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When will the war between Action & Horror Resident Evil fans end? I hope soon.

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.

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When Capcom goes back to making third person/fixed camera Biohazards that aren't shoot-bang-Evils, the war can end.

SolVanderlyn said:
As soon as they start making both kinds of games to please all sorts of fans... oh wait.

I haven't played Revelations 2 yet, but Revelations is no where what us Classic fans want. Yes, they're remaking Biohazard 2 and that's fine and dandy (SO LONG AS THEY DON'T FUCK IT UP, which is modern Capcom's problem), but their efforts post 4 haven't hit that "okay, I want to play this" for a lot of us older fans.
 

Ryuuga

Banned
The horror and action elements of RE work in tandem. It's been that way since day one.

Thing is, horror was the most novel aspect of Resident Evil at the time, so that's the aspect everyone remembers. Few ever stop to consider that the first RE has a lot of action in it, delivered with a sense of can-do guile and heroism.

Both aspects are equally important to the franchise imo.

Literally the best post in this thread. A younger Ryuuga remembers the franchise as being a more action-focused take on horror especially when stacked next to others in its respective genre.
 

Fisty

Member
I think the real issue for me is that RE started as the best survival horror series on the market and it's only real competitor eventually evolved into a joke, RE tried to go the action route (and it started out well enough) but everybody else just got better than at TPS's while Capcom got worse (aka lost talent). Now a series that used to be at the top of the heap in one genre is completely stagnating in another genre and getting obliterated by competition. I'm optimistic about the direction 7 is going and I hope they find success if they are truly trying to go back to being the top dog in the horror market
 

TannerDemoz

Member
I just want a new Resident Evil that feels like a well-made game. I respect that people can say they enjoyed 6, but I still think it was a really cheap game.
 
Once you've seen the zombie on the floor in RE1 the shock value lowers slowly as the game goes on. We're 6+ games in, how long can they think of new ways to freak people out? Focusing on something more inherent to the medium like the action makes more sense.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Anyone claiming the original style RE games are action heavy is out of their damn mind. Come on now they were basically classic adventure games with some limited combat options thrown in but were much more focused with map exploration, conserving ammo and items and solving puzzles.
 

SenkiDala

Member
As a huge fan of the series since the 1st one in Japanese, who still loved the last games in the series (5 & 6 included), I would loooove this war to stop. But no, by defending 5 & 6 I'll always be "not a true fan" on the internet, forever... Even though my favorites are the 1/2/3 (2 is number one!), even though I played each of them imported in Japanese day one, then when it was released in France.

Being called "not a true fan" of your favorite series, everytime you talk about it on internet, is kind of annoying...

But yes, this war will never end I think. :( Like Apple vs MS, Android vs iOS, Xbox vs PlayStation, etc etc etc, people like to make war where there's no need of it.
 

Ryuuga

Banned
RE7 feels like it's just changing the expiration date on hide'or'die horror games circa 2008. The change in perspective, setting and general mood are all great, but I'd hardly call this "experimental". I mean unless of course you consider Metal Gear Survive experimental to the same degree.
 

Neff

Member
Literally the best post in this thread. A younger Ryuuga remembers the franchise as being a more action-focused take on horror especially when stacked next to others in its respective genre.

Precisely. Compare RE1 to the games which actually did embrace horror to their fullest at the time- Silent Hill, Alone in the Dark, Clock Tower and so on. They had none of the last-second escapes from descending ceilings, or attempting to outrun giant boulders, or tense countdowns to destruction, or taking on giant mutant supermen with an arsenal of heavy firepower culminating in a rocket launcher, Commando-style. RE1 embraces action movie elements and sense of larger-than-life pulp entertainment throughout. It kicks off with a punchy role call of characters set to rad guitars and a logo with a giant explosion behind it. It just so happens to also be set in a really awesome, scary haunted house.

Action and horror aren't mutually exclusive. They don't contradict one another when it comes to either definition or experience. In fact, they work pretty great together.

Being called "not a true fan" of your favorite series, everytime you talk about it on internet, is kind of annoying...

Anyone who tells you you're not a fan of something you like is a straight up idiot. Ignore them and enjoy.
 
I'm welcoming of every resident evil.
It's the comment section that kills me every time though.

Last night the new trailer for RE7 dropped. The top comments I saw on a couple sites were not positive or constructive in any way.

The same goes with the new Final Fantasy trailer that dropped.

Besides this site I cannot stomach looking at what people have to say. Which saddens me because some of you do have excellent very informed posts that add a lot to the community.
 
