I'm playing all the Resident Evils for the first time in release order

Pixel Grotto · Mar 21, 2018

FlashbladeERA said:
OP, are you going to try LeonA/ClaireB scenario if you finish ClaireA/LeonB scenario fairly quickly?

Since I have a lot of other games to work through I think I may move on to RE3, though perhaps I'll do Leon A/Claire B during a replay when I've completed the main series. I'll probably investigate the franchise's spin-offs and ports once I'm done the main games, and since I played the PS1 version of RE2, I might try the N64 version later just to see how they managed to fit all of this onto a cartridge. Same for RE1 (kinda want to try Deadly Silence at some point).

denian · Mar 21, 2018

Inspired by you, I'll be doing the same! Bought the games last week on capcom sale. I'll be playing on PSVita, PS3 and PS4.

borges · Mar 21, 2018

Just skip 5 and 6. The rest is awesome, specially 1, 2, Code Veronica, 4 and 7.

Pixel Grotto · Mar 22, 2018

Holy crap so I just saw this in the Best fake game leaks thread.

An old April Fool's Joke from EGM apparently. SIX TIMES HANDGUN AND KNIFE ONLY? Damn!

Seeing this back when the game first came out must've been wild...

OniBaka · Mar 23, 2018

Nice op, I was thinking of doing a similar one but with fatal frame/project zero series.
We need a horror game ot.

Dreamboum · Mar 23, 2018

Pixel Grotto said:
(I gotta stop spoiling myself on wikis.) Have to say that I didn't imagine that the RE series would have a rotating cast of characters like this and such an interesting sense of legacy, with children growing older and tangible progression happening between different games in the franchise. That's one of my favorite things in any sort of long-lasting series - the sense that time is moving forward and legacies are being passed on - so I'm very, very pleased to find it here.

All of it is thanks to Resident Evil 2. No RE has managed to progress the lore in the way RE2 did. That's why they're still riffing on it even 20 years later

Pixel Grotto · Mar 25, 2018

I went through Leon's Scenario B last night. Aside from health mismanagement (will get to that in a bit) it was a good time, and the ending was one of the most intense things I've played in a while. Here we go...

The dual narratives of Scenario A/Scenario B is really creative. I can think of plenty of games with multiple protagonists, but I can't really come up with another game off the top of my head that deals with events going on at the exact same time. Some of it doesn't make much sense (different rewards for the same block pushing puzzles, for instance), and it occasionally feels like one of the zombies has self-awareness and is very slooooowly moving around the police station and sewers, gently swapping items around so that Claire and Leon can have different experiences, haha. But generally, the concept of "at the same time, at the same place" is a good one.

I knew that Tyrant was a constant presence in Scenario B but still got a kick out of his wall-breaking antics. It's perhaps an unusual comparison, but I was particularly reminded of the Dahaka in Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, since that's another larger-than-life opponent who frequently shows up to chase you through levels. Scissorman from the Clock Tower games is also similar, though not as imposing. I'm guessing that Nemesis plays a similar role in Resident Evil 3?

Prior to playing this game, I had thought that Ada Wong originated in RE4! I liked her sections more than Sherry's in Scenario A, since she actually has a weapon, gets to smack the shit outta Annette Birkin and does a fine job of backing up Leon when zombies are near. Does she shoot faster than everyone else? Seems like her gun is an NES Advantage on Turbo Mode.

I like this one screenshot I took of a zombie peering around the corner at Leon since it reminds me of this classic ad for Metal Gear Solid on PC, haha.

Ada's "death" scene cracked me up. Glad that Leon got a little bit of action, but all I could think of was Dante screaming at the end of Devil May Cry 1: "I should have been the one to fill your dark soul with LIGHT!!!!"

So, my endgame experience in the lab actually got a bit screwed up because I became sloppy with health items. I was trying to play through this faster than Claire's scenario (in the vague hope that I might get a high ranking) and as a result I went through the lab pretty quickly and took unnecessary damage along the way. This forced me to use up all my herbs/first aid sprays way too soon, and eventually I was facing Tyrant's final form with my health on "Caution" level and NO healing items in my inventory. I'd only been using one save file as well, so I couldn't go back. =( I was trying to survive until I got the rocket launcher, but Tyrant kept KO'ing me with one hit over and over again. I'm playing this on Mednafen, so I admit that after several tries repeating this boss I had to resort to some savestate scumming. Moral of the story? Don't burn through health items, and don't assume that a green herb *has* to be around the corner in the last stretch of game...

