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Resident Evil HD Remaster - JPN version impressions (language options confirmed)

cvxfreak

Member
Resident Evil HD Remaster hits Japan and other Asian countries tomorrow (November 27), but I managed to snag an early copy for PS3 in Tokyo today, and I've been playing it. Some questions people might have:

Does it have language options?

Yes, mostly. You can enjoy the core game's text in English, Japanese and the standard European languages. Voices are available in the original English and with new Japanese voices. The Japanese voices might not be available in the Western versions (Revelations had them, but RE6 and Operation Raccoon City didn't).

However, extra features outside of the core game (see below) are in Japanese only.

Wesker's Report I and II are included. Are they the same as the previous incarnations?

(Some spoilers below for people new to the series)

Yes and no. Wesker's Report II is the same, but Wesker's Report I has been remade with a Japanese narration and cutscenes from later Resident Evil games (Zero, REmake, Operation Raccoon City, Darkside Chronicles, Umbrella Chronicles, Outbreak File #1 and File #2, and one small tidbit from RE5). The dialogue, only in Japanese this time, is mostly the same as the original with a few tweaks as to the order of some of the paragraphs. Not a huge deal and it's a bit amusing since Wesker's Report Iong ago stopped being anywhere near relevant to the series, but it's a nice view anyway.

Note that these haven't been announced for the Western releases of the game (yet).

Is it available on disc?

Yes, Japan gets both download and disc versions, but only for PS3. There's also an Xbox 360 version hitting tomorrow, but that's download-only. The PS4 and XB1 versions hit next year, probably at the same time as the Western versions.

The disc version doesn't require an HDD install like RE4 HD and CODE: Veronica X HD did.

Impressions (Visuals, Controls, Etc.)

It's good to be playing REmake again on a modern system and an HD version is long overdue. However, so far, after an hour, I have mixed impressions. Controls are solid and you can choose between the classic tank controls or more fluid controls that let you move in the direction you push the D-Pad/L3 stick.

The visuals take some getting used to. They retain the basic look of the original REmake, but the pre-rendered backgrounds have obviously been upscaled and a filter applied to them. Sometimes this looks good; other times, the game looks like an oil painting (and I find this to be unappealing). I'm not sure I can sense much consistency in the new visuals. There are some rooms that have been remade in full 3D, such as the crypt below the mansion's center courtyard. These look quite good.

I am playing the game on widescreen, meaning that the camera angles will pan a little bit since they were originally made in 4:3. This was previously seen in Resident Evil Zero in a limited number of areas, and it's more prominent now. I think it makes the game feel less static, and doesn't seem unnatural even to those who played the original.

The character models are also the same as the original version, with some touchups in the textures that give more detail. They're actually quite close to what we saw with RE5, and in fact Chris and Jill's alternate costumes, available from the start of the game, seem to be pulled directly from those games.

Unlike CODE: Veronica X HD, cutscenes are not super-compressed low res videos. They look quite good considering their age and that they were designed for the GameCube era.

I'm open to answering any questions people may have about the game. I'm going to keep playing more and see what other changes this HD remaster might have. But overall, a good effort by Capcom given the limits they had with the prerendered visuals.
 
The visuals take some getting used to. They retain the basic look of the original REmake, but the pre-rendered backgrounds have obviously been upscaled and a filter applied to them. Sometimes this looks good; other times, the game looks like an oil painting (and I find this to be unappealing). I'm not sure I can sense much consistency in the new visuals. There are some rooms that have been remade in full 3D, such as the crypt below the mansion's center courtyard. These look quite good.


WHAAAAT!?

I did not hear about this until now
 

Nemesis_

Member
WHAAAAT!?

I did not hear about this until now

They actually go through it in one of the developer blogs. Essentially, wherever the lighting was too dynamic to recreate using their new engine they would just redo the entire environment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ2UHHfvyyY

Personally I prefer the original (at least, in the Crimson Elder room) but I appreciate that they went through every part of the game and evaluated it on a case by case situation at least.
 

mao2

Member
Thanks for the impressions cvxfreak. No required installation is great because I'm running low on free HDD space.
 

