Resident Evil 3 Remake: Big changes on their way

STARS!

Ever closer we tread to the release of Resident Evil 3, (I mean, it's 3 months aways but that's still technically closer than last time.) and the excitement is positively tangible. However, due to Capcom's decision to keep this title under wraps until the last possible moment, there are no more big trade shows between now and it's release, meaning that we have to rely on infrequent interviews and news drops to ascertain any idea of what this game will finally look like. Capcom seem to enjoy holding this power over us too, or at least that's the impression that I've got from the way that they've incessantly teased us these past few days. But I understand that it's all part of the theatrics and a small part of me does actually enjoy it, albeit in a begrudging manner.

It is through this irregular channel of reveals that the Resident Evil fandom received some information from a Capcom TV Interview. (Which had to be translated, of course.) Here we learnt that the key driving goals behind the premises of this remake and the Resident Evil 2 remake are actually different in that this time around they aren't trying to be as faithful. When the original Resident Evil 2 first launched, it followed a very successful initial zombie outing, only to promptly eclipse that and, incidentally, everything else that Capcom had ever made before. The original Resident Evil 2 is revered as a classic for good reason, everyone played it and agreed that it did everything right to up-the-ante from the first title. It was the 'Aliens' to Capcom's 'Alien'. With that in mind, it didn't make sense for the remake to stray too far away from the formula that made the original game so special because that's the kind of thing a clueless Disney rep would approve, not a Capcom Developer who cares about their product.

In Resident Evil 3: Nemesis' case, however, the praise wasn't nearly as profound. Don't get me wrong Resident Evil 3 wasn't trashed on by any means, in fact, it's considered the last 'pure' outing in the mainline series before the games started becoming... weird. (I love you, Resident Evil 4, but we both know you ain't all there.) That being said, Resident Evil 3 was not the 'revolutionary step-up' that RE2 was to the original, and that led to the title becoming largely forgotten. It was mostly just a remix of Resident Evil 2 (Which, funnily enough, is how it was made so expediently) and that meant that folk merely looked at this title like an addendum to that game. (A matter not helped by the fact that the entire story occurs concurrently to Resident Evil 2 and seems to follow what can be charitably described as "The B-Plot".) This perception has been perpetuated all the way to modern day with many folk, including myself, believing that Resident Evil 3 should have been slapped onto the Resident Evil 2: Remake package as DLC. Capcom have come out and confirmed that this isn't their plan, and now they're seeking to justify that decision by making a few key alterations to Resident Evil 3's fundamental story, ideally earning it's independence.

The most obvious departure from the original is the way in which the lead stars have been envisioned. They have been spruced up to meet with modern design standards, (And, I'd imagine, to resemble a couple of unnaturally beautiful models that Capcom hired) as well as to fit a more action-oriented theme. That means Jill has been deprived of her iconic tube-corset-top-thing from the original and given a breathable tank top. (She might actually be able to turn her torso in that!) Carlos has also been given a redesign with his hair now resembling something that you might find squashed in the middle of a highway (So that's an improvement, I guess.) Carlos is also said to hold a much more important role in this title, becoming a worthy partner to help Jill through this nightmare. (Hey, maybe that means he'll actually be memorable as a character this time around.)

Capcom also want to expand the spotlight of characters who aren't narratively essential, those who's story could prove insightful for the larger world, such as Dario. If you remember Robert Kendo from the first game, the gun store owner who has the heartbreaking task of looking after his infected daughter, then you likely don't remember Dario as Kendo completely outshines him. Dario is the only civilian in Resident Evil 3 and is supposed to serve as the audiences indication of how Raccoon City is falling apart (on a budget, seeing as how he is only one guy.) Honestly, I don't remember this guy much even though you actually interact with him more than Kendo in the original, this could really use with a remodelling in this remake. Perhaps this time around he'll become as well-remembered to audiences as Remake Marvin was, but we'll have to wait and see.