Hah, it gets worse! After beating Tyrant my health was at "Danger" and Leon was limping so slowly. I barely made it to the train switch and was seriously afraid that I'd run out of time. And when I thought I was home free, I was greeted by Bloodborne William Birkin. Thankfully I still had 24% of ammo left on the submachine gun and was able to beat him, but holy crap, what if you get here and don't have any bullets left?! Cruel!

My stats. I thought in vain that I might get a B but I guess I deserve that C for trying to rush through the lab. I'll return to my slower, more careful style next time!

And just like for RE1, here are some of the handwritten notes I took as I was playing. Took way less for this game, since the layout of the maps and the puzzles were much less obtuse than those in Spencer Mansion.

Overall, I can tell why Resident Evil 2 is a favorite of the franchise, and I prefer it over the first game. I thought my Scenario A experience ended a little abrupt and easy, but after playing Scenario B I'm REALLY satisfied. Also, it felt a *lot* harder. Leon's firepower is better than Claire's, but some of these bosses really wrecked me.

The ending song where Leon looks at the camera and is like, "IT'S UP TO US TO TAKE OUT UMBRELLA" is also hilarious.

I'll write up some final thoughts on the game a little later!

wombleac · Mar 25, 2018

Nice job dude, keep it up. It's such an amazing series.

Dance Inferno · Mar 25, 2018

borges said:
Just skip 5 and 6. The rest is awesome, specially 1, 2, Code Veronica, 4 and 7.

Uhh no, 5 and 6 are great.

WyLD iNk · Mar 25, 2018

Really looking forward to your RE3 impressions.

Optional Objectives · Mar 25, 2018

Pixel Grotto said:
I went through Leon's Scenario B last night. Aside from health mismanagement (will get to that in a bit) it was a good time, and the ending was one of the most intense things I've played in a while. Here we go...

The dual narratives of Scenario A/Scenario B is really creative. I can think of plenty of games with multiple protagonists, but I can't really come up with another game off the top of my head that deals with events going on at the exact same time. Some of it doesn't make much sense (different rewards for the same block pushing puzzles, for instance), and it occasionally feels like one of the zombies has self-awareness and is very slooooowly moving around the police station and sewers, gently swapping items around so that Claire and Leon can have different experiences, haha. But generally, the concept of "at the same time, at the same place" is a good one.

I knew that Tyrant was a constant presence in Scenario B but still got a kick out of his wall-breaking antics. It's perhaps an unusual comparison, but I was particularly reminded of the Dahaka in Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, since that's another larger-than-life opponent who frequently shows up to chase you through levels. Scissorman from the Clock Tower games is also similar, though not as imposing. I'm guessing that Nemesis plays a similar role in Resident Evil 3?

Prior to playing this game, I had thought that Ada Wong originated in RE4! I liked her sections more than Sherry's in Scenario A, since she actually has a weapon, gets to smack the shit outta Annette Birkin and does a fine job of backing up Leon when zombies are near. Does she shoot faster than everyone else? Seems like her gun is an NES Advantage on Turbo Mode.

I like this one screenshot I took of a zombie peering around the corner at Leon since it reminds me of this classic ad for Metal Gear Solid on PC, haha.

Ada's "death" scene cracked me up. Glad that Leon got a little bit of action, but all I could think of was Dante screaming at the end of Devil May Cry 1: "I should have been the one to fill your dark soul with LIGHT!!!!"

So, my endgame experience in the lab actually got a bit screwed up because I became sloppy with health items. I was trying to play through this faster than Claire's scenario (in the vague hope that I might get a high ranking) and as a result I went through the lab pretty quickly and took unnecessary damage along the way. This forced me to use up all my herbs/first aid sprays way too soon, and eventually I was facing Tyrant's final form with my health on "Caution" level and NO healing items in my inventory. I'd only been using one save file as well, so I couldn't go back. =( I was trying to survive until I got the rocket launcher, but Tyrant kept KO'ing me with one hit over and over again. I'm playing this on Mednafen, so I admit that after several tries repeating this boss I had to resort to some savestate scumming. Moral of the story? Don't burn through health items, and don't assume that a green herb *has* to be around the corner in the last stretch of game...

Hah, it gets worse! After beating Tyrant my health was at "Danger" and Leon was limping so slowly. I barely made it to the train switch and was seriously afraid that I'd run out of time. And when I thought I was home free, I was greeted by Bloodborne William Birkin. Thankfully I still had 24% of ammo left on the submachine gun and was able to beat him, but holy crap, what if you get here and don't have any bullets left?! Cruel!

My stats. I thought in vain that I might get a B but I guess I deserve that C for trying to rush through the lab. I'll return to my slower, more careful style next time!