Seik

Banned
Can't wait for my copy from Play-Asia to arrive, I'll give my 29497th shot to this divine beast of a game! :D

Thanks for the infos, cvxfreak!
 

Carnby

Member
OP are you strictly talking about the Japanese version? I thought it was only Japanese text and audio, while the Asian version has English and Japanese. I hope you're right, because I preordered the Japanese special edition only to see an Asian specspecial edition offered months later. And play asia won't let me cancel my preorder.
 

cvxfreak

Member
OP are you strictly talking about the Japanese version? I thought it was only Japanese text and audio, while the Asian version has English and Japanese. I hope you're right, because I preordered the Japanese special edition only to see an Asian specspecial edition offered months later. And play asia won't let me cancel my preorder.

JP version has English. These impressions are for the JP version I bought in Tokyo.
 

ksdixon

Member
Does this mean Umbrella/Darkside Chronicles and Operation Racoon City have been canonized by having their footage used in Wesker's Report?
 

klee123

Member
Are all the extras in the Gamecube version present in the remaster?

Such as Real Survival and Invisible Enemy?

What about the costumes such as Jill's RE3 costume?
 

dab0ne

Member
I'm torn between wanting to import or wait for the PS4 version.

Thoughts?

Above someone said it was 30fps either way. If you're a collector get the physical if not get it on current gen.

Edit: apparently the resolution may be higher on current gen as well.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Above someone said it was 30fps either way. If you're a collector get the physical if not get it on current gen.

Edit: apparently the resolution may be higher on current gen as well.

Higher resolution would mean more notable upscaling.
 
Above someone said it was 30fps either way. If you're a collector get the physical if not get it on current gen.

Edit: apparently the resolution may be higher on current gen as well.

But will it look "worse" considering how apparently some or alot of areas don't even look good on the PS3 version? That's my main "worry" regarding waiting for PS4. Will the PS4 player wait for basically nothing and end up just getting an even more worse looking upscaled version of the last gen versions.
 

andshrew

Member
But will it look "worse" considering how apparently some or alot of areas don't even look good on the PS3 version? That's my main "worry" regarding waiting for PS4. Will the PS4 player wait for basically nothing and end up just getting an even more worse looking upscaled version of the last gen versions.

I don't really see how it can be worse. Unless your playing on a 720p TV the PS3 version is going to be upscaled by your TV anyway.

BTW you can preload from the Japanese PSN store already, around 8.8GB.
 

Alfredo

Member
Is the alternate control scheme that has you hold down the R trigger to move forward and move your character like an RC card still in the game? It was called "Type C" controls in the Gamecube version.
 
cvxfreak, or anyone else, if I play it on my European account will trophies be in english or japanese? And will it be listed as Biohazard or RE?

Sorry it seems to have disappeared... I think it may have had a cut off date for pre-orders so it will probably reappear once it is officially released. Even if I go via my download list it says the URL is invalid.

Yeah, I was going crazy trying to find it xD Do you remember how much it was? Cause I have a Jap PSN Account so I might just get it through there.
 

Bl@de

Member
How is the difficulty with new controls? I have the feeling I will run circles around all enemies now and just poke them to death.

Not even sure if 1080p will be a good thing for this game. If its blurry oil painting on 720p ... On the other hand REmake on dolphin was acceptable. It's an old game after all.
 

Semajer

Member
I am curious about what's been added/changed from the last release. Does the game still ask the mountain climbing question? If so, how do you choose the new easy mode? Is there a new difficulty mode?

It might be a bit soon for these, but are unlocks (costumes, weapons, etc.) still tied to the difficulty you unlocked them on? How do you choose the new costumes, and are they the only new costumes in the game?
 
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