Okay, so with all of the other pressing blogs out of my way for good I'm finally able to dip back into my favourite long-running series: my Resident Evil In Depth Analysis blogs. If you need a refresher; this is a series in which I go through Resident Evil at an excruciating pace whilst analysing all the little details and nuances that make it one of the most influential and best horror games of all time. Or should I say, 'Survival Horror', as unlike other sub-genres of horror, Resident Evil doesn't rely on a single repeated trick to scare it's audience but mixes and matches. (And that's part of why it works so well.) But before I jump into it, a bit of a recap.
Previously we had been all the way through the Spencer Mansion in search of the S.T.A.R.S Bravo team who were all but completely lost in the chaos. What we found was a house completely swarmed in undead monsters and mutated monstrosities, and thus our mission adapted into one of trying to survive on the threadbare resources at our disposal. Escaping the mansion was only the start of the nightmare, however, as Act 2 starts with Jill finding her way through the forest and into a creepy cottage in the middle of nowhere. A cottage with a roaring fire, but no inhabitants. What a foreboding scene indeed.
I love how Capcom framed this particular section as it's such a great example of setup and pay-off in the horror world. On the path over you receive calls on the radio about some creature in chains as well as the worrying proclamation "Guns don't hurt it!" Upon getting closer to the cabin the ambient noise of the forest starts to drift away and you'll hear the faint scraping of chains, building upon this lore. The cabin is clearly a safe space, however, because it has an item box and a typewriter; nothing bad could possibly happen when you have those invaluable tools at your disposal, can they?
It's this perfect balance of unsettling and establishing a false sense of security that sends a chill right through your skin once you explore your environment and find only a deadend and a crank, meaning that you have to turn back on yourself. An eagle-eyed player might spot the subtle way that the game hides the monster entering the cabin, by angling the camera so that it's hidden at the top of your screen. But even the unobservant will hear the moaning and cranking chains letting you know beyond a doubt that you aren't exactly in the safest spot in the world. That's right, despite the apparent safety of save rooms, this is one that breaks your expectations in a grand fashion, by having Jill get immediately jumped the second that she tries to leave the cabin.
Upon coming to, Capcom stop beating around the bush and show you this monster that's been stalking you, and heck if she isn't a sight! At this point in the game all you've really come across is zombies and the occasional killer (Albeit enlarged) animal, but here's comes a creature designed to shatter your comfort levels with pure gross-out. Lisa Trevor is perhaps the model that all the body-horror from the later games based themselves on, and even then she holds up pretty well in the grotesque factor. She props herself on this unsettling spindly body carrying a chains around her legs and supporting a huge bulbous head fitted with multiple split faces. Frankly it's the kind of thing that you'd find in the notebook scratchings of some deranged art student, and it's frankly impressive that Capcom were able to realise such a monster so vividly. (That's usually the kind of faithfulness you have to go to Square Enix for.) But the real kicker which makes this monster so spooky; she wasn't in the original Resident Evil, not even once. Lisa was a surprise edition to the remake and something that threw every series veteran off of their guard, kudos for a well-executed scare to even the most stalwart, Capcom!
Of course, Lisa has already been established as being immune to bullets at this point, (As it seems one monster in every Resident Evil must be) so the player is left with either shooting her to a standstill or running away from her. Of course, this hearkens back to the 'flight or fight' philosophy behind older horror titles like Silent Hill which works to give the player a choice without ever making them feel too powerful. (and thus in control of the situation that you throw at them.) Of course, as we are playing in the highest difficulty and I know I'll need that ammo later on, the smart choice is to book it past her and out of the cabin as fast your tank controls will allow you.
Along the way back to the courtyard there was another puzzle to solve, one that we passed by earlier. Remember that Wind Crest from a few blogs, back? It actually has a place in the graveyard full of killer ravens as indicated by the flavour dialogue that you'll see should you take the time to stop and read it. Using this crest opens up a simple puzzle of 'match the emblem to the slot' which seem inconsequential but rewards quiet the boon for those willing to take the time; the second most powerful gun in the game (Not including the rocket launcher) the Silver Serpent Magnum. Now this was back before the series started bending over itself to explain why items are where they are, so narratively finding a magnum inside of the graveyard makes no earthly sense, but who's going to argue with a gun that is a one shot kill on practically anything? Of course, that firepower comes at the cost of ammo availability, so players still have to keep the gun for special occasions down the line.
Whilst Act 1 may have been defined by navigation, most of Act 2 is actually rather linear as it's all about running back and forth between corridor-esque locations. The extended Spencer courtyard is a straightforward location and derives it's personality less from unique environmental ques and more from the fact that it's a bit of a gauntlet for the unprepared. You'll get killer crows, packs of wild dogs (Who'll ignore you if you don't threaten them) and even an entire hallway full of falling poisonous snakes. (You heard me right. No, I don't know where they came from or why.) This is the place that the crank is needed for as it controls a dam built into the Spencer property, thus allowing you to move through waterlogged areas. (I particularly enjoy the rustic 60's aesthetic to all of this section that assures me that Jill will most certainly catch tetanus is she touches anything.)
