Resident Evil-Old school

[Maridia]

Everyone likes the new RE's. 4 especially, and yeah they rock. Fast paced action packed zombie slaying with customizable weapons. What's not to love?

What I want to talk about is the old school part of RE. I mean the series as it was when you walked around with the camera in one area 8 item spots and if you use one herb or handgun bullet too many it could make you learn to get good with a knife or restart. The originals are certainly an acquired taste, but amazing if it's your niche.


I haven't played some of them. Like 0, but I heard it sucks. I've beaten 1, 2, and 3 (Nemesis). Though I've never played the original one. I've got the remake for the Gamecube. I didn't own the Ps1 when I was a kid so I had to wait til 2 came to the N64 and Nemesis to Gamecube.

The remake of 1 is actually the hardest one I've played for the originals. The zombies occasionally break through doors so when you thought you got away they're right back at you. It is the best of all at setting the mood. The way the camera is set and how dreary it is. From moths flying around the lights outside to the dying shrubs with the howling in the distance you truly feel alone. It's hard but fun, rewarding, and creepy.

2 was the first I played and still my fave for the oldies. Claire scenario A and Leon B. You can fly through it if you know where to go. The licker is still the creepiest of all species in the series. I was one of the only people who thought Leon was the better make character over Chris so imagine my excitement when he showed up in 4. In 5 Chris turned into a real juice bag with bleached horse teeth.

Nemesis freaked me out as a kid. He's scary looking but what really does it is his ability to always show up at the worst times and bust in when you can't handle another fight. It's the follow up to Jill so I'm a sucker to see what happened. Cryo rounds for the win,and **** Carlos.

Code Veronica was defenitely a real let down. I liked the mansion part cause it was a reminder of one. And Wesker fighting her was alright. His cat eyes made me burst out laughing though. Oh and a cross dressing red coat. I beat it 2 sittings but it was weird. It just felt like the idea was dying or being turned into a process and nothing clever that made me think "cool!" was there.

So what about you which is your fave, scariest or thoughts on the old ones?

[GypsyElder]

You know better than anyone that I've played all of them haha, aannd Code Veronica is may favorite I think in Zero, there's this room with a like hanging coffin that holds this crazy ho. She scared me more than Nemesis, I haven't played in a while, but I remember you have to let her loose to get something and then you have to use a crank to open a door....in this like circular room while she chases you around...It sucks, she screams at you hahah and one hit from her puts you in "danger (red)" or maybe it was orange caution....

I've played all of them including the original first one, I think it was director's cut, and you meet Rebecca there the first time in a save/safe room. I've beaten the remake for GC, 2, Nemesis, Code Veronica, 4, (bought it for PS2 and I'm playing it again, it's addicting) 5 wasn't scary at all. I really crapped my pants playing Dino Crisis though, I think it's the music that got me, I really didn't think it would be that scary.

I like the traditional style of running and moving around, you where no matter which way you're facing, you always push triangle and forward, and you actually have a view of everything in your area as opposed to following the character at shooting range. I didn't mind the short pause between load screens and I miss the whole " door opening " thing

EDIT: LOL has anyone played Luigi's Mansion?

[Maridia]

Actually funny you say I associate Luigi's Mansion and RE1 together. I played them within a month or 2 of eachother. But during winter of when I was 14ish it was so nasty and dark outside so quick I rented both of them and went to town. Plus they're both mansion oriented so yeah I always run one with the other in my mind. Though Luigi never got aced by a giant snake. Go figure.

[bobbo087]

I've played all of them thus far and I have to admit that 4 was my favorite becaus ein all of the other ones I just couldn't and sill cant get used to the camera controls as well as player controls which is why I like over the shoulder games more. But don't get me wrong I still like the others for the story line, I remember when I was a kid I had played 3 and every time I saw nemesis I would try to run away even when the game wouldn't let you, hehe those games freaked me out as a child I would always sleep on the top bunk thinking that would save me from the zombies, gotta laugh at yourself sometimes.

[Jin]

Like 0, but I heard it sucks.

You heard wrong.

Code Veronica was defenitely a real let down. I liked the mansion part cause it was a reminder of one.

Agreed. While Code Veronica wasn't quite up to snuff in my opinion, the mansion part gave me happy feelings.

I miss the old style Resident Evil games. Resident Evil 4 was an awesome game, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't survival horror. Resident Evil 5 wasn't even horror, let alone survival horror - it was an action game with an archaic control scheme.