And just like for RE1, here are some of the handwritten notes I took as I was playing. Took way less for this game, since the layout of the maps and the puzzles were much less obtuse than those in Spencer Mansion.

Overall, I can tell why Resident Evil 2 is a favorite of the franchise, and I prefer it over the first game. I thought my Scenario A experience ended a little abrupt and easy, but after playing Scenario B I'm REALLY satisfied. Also, it felt a *lot* harder. Leon's firepower is better than Claire's, but some of these bosses really wrecked me.

The ending song where Leon looks at the camera and is like, "IT'S UP TO US TO TAKE OUT UMBRELLA" is also hilarious.

I'll write up some final thoughts on the game a little later!

Good writeup, especially the inclusion of those notes at the end. I don't think I've used a notebook for the RE games but it looks like a fun thing to do. It would be cool for a legit sketch artist to go through different RE environments and do quick takes along the way.

Pixel Grotto · Mar 25, 2018

Optional Objectives said:
Good writeup, especially the inclusion of those notes at the end. I don't think I've used a notebook for the RE games but it looks like a fun thing to do. It would be cool for a legit sketch artist to go through different RE environments and do quick takes along the way.

Thanks! Yeah the note thing is something I wanted to do to sorta mimic the experience of playing through these back in the day on the PS1. Storing notes/codes in PS1 jewel cases and game boxes was a thing that I used to do all the time, but now it's usually not needed since modern games offer logs and usually point stuff out for you. For Resident Evil 1 it certainly helped a lot, since I kept getting lost in the mansion. It wasn't quite as necessary for this game but it helped me get through certain sections faster - ie, the "move the shelves" library puzzle.

I'll continue to take notes for all the future RE games and am thinking of making this my "notebook for old games." The last time I actually took notes on a game was for La Mulana, but I did those on my phone. It's more fun if you have an actual book that you can flip through.

Charlouie Jonesman · Mar 26, 2018

Now answer me this, OP.

There's a slop in the entrance hall, making the back of the room higher, but if you enter the door with the green arrow and walk all the way around until you come back through the door with the red arrow it's all one flat path.

Optional Objectives · Mar 26, 2018

Pixel Grotto · Mar 26, 2018

Charlouie Jonesman said:
Now answer me this, OP.

There's a slop in the entrance hall, making the back of the room higher, but if you enter the door with the green arrow and walk all the way around until you come back through the door with the red arrow it's all one flat path.

I actually never noticed this. The whole dang police station layout is nuts. Real tight hallways, block-pushing puzzles in the upper levels, a library that has a poorly maintained walkway that will flat out collapse when you step across it, a hidden art gallery with creepy pictures, the list goes on. It's a hostile work environment too, as we know from that poor secretary's diary entries where she talks about the chief freaking out at her!

I became aware of the cancelled/heavily reworked Resident Evil 1.5 as I was playing through this game, and found out that Racoon City PD was originally supposed to be a more modern building. That would have been cool, because the current police station does seem a little too much like Spencer Mansion at times, but the inherent absurdity of its Gothic sensibilities is also appealing on some level.

Deleted member 29237 · Mar 26, 2018

Your write ups are great! The classic series really peaked with RE2 and wouldn't reach the same heights again until REmake. 3 is still fun but it does feel less ambitious somehow.

How are you planning to play Code Veronica by the way? There are some differences between the original DC release and CVX on PS2 and GC. Personally I think GC through Dolphin looks great as the HD rerelease is just way too dark.

Mikebison · Mar 26, 2018

Pixel Grotto said:
I went through Leon's Scenario B last night. Aside from health mismanagement (will get to that in a bit) it was a good time, and the ending was one of the most intense things I've played in a while. Here we go...

The dual narratives of Scenario A/Scenario B is really creative. I can think of plenty of games with multiple protagonists, but I can't really come up with another game off the top of my head that deals with events going on at the exact same time. Some of it doesn't make much sense (different rewards for the same block pushing puzzles, for instance), and it occasionally feels like one of the zombies has self-awareness and is very slooooowly moving around the police station and sewers, gently swapping items around so that Claire and Leon can have different experiences, haha. But generally, the concept of "at the same time, at the same place" is a good one.

I knew that Tyrant was a constant presence in Scenario B but still got a kick out of his wall-breaking antics. It's perhaps an unusual comparison, but I was particularly reminded of the Dahaka in Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, since that's another larger-than-life opponent who frequently shows up to chase you through levels. Scissorman from the Clock Tower games is also similar, though not as imposing. I'm guessing that Nemesis plays a similar role in Resident Evil 3?