Another more practical revision for this time around is the return of one of the most deadly non-boss enemies in this franchise; The Hunter. back in the original Resident Evil, the amphibious Hunter was one of the most terrifying monsters in the mansion, not for appearance but for pure deadly potential. Resident Evil 3 originally bought these monsters back as Hunter Beta, which was essentially the exact same creature with a different name. However, in the years since their powerful mythos has been sullied by numerous low-power appearances in the plethora of rail-shooter Resident Evil titles. (There were like, three.) This Remake intends to rethrone these killing machines as the worst things to come across in a narrow alley way, whilst giving them an update which will be 'Appropiate considering the new style of movement'. Whatever that means.

Finally, of course, there are the changes that are coming to the big bad himself, Nemesis. Although we've yet to actually see the fellow in action, the leaked boxart is enough for us to see that his design has varied significantly from his original outing. Instead of the patch-work Frankenstein look from the original, Nemesis has a 'stretched-face' dynamic that works better in accentuating the 'body-horror' vibes of Resident Evil. Once again the team has teased some fundamental changes to the way that Nemesis operates that they are unwilling to go into, only highlighting that he will be more aggressive than Mr.X from the RE2 Remake. I'm not entirely sure what we can derive from this, but I have a feeling that it might have something to do with the multiple boss encounters that we are destined to face throughout the main story. Perhaps this time around there is no way to 'defeat him' like in the original, only to slow him down for a few moments whilst you make an escape. (Similar to how Mr. X worked.) I think that would certainly help retain the 'fear-factor' that the original lost from having you slay the Nemesis over and over.

The art of the remake is an unspecific science, but I've always approached it from the camp that "Change is good, as long as it keeps the spirit of the original." Many recent Disney remakes have been blasted for forgetting key themes of it's source material and even the Final Fantasy 7 remake is facing backlash for the way they've cut up the story for no good reason. Capcom have proved themselves before, however, so I'm more inclined to believe them when they say that they know how to change this title for the better. My worries, therefore, are not on their continuing efforts but now on the rumored 'secret new game' that Capcom are currently recruiting their 'Ambassadors' to playtest. The obvious guess would be Resident Evil 8, but a recent trade filing could indicate the return of a franchise that is a lot more... prehistoric. (Actually 'Dino Crisis' is set in the future, but you get what I'm hinting at.) More on that as the situation develops.

Umbrella and the mismangement of their BOWs

Please stop laughing. I worked so hard. I worked night and day.

With all the attention that is being directed towards the Resident Evil franchise of late, from the announcement of Resident Evil 3, to the addition of a new RE3 Easter egg in Resident Evil 2, to the re-release of the RE2 demo complete with a 'Nemesis-themed' Easter egg. I've got to thinking about all of the lore of the Resident Evil universe as I understand it. I find these games to be a fascinating series chock full of secrets and questions that have never been officially answered, and that is perfect fodder for the active imagination. Seeing as how I'm intending to start playing the Resident Evil games and analyzing them in minute detail, I feel that it's high time that I get one particular Lore-related issue of my chest in regards to this franchise. (Cue the Jerry Seinfeld voice) What's the deal with Umbrella's BOWs? (Warning: Major spoilers for the first 3 Resident Evil games.)

Before I get into anything, I should preface this blog by saying that this is quiet unlike anything I've done before on this blog. Rather than focus on hard cold mechanics, I'm delving into narrative and lore in order to point out a funny little thing that I've noticed regarding the way that the first 3 Resident Evil games play out. Therefore I will do my best to explain things for those who aren't as familiar with the lore as I am, whilst simultaneously pointing out that I'm not exactly an expert of everything Resident Evil myself, so there may be some factual inaccuracies here.  (In my defence, I've fact checked everything that I can.)

Let's start at the beginning; The Umbrella corporation, formerly known as 'Umbrella Pharmaceuticals', is the fictional company that is at the heart of most, if not all, of the paranormal going-ons in the Resident Evil franchise. After being founded in 1967 by a trio of 'experimental' doctors, Umbrella quickly rose to become a prominent player on the national field of pharmaceuticals, earning them the title of, In the words of a 19 yr old, "the area's biggest taxpayer". (That is literally the only thing that Rebecca tells you about Umbrella in Resident Evil 1. She doesn't even mention that they're a company. For all you know it could just be some oddly named rich Samaritan with a penchant for developing gauze.)

