this thread is for discussing, exploring, and hopefully celebrating the Resident Evil series. Yes, I realize that this is a series that is often divisive. But my goal here is not to let this be a place to bash the games. In fact, the b-movie-isms of the series probably goes a long way towards appreciation. (You might compare something like Operation Raccoon City to a SyFy original movie, no?) Oh and speaking of movies, we can include talk of those here as well. Whatever. It's all good. So yeah, pop in your favorite RE or perhaps try an entry you haven't yet. Compare/contrast various ports and re-releases. Try to make sense of the story (seriously, bonus points for making sense of the movies). Delight at your favorite "Jill sandwich moments" and so on...
MAIN GAMES:
Resident Evil (1996)
Resident Evil 2 (1998)
Resident Evil 3 Nemesis (1999)
Resident Evil 4 (2005)
Resident Evil 5 (2009)
Resident Evil 6 (2012)
SIDE STORY GAMES:
Resident Evil Code Veronica (2000)
Resident Evil Gaiden (2001)
Resident Evil Zero (2002)
Resident Evil Outbreak (2003)
Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 (2004)
Resident Evil The Mercenaries 3D (2011)
Resident Evil Revelations (2012)
Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City (2012)
Resident Evil Revelations 2 (2015)
LIGHTGUN GAMES:
Resident Evil Survivor (2000)
Resident Evil Survivor 2 Code Veronica (2001)
Resident Evil Dead Aim (2003)
Resident Evil The Umbrella Chronicles (2007)
Resident Evil The Darkside Chronicles (2009)
MOVIES:
Resident Evil (2002)
Resident Evil Apocalypse (2004)
Resident Evil Extinction (2007)
Resident Evil Afterlife (2010)
Resident Evil Retribution (2012)
CGI FILMS:
Resident Evil Degeneration (2008)
Resident Evil Damnation (2012)
To get the ball rolling, I'll ramble a bit...
I actually got the idea to start this thread when Mike mentioned to me that he wanted to play some scary games w/ the kids for Halloween time this year, and was inquiring about stuff to play on GameCube/Wii. (He actually mentioned N64 as well, but I let it slide). So we were talking about REmake and RE4. His inclination was to play 4, but I was kind of urging him to plan on attempting the first game first. Not so much for story, but for... I don't know, atmosphere? Although I consider myself a fan of the franchise, I've actually not played that many RE games over the years. I've just sort of stumbled upon specific entries that have caught my eye for one reason or another. I've played about half of the mainline games and a handful of gaidens. Having said that, the 1 and 4 are definitely two of my favorites. And really, 1 is just a really important game to me.
PlayStation was the first console I ever bought with my own money. It took months to pay off that layaway, and when I finally got the thing it was like I had bought a whole new world of technology. A friend let me borrow RE over Summer vacation and there was just no game like it before. It felt so real to me. I fond memories of waiting til my family went to bed those Summer nights so I could hook up the PS1 to the 'big' TV in the living room and play RE late at night. This is the first game I have any memory of actually scaring me. I mean seriously, that first zombie that you actually encounter makes the heart jump. And that mansion is just so iconic! What's cool about the original game is that it often feels like an adventure game. Sure the game was inspired by some very cheesy sources - and in fairness some of that cheese has been removed in later revisions. But honestly, I still find the setting and sound effects quite creepy.
RE4 is a totally different extreme. It's fast and action-heavy. It removes the sense of claustrophobia. It relies heavily on shooting. And running. It's a way more action game. It also seems to incorporate some Lovecraftian themes into the world of RE. There's no doubt in my mind that the first time you see a tentacle it wasn't at least subconsciously inspired The Shadow Over Innsmouth. The game is awesome, but it feels far less b-movie than the original did. Think of this as a horror movie backed by a major studio rather than a straight-to-video affair.
And so I find it appropriate to open such a thread with these two entries because they're both excellent games but also they represent the two extremes the series can go in. Every other game in the series feels like it can be grouped into one of two camps - camps that were started by these two games. You can debate the success of each entry of course. But as a horror fan I love that this same series can have such high- and low-brow moments. Such gritty low budget feel along with such big budget gloss. It's all pretty fascinating and hopefully this thread will encourage me to continue to explore the entries I have missed.
As a side note, the Humble Bundle right now is for Capcom, and currently paying the average of $9.28 will net you (along w/ other non-RE games) Revelations 2 Episode 1, Revelations, and RE4 and 5.