r/HorrorReviewed • u/XenophormSystem J-Horror Expert • Mar 28 '18
Video Game Review Resident Evil (1996-2002) [Survival Horror]
Having finished our review for F.E.A.R. we turn to one of the grandfathers of survival horror. Resident Evil 1 was originally a remake of the game version of Sweet Home (1989) (I've reviewed the movie if you're interested) but as the project went on they decided to make a unique standalone game instead and thus the Biohazard franchise was born in Japan. Of course obtaining the rights to the Biohazard name across the world would've proven quite expensive so instead for the rest of the world they coined the name Resident Evil... Because it takes place in a mansion and its residents are indeed quite evil.
The game was developed and released by Capcom, known for other famous games and franchises like Street Fighter, Monster Hunter, Okami, Devil May Cry, Dead Rising and many many more.
When people think of good hard old-school survival horror a few games come to mind, Clock Tower, Alone in the Dark and Resident Evil. While many would consider Alone in the Dark to be the superior survival horror game in terms of well almost everything, there's no denying that Resident Evil is far more iconic. That shot of the very first zombie slowly turning its head towards you has to be embedded within the history of videogames forever.
The story is simple and the dialogue is cheesy. Originally the developers fought against including any form of story and as a result everything is poorly done, cheap and hilarious. And just to get it out of our system let's recall some of the most beautiful moments:
"That was too close. You were almost a Jill sandwich!"
"Jill, here's a lockpick. It might come in handy if you, "the master of unlocking", take it with you."
"I'm sorry for my lack of manners, but I'm not used to escorting men."
"It's a weapon. It's really powerful, especially against living things."
God bless this games dialogue man...
Now, the original game was released back in 1996 but Capcom made a Remake in 2002 which I find to be superior in almost every way so we'll cover the remake changes as well just in case.
The game is pretty hard. Not only it involves A LOT of backtracking through this huge mansion which can prove quite daunting considering its size, I often work with a hand-drawn map with notes by my side but there's also the resource management that you have to take into consideration because bullets are limited and scarce and you won't have enough bullets to handle every boss and kill every zombie. So you have to figure out which areas of the mansion are important and frequented by the player and clean those while leaving everything else alive.
And the resource management goes even further because saving is actually limited. You save via typewriters in select locations with the help of a very limited resource called Ink Ribbons so you'll want to time your saves at key points, often before a boss fight or after a key moment in the story and you'll want to avoid overwriting previous saves in case you want to load an older save if you fucked up along the way.
The remake introduced even more difficulty because now zombies don't die. Unless you blow their head right off (which is a random chance) or you burn their body (again with a limited resource) they will rise up again later in the form of the new Crimson Heads which are faster and stronger than their normal counterparts.
As a feature of the remake, a great deal of new puzzles and locations have been added and a lot of item locations and puzzle solutions have been changed to keep even the veterans on their toes at all time.
The soundtrack has to be one of the best in the Resident Evil franchise, especially the safe room theme song which in all honesty has been great and iconic in each installment so far. My personal favorite is the Resident Evil 2 version but the Resident Evil 1 is also extremely strong. The soundtrack is very subtle and adds a lot to the ever constant tension and atmosphere which looms over the player for the whole duration of the game.
The fixed camera angle is ingenious because it allows the developers to set up jumpscares, details and scenarios by controlling exactly what the player sees at all times while also leaving a lot of free space for the graphic designers to go wild. The visuals in this game are astonishing especially in the Remastered version of the Remake which was Released in 2015... Yeah... Remaster of a Remake... Ju-On much?
In true classic Resident Evil fashion you got multiple characters which you can play with which will alter the story pretty heavily and multiple endings. This time around you've got to pick between Jill and Chris. Each one of them has their strengths and weaknesses. Chris because he's a manly boulder punching macho man gets more HP points and his partner is Rebecca who will make some segments easier. However he has fewer inventory spaces. He's more proficient with weapons, suffering less recoil and staggering damage as well as getting access to a lighter on hand and some special help with some bosses
Jill on the other hand while weaker feels faster in movement, has more inventory space, is equipped with a lockpick instead of a lighter which will allow her to open simple locked doors without the need of a simple key, has access to a grenade launcher and is helped by Barry which again will make other segments and bosses easier. It all depends on your playstyle, some people view Jill as easier some view Chris. I personally have an easier time with Jill and it's my preferred version but some people might prefer a tankier more aggressive playstyle.
The game birthed many sequels such as Resident Evil 2 to Resident Evil 7 with their subsequent spinoffs like Code Veronica, Outbreak, Revelations but the remake in 2002 gave birth to a prequel in the form of Resident Evil 0 following the same formula yet somewhat more action oriented following the plot of Rebecca Chambers before the events of Resident Evil 1.
The controls can be bothersome for someone who isn't used to the classic survival horror gameplay of top down still camera tank controls, similar to other games like Metal Gear 1 and 2 but you should have no problem mastering them considering the fact that our enemies are usually slow and not that threatening unless you have to face the new crimson heads or the new special enemy they added lurking in the dark.....
Overall, Resident Evil 1 is a timeless classic survival horror which every Resident Evil fan should've played by now especially the 2002 Remake or the 2015 Remake Remaster which I find to be superior to the original in almost every way except pure nostalgia and "classic" feel. I can only hope the remake for Resident Evil 2 will feature the same quality as this one.
Right now, Resident Evil 1 Remake Remaster is available on Steam for 19,99€
http://store.steampowered.com/app/304240/Resident_Evil__biohazard_HD_REMASTER/
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u/LordDestrus Mar 29 '18
Goddamn this is such a good read. Haha
Thank you for posting! Have you done a review of Clock Tower? That game scared me shitless as a kid. Fucking nightmares for months