Unfortunately, widespread market domination and, presumably, considerable profits weren't enough to satisfy the big wigs at Umbrella, and soon they started putting funds behind the research of, easily the most insane of their founders, Oswell E Spencer. Spencey Boy was quite the sucker for agriculture in his youth, you see, and whilst on a flower picking trip in deep Africa, Ozzy came across an incredibly special flower which... You know I can't exactly remember. (This is why I need to play through these games again.) Look, long story short they could inflict serious change to an individual's cellular structure and, naturally, this led to the Umbrella team immediately seeking a way to monetize on it.

To this end, Umbrella founded their 'BOW' program (Bio Organic Weapon) in order to grow super soldiers that would then be sold illegally on the black market, or to the US government. (Management never could quite nail down that part.) There were a few problems with their 'super soldier formula' however, most pressingly how it was a parasitic virus that only seemed able to work it's magic on dead flesh. That, mixed with the fact that the resulting 'Zombies' were lacking the mental acuity to respond to orders, made the marketability of these 'Zombies' rather lame. Luckily the team got to working around the clock to rectify this and they ended up coming to an ingenious solution, they'll create artificial hosts for the virus to take over. Thus the BOW program kicked off in earnest as the team got together to make a deadly organic weapon that would be the envy of any black market weapons deal.

To this end, Umbrella created hundred of useless cannon fodder and a scant few truly marketable super soldiers through with which they could terrorize the world. This prototype was assigned the codename 'Tyrant' and grown underneath the mansion of their founders, in the hills of the Arklay mountains. (A location picked for having the perfect conditions for regrowing the necessary plant. Or being the only place that grew said plants in the first place. The lore tends to conflict with itself on that point.) Umbrella were right on track to create their super soldier and make, in the words of the TMNT movie, "Stupid money" which, let's not misremember things, is their ultimate goal. Umbrella originally had no goals of world domination or to 'cure the world of death' (Okay, that might have been Spencer's goal but no one liked him anyway. He was ousted from the company is a very 'definitive' fashion. Let's say he was 'pushed' to leave his position.) Umbrella only cared about money to begin with, and therefore it only makes sense that every single one of their early decisions should be in aid of that vague goal.

Cue a terrible disaster that isn't worth going into in this blog, and Umbrella's laboratory in the Spencer mansion goes dark. Somehow the virus leaked and infected most of the staff in and around that facility, resulting in incalculable losses for Umbrella R&D, whilst also locking the team out of direct access to their finished prototype: Tyrant. This would be a situation that would require incredible levels of tact and planning on the company's part to ensure that they could contain the situation and retrieve their assets without authorities becoming aware of anything bad, or if that cannot be accomplished, than at least without knowledge of the company's direct involvement. There's only one nagging issue...

The nearby populace of Raccoon City boasts a specialized division of their police force called S.T.A.R.S.; Special Tactics and Rescue Service. (Sigh. You're not supposed to include the 'and' in your acronym, guys.) These guys end up sending their B-team to investigate a distress call nearby which ended up leading directly to the Spencer Mansion. (Whoops.) Luckily that B-Team promptly went dark, (Probably because the team was comprised of several people with no guns and a 19 year old.) unfortunately, there is an A-Team ready to pick up that trail. Cue panic mode for Umbrella, their secret is about to leak out to the Authorities! What can they do? Good thing then, that their captain, Albert Wesker, is actually an Umbrella scientist working as a plant! All he needs to do is call off the investigation, bribe a few folk, and the anonymity of Umbrella is secured. Or he could lead that A-team in a mission to investigate the Spencer mansion... that's proactive, I guess.

