Death Metalist
Member
My thoughts about what Resident Evil is to me.
The original trilogy is still better(to me) simply for the fact of atmosphere, tension, sense of progression, puzzle solving, reading notes that give hints/references to future puzzles or items that you picked up as you play, mood, SOUNDTRACK and how at any time you could be at the brink of danger even if you just thought you were out of it a minute ago. I even prefer Code Veronica over RE4. Actually, Code veronica proved that Capcom was still able to keep RE's identity while it being fully 3D and while the other half of the game is backtracking, I thought they were creative in how you explored the same familiar ground yet everything looked/felt different as you went into new and old places where with Claire you didn't/couldn't. Which surprises me why Capcom's other game DMC4 has such lazy backtracking when you play with the other character with absolutely nothing new and the same fucking boss fights.
I think the best thing about the original REs for me is that you start out in such a simple place or setting but it turns into a much bigger and complex thing. Mansion, Police Station, Jail Cell, Streets.etc after exploring and progressing you reminisce about the places you were in as you find the key that may take you someplace that is not something familiar and way outside where you spent most of your time playing, exploring and going through. Like who would have thought in RE1, you'd go through a mansion that has a big ass underground lab? or how about in RE2, you go through a police station that ends up with you being in a sewer which then leads to a secret lab that has a train station for an escape. I may sound crazy but the design of the classic REs always manages to make me miss the place where I was because I spent so much time exploring, unlocking doors, doing puzzles, going through notes, defeated bosses, listening to the fantastic score of that place.etc that when I finally reach to the point of progressing without returning to the place I was makes me sad as well as frightened but, it also gives such a sense of progression that no RE except ones done in the classic design was able to achieve.
With 4 and the rest you are mostly going forward during the entire game. You are not given the time to grow into your environment and surroundings, infact the whole pace of RE4 is faster then all of the other REs combined. In the original REs you psychologically felt stronger without the need of upgrading weapons because you got used to your surroundings and learned the map by heart which gives you the sense of progression and satisfaction that RE4 and the others above doesn't, unlike in RE4 where you upgrade weapons and such. All you did in the classic RE games was gain new weapons and even then they weren't much help at all because good luck managing places for your items, herbs and other weapons so you'll have to make a choice by what to keep in the safe box and what not to. You won't use the new weapons you got because they are mostly low on ammo most of the time, usually you will be relying on your trusty handgun and even then you got to manage your ammo so you most likely won't shoot everything in sight but try running away and collecting ammo as much as you can. To be smarter, you'd only kill the zombies in the places you know you're going to be revisiting later due to a missing item there or the like. Both styles cannot be compared though, at all. I'm just stating why I adore the classic design of RE games. A couple of years ago, I played 1 - 3 and last year I finished RE:Code Veronica. Still amazing games that I enjoy alot. We may never get anything like it again since the classics are mostly akin to adventure games(Glad for REmake 2 though!) but I am glad we have the originals to experience them. Another thing I love about the classic design of RE games is that the camera angles always feel like someone is watching over you. Just the whole camera angle gives a sense of depth, perspective, mood and atmosphere that TPS doesn't cover.
They use the environment in such a smart way that you start off not knowing anything to then learning everything by heart which helps when you want to head to places from point A to B. Not to mention each place has it's own piece of music so you'll find yourself humming the music as you go from door to door. The save room themes are enough to call the OST's of RE 1 - Veronica X GOAT. I like to compare the original design of RE games to metroidvania/adventure games. In the sense you start out in one place but then you slowly get stronger and progress through the game which also makes you reminisce about the old places you were in because you spent so much time there and you grew psychologically as a character by learning the ins and outs of where you are as well as what is the fastest, most safest way to go from point A to point B after having the needed item to open a door, lets say. RE4 and the others that come after it just don't have that sense of progression, satisfaction or growth as a player because they are not designed for you to be in one place and slowly you open up new places as you flourish in the environment, It doesn't give you the time to do so since it is designed in a way that you are, for the most part, always moving forward.
In the end though, each have their own fans by now. If I were to say my history with the franchise it's basically that I'm there ever since the first game, got it with my PS1 along side Crash Bandicoot 2. I love the entire franchise and played all the games but my preference lies with the classics.
