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What is Resident Evil to you, and what is your history with the franchise?

Loved Resident Evil. Got it for PS and played the heck out of it with my brother. We got so worked up in it we neglected our chores and my brother got so into it, that he constantly argued with my parents to the point my dad took the CD and broke it in half.

My friend had a copy and one time, even though he lost his memory card, tried to play and beat it without saving. That was a tense Saturday afternoon let me tell you. Those hunters man.
 
I would say this. The first 1/4th or so of Resident Evil 5 was brilliantly Resident Evil. It was everything an RE game is in our memories and fantasies. It brought back memories of Leon's foray into that village, and the curiosity of the mansion from the first one. There were zombies and horror. Once Chris left the town, it started falling apart. If the rest of the game followed the same style and pace of the town, it would rank alongside RE4 for me.
 

Soodanim

Member
I watched friends play 1. I was 8 when it came out.
I got 2 after playing the demo a lot. I still love it now, it's one of my best games of all time.
I still remember the conversations I had with a friend the morning that 3 came out. He played it before school, because his mum got it for him from a shop that broke release date.
To date I've owned every main entry in the series and a chunk of the rest of them.
I played Code Veronica HD so much I wrote down my speed run path and recited it in my head. I couldn't do it off by heart right now like I could 2 or 3, but for each game from 0-4 I spent time learning each game. And it's not even the games themselves. I enjoyed the story. The time line of it all was fantastic to me, especially the different stories told in and around Raccoon City in the days before it was quite literally wiped off the map.

Resident Evil 6 is one I need to force myself through. I might play some after I finish this post, as I'm part way through Leon and that's all I've done it's been about a year since I bought it. How the series has fallen from the masterpiece that is 4, the only game I've owned 4 times. After I finish I will attack Revelations 1 and 2, although from the demo of Rev1 I'm not a fan of how bullet-spongey the enemies are.

I know nothing about 7. It's first person (I think).

To me? Resident Evil is the classic RE and 4, each in their own way.
 
For me Resident Evil is survival horror. Been there since day one with the original game on PlayStation and absolutely loved RE 1-3, Code Veronica, RE4, RE Remake and Zero too.

While I thought 5-6 were ok, the change to more action and less horror was not something I wanted from RE. Now while RE4 went for more action too, it still had the creepy atmosphere so struck a great balance between the two but 5-6 lost most of the atmosphere, only Leon's campaign in 6 still had it but the rest of the game just didn't work for me.

The return to survival horror with RE7, a new 1st person perspective and great atmosphere, which makes things creepy / scary again is just what the series needed to make it fresh again, can't wait to play it in VR too.
 

deriks

4-Time GIF/Meme God
Started with the first one, with a friend playing on the PSX. He didn't like at first, but then we started to not kill the zombies and run away from them. The thing started to make more sense and we discovered that RE2 was already out. He bought before finishing the first one and we played the heck out of it.

The he got the third, and it was ok. But man, the real deal was Code: Veronica when another friend bought a Dreamcast with it. Holy shit, that was the stuff.

Then I got a PS2 and started to get all RE games (even the first Survivor). Shit started to get nuts when RE4 got the ghost trailer. But when it came and I saw everything changed, was kinda of a bummer. Great game thou.

5 was too much and 6 was crap. Now I'm totally into 7. Let's hope for greatness.
 

Sadist

Member
It started in 1998... on a more serious note, I always wanted to try the series on the original PlayStation but never bought the games. Every time I wanted to buy one something else came up. With the news that Nintendo secured a deal with Capcom making the series Gamecube exclusive for a while just when I was considering a Cube... well, that made it easier; the jump between the original ('96) and the REmake was mindblowing back then. So in 2003 when the Cube hit € 99, my Resident Evil adventure started. And it was one of the best decisions I've made.

Having REmake as your first Resident Evil game is a brilliant introduction to the series. Searching for the answer in the Spencer Estate around midnight is pretty nerve wrecking at times. I mean, that Wesker guy seems shady (and I'm not tallking about his sunglasses) but the things I encountered. You might think it's itchy or tasty if you're the creepy type. Puzzles. Disturbing diary entries. Even undead team mates! Or even murderous lizard like assassins. And the level of detail for everything else... oh my! I was hooked and after completing REmake I decided to get the entire collection on the Cube.

Resident Evil 2 and 3 were amazing. While it was strange to play older games on a new system like the Cube, but the experience and atmosphere in both games weren't lost on me. RE 2 with the green-ish Leon and Claire trapped in a zombie infested town quickly grew on me. The RCPD area and the sewers are truly masterfully designed areas and the many classic encounters with zombies, Lickers and several bosses are fantastic. Leon B man. Mr. X! Resident Evil 3 isn't that different at first, but when Nemesis starts to terrorize Jill around every corner, you're pretty cautious about the next few steps. I understand why people with a PlayStation praised the series like they did.

So afterwards it was time for Code Veronica X. This is the first RE I didn't really love. I had my fun with it, but it was so weird. Sure the Ashfords are delightfully strange (and I'm being nice here), but fuck Steve Burnside man. One of the worst characters in RE history. And hey, Wesker's alive! But even with him boasting about his new abillities I found it hilarious to see him bitchslapped around by Alexia. I dunno, I found the game slightly disappointing because the controls felt like a step backwards compared to Nemesis. Still fun though. Then I got to play Zero; while not the most remarkable game in the traditional series it had a great opening hour or so with Rebecca entering the train. But in the end... Zero didn't do much in providing answers; better yet, it raised more questions. Still a great game, but it did show the small cracks in the franchise.