Once S.T.A.R.S. land in Spencer Mansion, Albert's goal should be frighteningly obvious, he needs to get his entire team killed off as quickly as possible. And yet the first thing he does is save Chris Redfield's life from Zombie dogs and lead everyone to safety inside of the relative safety of the Spencer Mansion. (Not too clear on your plan here, Al.) Wesker then allows the team to go their separate ways whilst he disappears to... I dunno... destroy evidence hopefully. Somewhere along the way, however, he realizes that he cannot pull this off alone and thus enlists the help of resident S.T.A.R.S. moron, Barry Burton, to help him betray the team. I'd imagine the conversation went a little bit like this:

Albert: Barry, I need your help to betray S.T.A.R.S.

Barry: What? No way. Why would I do that?

Albert: I dunno. Name something that you really care about.

Barry: My Family?

Albert: Yeah, them. I've got them hostage so you better do as I say.

Barry: Oh god. You've lied about everything else I thought I knew about you, but I instantly believe you on this and will do absolutely nothing to fact-check that incredibly bold statement.

At this point Albert practically disappears from the story whilst the rest of the team slowly begin to pick apart the truth behind the mansion. Only in the final act do we find out that he has spent his entire time down in his personal labs with his Tyrant test tube. God knows what he spent all his time doing there, but I'll guess it was mostly trying to figure out the logistics of escorting a 9 foot pale monstrosity out the building and to Umbrella (Who's nearest facility would be the NEST underneath Raccoon City) without being spotted. (You should've bought a van along or something.) Cue the confrontation scene which either ends with Barry learning that Albert didn't kidnap his family (Meaning that Barry murdered on S.T.A.R.S member and tried to murder another for literally no reason) and shooting Wesker or the Tyrant merely waking up from inside it's test tube and choosing to skewer his creator. Either way things end badly for Wesker and, incidentally, the Tyrant, as in the canonical ending the monster is blown to pieces with a rocket launcher. And then again when the entire mansion explodes.

This leaves Umbrella with a huge potential breach of information, as there is an entire squadron of living S.T.A.R.S. who now know their secret, and a lot of money lost in damages. Luckily for them, another convenient tragedy should strike less than 1 week later as the town of Raccoon city is felled by a zombie virus outbreak. (Unfortunately, this virus outbreak also signalled the destruction of Umbrella's substantial NEST facility, providing another potential leak of information.) It is from this point on that I seriously wonder what the heck Umbrella were doing in the aftermath of this mess and just who was in charge the whole time. Let me explain why.

At this point, Umbrella has 3 key problems that they need to solve: They need to ensure that the S.T.A.R.S. members are silenced. (The zombie virus outbreak isn't enough, they need to make sure.) Secondly, their data drives from the NEST need to be erased/retrieved. (Unless the team wants to risk potential exposure from rescue services after the fact) And Thirdly, they need to erase all evidence of their involvement with the 'Spencer Mansion Incident' and 'The Raccoon city incident'. (And, if it's possible, prevent widespread knowledge of zombies hitting the main stream news broadcasts. Remember, this game takes place in 1998 and Raccoon City is relatively secluded so that was still possible.)

The scientists currently in the NEST, likely desperately trying to keep the whole place running as the virus tears through it all, makes the first dumb move to try and control the situation. Word comes to them that the bulk of survivors are hiding out at the police station, so they decide to play dress up with their own Tyrant prototype, Mr.X. (presumably the only other one in existence) and set this expensive piece of proprietary organic-technology loose on the Police station to ensure there are no survivors left to tell tales about the zombies. Somehow this team thinks that their 9 foot pale skinned monster wouldn't attract suspicion if they just stuck it in a trenchcoat and put a top hat on it, and they didn't spare a thought about how they might retrieve their Tyrant after the face. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it" they likely said as they reveled in the fact that their quick thinking might have saved them their jobs.