Prior to playing this game, I had thought that Ada Wong originated in RE4! I liked her sections more than Sherry's in Scenario A, since she actually has a weapon, gets to smack the shit outta Annette Birkin and does a fine job of backing up Leon when zombies are near. Does she shoot faster than everyone else? Seems like her gun is an NES Advantage on Turbo Mode.

I like this one screenshot I took of a zombie peering around the corner at Leon since it reminds me of this classic ad for Metal Gear Solid on PC, haha.

Ada's "death" scene cracked me up. Glad that Leon got a little bit of action, but all I could think of was Dante screaming at the end of Devil May Cry 1: "I should have been the one to fill your dark soul with LIGHT!!!!"

So, my endgame experience in the lab actually got a bit screwed up because I became sloppy with health items. I was trying to play through this faster than Claire's scenario (in the vague hope that I might get a high ranking) and as a result I went through the lab pretty quickly and took unnecessary damage along the way. This forced me to use up all my herbs/first aid sprays way too soon, and eventually I was facing Tyrant's final form with my health on "Caution" level and NO healing items in my inventory. I'd only been using one save file as well, so I couldn't go back. =( I was trying to survive until I got the rocket launcher, but Tyrant kept KO'ing me with one hit over and over again. I'm playing this on Mednafen, so I admit that after several tries repeating this boss I had to resort to some savestate scumming. Moral of the story? Don't burn through health items, and don't assume that a green herb *has* to be around the corner in the last stretch of game...

Hah, it gets worse! After beating Tyrant my health was at "Danger" and Leon was limping so slowly. I barely made it to the train switch and was seriously afraid that I'd run out of time. And when I thought I was home free, I was greeted by Bloodborne William Birkin. Thankfully I still had 24% of ammo left on the submachine gun and was able to beat him, but holy crap, what if you get here and don't have any bullets left?! Cruel!

My stats. I thought in vain that I might get a B but I guess I deserve that C for trying to rush through the lab. I'll return to my slower, more careful style next time!

And just like for RE1, here are some of the handwritten notes I took as I was playing. Took way less for this game, since the layout of the maps and the puzzles were much less obtuse than those in Spencer Mansion.

Overall, I can tell why Resident Evil 2 is a favorite of the franchise, and I prefer it over the first game. I thought my Scenario A experience ended a little abrupt and easy, but after playing Scenario B I'm REALLY satisfied. Also, it felt a *lot* harder. Leon's firepower is better than Claire's, but some of these bosses really wrecked me.

The ending song where Leon looks at the camera and is like, "IT'S UP TO US TO TAKE OUT UMBRELLA" is also hilarious.

I'll write up some final thoughts on the game a little later!

Really cool post. Especially with the notebook. Takes me back! Anyway, cool thread. I love Resi and mostly 1, RE, 2.

How About No · Mar 26, 2018

Charlouie Jonesman said:
Now answer me this, OP.

There's a slop in the entrance hall, making the back of the room higher, but if you enter the door with the green arrow and walk all the way around until you come back through the door with the red arrow it's all one flat path.

Not to mention the reception window is level in both rooms lol

Pixel Grotto · Mar 26, 2018

finley83 said:
How are you planning to play Code Veronica by the way? There are some differences between the original DC release and CVX on PS2 and GC. Personally I think GC through Dolphin looks great as the HD rerelease is just way too dark.

I was thinking about playing the Dreamcast version, since my friend gave me a copy of it in high school that I never played since I was too scared of survival horror back then. What are the biggest differences? I'm more familiar with Dolphin and PS2 emulation than I am with the Dreamcast, so I may look into one of those versions if there's a lot more content.

Deleted member 29237 · Mar 26, 2018

Pixel Grotto said:
I was thinking about playing the Dreamcast version, since my friend gave me a copy of it in high school that I never played since I was too scared of survival horror back then. What are the biggest differences? I'm more familiar with Dolphin and PS2 emulation than I am with the Dreamcast, so I may look into one of those versions if there's a lot more content.

Well it's more that there is extra content and a few altered cutscenes in CVX, particularly one involving one of the bad guys, and also a main character had a minor redesign.

In terms of playability, Dolphin runs the Gamecube version really well and even has a widescreen hack (albeit one that stretches the inventory and menus). I think GC is also the only version without FPS drops as well.

Jawmuncher · Mar 26, 2018

As iconic as soon see the RPD. In the design look I can agree. But the layout? I've always felt the RPD was terrible and pretty impractical for a real police station. Redoing the layout in the REmake I wouldn't mind at all.

Menome · Mar 26, 2018

Pixel Grotto said:
I was thinking about playing the Dreamcast version, since my friend gave me a copy of it in high school that I never played since I was too scared of survival horror back then. What are the biggest differences? I'm more familiar with Dolphin and PS2 emulation than I am with the Dreamcast, so I may look into one of those versions if there's a lot more content.