I say it every time a thread/discussion like this pops up, but I'm glad I'm the kind of Resident Evil fan that has enjoyed almost every game, old-school and not.

I LOVED RE6.

I'm excited for RE7.
 
Anyone claiming the original style RE games are action heavy is out of their damn mind. Come on now they were basically classic adventure games with some limited combat options thrown in but were much more focused with map exploration, conserving ammo and items and solving puzzles.
I disagree. The games all throw far too many weapons and ammunition to not be considered actiony. I never have to conserve ammo in any of the games and still end up with far more than I need by the end. The action slant was definitely there. There was just also an emphasis on exploration and puzzle solving.
 

Jawmuncher

Member
I say it every time a thread/discussion like this pops up, but I'm glad I'm the kind of Resident Evil fan that has enjoyed almost every game, old-school and not.

I LOVED RE6.

I'm excited for RE7.

I like them all as well, but I'll always have a preference to the action.
 

Riposte

Member
lol at the gap in quality between Sir Ilpalazzo and Gator86 posts. One gives an insightful explanation for their statements, the other repeats "bad game is bad".


Ultimately, there is no war. Play the games that interest you, nevermind the series or expectation for that series. Don't be a sore loser who thinks he owns the brand names associated with your favorite experiences (i.e., don't be owned by the brand you think you own). If RE7 is bad, it'll only be because I think it's bad on a general scale; I won't think it's better or worse because of the name on the box or my preconceived notions of what the real owners of that brand name ought do with it. That may be a disappointment given my long history with the series, but it's not a big deal at all - nothing was taken from me. This applies to people who feel grudges over RE6 or RE5 or Metroid or Super Mario or whatever. That's a loser's mentality. Get over it, do things you like.

I don't think there was ever that much of a relevant clash between action and horror within the series in the first place. You can make an argument for RE1 as a pure horror game, but it would be weak (for reasons already said in this thread) and it would get weaker and weaker as early as RE2 and RE3 and so on. The action vs. horror dichotomy has its basis on iffy ground by referring to the past, which becomes obvious when people try to say the RE7 demo is like RE1.

If you hold "fear" as the all important metric, jump-scary first-person walking simulators, due to the sheer helplessness involved, are going to rate higher than Japanese 3D action games, before or after camera angles (universally) switched to being behind your shoulders. This is the direction RE7 is (apparently misleadingly) implied to be going in and that disappoints me because I think that's boring. Being scared is such a shallow, short-term appeal to me, which is best sprinkled into something deeper, like one's long-term engagement with an increasingly complex system that gains urgency with tactical/difficult encounters. The horror theme comes down to the mood you set for particular scenes (as such, many not-"horror games" have moments or levels that attempt to scare you - this at least was true for even the later "action" RE games). The question is if having that mood 95% of the time is worth throwing out many avenues of engaging interactivity (like combat, or relevant combat). For me, most definitely not.

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When Capcom goes back to making third person/fixed camera Biohazards that aren't shoot-bang-Evils, the war can end.

People still talk about retired series that can't sell copies like Megaman, so I'm sure there will still be arguments even if they did do this.
 
I didn't mind 5 (for the addition of a bit more action), but 6 is too over the top, even for my tastes. I am looking forward to 7.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
I disagree. The games all throw far too many weapons and ammunition to not be considered actiony. I never have to conserve ammo in any of the games and still end up with far more than I need by the end. The action slant was definitely there. There was just also an emphasis on exploration and puzzle solving.

Yeah and you noticed I mentioned that. Most of the enemy encounters involved running around zombies and saving your big guns for the tougher enemies. They were hardly what I would call action games. Much the same way I wouldn't consider the original Silent Hill games action games despite several weapons and a lot of ammo.
 

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
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When Capcom goes back to making third person/fixed camera Biohazards that aren't shoot-bang-Evils, the war can end.



I haven't played Revelations 2 yet, but Revelations is no where what us Classic fans want. Yes, they're remaking Biohazard 2 and that's fine and dandy (SO LONG AS THEY DON'T FUCK IT UP, which is modern Capcom's problem), but their efforts post 4 haven't hit that "okay, I want to play this" for a lot of us older fans.
This, there is a lot of Resident Evil lost in translation.
gone are the save rooms and ink ribbons which was both part of the gameplay and charm, the fantastic music each room or area had that haunts you...gone, the feeling you're being watched, even worse when you catched a glimpse of it gone, the metroidvania type level design kinda gone.
RE4 had most of those, its biggest let down was splitting the game into chapters.
RE7 has nothing resembling Resident Evil, the things it does that people keep claiming are as valid as Street Fighter being the same as Mortal Kombat, they're not.
Outlast is what RE7 is, you just don't have a Camera, instead they black off half the screen in an unrealistic manner to make feel claustrophobic.
I do however think its the only game worth getting VR for, but as Resident Evil game? it might as well be a new IP, it isn't a continuation and its not a return
 
Re5 and Re6 didn't excel in anything but the combat system.
That's why I am proposing a mercenaries spin off.