Unfortunately, an outside division of Umbrella has a similar idea with a different end goal in mind. Knowing that the biggest potential info leak comes from the S.T.A.R.S. operatives, seeing as how they are in possession of documents that can tie Umbrella to illegal experimentation, this team decided that they should be the chief target. Therefore, this team decides to deploy their very own prototype BOW; Nemesis, with sole orders to wipe out S.T.A.R.S. Now, you know this was a big screw up, as Nemesis is probably more valuable than Mr.X, (Seeing as how he can follow orders, utter rudimentary phrases and operate large weaponry) so sticking him in the line of fire is exceedingly reckless. (I can only imagine that it was after deploying him that the external Umbrella team called the NEST in order to tell them that they had everything covered. That must have been an awkward conversation...)

So we currently have two incredibly expensive assets active in the same area with mildly conflicting goals, already a gigantic recipe for disaster but hey, at least the job in question will get done. Except there is another variable in this equation as Umbrella's head office preempted the potential issues of S.T.A.R.S and worked a way to  clean it up days ago. You see, Chris Redfield, Rebecca Chambers and Barry Burton were immediately reassigned upon coming back from their adventure and sent all over the world. This is because Umbrella happened to have the Chief of police in their pocket and so could ensure that none of the S.T.A.R.S. members had the chance to spread their story. (Especially as the 'reassignments' in question resulted in the members becoming trapped or incarcerated) Only Jill Valentine was exempt from this treatment, and they were likely cooking something up for her when the second outbreak hit Raccoon city.

This means that Nemesis has had the majority of his potential usefulness invalidated as most of the crew are already around the world, making his deployment a waste of time and money. Umbrella high brass also sent 2 (3 if we accept the story of the now non-canonical 'Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City') separate agents to collect information/samples from the NEST so that the entire site doesn't become a completely write-off for corporate. Which further shows how confused everyone was when running this mess as no one took the time to communicate their plans.

Do you want to know the cherry on top of all of this? Atop of the millions of dollars worth of asset that are already invested in covering up this colossal screw-up, the top guys over at Umbrella were already hard at work on a solution to all this that would render all over efforts entirely moot. You see, Umbrella had the kind of contacts under their belt that could mobilize the military if they pull the right strings. Now, this could be used to set up a perimeter around the city or any number of boring solutions, but the guys had a better idea in mind; if they wanted everything gone why not just blow the whole city up in hellfire. This plan was put into place likely under the impression that they were doing the best thing possible for the situation and with no idea that there were 2 high level BOWs, one mercenary and one hometrained agent active in the city at the time. (Since when did Shepherd ever care about danger close?)

As far as Snafus go, that's a big one. I wouldn't want to be the poor lackey who ends up drawing the short straw and thus has to go before Mr Spencer to explain why it is that their past 40 odd years of innovation has to be flushed down the drain. Without the hard work of their mercenary, this screw up alone might have been enough to bankrupt the entire company. (Which means we have a certain seductress to blame for the future Resident Evil games. Surely, that makes her the ultimate bad guy.) Still, at least this whole affair will have likely led to the adoption of 'conference calls' into the Umbrella corporate culture. (Ever improving!)

What Resident Evil 1, 2 and 3 presents us with is a perfect cluster of a situation that is hilarious to look at in hindsight. Just like with any real organization, Umbrella ended up costing itself millions (maybe billions) in resources and lost research time all because there was no vertical or lateral communication going on between teams. At the first scent of trouble, everyone rushed to put out the fire not realizing that their various methods ended up making things worse. I love how this messy story convention is the unintended side effect of Capcom setting so many of their games within the same 2 week scenario, and really enjoyed pointing it out today. Perhaps this style of blog isn't quite like what I usually put out, but I hope to settle into more 'Lore discussion' topics like this in the future.

Oh boy, it's finally happening!

I don't want a lot this Christmas...

There is just thing I need. And that is the announcement which, at this point, is absolutely inevitable; that of the Resident Evil 3 remake. For those who don't their finger on the trigger with this sort of stuff like I do, yesterday there was a leaked image revealing the cover art for the RE3: Remake which had it's voracity confirmed by Eurogamer sources, and I couldn't be more absolutely pumped out of my freakin' mind! Fair warning for you mild mannered and sensible folk out there, if you are adverse to going through the inane ramblings of a fanatic, then just take a look at that gorgeous boxart below and be on your way, because I'm about to go full fanboy on this unannounced game.