At the time, the extra little scenes in CVX just seemed like a nice addition. Given where the series' plot went later on, I'd say it's pretty worthwhile.

Pixel Grotto · Mar 26, 2018

Did my final writeup on Resident Evil 2! And here's my mega Twitter thread with all the screenshots I took.

Main takeaway:

Resident Evil 2′s true innovation, however, lies in its twin scenarios. The game came shipped on two discs, and it's up to you which one to start first. Disc one has you play as Leon Kennedy, a rookie cop who overslept in an out-of-town motel on his first day of work and thankfully missed out on zombie infection. Disc two has you play as biker Claire Redfield, the sister of Chris from RE1. Leon and Claire meet at the very beginning of the game, but then end up separated on opposite sides of an exploding truck, and you have to play through both of their scenarios - which are happening concurrently, mind you - to get the full ending. Depending on whose scenario you start first, the second character will face very different events when it's their turn, including several encounters by the T-103, a giant wall-breaking Umbrella behemoth who's an improved version of the Tyrant from the first game.

This system isn't entirely perfect, since both Leon and Claire solve some of the same puzzles during their scenarios but receive different rewards, which doesn't make much sense if everything's supposed to be happening on the same night. (I like to think that one of Raccoon City's zombies is actually a self-aware custodian who wanders around the maps and kindly resets puzzles for both characters.) But it's a darn interesting system nonetheless, and a fine way to encourage replay value. While Resident Evil 1 also featured two playable protagonists, both of their narratives were kept separate with no effort made to meld them together into a cohesive whole. Off the top of my head, in fact, I can't really think of any other game that makes an attempt to do this, which shows how ambitious and forward-thinking RE2′s designers were.

Those designers were, in fact, so forward-thinking that they ended up scrapping a huge amount of stuff from the first version of the game, now dubbed Resident Evil 1.5, and shifted development in an entirely different direction in 1997. Footage from that early iteration has now found its way online, and it's a fascinating glimpse into what might have been, with an entirely different female playable character (Elza Walker instead of Claire Redfield), a more modern-looking police station and gameplay mechanics closer to RE1 than what we got in RE2′s finished release in '98.

It's a good thing that Resident Evil 2 was changed, though, since the 1.5 edition seems like a solid but ultimately incremental update over the first game. The final version of RE2 is much more than incremental, and along with many quality of life improvements and an interconnected scenario system, it also introduced a sense of legacy into the franchise, with protagonists related to those who came before (Claire and Chris) and bit players who would eventually grow to become major characters in later installments (Sherry and Ada). Yoshiki Okamoto, who supervised RE2′s plot, actually suggested that Resident Evil be turned into an ongoing metaseries with this installment, telling tales in the same fictional universe with a rotating cast of characters, kind of like Mobile Suit Gundam.

Two decades later, that suggestion has most certainly been taken to heart. Much of Resident Evil's modern sensibilities and story flow from the template that this pivotal second entry established, which makes RE2 required playing for anyone interested in the franchise. This was, in other words, definitely a case where Capcom did well by the number two, and it's easy to see why the survival horror crowd easily considers Resident Evil 2 to be one of the best games of all time.

As I was writing this I was looking up old magazine covers from RE2's release for fun. Really like this PSM one with art by Joe Maduriera, though the EGM and Playstation ones are also cool. (BTW, Mega Man "Neo" on the PSM cover? What was that?!!)

I gotta go on vacation for about a week so it'll be a bit before I can start RE3. Will get right back at it once I return though! All I know about Resident Evil 3 at this point is that it stars Jill, takes place around the same time as the second game and involves some similar locations and the Nemesis.

Kinda wish I wasn't going away so I could start playing tonight, hah.

Branson · Mar 26, 2018

Damn those magazine covers bring back memories.

How About No · Mar 26, 2018

I got that OPM one. Fucking hype article in there too

(And then our PS1 broke and I couldn't play RE2 til years later *cries*)

Encephalon · Mar 27, 2018

Am I mistaken, or was there a version of the R.P.D main hall that was flat?

Alark · Mar 27, 2018

borges said:
Just skip 5 and 6. The rest is awesome, specially 1, 2, Code Veronica, 4 and 7.

Even if you don't like 5, it's story is really important to the overall story of RE. And I recommend playing 5 because it's my favourite RE game.

WyLD iNk · Mar 27, 2018

Mega Man Neo became Mega Man Legends.

Pixel Grotto · Mar 27, 2018

Correctomundo said:
Mega Man Neo became Mega Man Legends.