Than everything changed; Resident Evil 4 was released and while I do love the traditional gameplay, the new approach really gave the series the boost it needed. Playing as Leon again felt good, but his adventure couldn't be more exciting. Crazy villagers, a mysterious parasite, ballistics, crazy midgets, amazing reload animations, Regenirators, Verdugo, El Gigante, Stealth killer bugs... IT! RE 4 has this amazing pacing that makes the game so damn good, it's unreal. It truly is Shinji Mikami's masterpiece.

Oh man, I have to go, wanted to post something about RE 5/6 and Revelations (2), but alas;

For me Resident Evil is like this crazy get together with people you've grown to known over the past twenty years. You love to hear their stories about crazy biological weapons endangering the world, but every time they'll be there to stop it. It uses horror tropes, but sometimes they can really nail the moment.
 

Oneself

Member
RE for me is RE&RE2.
Horror, dark, b-movie like experiences. Played both at their respective PS1 launch (had the big boxes for both the original and director's cut of the 1st game), both were incredible and a new type of experience to me. I had played a bit of Alone in the Dark but didn't get into it as much.

I didn't enjoy RE3 that much, the Nemesis felt a bit cheap to me. I tried to get into it but it never truly clicked.

I enjoyed watching a friend play Code Veronica though I found it to be a bit too ridiculous. I guess I was expecting more out of the 1st 3D RE.
Then RE4 came out, it must be the game I tried to like the most, ever. It looked so cool but I never enjoyed the action oriented gameplay... And the terrible controls.

My interest for the series died afterwards; I only played demos of the next games.

The best 3D RE for me became the original Dead Space. This is what a 3rd person RE should be.
RE7 is interesting, at least the demo for now, I will wait until it's released before getting too excited.
 

RedSnake

Member
For some reason, the "Thriller" video made me fall in love with zombies and it's concept at a pretty young age. My dad and mom would rent zombie (and other horror movies, like Alien) and we would watch them together.

Some time later I bought (actually, my mom did) RE1 for a friend. I picked the game because of the cover. I was 8 at the time. I was surprised when it was a horror game bcause I thought it would be an action game. I was even more surprised to find out it had zombies!
We played a lot but never managed to beat it.

RE2 came out and another frend bought it. After a couple of days we finished it. Then again...and again...and again...and again...
I bought RE:DC and RE2 and played the hell out of them.
The rest is history...

I believe RE is my "main" series along with MGS.
I love every entry (yes, even 6).
Bought a Gamecube because of REmake and Zero.

I think the story and characters is what drives me right now and maybe that's why I find 4 to be the weakest RE game.

I'm still debating where to pick RE7 because I want the best experience possible.
If I have to upgrade my gaming PC and get a vive because of it...I will.

So it's a combination of horror+zombies+charaters+story that's been with me for 20 years.
 
I love Resident Evil. Especially when i was a kid. After i beat 1 and 2, i was literally OBSESSED with Resident Evil 1.5. Because, hey, another Resident Evil, right? I was in shock when i got to play that leaked snipped of it. Is there any news on that team that was remastering the game so its playable? I'm going to play through that whole game on a Ps1 and CRT Tv. OMG i can't wait.
 
Here's something I said on another thread about the PS1.

...I was coming straight from the SNES era, and I just couldn't believe gaming could actually be like that. Looking back on it now I had played Zelda and other really dense games, but something about RE2 felt so grounded, real, and really adult for my 8-9 year old self. I remember picking up the documents and reading records left behind, and really imagining them being real people struggling in their last moments. Everything about the game had this really morbid and creepy feeling. Just the concept of documenting your progress on the typewriter, pretty much like those others who left behind their notes for you to find, was so compelling and cohesive in the universe that it made the whole thing transcend the nature of being a game.

For better or worse Resident Evil will always be part of my life just because of the sheer impact it made on me at such a young age. It shaped the way I viewed videogames and what I expected from them.

There have been many revolutionary games since my first experience with RE, but the only other game that has tapped into that unknown territory I felt back then was TLoU more than a decade later.
 

Stiler

Member
I started with Resident Evil 1 but RE2 holds a special place for me.

I had some rough times around when it came out (just moved into a new house, etc) and whenever I think of RE2 it brings back the fond memories of that time and the short-time we lived in that house.

I remember my mom watching me playing it and actually getting interested in it and the storyline of the game, especially with it's opening scene.

RE2 was my favorite from the series, followed by RE1. I much preferred the RE1/2 style of gameplay over RE4 and the later games, though I think even then there was room for improvement in terms of the controls and things.
 

KageMaru

Member
Resident Evil used to be a survival horror franchise, but that all changed with RE4. I'm loving what I've seen of RE7 so far since it looks to bring back the horror roots of the past.

Started playing the series on the OG PlayStation. Even with the horrible acting, the game scared the crap out of me back then. Loved every second of it and owned every version of RE1.

Still consider REmake the best game in the series.
 
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