Resident Evil 2, the famous game reborn using modern technology
The latest in the series, "Resident Evil 2," will be released in January next year. Kadoi-san, you're the one directing the game.
I'm looking after almost all content in the game. I think about what should go into the game, give orders related production and decide the direction to go in. I'm essentially doing what Mikami-san did when I was new to the company. Mikami-san used to vehemently tell all the staff members back in the day, "It's all because this is an adventure game." I find myself telling today's staff members the same thing. *laughs*
"Resident Evil 2" (remake) has largely the same story, but aside from that, the visuals, content and core base are different from the original. However, we want players to enjoy the remake with the same feelings they had when enjoying the original "Resident Evil 2." Therefore, the remake must be an adventure game like the original "Resident Evil 2." When I was a new employee, there were a lot of things I didn't understand, but now that I'm in the Director's seat, I find myself realizing and saying to myself, "I see, so this is what goes through a Director's mind."
Aside from developing an adventure game, what other points are you focusing on?
There are the item slot limitations, the need to manage resources like bullets and knives in order to be able to fight enemies and other important things like that. The games in the series from "Resident Evil 4" onward allowed for melee attacks, while enemies dropped bullets when you killed them; there were strong action elements in those titles compared to the ones that came before. However, I wanted to create something that focuses on resource management, going back to the adventure game where you are compelled to run away from danger and you experience the fear of being unable to use melee attacks.
Bullets are like MP in an RPG game, so they're strong, but once you run out, you're kind of screwed. I hope players are able to enjoy constantly thinking about whether using these important combat resources makes sense, and conducting their frantic Resident Evil search while running away from enemies.
Beyond that, the game offers free aiming absent in the original game, as well as enemies reacting different depending on where they are shot. I want to make feel as if the player were actually confronting the enemy.
The game's slogan is, "Everything recreated."
The remake of "Resident Evil" that we released in the past featured drastically improved graphics, but the game's flow and controls weren't that different from the original. For this game, we wanted to maintain the feel of the original "Resident Evil 2," but redo the map, story developments and other elements from scratch. If one plays the "Resident Evil 2" remake based off his/her knowledge of the original "Resident Evil 2," the player will find him/herself uttering, "That game has changed THIS much!"
For example, if the game was supposed to take place in a refuge shelter, then we wanted to leave evidence that there were people who sought refuge there. We ended up redoing nitty gritty details like this and putting it in the game. I really hope players think, "I don't think was in the original game, but now it sure feels like it was."
It seems like it was tough to decide what to keep and what to change.
The traps in the original "Resident Evil 2," when viewed from a modern lens, may seem too far removed from reality; if you try to draw the line in terms of realism, then maybe it would be best to take such traps out of the remake. However, these elements are part of the players’ memories, so we had to think carefully about how to change things around. The result was to include elements that maintain the feel of the original, rather than thinking about what was too outrageous about the puzzles in the original police station and then getting rid of them. We redid everything in a way in which players may think, "Well, I guess this would be possible." I hope they enjoy the things we rearranged in the remake.
The fear one feels toward the zombies is another big point in this game.
I have a particular fondness for how terrifying zombies can be. I focused on the zombies motions as they go after the player, how they are damaged and how they react depending on where they're shot. And for the players, I focused on having bite marks remain if they've been bitten. I wanted the game to have realistic elements like that.
In recent times, it isn't unusual to see zombies that can run. I personally like it better when zombies are slow. For the "Resident Evil" series in particular, I think those moments when zombies gradually come toward the player and make him/her wonder, "What should I do?!" are more important to the game's tempo than zombies merely appearing in front of you out of nowhere. "Resident Evil 2" (remake) places importance on the fear one experiences as the zombies keep coming for them no matter how many times they shoot them.
In order to portray true fear, you do everything that you can
I asked about this a bit earlier, but you said that foreign people are now an indispensable part of the team. Have their opinions been implemented into the game as well?
For example, from the perspective of a Japanese person, there's somehow this tendency to make character motions and costumes more anime-like. For this project, we're really focusing on the idea of realism. An anime-like approach may not seem particularly out of the ordinary for our Japanese staff, but out foreign staff would often say, "That doesn't look realistic."
Even for things like clothing, if the colors seem too anime-like, then people overseas may find it unrealistic. We recently announced that the original outfits would be brought back in the remake as classic costumes, but there were also people among our foreign staff who felt they didn't look real. That said, if a game looks too realistic, then that can be boring as well, so we've decided to pursue a balance.
As someone who has been involved with many games in the series, what do you think makes Resident Evil the game it is?
The assumption is that once you begin playing, you will experience true fear. If you don't try your absolute best to create a scary experience, then you can't really experience a sense of true fear. You don't just stop at "This is probably fine," you decide to go further and decide to make something even scarier. If you don't constantly follow that MO, then your game will turn out to be very pedestrian.
Also, Resident Evil is about releasing something magical, as well as not veering off of the game's universe. Not making characters too powerful. All of these are traits shared throughout many entries in the series. Things like hacking and slashing zombies to death with a sword and killing them with one hit are decidedly things that do not belong in the series.
However, without the different directions Resident Evil has gone down, then there could be no series. Resident Evil today isn't something just one person decides and creates; it's the product of staff members at Capcom sharing their opinions as they all create the game. I think Capcom's direction and atmosphere as a company is what makes Resident Evil the game it is.
Finally, do you have anything to say to those looking forward to the remake of "Resident Evil 2"?
The "Resident Evil 2" remake is indeed based off of the original, but we've put forward the highest level of effort to ensure the content is distinct yet befitting of a latest entry in the series. I think the timing of "Resident Evil: Director's Cut" on PlayStation Classic lines up with the release date of "Resident Evil 2" perfectly, so I hope people are able to enjoy those Resident Evil elements that make both games so fun and interesting.Within its more than 20 years of history, the "Resident Evil" series has always pursued new forms of horror. The origins of that horror can be enjoyed in "Resident Evil: Director's Cut," while "Resident Evil 2" (remake) is a recreation of the original using modern technology. I want people to play these two games, which are the embodiment of horror both new and old, and appreciate what makes them so charming.