With its release this week on consoles and PC,Resident Evil 3arrives as the second consecutive remake of one of the franchise’s mainline installments, following last year’s stellarResident Evil 2. Given that both of these games first debuted on the original PlayStation–and were the only two coreResident Evilgames that I personally had yet to play–it’s easy to see whyResident Evil 2and3being remade would be so appealing to so many people.
Aside from getting to show players the beginnings of the franchise following its more radical (but effective) shift inResident Evil VII,RE2and nowRE3both gave the chance to revive classic installments in the series with several modern tweaks and refinements. Aside from a gorgeous reimagining through Capcom’s RE Engine,RE2andRE3gave us a return to the classicResident Evilthat fans know and love, a new meme born fromMr. X, and another chance to face off with one of the series’ most terrifying foes, Nemesis.
[pullquote]“For a while after I rolled the credits onRE3, the thought came to my mind about what I could imagine a remake ofRE4looking like."[/pullquote]
Shortly after finishing my playthrough ofResident Evil 3last week, one of the first questions that came to my mind was “what comes next?” For the series to bounce back so effectively in the past few years between its new direction withResident Evil VIIand back-to-back remakes inRE2andRE3, it really feels like the sky’s the limit for where the series can go from here. While we know that aResident Evil VIIIis all but inevitable(and likely in development), the biggest question moving forward is how the series will balance moving further into the direction thatREVIIpushed into, or how Capcom can continue delivering the more traditionalResident Evilexperience thatRE2andRE3provided.
If that ends up being the latter, then realistically it wouldn’t be too hard to imagine that Capcom could consider delivering more remakes of otherREinstallments, given the critical and commercial success ofRE2. If Capcom were to try and deliver something in the vein ofRE2andRE3by reimagining one of the series’ earlier installments for a modern audience, then the most likely candidate could beResident Evil: Code Veronica. Originally released on the Dreamcast in 2000 (and later ported to other systems),Code Veronicawould serve as an effective tie-in to the storylines ofRE2andRE3, though the game itself is one of the more divisive among series’ fans. It would certainly be one of theREgames that could benefit the most from a reimagining, even if it isn’t necessarily one of the most popular entries.
[pullquote]“Resident Evil 4is easily the point at which the series experienced some of its most dramatic and effective changes, for better and worse."[/pullquote]
If Capcom were to develop a newResident Evilremake going solely off the mainline installments, then realistically that would meanResident Evil 4would be up next for the remake treatment. For a while after I rolled the credits onRE3, the thought came to my mind about what I could imagine a remake ofRE4looking like, and I surely got excited at the possibilities. The RE Engine has given us gorgeous games likeREVII,RE2and3, andDevil May Cry 5, and I have no doubt thatRE4being remade in the same way would look astounding (especially Leon’s hair). However, in several ways I considered the fact thatRE4, a groundbreaking installment for the series, might be better left in its original form.
Out of all the entries that I’ve played in theResident Evilseries, I would say far and away thatRE4is my personal favorite, let alone one of my all-time favorite games. In the years since I first played it on GameCube, I’ve gone back throughRE4probably 4-5 times through its subsequent releases on PS2, Xbox 360, PC, andPS4. At the time, my only prior experience withResident Evilwas through the GameCube remake ofRE1–a game that terrified me to my very core–but as I was now a few years older and less susceptible to being scared out of my mind,Resident Evil 4was truly my gateway to the rest of the series.
[pullquote]“The village section specifically illustrates so many reasons why I still think back onResident Evil 4as the high point of the series."[/pullquote]
A lot of that comes from the fact thatResident Evil 4is easily the point at which the series experienced some of its most dramatic and effective changes, for better and worse. With its improved controls and over-the-shoulder camera,Resident Evil 4’s influence is still felt in both the survival-horror genre and third-person shooters to this day. Even though it is now 15 years old at this point,RE4is still a game that holds up remarkably well and is a masterpiece in tension.
The opening segments ofResident Evil 4speak for themself in how it managed to both push the series forward while retaining the qualities that made it a trueResident Evilexperience. As Leon ventured forward into the throws of a mysterious Spanish village on his search for the President’s daughter, Ashley, players used to the confined spaces of pastResident Evilgames were instead greeted by a village full of enemies and a scramble to try and make it out alive.
In that opening section of the game alone,Resident Evil 4effectively and effortlessly displayed what its more open environments and new camera system would bring to the series. From facing off with a hoard of villagers and darting between houses to find ammo and supplies,RE4used these elements to increase tension as players were faced with relentless enemies on their tail in a disorienting environment. That’s all without bringing up the chainsaw man that wouldbring a gruesome end to Leonif he managed to catch up with him.
The village section specifically illustrates so many reasons why I still think back onResident Evil 4as the high point of the series, even if it would end up leading to some of the lesser moments ofResident Evil’s history withRE5and, especially,RE6. Granted, I’m more willing to forgiveRE5’s obvious problematic elements now because of its great co-op gameplay, versusthe bloated, nonsensical mess that wasRE6, which is arguably the series’ lowest point. Despite this downward turn towards becoming more action-oriented,Resident Evil 4still had a profound impact on the series moving forward, and that’s far more apparent in the remakes ofRE2andRE3. In a way,RE4walked so thatRE2and3could run, with both of these remakes perfecting what madeRE4’s combat system work so effectively.
With how well thatRE2andRE3were able to reimagine these earlier entries in the series by upgrading their visuals and gameplay, I just have a hard time seeing how the same effect could happen ifResident Evil 4were to be remade. Though by now there are elements ofRE4that surely could have some modern development polish, to me trying to improve on an installment that laid so many foundations for the rest of theResident Evilseries wouldn’t necessarily “improve” on what already makesRE4so compelling. Nearly all of the modernResident Evilgames owe a huge debt toRE4, and in a way, remaking that experience feels like it would eliminate the special qualities that madeRE4such an essential part of the series’ history.
[pullquote]“I don’t have doubts that Capcom could pull off a great reimagining ofRE4, but more that the original is already worth experiencing by itself."[/pullquote]
From an accessibility standpoint, there is also the case to be made that withRE2andRE3, those two earlier installments of the series were largely confined to older systems that most would have a hard time finding nowadays. Unless you happen to have an original PlayStation, PS2, or GameCube still available, giving a new audience the chance to experience these games for the first time (or series’ fans the chance to relive them) was a notable reason why reimaginingRE2andRE3would make sense. At this point, there is largely no platform thatResident Evil 4isn’t accessible on currently, with the game having released on PC a while back, on PS4 and Xbox One a few years ago, andits most recent release on Nintendo Switch last year.
WithResident Evil 3about to arrive, there’s no telling yet what’s in store forResident Evilfans down the line. Though we can surely expect a new mainline installment to hit probably within the next few years,Resident Evil 2and3have shown that Capcom knows what it’s doing when it comes to bringing back these classic installments for a new audience. With those games obviously getting the benefit of a transition from PS1-era games to modern hardware, it’s harder to see where that type of effect can be felt if the company decides to remakeResident Evil 4. Given howRE2andRE3turned out, I don’t have doubts that Capcom could pull off a great reimagining ofRE4, but more that the original is already worth experiencing by itself.