If RE7 is regression to you what do you think is progression?

Mercenaries mode can never act as a stand-in for an actual campaign - you lose out on any sense of pacing, fully-fledged environments, proper boss fights (at least in existing mercenaries modes and the 3DS game), the occasional non-combat segment, narrative, and so on. I don't really think RE5 and 6 do all these things as well as RE4 but they certainly don't do them so poorly that their formulas would be better used in a spinoff minigame.

I think RE7 looks like a regression because it seems to be eschewing what makes both strains of mainline Resident Evil great, the things that made those games worth replaying and improving at. It looks like it's lacking the strong map design and the combination of solid (if basic) combat, resource management, and routing (which ties into the quality world design) of the best of the original games, as well as the complex, intricate combat systems (featuring great-feeling player characters (moreso in RE6) and well-built enemies) and well-implemented co-op from the latter games. I mean, maybe it won't - it almost certainly won't be a complex action game but maybe it'll succeed in other areas like the original games. I would be more or less okay with that. But what they're showing of the game (it's worrying that they are hardly talking about or showing combat at all, gives the impression that it'll be perfunctory) certainly makes it seem like it's going to be kind of shallow, coasting on the cheap thrills of being "scary" (which isn't really an important aspect of the series, honestly) rather than creating a truly engaging and rewarding experience like past games were able to.

Yeah and you noticed I mentioned that. Most of the enemy encounters involved running around zombies and saving your big guns for the tougher enemies. They were hardly what I would call action games. Much the same way I wouldn't consider the original Silent Hill games action games despite several weapons and a lot of ammo.

I wouldn't call them action games in the same sense that Resident Evil 4 or, like, Dark Souls are action games, but I don't think it's an inappropriate descriptor. The most meaningful interactions you have in the classic Resident Evil games (and the interactions that give basically all of the games' mechanics any meaning or weight) are those you have with enemies that are trying to kill you. Narrowly dodging a bunch of zombies or hunters while you are one hit from death is still action even if you don't fire a shot.
 

F0rneus

Tears in the rain
I do however think its the only game worth getting VR for, but as Resident Evil game? it might as well be a new IP, it isn't a continuation and its not a return

You keep posting that without ever backing up your claims. Did you play through the whole game? Cause everytime you post about how bad RE7 is, it's always filled with your homegrown facts that only you seem to know about.

You know there's no save rooms in RE7 how? You say it isn't a continuation, yet Capcom says it's a sequel to RE6 and now just told Famitsu that the game features multiple RE characters.

No fantastic music in RE7? You know that how? You've heard the OST? Do you have a link? Cause I'd love to listen to it. And nice handwaving of people's arguments "RE7 has nothing resembling Resident Evil, the things it does that people keep claiming are as valid as Street Fighter being the same as Mortal Kombat, they're not."
 
Action vs Horror is a false dichotomy. Biohazard changed genres entirely from a survival-puzzle game to an action 3rd person shooter.
 

Seyavesh

Member
JI-

No, wait. Claire.

No... Helena (Sheva maybe?).

Jill.

Definitely Ada.

chris

2FVmXmk.jpg
 

Airola

Member
I think the mainline Resident Evil games should be adventure based, like 1, 2, 3, 0 and Code Veronica are. It would be nice for them to have the quality 1 and 2 have but even if those others aren't as good, they are still interesting games and as a fan of 1 and 2 I like that those others exist. They still feel like they are the children of the original.

All the other games should be spin-offs like Resident Evil Survivor was. I kinda liked that game and it helped how it was clear this isn't the way the series is going to continue, but it was clearly just an experimental thing.

4 should've been like that. It should've been the first in another spin-off series instead of a new style change in the mainline series. As it turned out to be the way the mainline series were going it made people want to look for another adventure game and now people were anticipating that maybe the next spin-off is and adventure game. Then came Revelations and people really hoped it would go back to the roots. And some people even said it actually was just like the old ones, but I think they all were kidding themselves. Boy was I disappointed when I finally played the first Revelations game.