The original trilogy is still better(to me) simply for the fact of atmosphere, tension, sense of progression, puzzle solving, reading notes that give hints/references to future puzzles or items that you picked up as you play, mood, SOUNDTRACK and how at any time you could be at the brink of danger even if you just thought you were out of it a minute ago. I even prefer Code Veronica over RE4. Actually, Code veronica proved that Capcom was still able to keep RE's identity while it being fully 3D and while the other half of the game is backtracking, I thought they were creative in how you explored the same familiar ground yet everything looked/felt different as you went into new and old places where with Claire you didn't/couldn't. Which surprises me why Capcom's other game DMC4 has such lazy backtracking when you play with the other character with absolutely nothing new and the same fucking boss fights.
I think the best thing about the original REs for me is that you start out in such a simple place or setting but it turns into a much bigger and complex thing. Mansion, Police Station, Jail Cell, Streets.etc after exploring and progressing you reminisce about the places you were in as you find the key that may take you someplace that is not something familiar and way outside where you spent most of your time playing, exploring and going through. Like who would have thought in RE1, you'd go through a mansion that has a big ass underground lab? or how about in RE2, you go through a police station that ends up with you being in a sewer which then leads to a secret lab that has a train station for an escape. I may sound crazy but the design of the classic REs always manages to make me miss the place where I was because I spent so much time exploring, unlocking doors, doing puzzles, going through notes, defeated bosses, listening to the fantastic score of that place.etc that when I finally reach to the point of progressing without returning to the place I was makes me sad as well as frightened but, it also gives such a sense of progression that no RE except ones done in the classic design was able to achieve.
With 4 and the rest you are mostly going forward during the entire game. You are not given the time to grow into your environment and surroundings, infact the whole pace of RE4 is faster then all of the other REs combined. In the original REs you psychologically felt stronger without the need of upgrading weapons because you got used to your surroundings and learned the map by heart which gives you the sense of progression and satisfaction that RE4 and the others above doesn't, unlike in RE4 where you upgrade weapons and such. All you did in the classic RE games was gain new weapons and even then they weren't much help at all because good luck managing places for your items, herbs and other weapons so you'll have to make a choice by what to keep in the safe box and what not to. You won't use the new weapons you got because they are mostly low on ammo most of the time, usually you will be relying on your trusty handgun and even then you got to manage your ammo so you most likely won't shoot everything in sight but try running away and collecting ammo as much as you can. To be smarter, you'd only kill the zombies in the places you know you're going to be revisiting later due to a missing item there or the like. Both styles cannot be compared though, at all. I'm just stating why I adore the classic design of RE games. A couple of years ago, I played 1 - 3 and last year I finished RE:Code Veronica. Still amazing games that I enjoy alot. We may never get anything like it again since the classics are mostly akin to adventure games(Glad for REmake 2 though!) but I am glad we have the originals to experience them. Another thing I love about the classic design of RE games is that the camera angles always feel like someone is watching over you. Just the whole camera angle gives a sense of depth, perspective, mood and atmosphere that TPS doesn't cover.
They use the environment in such a smart way that you start off not knowing anything to then learning everything by heart which helps when you want to head to places from point A to B. Not to mention each place has it's own piece of music so you'll find yourself humming the music as you go from door to door. The save room themes are enough to call the OST's of RE 1 - Veronica X GOAT. I like to compare the original design of RE games to metroidvania/adventure games. In the sense you start out in one place but then you slowly get stronger and progress through the game which also makes you reminisce about the old places you were in because you spent so much time there and you grew psychologically as a character by learning the ins and outs of where you are as well as what is the fastest, most safest way to go from point A to point B after having the needed item to open a door, lets say. RE4 and the others that come after it just don't have that sense of progression, satisfaction or growth as a player because they are not designed for you to be in one place and slowly you open up new places as you flourish in the environment, It doesn't give you the time to do so since it is designed in a way that you are, for the most part, always moving forward.
In the end though, each have their own fans by now. If I were to say my history with the franchise it's basically that I'm there ever since the first game, got it with my PS1 along side Crash Bandicoot 2. I love the entire franchise and played all the games but my preference lies with the classics.
) thanks to the recent remasters.