I suspected so... Thanks! A search of "Mega Man Neo" online only took me to YouTube videos of a cancelled fangame!

Next time I stop by my parents house I'll have to take some pics of my old EGMs and the one issue of Official PlayStation Mag that I actually own... There's some good stuff in there on the later Resident Evils. Maybe it'll coincide with when I reach RE4 and 5!

MafiaMurderBag · Mar 28, 2018

Loved your write up on RE2 Pixel Grotto. Followed you on Twitter too. Hope you enjoy 3, I'm about half way through it now & let me tell you, I didn't believe it when people said the Nemesis sections can get intense but boy was I wrong.

I love those hand drawn Magazine covers that takes me back. Shame there's probably no original versions of the art any where in the world.

Deleted member 27938 · Mar 31, 2018

I'm back. Doom was excellent btw. I decided that I'm going to play CVX next, so I go into my games storage, break out my ps2, controller, memory card... Can't find the game anywhere. I'm searching several boxes of old games, not there. I check my email archive and it turns out I sold my copy in 2010, doh! Looks like they released a port on 360/PS3 so I'll grab that one, only $7 on the 360 marketplace

Deleted member 29237 · Mar 31, 2018

UpperCaseN said:
I'm back. Doom was excellent btw. I decided that I'm going to play CVX next, so I go into my games storage, break out my ps2, controller, memory card... Can't find the game anywhere. I'm searching several boxes of old games, not there. I check my email archive and it turns out I sold my copy in 2010, doh! Looks like they released a port on 360/PS3 so I'll grab that one, only $7 on the 360 marketplace

Make sure you turn up the brightness on your TV, the HD version has a new lighting system that makes a lot of it way too dark.

MafiaMurderBag · Mar 31, 2018

If you was gonna play the PS2 version for authenticity, pretty sure you could've found a copy in a store for a couple of Bucks?

I'm from the UK so we have a gaming store called CeX that sells old PS2 games for like £1 so not sure about the US equivalent.

Gunslinger · Mar 31, 2018

Play 1,2,3,0 and 7 all you need. You can play 4 if you want it's a good tps. Also play Dino Crisis 1 & 2 TC. They are one of the best Capcom games ever made.

Dreamboum · Apr 5, 2018

RE2 was great for these things :

Tighter mansion design, super fast traversal with shortcuts
No "get key to left wing for a door in the right wing" formula like RE1's mansion
No repeat of the mansion design in the other areas so you're truly treading new grounds
Actual story that is much better than to be expected, lots of focus on character interaction through the two scenarios
The plot is actually progressing at breakneck speed instead of doing a stand-still, with many characters having various kind of motivations
Jumpscares were actually good and put at very good times to always put you on your toes
Variety in enemy and encounter design (except some bosses)
The music is truly excellent and is having that ambient flair while still throwing out melodies that are striking
The art of RE2 in terms of backgrounds is very well put and knows how to throw good camera angles (maybe not as striking and outlandish as RE1 though)

I think RE2 nailed all of these things. I also think RE3 was a step back in 80% of the points I listed. Worst offender being Jill with the personality of a sack of potato who only managed to be striking because of her hilarious sexy outfit she decided to wear for a zombie outbreak.

I read your posts and I agree at what it does best, and I think most of it is because RE2 is like RE2.5 even. They had a whole game scrapped to come up with ideas that are screwed tight.

Deleted member 27938 · Apr 5, 2018

RE3 is fine but not great like 1 and 2 are. I don't really like CVX (I'm trying not to say too much for Pixel Grotto's sake). This is my 3rd attempt and I'm forcing myself to finish it this time, but the first 2 times I bounced off at the exact same place. About 3 hours in, there's a room with a docked submarine and bats flying around. Nothing significant about that room but I just stop caring to play more there. I'm probably 1 hour into this run of CVX and I already had to revert back to my save; I only had 1 save but lost about 30 min. I'm good with inventory but there's no item chests yet so I couldn't put anything down. I continued to find new weapons, keys, key items, etc. and had nowhere to put it. I could have used the metal detector security boxes to hold items but that was back where my save was, so instead of backtracking I just reset the game and loaded it there. I also hate the multiple enemy targeting, I have to switch it to single target every time. Lastly, I'm not sure if the original is like this or if it's the fact that I'm playing the 360 port, but they switched the run and action button locations on the controller. In RE2 and 3, I played on PS1 and square was run, X was action. Now on 360, X (where square would be) is action and A (where X would be) is run. The fact that they're flipped has caused me some minor accidents already. Also I think Y was inventory? Now it's Start and Y is map. Controls are not customizable in 360 CVX