Firstly, I am so, so glad that Capcom are finally taking the time to go the right direction when it comes to this franchise, it took them *so* long. I've mentioned it before but there was a long period of time when Capcom had no idea what they wanted to do with Resident Evil and how to go forward, this resulted in the weird Resident Evil 4, the dull RE 5 and the confused RE6. (Let's never forget that one anecdote wherein that unnamed member of management expressed wanting to hear 'Resident Evil' and 'Call of Duty' discussed in the same breath.) Yet it seem that after 'Resident Evil 7: Biohazard', people have finally got their act together and decided where it is that this franchise needs to go, and it's backwards.

Early this year Capcom released one of their best video games of all time, Resident Evil 2, again; only this time they somehow made it better. Resident Evil 2 was already a game that had a beloved place in gamer's hearts with the way it stepped itself up from the last entry and managed to release at the absolute perfect time, and by all know laws of physics there was no way that fervour should have been captured again. And yet, when we first saw the 'RE2: Remake' and it's promise of mind-blowing fidelity, hauntingly locales and remixed encounters, even the diehard anti-remake folk were starting to take interest. This was a title that managed to do everything right to hook in that nostalgic audience whilst differentiating itself enough, both in vision and quality, to stand on it's own feet, and that was an effort worth commending. Resident Evil hadn't seen a full-game remake since 2001's Resident Evil, and this project put that game to shame. (Not to dunk on the 2001 remake at all, I just thinks it's amazing how they consciously decided to remove the original game's terrible voice actors and replace it with new people who were bad in an entirely different way.)

Now we have the full release of Resident Evil 2 and, I have to tell you, I cannot remember the last time I was this enamoured with a game. I poured my life essence into loving this game, because that was the same amount of love that I felt oozing out of every pour of this remake. Every scare was meticulously measured, every bullet hole painstakingly rendered and every sound impossibly evocative. Personally, I had never been a huge fan of the horror genre (And yet I blame a bunch of them, go me.) but even I could tell when I was receiving an absolute masterclass on how horror can be done right on a triple A budget. 'RE2: Remake' also has the dubious honour of being the only horror game that has managed to wring panic-fueled profanities out of my screaming mouth on the fourth playthrough. (The Fourth!) That is the triumph of a game with atmosphere, tension, and just plain quality, for days.

From the second I reached those credits as Leon, the first thing that I wanted to do was follow Jill's story through that same nightmare. The original Resident Evil 3 was famous for it's quick turn around back in the day (achieved by the team reusing a great number, if not all, of RE2's assets) and, despite game design having evolved considerably, people hoped beyond hope that the same would happen again here. But rumors seemed to imply this wouldn't be the case as a remake was in the wings but it wasn't 'what we were expecting'. I'm still not sure what is exactly meant by this, but as long as I get to take control of Valentine once again I don't really care about the details surrounding it.

As you can tell from the image, it seems that Capcom have doubled down on their tactic of basing these new character models off of real-life models. This worked wonderfully with bringing cherub-faced Leon to life with Eduard Badaluta and round-checked Claire with Jordan Mcewen. Both of these updated models looked like younger versions of their character models from the later games, and I can only imagine that was the rational behind picking them. Unfortunately, Jill is completely reworked in the later games (Through one of the dumbest twists in the franchise) and they have nothing to work on, so this new Jill doesn't really invoke the same 'Oh, good choice!' vibes that I got from RE2. That being said, she still looks like a total badass and I have no issues about that. Hmm? 'What about the other guy?' What other guy- Oh Carlos! Yeah, they changed his hair, I don't care; let's look at the real star of this game; Nemesis.