Now the series is shuffling the deck once more with RE7. It's not the action game the previous mainline games were. It's not like any other spin-off. It's not an adventure game like the old games. It's a completely new thing for the series and I think it should've been a beginning of yet another spin-off instead of trying to bring the series in a new yet old direction. People craving for an old-school adventure experience will be disappointed. People looking for something totally new might also be disappointed as the game seems to be quite like tons of other modern "first person walk with a flashlight" jump scare chillers.



This is like if the Police Quest SWAT games would've been treated as direct follow-ups for PQ1-4 and called them Police Quest 5 and 6 etc.

It's no wonder this "war" exists as the mainline series feels like a collection of three different style of spin-off series, while actual spin-offs already exist.
 

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
You keep posting that without ever backing up your claims. Did you play through the whole game? Cause everytime you post about how bad RE7 is, it's always filled with your homegrown facts that only you seem to know about.

You know there's no save rooms in RE7 how? You say it isn't a continuation, yet Capcom says it's a sequel to RE6 and now just told Famitsu that the game features multiple RE characters.

No fantastic music in RE7? You know that how? You've heard the OST? Do you have a link? Cause I'd love to listen to it. And nice handwaving of people's arguments "RE7 has nothing resembling Resident Evil, the things it does that people keep claiming are as valid as Street Fighter being the same as Mortal Kombat, they're not."
And yet I go to say it may be the game to validate VR.
Everything I listed was from post RE4, wasn't aimed directly at RE7, those things went before RE7 the Music returning seems unlikely as they are going for an environmental background soundtrack, not to say they isn't any, and save rooms I can't see returning but would be a nice surprise, yet again not aimed at RE7.
I think you jumped the gun, don't confuse my disappointment of it being a Resident Evil game as a disappointment of the game.
Yes I'm not impressed because I seen it before and it's getting more tired than the RE4 formula but that doesn't mean it won't be a good game in its own right, I'm not impressed with this version of Resident Evil.
And jumping down people's necks because they don't see Resident Evil in it makes you just as bad if not worse, mine is just an opinion.
Your trying to make yours a fact.
I know just as much as you and from what I can see my opinion is valid as long as they keep showing the same stuff.
You don't have agree, it's ok
But saying that it's not like Resident Evil is just as valid as saying it is.
 

SenkiDala

Member
Anyone who tells you you're not a fan of something you like is a straight up idiot. Ignore them and enjoy.

Oh don't worry I don't mnd anymore. ;) But it's just "fun" to see people to try to decide for you if you're a fan or not. :p

And I agree with the rest of your post too!
 

Paracelsus

Member
I used horror to cover survival horror in general

Silent Hill plays like an adventure: figure out where to go and enemies are fodder. Some games brought it a bit too far and the enemies are threats more than in any other series, thus they got their own label.

But saying that it's not like Resident Evil is just as valid as saying it is.

If we want to be politically correct then sure, otherwise it's more valid. This isn't like Final Fantasy where they changed battle system every entry, or not even like RE4 which was "sorry, we just can't keep going with fixed camera and tank controls in 2004", this is "we want your money so we call it [SERIES]" much like Tomb Raider 2013. Hell, even Sonic was more legitimated in what they did with Adventure onwards, another series that just had to try new solutions with, due to rapidly aging core mechanics.

You know what pisses me off the most about RE7? That we already have several first-person

07dgp0k.jpg


nevermind the many other first person games with zombies throwing at you in droves completely watering down their presence, like left 4 dead. Third person games with rotten, slow but lethal creatures slowly stepping up their game as you move through haunting confusing locations? Pretty much none, Days Gone is nothing like it.
 

RootCause

Member
It'll never end. One group will blame the other whenever the series goes through a change they don't like.

The only Resi game I didn't like was 6. Even then, I had some fun. Currently replaying 4, still the greatest game of all time. It's a damn shame they didn't make a real remake instead of releasing a higher res version with every system release. I can only dream of RE4 with revelations 2 graphics. :(
 
Say what you want about RE6's campaign, that mercenaries mode is godlike.

I just want fun Resident Evil games. I don't care if it's fixed perspective 3rd person survival horror, action, 1st person whatever. Just don't make a game in which I spend most of my time looking for a finger and a hand lol.
 
Probably when people accept that RE7 isn't a resident evil game and was only saddled with the name for brand recognition.

Yep. Revelations is now mainline RE as far as I'm concerned, and ratio of horror and action there is perfect.
Well, RE4 was perfect, but thats gone forever so long live RE Rev 2.
 