Kromeo · Apr 5, 2018

UpperCaseN said:
RE3 is fine but not great like 1 and 2 are. I don't really like CVX (I'm trying not to say too much for Pixel Grotto's sake). This is my 3rd attempt and I'm forcing myself to finish it this time, but the first 2 times I bounced off at the exact same place. About 3 hours in, there's a room with a docked submarine and bats flying around. Nothing significant about that room but I just stop caring to play more there. I'm probably 1 hour into this run of CVX and I already had to revert back to my save; I only had 1 save but lost about 30 min. I'm good with inventory but there's no item chests yet so I couldn't put anything down. I continued to find new weapons, keys, key items, etc. and had nowhere to put it. I could have used the metal detector security boxes to hold items but that was back where my save was, so instead of backtracking I just reset the game and loaded it there. I also hate the multiple enemy targeting, I have to switch it to single target every time. Lastly, I'm not sure if the original is like this or if it's the fact that I'm playing the 360 port, but they switched the run and action button locations on the controller. In RE2 and 3, I played on PS1 and square was run, X was action. Now on 360, X (where square would be) is action and A (where X would be) is run. The fact that they're flipped has caused me some minor accidents already. Also I think Y was inventory? Now it's Start and Y is map. Controls are not customizable in 360 CVX

The locations of the item chests is probably the most annoying thing in CV, there's one in the Spencer mansion and one in the training facility but you always end up having to run miles to get to them. Plus the one later in the game they stuck moths right outside the door that constantly poison you

Pixel Grotto · Apr 8, 2018

I'm back! Was in Cali for the past week soaking up sunshine and it was nice, but glad to be back in the world of survival horror. Without further ado - Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, AKA "The Last Escape!"

I've heard a lot about how Resident Evil 3 is sometimes viewed as a step back after Resident Evil 2, since it lacks a secondary character and revisits some of the same areas, like the Raccoon City Police Station. I get these complaints, but so far I've been enjoying myself though it definitely does feel that this game was originally a side project/gaiden that got promoted to official RE3 status. The "remixed" feeling I get from playing RE3 is actually very similar to how I felt when playing Majora's Mask, which reused many of Ocarina of Time's assets and offered a story on what Link was doing on one of his off-days in between saving Hyrule. RE3's feel is similar - "this is what Jill was doing shortly before Leon and Claire met up" - though certain events like discovering Marvin Branagh's body in the Police Station when he didn't die until after meeting Claire seem to indicate that Capcom kept the continuity a little loose. (Correct me if I'm wrong!)
Speaking of Jill, it's good to be playing as her again, and her voice acting's gotten a lot better since the days of Spencer Mansion! I've seen comments on how her outfit is too sexy for a zombie invasion, which is true, but this is probably still her most iconic look in my eyes. She does look like she was about to go clubbing before zombies wrecked her apartment, though.

The quality of life improvements that RE2 instituted are back and even better here. Having the save rooms marked on my map is a revelation, though I wonder if purists at the time complained that it made the game "too easy?" I also like the mixing system for bullets. I'm not too educated on firearms so I originally thought the gunpowder mixing tool that Jill has was made up, but research and a whole bunch of YouTube videos reveal that reloading tools are definitely a real thing, though not as compact as in the game.

My first encounter with Nemesis was kinda hectic. Ran into Brad (poor Brad, he keeps showing up dead in these games) and then picked "fight with the monster." Got my head squeezed to pulp over and over again and finally gave up and ducked into the station.

Can anyone help me name all the STARS members in this pic? I can obviously recognize Chris, Jill, Wesker and Barry but I don't know the others by name too well, especially the Bravo team members. Do we get to know these characters a little better in Resident Evil 0?

I encountered Carlos (who falls right back into the series' tradition of silly voice acting) and chose to stay and fight Nemesis in the kitchen. I'm actually finding these Nemesis fights quite difficult, mostly because they require a lot of quick turning and dodging. The dodge ability in this game is AWESOME especially for regular enemies, but Nemesis is one quick asshole. I beat him after two tries with Carlos but my health was at Danger.

I unlocked the door to City Hall (only Raccoon City would lock its government offices behind a gothic clock puzzle with collectible gems, lol) and decided to stop for now. So far I'm a big fan of how RE3 seems to feature a lot more exterior locations than its predecessors. That was a minor disappointment I had with RE2, which made me think with its action-packed beginning that I was going to spend all my time in the streets when actually 90% of the game was in the Police Station and underground. Anyway, here are some shots I took of Jill standing in desolate alleyways with fire and zombie guts around her.