Nemesis is the hulking monstrosity deployed by Umbrella with the sole intention of wiping out S.T.A.R.S. before they can reveal the secrets that they learned in Spencer Mansion to the world. (Which Umbrella decided to wait a week before acting on.) He is the reoccurring main boss of RE3, much in the same vein as Mr. X, only this guy uses guns and so is automatically 10 times worse. Whilst Mr X was built to look nondescript and covert, or as covert as an 8 foot monstrosity can be, Nemesis resembles a patchwork Frankenstein nightmare who appears to have the jaw of a killer shark for some unknowable reason. In these remake images the team seems to have leaned off on the 'patchwork' aesthetic and leaned more in on the 'stretched skin' look which worked so well for their surprise boss in the RE1 Remake: Lisa Trevor. We can see the uncomfortable way in which the sinews and flesh contorts in order to make way for that unsettling row of sharp teeth and I can only imagine how much more grotesque things will get once the RE Engine gets ahold of it. (Someone's getting a shotgun blast to the face post haste.)

I have been salivating over these leaked images all day and it kills me that I'll have to wait until the 13th to get the accompanying teaser trailer. (That isn't officially confirmed, as neither is this game, but come on, Capcom, we know.) Resident Evil's resurgence has been one of the best things to happen to gaming this year and I'm ecstatic to see it continue onto the next decade. Heck, RE3 hasn't even been officially announced and I'm already thinking about where they could go next. Will we see a remake of 'Code: Veronica'? Surely they wouldn't try their hand at redoing 4! Maybe they'll just banish 5 and 6 from the canon and start fresh! Or maybe they'll just be boring and go back to making 8. There is so much potential for the Biohazard franchise that I cannot contain my wild speculation, and things will only get more nutty once we get that trailer, fair warning.

Return of the living undead

You almost became a Jill sandwich!

You may be wondering "What zombie game is big enough to warrant a whole separate entry?" That's easy, Biohazard. For those unfamiliar, Biohazard (Or 'Resident Evil' as it is known in the west.) is a historic game that is often labelled as the father of survival horror. Whilst that isn't quite true (the 'Alone in the Dark'  and 'Clocktower' series' predate it.)  we can certainly credit Capcom for perfecting the formula. Every single entry had innovated in both storytelling and zombie design, to the point where I feel I need to cover each mainline entry. This way we'll be able to track the progression of the zombie aesthetic as dictated through the genre leader. So let's go all the way back to 1996 and start at the beginning.

Resident Evil/ Biohazard

Ever since the beginning, Resident Evil set the bar the gaming horror. Leaning off of the 'haunted house' trope, Resident Evil takes place entirely within the grounds of the spacious Spencer Mansion, situated in the Arklay mountains. Players take control of either Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield, seasoned members of special rescue squad S.T.A.R.S, as you scour through the old building looking to find out what happened to the previous team. Along the way, the protagonist is surprised to find the halls teeming with undead, zombie dogs and a biological super weapon. What follows is a race to the truth during which you unravel the secret truth behind the T-Virus.

Seeing as how the game was made back in 1996, you could reasonably deduce that the game's models aren't the prettiest in the world. The models are all blocky and rudimentary and they move more like stiff puppets actual humans. However, this doesn't mean that the zombies themselves still aren't intimidating. Capcom's Rotted feature the greyish skin that we are used to and shuffle around, arms raised and moaning. It is easy to see the classic Romero influences for these zombies. However, Resident Evil is renowned for not just sticking to zombified humans, so we have even more designs to consider. The, aforementioned, zombie dogs are one of the more impressive entities. Aside from appearing through one of the most effective and memorable jumpscares in gaming, these monsters manage to unnerve with their bloody coats and superficial skin damage. Those Doberman look as mangy as they do viscous. Then there are the Hunters, who look like the love-child between the Battletoads and Wolverine; Plant 42, which is a plant and the Tyrant, who is big bald and has a razor blade for an arm. Series fans may be able to see the genesis of some of the weird and wonderful zombie designs that would follow in the later games.