I miss the days when ammo was a luxury, when the enemies were actual zombies, when puzzles were an actual part of the game rather than just some throwaway break in the action which a child could have designed and when 2 enemies being on screen at the same time was a challenge, an actual horde being completely out of the question.

I don't have a problem per se that Resident Evil is gravitating towards the action genre, I just wish they'd pick a genre and stick with it. Or at least blend the two well instead of creating some bastard child that doesn't feel like either genre.

As for my favourite of the series, I'd have to chose the original. If the Gamecube remake can be counted, I'll go with that one as it was absolutely stunning and added enough new twists to warrant a purchase from those that owned the original. I think the remake showed that their original formula can work so long as they polish it. People keep complaining about the fixed cameras, but they weren't that bad. God of War has fixed cameras, no one complains.

[Beastrune]

Among my fellow gamers I've garnered somewhat of a reputation when it comes to resident evil games. Esspecially the old school Resident evils, gaining S rank (or the equivalent in each) Heres two of my recent resident evil 1 results :

Resident Evil 1 Result by ~Beastrune on deviantART

Resident Evil 1 Result 2 by ~Beastrune on deviantART

I always felt code veronica was a bit of a letdown, but in terms of pants resident evil games, Gaiden reigns supreme

[Fluffy]

As far as RE goes, I think that 4 is the most fun I've played so far. I haven't played 5 yet, though.

However, 4 is definitely not survival horror. Practically infinite ammo alone ruins that. And so much about it is unbelievable. Why are all of these villagers and stuff dropping TMP ammo? Why is there a guy selling stuff to me in the first place? I'm willing to ignore it for the sake of making the game more fun in its own way, but it really detracts from the survival horror genre.

As far as the older RE games go, I think I'd have to say I like the remake of 1 the most. It looks amazing in comparison to the original, and as a veteran of the first game, I enjoyed that they made changes to it so that it doesn't feel like the same game. They also seemed to up the difficulty a bit.

I still haven't played 0. It's one of the next games I'll be playing soon.

[Maridia]

The one thing I liked about 5 was the ammo wasn't over the top like 4. It's not as bad as the old ones where you might have get bit just to save ammo for a boss. But the ammo wasn't overflowing in your inventory. I did 5 alone and with a friend. Both times the best approach was assign guns to a person. I played the distance and support with the Sig, AK, and grenade launcher while my buddy used the Beretta and shotgun (don't remember which one) for close quarters assault.

I enjoy the old and new ideas. The fixed camera is more creepy and adds a presence. The run and gun of 4 kept it interesting with being over the top and silly. And 5's trying to add and tinker with the 2 player idea plus throwing back to the less ammo idea. I assume since it's the best for sales they'll stay with the new way but blending more aspects of the old will keep people (like myself) more satisfied. Darker enviorments and having to think about how to tackle a fight and not just buy a rocket would be good.

[Violet]

It seems like every game developer is putting their efforts into the battle systems. It's very important as to how enjoyable the battle system is, but I feel like they're forgetting about the whole feel of the game--the theme, the story, the music, the suspense etc..

RE 1, 2, and 3 scared the bejeezus out of me when I first played them as a kid. I replayed them recently after playing 5. I wanted to see what they had that 5 lacked. And well.. they had a ton more suspense. The kind of suspense that makes you hang off the edge of your chair, afraid something's gonna jump out at you from the dark any minute. In 5, I just felt invincible.. I had all these weapons and ammo and I just blew the shit out of anything that got in my way. There wasn't a whole lot of creepy suspense that the older games had. None of the monsters scared me in 5, either.

RE 4 was alright, and I say 'alright' because I didn't like Ashley. I like being alone in RE games. RE 5's Sheva was way more tolerable, but I prefer when you're by yourself cause it makes you feel more dread. I also probably didn't like 4 as much because of the setting. But it was an overall ok game. Oh yeah... and the regenerators/ironmaidens were creepy as hell.

So yeah, I just wish they could bring back the suspense and stop relying so much on the shooting. It'd be nice if they brought in some NPCs I actually cared about, too. Oh.. and more puzzles. Ok, I'm done.

[Jin]

I like being alone in RE games.

This.

That is exactly why I think co-op and Resident Evil go together like peanut butter and mustard. Survival horror games are supposed to create a feeling of isolation and solitude. It's hard to get into the mood of the game when your buddy's tea-bagging a dead African villager and shouting homophobic profanities through his mic.