Once through the courtyard it isn't long before you're back inside this brand new locale known as 'The Residence'. (That's right, there's a Residence in Resident Evil.) This place abandons the cacophony of the forest ambience for quiet, often music-less hallways, and creaking wooden floorboards. Far removed from the grand luxury of the mansion, the Residence feels more like a place for guest housing, as such the player can expect more intimate environments and lower ceilings, really bringing you into the moment. This location also marks the return of creepy environmental details, with my favourite being the collection of newspapers sprawled about the hallway that all contain details about S.T.A.R.S. (Particularly creepy as, from everything you'll have been able to deduce through the various recovered documents, this whole location had been abandoned for 20 years. So who's been keeping the newspaper subscription up...)
Atop of the usual item/save room that you find in every area of the game, player's will also come across a new gameplay mechanic as there are several pots full of blue herbs lined up against the wall. Now this is obviously strategically placed just after the snake-fall section, as Blue herbs are specifically designed for curing poisonings. Without these herbs Jill will be wasted away to the brink of death everytime that she comes across a snake/spider, so it's helpful to know how these herbs work and wise that Capcom would present a hands-on demonstration for those who missed on the rather in-detail document regarding this matter in the study. Just another example of the ways in which this game was designed not to leave player's every feeling completely in the lurch for anyone's fault other than their own.
Reverting back to your basic instincts of searching each and every room will lead most players into a little trap hidden down one of the hallways. There's a little gap in the floorboading which, should Jill cross over it, will initiate a giant tentacle to shoot out and start strangling her for a few seconds. The solution for this little puzzle is actually quite apart from the other puzzles in this game, as you have to interact with the environment in order to push a heavy wooden crate above the hole. (Simple, but effective.) What's more worrying is the question of what exactly that tentacle spawned from, but that's a question for down-the-line Jill.
Next up it's one of the single most terrifying rooms in the franchise, the games room, and if you've watched the above video you will know why. Capcom knew that they didn't even need to add a spooky score to this room, because why bother when you have giant hairy poison-spitting spiders crawling all over the place? I hated this room when I first played this section, for obvious reasons, and even now I still get the creeps entering it. There's something about the excessive hair all over their bodies which makes them just that little bit worse than other video game spiders. That and their eerily realistic movement. (God I hate how spiders move.) Honestly, I don't know how I'd have managed through this section of the game without my trusty shotgun. Clear that room (if you dare) and you'll find yourself with an entire speak-easy looking lounge area with some mystery-hooks to get you back into 'investigator' mode. There's some oil lamps, an empty red book and a arrangement of billiard balls that Jill seems to think was laid out deliberately. (20 years ago, I presume?)
Unfortunately here's when some of the weakest parts of the Resident Evil franchise starts to take hold; the voice acting. Jill happens upon voices coming from a room on the far side of The Residence, and rather than barge in there like the police officer that she is, Jill stays outside for no discernible reason. We here talks about destroying S.T.A.R.S and ensuring the safety of someone's family, but despite how blatant all of that is Jill still seems to buy it once she enters the room and finds Barry claiming that he was talking to himself. (In two different voices? Come on Jill!)
Luckily once Barry is out the room he leaves behind some documents that tell the much more competently written sections of Resident Evil's story. Much like some of the other papers, this one is built-in to be pure foreshadow as it talks about a test subject that has gone out of control called Plant 42. Apparently this thing has mutated to an unmaintainable size and even began attacking other scientist with it's blood sucking tentacles. All this due to something called 'the T-Virus' (And this appears to be it's first canonical mention in the franchise, so that's interesting.)
Rather than push forward, however, I decided to head back and wrap things up, but not before willingly exploring another one of Capcom's tricks. You see, they love the whole 'set expectations only to shatter them' approach, and so that's exactly what they do with a map of the Residence that the player will come across hanging on a wall. Now this is usually a good thing that is invaluable for navigation, so most players would jump at the chance to get this map, however this time there is a catch. Retrieve the map and you'll find that is was actually being used as a makeshift curtain over a hole in the wall, a hole that hides an active beehive inside it! (There's an unpleasant surprise.)
So after nursing our stings and retrieving a key for the Residence that was inside the toilets of Barry's conspiracy room, it's back to the safe room to plan our next step as the Residence starts to open up to us in a much more streamlined manner than the main mansion did. That we'll pursue next time, however, once we dive into the real secret hiding beneath the Spencer properties. Before then I have some Kingdom Hearts to get into, as well as some choice words to preach about the manner in which 358/2 days was ported to HD. (Or would it be more apt to say, 'how it wasn't ported'? You'll get it when you read the blog.)
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