ProgenitorCastle
Banned
So GAF, you can think of this thread as a follow up to my previous Resident Evil thread. I popped in the Resident Evil disc into my Playstation 2 phat, and happened to have a PS1 memory card, the two ingredients that enabled me to play this copy of Resident Evil! I was really surprised that the Dualshock 2 wasn't initally responding to the game, then I remembered that Analog button on the controller, and pressed it to disable the analog features of the controller so that presumably the PS1 chips can recognize the controller.
So my impressions are that I really like that Capcom logo that played after the Playstation logo ended. I think certain Capcom arcade games used it as well, so it reminds me of arcade-era Capcom, one of the best Capcom eras. Also, I like the live action elements in this game...from the Evil Dead-like intro of Chris getting scared, from the cheesy almost Goosebumps-esque opening scene after you hit New Game...it adds a certain charm/character to this game that I feel hasn't been really recaptured in the series since, and I like that it's unique to this game. Also that character introduction, then ends with Resident Evil...made it feel like a live action show or something, I like that touch. As for the game itself. I played on a PS2 phat, which I believe has the chips from the PS1 inside of it to allow for native playing of this game on the intended hardware...the colors popped on my CRT and ran the best that I've ever played it. The signature tank controls felt really snappy and responsive to use. A minor annoyance I felt was the inventory screen being assigned to start instead of circle...it's a habit of mine to think circle is inventory from later classic REs on the Playstation, but after a few mintues I got used to it. Another weird thing is to bring up the options screen, you have to press start and select at the same time...wonder why it couldn't open with just select but it's a small thing, like the start opening the inventory. My memory of playing/beating RE REmake multiple times helped me to a degree get through a chunk of the game...but there are some differences I'd like to point out here that make this original feel special:
1.) The aiming/combat: Aiming is manual in this game. I think it's something specific to the North American version of the game, to prevent people from beating the game on rentals using the auto-aim the game was originally designed around. I think Shinji Mikami even got mad that the auto aim was removed, especially without letting him know. Regardless of if it's intentional or not, the manual aiming adds tension to the game, you can miss shooting at enemies and waste ammo that way. A curious side effect of the manual aiming is that as you try to line up shots at say a zombie, you're more likely to do something cool, like shoot the zombie's arm off. As for the rhythm of the combat...something about this game's shooting feels like you're having a "showdown" with a zombie when you're shooting at them. It feels unique to this game in particular. Maybe it's the intervals of the shots, the sound of the gunshots, the sort of delay between shooting and the zombie getting hit...these small details make shooting down zombies feel like showdowns imo.
2.) The idea of having to open the inventory to tell your health condition: At first, when I originally played this game, the idea of needing to open the inventory to determine your level of health annoyed me. Then...I came around to it. There's a certain dread from getting bit/thrown up upon by zombies (more on them later in this post) and not knowing how much health you have left. In this current playthrough, I found myself intimated by the zombies, running for my life because I didn't have the time to check my health and as a result I was panicking because I didn't know how much more damage Chris could take before the dreaded You Died screen showed up. I know other classic REs have the E.C.G. system as well, but it doesn't feel as important in the later classic REs than it did in this game, where it was indeed mandatory to use it to determine how much health you had left.
3.) Zombies- the zombies in this game are dead powerful. Sure, they sound like cows LOL, but don't let that goofiness fool you into thinking those fuckers play nice. Usually, their placement is merciful, as in they're angled away from the player to give the player a chance to escape. If you're good enough, you can zip past by them. If not...you either get bitten or thrown up upon. You can escape getting bitten by mashing buttons, but as I described above in 2.), it's an ugly situation particularly in this game as you can't tell easily your health level without going into the inventory first, so you gotta go somewhere away from the zombie to do that safely. The zombies suprisingly throw up alot in this game, and it's effective too. You could be shooting at a zombie, 1 bullet away from knocking them down, and then they barf at you, interrupting you and making you lose health. Don't even make me mention the West wing of the 2nd floor near the stairs that lead down to the save room...putting THREE of those demons right after eachother...pure evil lol.
