Resident Evil 2 is some sort of holy intersection of ineffable greatness. Resident Evil itself has become a long-running and celebrated series filled with amazing games, including what many consider the best game ever made in Resident Evil 4. Then, of course, you have the series' many curators-- in focus for now is the work of Hideki Kamiya, where even mentioning his name triggers an argument in my brain about which of his games is best. But regardless of what the series and the creator would go on to do later, I feel this is a timeless masterpiece of a game that is still an incredible landmark in gaming whose impact on the medium remains difficult to avoid.
Why does Resident Evil 2 work so well? As a game, it does nearly everything right, with great graphics, tense action, a superb soundtrack, and a great B-movie plot, but as an experience, it really checks every box. It unwinds like a ball of yarn, with the journey through the streets of Raccoon City, into the Police Station, the sewers, and then finally into the Underground Lab feeling feeling gargantuan and satisfying. Each new room represented a series of new challenges and new fears to face. Each hallway had untold secrets. Each puzzle had a bedeviling solution that made you go "A ha!" when you figured it out. And this happened over and over again for 8 hours. And then when you thought you had finished your meal, out came the chef from the kitchen with an entirely new course. It was like the Symphony of the Night of 3D action games.
Resident Evil 2 significantly improved not only on the general quality of the backgrounds and the music, but the art style took a huge leap forward as well. Raccoon City absolutely felt like a real place in the western part of the United States. The architecture and art of the Police Station was stunning in its complexity (just as the game's interlocking level layouts and puzzle designs required), and it was all accompanied by some of the eeriest pieces of music to come out of Capcom since...well, the farting music added to Resident Evil 1. I don't think I will ever forget opening the doors to the Police Station and hearing the chilling piano and bell melody that seemed to make Leon's footfalls louder. Was I the only one checking behind me in my room to see if I was truly alone? Really, though, sheer variety of the presentation kept things interesting throughout.
Some of the backgrounds still stand out to me as particularly memorable. The upper hallway with the crashed helicopter. The dog kennel leading down to the sewers. The third floor balcony where the tyrant suddenly decided to show up. The first hallway with the licker. The first tyrant hallway. The chief's office and the connecting hallway with the stuffed tigers.
Resident Evil 2 also introduced some of the series' long-running mainstays, as well as some of the more interesting characters that unfortunately appeared just once or twice. You have Chief Irons, who scares the living daylights out of you when you first bump into him, of course. How about Ben, the reporter, locking himself in the jail cell? You've got William and Annette Birkin, who are well acted and oh-so-poorly written. Birkin's frequent appearances throughout the game give you the sense that you are being pursued and stalked from multiple perspectives, and it really amps up the horror. You've got Sherry, of course, and you've also got Ada, who debut in this game. Ada's bizarre mission is anything but apparent at first, but of course the more you play and pay attention, the more you start to suspect things are not right. And, of course, you have the Tyrant. I would ask anyone if they can ever get the image of him approaching the security camera and smashing it on the train platform out of their minds. If you say yes, you are such a liar. Oh, yeah, and Leon S. Kennedy and Claire. Leon would go on to be in the Best Game Ever and then Some Other Resident Evil and Claire died suddenly after she saw that she starred in Code: Veronica, the worst game in the series.
The story is an exciting, dramatically plotted sequence of Bad Things Happening to Good People, but it is paced such that it doesn't feel tiresome or hopeless. There's always this glimmer that the crew is going to make it out alive, but goddamn if that elevator isn't taking a really long time to get here. Anyway, I don't think I need to say a ton about the story, but it still sticks out to me how illogical the whole setup of the game is. Police Station connected to a giant underground lab? Who cares, I guess.
I love the actual minute to minute gameplay of this title. I never understood discomfort with the control system...once you knew how to work the system, it became second nature. You could bob and weave between zombies like an NBA player. The boss fights became tests of dexterity as you had to nimbly manipulate Leon or Claire on catwalks that were little more than 2x4s. Some of the bosses could be frustrating in this sense, but man they got your heart racing.
I think a lot of people grew tired of the puzzles in the game-- bizarre chess piece locks, gem puzzles, vaccine combinations, keys to every single door in the universe-- but I think it really made the sense of mystery and intrigue the game was trying to convey that much stronger. Why would the Police Station be set up like this? What's with the way this door is locked? What kind of keycard do I need here? I remember playing this game with my stepmom watching, actually, and she would take notes as I ran through the hallways of the items I picked up and where she thought they might be useful. "Why don't you try the gem in this slot?" she would say. How about the keycard you found on that body? What about the Eagle Medallion here? It was almost like a team sport. Obviously Resident Evil doesn't even bother anymore.
The zapping system sticks out to me as unique and somewhat abandoned. The series would introduce multiple playable characters in various other games in the series (not counting the coop games, of course) like RE3 and Code: Veronica, but never again would they commit so wholly to the concept. Two different characters really taking two completely different paths and experiencing two different narratives that together formed a complete, comprehensive account. It really demanded the player play it twice to get everything out of it, which might be why nobody will ever do this again.
