Main Post
Game 21: Resident Evil HD Remaster
I'm really on a roll this week. I'd been meaning to do this one for a while (I was waiting for a steam discount, to be honest). Now, with the 20th anniversary at hand, and nicely reduced, I finally jumped in and got Resident Evil HD Remaster. I actually got pretty much every RE game on steam while I was at it, but this is the big one, so I just had to start with it.
I'm not sure what I could possibly say about REmake as a game that hasn't been said a million times before. It truly is a timeless classic, the quintessential survival horror, and easily one of my favourite games of all time. There is no way I could possibly do it justice, so I'll talk a bit about my personal experience with it, instead.
REmake was my first M-rated game (I was a fragile 10-year old boy at the time). It was my older brother who wanted to play it, but ironically enough, I don't think he ever really gave it a proper shot, while I ended up playing it so many times I feel I could play it blindfolded. At the time, it was still relatively early into the Gamecube's life, and I believe I only owned 4 other games besides it (Luigi's Mansion, Wave Race Blue Storm, Rogue Leader, and Melee), so it immediately stood out besides most of my other games. When I first started it up, I had no real notion of what kind of game it was (I grew up a Nintendo kid, never owned a Playstation, and had not heard of the original before this). I only knew that it was supposed to be scary.
That first time, I felt a biting chill creep through my spine the moment the short reanimation sequence before the title screen started up. When I launched the game, I was immediately blown away by the opening cinematic and the seemingly impossibly high-fidelity environments. Still, I also immediately noticed the what I at the time thought were 'clunky' controls.
Initially, I didn't get to experience much more of the game. When I encountered the first enemy (the one snacking on Kenneth), I was so utterly terrified that I turned off my system. This initiated a cycle of fear and renewed resolve that would keep me going for years. Every time I started up the game, I'd launch a new playthrough, get a little farther than before, but eventually lose faith. To this day, it's the kind of thing I have to beat in one or two sittings. I simply can't come back to the later parts of the game after a longer break because I don't trust myself to have left off the game in a decent state.
I'd especially like to highlight a few moments I still remember vividly, almost 15 years later.
When I first wandered through the Residence and eventually found my way down into the Aqua Ring, I had no idea what lay in store for me. The short shark POV movie was almost enough to make me quit right there, but I managed to push through. What ended up getting me is me creeping along the upper ring, scanning for more enemies, only to be killed in one devastating snap. When the Game Over screen came up, I couldn't believe what had just happened.
On the next attempt, I managed to clear the Residence, but my joy was short-lived. The instant I arrived back at the mansion, I was completely thrown off my game when I encountered my first Hunter (once again, I found the POV scene to be completely petrifying). I killed it, but I couldn't go on.
Those two moments each managed to kill a playthrough in spectacular fashion, and even now, when I know the game inside out and probably haven't died in years, I still get tense whenever one of them comes up. Well, those two, and of course whenever I have to deal with Lisa. I eventually got to a place where I could comfortably mess around with her and exploit here sluggishness, but until I'd beaten the game a few times, she was the absolute bane of my existence. Bad enough that she does a devastating amount of damage with every hit, but she can't be killed, either. There are few things worse than feeling absolutely helpless in the face of an opponent. A decade ago, I had to rely on what I called 'emotional support' in order to make it past her. Playing with others spectating calmed me down, and this has fundamentally shaped the way in which I approach playing games, in general (I started doing showcase playthroughs of games they didn't know for my friends and younger siblings, for example).
Lastly, REmake also holds what is probably one of my biggest achievements in video games. When I began to get a better hold of the game, I was still relatively young (15 years old, maybe). I'd partially used a guide the first time I beat it, but after a while, I began noticing things that weren't mentioned anywhere in the guide. When I suddenly realised what the significance of the billiard balls and lamps in the Residence's bar is, I was dumbstruck. A short while later, I found myself creating my very first vial of V-JOLT, and consequently bypassing the Plant 42 fight. This has to be one of my favourite puzzles of all time, simply because of how low-key it is. I'd always assumed there was no further meaning to any of it, because it is completely optional. I now always operate under the assumption that absolutely every element of a game has a purpose, and have become a much more attentive and meticulous person for it.
I could go on and on about what this game means to me. It is true that I didn't finish the actual REmake today, but rather a fancy PC port of it, but all the same feelings came back up again this evening. I don't really find the game all that challenging, anymore. I know exactly what I'm supposed to do and where I'm supposed to go, but every time, it is an unquestionably fun experience. I think that's what truly speaks to its quality and replayability - being able to do the same run over and over again, and it always feeling as fresh and intense as the first time.
Update: I decided to also go for a Chris run. I usually go for Jill because of the lockpick, extra inventory space, and of course Barry's invaluable assistance, so this was a bit of a change of pace. I also decided to try a higher difficulty, and the extra enemies certainly made things a deal more interesting in the beginning. Still, things calmed down rather quickly after the first visit to the mansion.
Somehow, I also ended up beating the 5-hour timer without trying, and although I made a point of exploring everything. I'm beginning to think that the 3 hour run really isn't as big a deal as I thought, especially on the lower difficulties. I think I'm also going to give the no-save run a go sometime later this year. I still haven't died (I'm beginning to think I'll have to force it to get the achievement), so I probably could have gotten this a long time ago.