Lastly, while in the Police Station I was amused to capture a screenshot that was eerily similar to one I took for RE1. Put together, these two pics really show how far the series came graphically in just three years. Late PS1 games almost look a full generation ahead of their old counterparts...and now the zombies can run up and down stairs! Truly, survival horror has evolved.

Jackpot · Apr 8, 2018

I encountered Carlos (who falls right back into the series' tradition of silly voice acting) and chose to stay and fight Nemesis in the kitchen.

Should have taken the other option. Jill lights up the gas line to take out Nemesis without wasting any ammo, allowing you to get the weapon parts he drops during these fights.

Depending on the decisions you make, you can get an extra boss and NPC.

Deleted member 29237 · Apr 8, 2018

Pixel Grotto said:
Lastly, while in the Police Station I was amused to capture a screenshot that was eerily similar to one I took for RE1. Put together, these two pics really show how far the series came graphically in just three years. Late PS1 games almost look a full generation ahead of their old counterparts...and now the zombies can run up and down stairs! Truly, survival horror has evolved.

Huh, all these years and I never cottoned on to this! Must have been deliberate, the angles are identical. Nice spot!

Also a great write up as usual. This, CV and RE0 are the only ones in the series I haven't finished (well, there's RE7 but I'm working on that right now) - although in the case of RE3 I was really enjoying it but lost my save when my Wii screwed up.

snausages · Apr 8, 2018

Is there anything more 90s than that Jill design with the tube top and jumper tied around the waist?

I think I played this as late as 2011 or so. Had a really good time with RE2 and RE3 and noticed also the big huge leap forward from 1.

Code Veronica was a weird one to go onto cause it felt like the first 'bad' one yet it's held up a lot for some reason. Series lost a lot going to 3D (for a while at least until 3D space was warranted by RE4)

Dreamboum · Apr 8, 2018

That's because Code Veronica is dope

snausages · Apr 8, 2018

Code Veronica is the game where you begin to understand why they took such a style shift. Didn't really have any new ideas and a lot of the 3D art was worse than the 2D pre-rendered stuff.

It's also really long which can be a problem with a survival horror when it comes to resources. Either you get too much or really struggle to keep hold of them. Also some very broken stuff when switching between characters if you didn't put the right stuff back in the safe boxes.

Dusk Golem · Apr 8, 2018

Pixel Grotto said:
Lastly, while in the Police Station I was amused to capture a screenshot that was eerily similar to one I took for RE1. Put together, these two pics really show how far the series came graphically in just three years. Late PS1 games almost look a full generation ahead of their old counterparts...and now the zombies can run up and down stairs! Truly, survival horror has evolved.

What will always blow my mind the most is the diffefence between Resident Evil 1 and REmake, REmake released on the 6-year anniversary of RE1, and the graphical difference is HUGE.

Pixel Grotto · Apr 8, 2018

Jackpot said:
Should have taken the other option. Jill lights up the gas line to take out Nemesis without wasting any ammo, allowing you to get the weapon parts he drops during these fights.

Depending on the decisions you make, you can get an extra boss and NPC.

Hm so do you mean hiding in the basement is the better option? In my game Jill threw a kitchen lamp at Nemesis and it knocked him out for a little bit. I picked up the weapon parts and was moving through the restaurant too slowly and he revived, so I had to fight him.

The plus side of this was that since I "killed" him in the restaurant he wasn't there to bother me in the newspaper office or in the screens outside city hall.

Jackpot · Apr 9, 2018

Pixel Grotto said:
Hm so do you mean hiding in the basement is the better option? In my game Jill threw a kitchen lamp at Nemesis and it knocked him out for a little bit. I picked up the weapon parts and was moving through the restaurant too slowly and he revived, so I had to fight him.

The plus side of this was that since I "killed" him in the restaurant he wasn't there to bother me in the newspaper office or in the screens outside city hall.

no, you were actually right. As you fought him I assumed the option you chose was the non-firebomb one.

Canas Renvall · Apr 9, 2018

My favorite franchise of all time, I'm honestly thrilled to see what you think. I did this for the 20th anniversary two years ago, but I think I wanna do it again because of this topic.

Good luck, and have fun! Can't wait to see your thoughts!

Sephiroth · Apr 9, 2018

finley83 said:
Huh, all these years and I never cottoned on to this!

Yo...what?

Deleted member 29237 · Apr 9, 2018

Sephiroth said:
Yo...what?

English phrase https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/cotton-on

Sephiroth · Apr 9, 2018

finley83 said:
English phrase https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/cotton-on

Weird. I would have just said "caught on"

I'm playing all the Resident Evils for the first time in release order

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