Some additional ramblings:
The OST and atmosphere are pretty great! They are memorable and haunting in a certain way. I really like the scene where Chris gets pepper sprayed by Rebecca. I like the music in that area and the dialogue...it's cheesy and makes an impression on me.
To any who read this big ass post up to here, I thank you for taking the time to read this.
So my impressions are that I really like that Capcom logo that played after the Playstation logo ended. I think certain Capcom arcade games used it as well, so it reminds me of arcade-era Capcom, one of the best Capcom eras. Also, I like the live action elements in this game...from the Evil Dead-like intro of Chris getting scared, from the cheesy almost Goosebumps-esque opening scene after you hit New Game...it adds a certain charm/character to this game that I feel hasn't been really recaptured in the series since, and I like that it's unique to this game. Also that character introduction, then ends with Resident Evil...made it feel like a live action show or something, I like that touch. As for the game itself. I played on a PS2 phat, which I believe has the chips from the PS1 inside of it to allow for native playing of this game on the intended hardware...the colors popped on my CRT and ran the best that I've ever played it. The signature tank controls felt really snappy and responsive to use. A minor annoyance I felt was the inventory screen being assigned to start instead of circle...it's a habit of mine to think circle is inventory from later classic REs on the Playstation, but after a few mintues I got used to it. Another weird thing is to bring up the options screen, you have to press start and select at the same time...wonder why it couldn't open with just select but it's a small thing, like the start opening the inventory. My memory of playing/beating RE REmake multiple times helped me to a degree get through a chunk of the game...but there are some differences I'd like to point out here that make this original feel special:
1.) The aiming/combat: Aiming is manual in this game. I think it's something specific to the North American version of the game, to prevent people from beating the game on rentals using the auto-aim the game was originally designed around. I think Shinji Mikami even got mad that the auto aim was removed, especially without letting him know. Regardless of if it's intentional or not, the manual aiming adds tension to the game, you can miss shooting at enemies and waste ammo that way. A curious side effect of the manual aiming is that as you try to line up shots at say a zombie, you're more likely to do something cool, like shoot the zombie's arm off. As for the rhythm of the combat...something about this game's shooting feels like you're having a "showdown" with a zombie when you're shooting at them. It feels unique to this game in particular. Maybe it's the intervals of the shots, the sound of the gunshots, the sort of delay between shooting and the zombie getting hit...these small details make shooting down zombies feel like showdowns imo.
2.) The idea of having to open the inventory to tell your health condition: At first, when I originally played this game, the idea of needing to open the inventory to determine your level of health annoyed me. Then...I came around to it. There's a certain dread from getting bit/thrown up upon by zombies (more on them later in this post) and not knowing how much health you have left. In this current playthrough, I found myself intimated by the zombies, running for my life because I didn't have the time to check my health and as a result I was panicking because I didn't know how much more damage Chris could take before the dreaded You Died screen showed up. I know other classic REs have the E.C.G. system as well, but it doesn't feel as important in the later classic REs than it did in this game, where it was indeed mandatory to use it to determine how much health you had left.
3.) Zombies- the zombies in this game are dead powerful. Sure, they sound like cows LOL, but don't let that goofiness fool you into thinking those fuckers play nice. Usually, their placement is merciful, as in they're angled away from the player to give the player a chance to escape. If you're good enough, you can zip past by them. If not...you either get bitten or thrown up upon. You can escape getting bitten by mashing buttons, but as I described above in 2.), it's an ugly situation particularly in this game as you can't tell easily your health level without going into the inventory first, so you gotta go somewhere away from the zombie to do that safely. The zombies suprisingly throw up alot in this game, and it's effective too. You could be shooting at a zombie, 1 bullet away from knocking them down, and then they barf at you, interrupting you and making you lose health. Don't even make me mention the West wing of the 2nd floor near the stairs that lead down to the save room...putting THREE of those demons right after eachother...pure evil lol.
Some additional ramblings:
The OST and atmosphere are pretty great! They are memorable and haunting in a certain way. I really like the scene where Chris gets pepper sprayed by Rebecca. I like the music in that area and the dialogue...it's cheesy and makes an impression on me.
To any who read this big ass post up to here, I thank you for taking the time to read this.