[Dimi]

RE 4 was alright, and I say 'alright' because I didn't like Ashley.

QFT. It was a completely burden having her by your side throughout the most part of the game. I did not find her helpful in any way at all.

But for the most part, I do agree with the fact that the newer RE games are lacking what the old RE games have. The things I do like about the older RE games as someone was saying is that feeling of solitude. And this goes back to the first Resident Evil in the mansion.

I don't know if I'm a complete sucker..or a weirdo but I have a thing for playing horror games that have a creepy mansion setting. I ****ing love the idea. I also liked how in RE2 and RE3 that the setting was based around Raccoon City. I liked RE4 from the village to the castle to even the island. As of right now, I'm currently playing RE5 and I admit, the graphics are nice but they could've picked a better selection. And I didn't care for Code:Veronica's setting at all.

Anyways, if Capcom can somehow blend the survival horror and action genre perfectly then I think we may have a winner. They do say that Resident Evil 6 will be a complete reboot, however. So who knows....

It's hard to get into the mood of the game when your buddy's tea-bagging a dead African villager and shouting homophobic profanities through his mic.

Hahaha.

[Jin]

Anyways, if Capcom can somehow blend the survival horror and action genre perfectly then I think we may have a winner.

I'm not sure if that's even possible. In many ways, they're completely opposite genres. The only proper way I can see them doing it is to keep the survival horror genre the way it's supposed to be and then to simply add the control scheme of an action game like Gears of War or Dead Space.

Speaking of Dead Space, it's an excellent example of the direction Capcom should go with Resident Evil. There's still too much ammo (and a store, wtf?) for Dead Space to be survival horror, but it's certainly closer than Resident Evil has been in some time. The feeling of isolation is there, as is the feeling of horror in general. All they need to do is kneecap the power and resources of the protagonist and they'll be good to go.

[Xanatos]

Resident Evil has lost it's charm with these new games, sure they're fun but I kinda miss all those puzzles and challenge that the old ones have, not to forget the creepy atmosphere. Resident Evil 4 and 5 can't be considered a survival horror games, not being scared even once through both games make them just a regular shooter in my opinion. I've played Resident Evil 2 on N64 and even tho the game was considerably lower quality compared to the PS1 version it still managed to be an excellent game and of course to scare the shit out of me.

My first and my favorite RE game is Resident Evil 3 Nemesis, it was completely new experience for me, a scary one especially since I was just a kid and it was my first survival horror game. Later one I managed to get a copy for PC, still hasn't lost it's charm. I've also played Resident Evil Survivor, more of a arcade game but nevertheless it has it's moments. Just recently got my fingers on a Resident Evil 1 copy so I'll be sure to play it, Resident Evil Zero, Code Veronica and other sub series can wait for now.

With every new game Resident Evil is getting worse (in survival horror sense), I really hope they'll return to the roots with the new one.

[Rydia Lover]

People always say that the new resident evil games just plain suck and arent even any good. While I can agree that they are not as scary as the originals, I think I can say that to classic system was just getting old, I mean, how many zombie situations must chris go through before hes not scared anymore?
Thats personally why i think they changed it to an action game, you now have reacurring characters who are not really scared of BOWs anymore, thus not making it scary.

On that note, I have beaten 2 and 3, but the original is just WAY TOO HARD for me.

-Rydia

[Megatron0000]

2 was the first one i played and i was dumb and got stuck on the giant alligator. Took me a week to figure out you had to drop the gas tank and shoot it to kill him. Then there's the instance in the STARS hq where you run down a small hallway and suddenly zombies burst through the boarded windows. Scared the hell outta me when I went through there the first time. Its still my favorite.

[Maskie]

I played 2. That was fun. I did kind of have fun with this arranged mode they put in. Basically you had a gatling gun and rocket launcher waiting for you in the first box you opened. When I took Old Painless out of the bag nothing could stop me.

4 was my favorite. It wasn't creepy but my character didn't control like a Sherman Tank. Mercenaries was so awesome. I played it more than the main game. Hulk neck snapping monks was fun.

I loved the Resident Evil Deadly Silence on the DS. I missed the cheesy voice acting (Jill Sandwhich lol). Also it had a pretty sweet co op where you could use the other members of S.T.A.R.S. with thier own specialties (even Wesker) and you shared items through the boxes and a lifebar (so nobody could be an idiot). You also gain a firepower boost if you were in the same room. The Tyrant was a joke then.