Anyway, I love this game. I think it is so fun and challenging.
Why does Resident Evil 2 work so well? As a game, it does nearly everything right, with great graphics, tense action, a superb soundtrack, and a great B-movie plot, but as an experience, it really checks every box. It unwinds like a ball of yarn, with the journey through the streets of Raccoon City, into the Police Station, the sewers, and then finally into the Underground Lab feeling feeling gargantuan and satisfying. Each new room represented a series of new challenges and new fears to face. Each hallway had untold secrets. Each puzzle had a bedeviling solution that made you go "A ha!" when you figured it out. And this happened over and over again for 8 hours. And then when you thought you had finished your meal, out came the chef from the kitchen with an entirely new course. It was like the Symphony of the Night of 3D action games.
Resident Evil 2 significantly improved not only on the general quality of the backgrounds and the music, but the art style took a huge leap forward as well. Raccoon City absolutely felt like a real place in the western part of the United States. The architecture and art of the Police Station was stunning in its complexity (just as the game's interlocking level layouts and puzzle designs required), and it was all accompanied by some of the eeriest pieces of music to come out of Capcom since...well, the farting music added to Resident Evil 1. I don't think I will ever forget opening the doors to the Police Station and hearing the chilling piano and bell melody that seemed to make Leon's footfalls louder. Was I the only one checking behind me in my room to see if I was truly alone? Really, though, sheer variety of the presentation kept things interesting throughout.
Some of the backgrounds still stand out to me as particularly memorable. The upper hallway with the crashed helicopter. The dog kennel leading down to the sewers. The third floor balcony where the tyrant suddenly decided to show up. The first hallway with the licker. The first tyrant hallway. The chief's office and the connecting hallway with the stuffed tigers.
Resident Evil 2 also introduced some of the series' long-running mainstays, as well as some of the more interesting characters that unfortunately appeared just once or twice. You have Chief Irons, who scares the living daylights out of you when you first bump into him, of course. How about Ben, the reporter, locking himself in the jail cell? You've got William and Annette Birkin, who are well acted and oh-so-poorly written. Birkin's frequent appearances throughout the game give you the sense that you are being pursued and stalked from multiple perspectives, and it really amps up the horror. You've got Sherry, of course, and you've also got Ada, who debut in this game. Ada's bizarre mission is anything but apparent at first, but of course the more you play and pay attention, the more you start to suspect things are not right. And, of course, you have the Tyrant. I would ask anyone if they can ever get the image of him approaching the security camera and smashing it on the train platform out of their minds. If you say yes, you are such a liar. Oh, yeah, and Leon S. Kennedy and Claire. Leon would go on to be in the Best Game Ever and then Some Other Resident Evil and Claire died suddenly after she saw that she starred in Code: Veronica, the worst game in the series.
The story is an exciting, dramatically plotted sequence of Bad Things Happening to Good People, but it is paced such that it doesn't feel tiresome or hopeless. There's always this glimmer that the crew is going to make it out alive, but goddamn if that elevator isn't taking a really long time to get here. Anyway, I don't think I need to say a ton about the story, but it still sticks out to me how illogical the whole setup of the game is. Police Station connected to a giant underground lab? Who cares, I guess.
I love the actual minute to minute gameplay of this title. I never understood discomfort with the control system...once you knew how to work the system, it became second nature. You could bob and weave between zombies like an NBA player. The boss fights became tests of dexterity as you had to nimbly manipulate Leon or Claire on catwalks that were little more than 2x4s. Some of the bosses could be frustrating in this sense, but man they got your heart racing.
I think a lot of people grew tired of the puzzles in the game-- bizarre chess piece locks, gem puzzles, vaccine combinations, keys to every single door in the universe-- but I think it really made the sense of mystery and intrigue the game was trying to convey that much stronger. Why would the Police Station be set up like this? What's with the way this door is locked? What kind of keycard do I need here? I remember playing this game with my stepmom watching, actually, and she would take notes as I ran through the hallways of the items I picked up and where she thought they might be useful. "Why don't you try the gem in this slot?" she would say. How about the keycard you found on that body? What about the Eagle Medallion here? It was almost like a team sport. Obviously Resident Evil doesn't even bother anymore.
The zapping system sticks out to me as unique and somewhat abandoned. The series would introduce multiple playable characters in various other games in the series (not counting the coop games, of course) like RE3 and Code: Veronica, but never again would they commit so wholly to the concept. Two different characters really taking two completely different paths and experiencing two different narratives that together formed a complete, comprehensive account. It really demanded the player play it twice to get everything out of it, which might be why nobody will ever do this again.
Anyway, I love this game. I think it is so fun and challenging.
. Not to even talk about the sidegames.