Deadstar

Member
Resident Evil should have an action oriented spin off while keeping main resident evil games as horror games like the originals. This will please all fans.
 

Ganondorfo

Junior Member
To be honest, I know that Resident Evil remake is a masterpiece, but that kind of game isnt suited anymore for this generation. People arent interested anymore in these pure survival pre rendered background survival horror game like during the PS1-Gamecube days.

I havent even seen a pre rendered background game this generation. So I understand from the perspective of Capcom that they arent going anymore towards the Resident Evil 1-Code Veronica generation.
 
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When Capcom goes back to making third person/fixed camera Biohazards that aren't shoot-bang-Evils, the war can end.

You would think this but it's sadly not that simple. Some fans can't handle that any game with the words "Resident Evil" in the title have gameplay they don't like, even if it's a spinoff. Even if they're already getting a game in the series designed for them, if a spinoff is also announced alongside it that has a different gameplay focus, all the insults starts getting lobbied at Capcom.

It's weird. I'm happy that I'm getting REmake 2 and maybe even a Revelations 3 someday, so I have no reason to complain about crappy sidegames like Umbrella Corps. I'm still getting something I want regardless (assuming, as you said, that they don't fuck up the remake, god they better not). But some fans want eeeeverything to cater to them. No room for anyone else. That was the problem that Jawmuncher was getting at in the OP.

And to answer the thread question, no, I don't think the "war" will ever end. This is what all fandoms are like. Constant whining and bickering between each other. It's one of the main reasons why I no longer have a tumblr.
 

Deadstar

Member
To be honest, I know that Resident Evil remake is a masterpiece, but that kind of game isn't suited anymore for this generation. People arent interested anymore in these pure survival pre rendered background survival horror game like during the PS1-Gamecube days.

I haven't even seen a pre rendered background game this generation. So I understand from the perspective of Capcom that they aren't going anymore towards the Resident Evil 1-Code Veronica generation.

But what if there was and what if it had incredible detail in it since they can use photo realistic imagery? It would be amazing.
 
miyamotomikamishake.jpg


It all went downhill from here.

This deal was what led to RE4, one of the best games ever made (and I say that as a fan of the older games), so I disagree.

RE4 being ported to PS2 was the real downturn point. That was what spurred Mikami to leave the company. RE5 and later RE6 would have been much different games if he had stuck around.
 

saher

Banned
This deal was what led to RE4, one of the best games ever made (and I say that as a fan of the older games), so I disagree.

RE4 being ported to PS2 was the real downturn point. That was what spurred Mikami to leave the company. RE5 and later RE6 would have been much different games if he had stuck around.

But it started "the war" the OP is talking about , i too love RE4 to death but i feel like it should have been a new IP instead.
 

Sojgat

Member
I like both.

From everything that's been shown though, RE7 just doesn't look all that good. I've been wrong before though (RE6 is awesome).
 
But it started "the war" the OP is talking about , i too love RE4 to death but i feel like it should have been a new IP instead.

RE wouldn't be around right now without Re4. Half a dozen 'me too' series blew the bottom out of the survival horror market. It was evolve or die time.
 

goldenpp72

Member
To be honest, I know that Resident Evil remake is a masterpiece, but that kind of game isnt suited anymore for this generation. People arent interested anymore in these pure survival pre rendered background survival horror game like during the PS1-Gamecube days.

I havent even seen a pre rendered background game this generation. So I understand from the perspective of Capcom that they arent going anymore towards the Resident Evil 1-Code Veronica generation.

Pretty much, if Capcom made a RE title just like the original games in full AAA glory, it would sell much less than it used to, and especially compared to 4/5/6. That game design died just like FMV games went away, they were products of the limits of technology back then. People seem to think there are 5 million people waiting around to buy a horror game built like the first few games, but in reality that would be a catastrophe sales wise.

With that said, I also feel like the budgets for that design of game must be a lot cheaper than your normal AAA game, so I do think they should find a way to output entries like that as well, just give them a spin off name instead.

RE wouldn't be around right now without Re4. Half a dozen 'me too' series blew the bottom out of the survival horror market. It was evolve or die time.

Also very true, the market for this stuff began crashing which is why so many companies fought to find a new way in the first place. RE4 managed to find a way to be unnerving and scary at times, but went full cheese at other times as well. The atmosphere in RE4 is so damn good and unnerving at times and proves you can have a great action game blended with a spooky game, it's just a shame it seems to take more talent than companies can muster to do it. Silent Hill is a great example of a popular horror series that faded into obscurity due to being unable to find new footing.
 
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