least expected it, be it in a voice line that was in the original and not the remake, or a scene that might have been cut. Comparing the originals and the remakes is fun, and shocking in the sense that I can’t believe how far we’ve come in technology, narrative design, and music composition.            

                                      Resident Evil 3: 1999 The plot thickens:             The plot of Resident Evil 3 is some of the best writing in the series besides parts one, four, and seven. Resident Evil Three made some pretty cool advancements in game development such as for some of the staircases you weren’t shown an animation of stairs as a loading screen, while this was present in RE1, it was smoother in RES3. I played this originally a few years after I played Resident Evil One Remake and a bit of two. I only played a little bit of the original of this title and then stopped for some reason. So going through as Jill again, meeting the original Carlos in all his flirty ways, was incredible. The music in this installment was so suspenseful and created an impactful sense of dread that made this game both fun and had me guessing when the next jump scare would be.             The main issue I had with this game was the graphics, they looked better in the remastered Resident Evil 2. In the remastered Resident Evil three, they just look like pictures of faces plastered onto the character model.  The cut scenes in both games however are excellent considering the time these were developed. The PC ports for one and three also have unlimited saves, and in Leon’s case for Resident Evil 2, unlimited ammo. The saves in Resident Evil 2 are not unlimited, and you will have to go old-school with your approach. When playing the remake of Resident Evil Three at first since I hadn’t played parts of the original in years I thought It was good for the most part and looked at it from a different perspective, however, playing now more of the remaster I can say that besides the graphical updates, the remake of three was one of the worst remakes of any Resident Evil game I’ve seen.              The Nemesis in the original held more fear, and demanded more urgency from the player; in the remake, he wasn’t scary at all just annoying. Several areas and endings were cut as well, leaving me with so many questions for Capcom. While yes, like I stated before seeing a graphical update is great, as well as seeing modern accessibility and controls, cutting short half of the content that made the original what it was is, is upsetting.

Photo source: Ebay

So long Raccoon City:             If you’re a fan of retro games and never played the original Resident Evil series or you’ve played them but just want to have them on your PC, get this collection.  I’ve loved these games ever since I played the remake in 2003, getting scared every time I heard a zombie grunt, or the fireplace crack, hearing the echoes throughout the Spencer mansion elevating my fears and feeding that childlike curiosity.  These games, and the remake of the first one in particular created and nurtured my love of games in ways I never thought possible. Putting out the PC ports of the cult classics for PC users to enjoy was one of the smartest moves Capcom has ever made. The conservation of older games is incredibly important and crucial in how we approach new concepts in stories, worlds, and music. Seeing how far games have come, and the perspectives that were held is so important in the growth of new worlds for people to get lost in. The Resident Evil series is one of growth, nostalgia, and a birthing of new concepts. The games grew with their audience music like Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, or Silent Hill, going from what is this place, to welcome back home. This review is dedicated to my dad, instead of getting that Barbie game that society deemed acceptable, he got me a game that made me curious, it made me think. Thanks, Dad.