Resident Evil 2

Two years later in 1998, Capcom delivered the sequel to the original surprise hit. Development woes and design reworks meant that some people were doubtfull whether or not this game could live up to the success of the original. Little did they know, Resident Evil 2 would eclipse all other Capcom victories to become their most successful and celebrated game for years to come. Resident Evil 2 took the action away from Spencer Mansion, to the nearby locale of Raccoon City. There, players took control of either Leon Kennedy or Claire Redfield as they went toe-to-toe with a threat that completely eclipsed the Mansion incident. The total meltdown of a small city due to the mass release of the G-Virus. The protagonists are tasked with navigating through an old museum-turned-police-station, as they slowly unravel the conspiracy behind the outbreak and work to expose the pharmaceutial company Umbrella. This game was dripping with atmosphere, action and memorable side characters like Ada Wong and Sherry Birkin. It was also lush with a lot more zombies.

The tech available to Capcom at the time of the original was much approved upon by the time they came around to the sequel. This meant that they could work to bring more zombies to the screen then they ever had before. Instead of just 3 zombies, we could have triple that amount at once. This was essential for depicting a city turned to ruin, especially in that opening scene in which players are forced to flee from an onslaught of shambling undead. The models themselves are much more varied than the last game's offering. Zombies can appear with all-new structural damage, mimicking some of the more audacious makeup affects from zombie movies. More influence was placed upon the action element too, meaning that players received a few setpeice moments like the chase scene with the giant alligator. The Tyrant was also improved upon. Instead of the underpants wearing boss from Resident Evil 1; this new Tyrant wore a black trench coat with a matching hat and, crucially, was not limited to a couple of boss arenas near the end. Indeed, you won't have gone very far in the game before you find yourself stalked by this unkillable powerhouse. Mr. X (As he is known) lends to the overarching dread that players feel even when revisiting areas that they knew well, you never know when X could be just around the corner. "But what about the gross bosses?" I hear you cry. "That's my favourite part!". Resident Evil 2 has us covered in that department with the beast known as G. A huge fleshy, eyeball covered, monster who rapidly evolves throughout the course of the game. His final form, as a gelatinous toothy maw, still gives me chills.

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis

By the time Resident Evil 3 rolled around, nobody was ready to give up the success story that was Resident Evil 2. Fans wanted more and Capcom wanted to capitalize on their most profitable game ever. Couple that with a desire to churn out another game as soon as possible and you are left with 1999's Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. This game took place concurrently with the events of Resident Evil 2 and followed Jill Valentine as she tried to survive her return to Raccoon city whilst being hunted by the titular Nemesis. Fans went through this game fully in the knowledge of what happens to Raccoon City after the incident,(Kaboom.) and so it added a whole new layer of tension as they struggled to outrace their fiery demise. Resident Evil 3 recycled a lot of the previous game's assets in order to create whole new parts of Raccoon City for Jill to fight her way through as she raced against the clock, striking this odd balance between locales that felt both new and familiar.

The star of Resident Evil 3 is undoubtedly the Nemesis. This Frankenstein reject popped up on all the marketing and screenshots and even got his mug on the front cover, so it was clear the Capcom was proud of him. And they have a right to be, afterall, he has earned his place in the hall of video game monster fame. Nemesis' most striking feature is his patchwork face that hearkens back to the flesh mask of Leatherface, another horror icon. He sports a heavy trench coat, several protruding tubes and enough mental acuity to wield a rocket launcher. (I feel like the definition of 'Zombie' got a little bit muddled.) Players would find themselves facing Nemesis at points throughout of story wherein they can either run or fight him off; Nothing seems to kill him but at least you have the opportunity to hold him back. This choice carried over onto the narrative, wherein you had moments to make split second decisions about where to go in the face of danger. By the time you reach the final encounter, you have built up enough of a history with the beast to really enjoy it when you watch him get blown to smithereens.

Resident Evil 0/1

In 2002, Capcom were finally ready to release another game, but this wasn't the long awaited Resident Evil 4, but a prequel dating back to before the first game. Some people were dissatisfied with the Hollywood action of Resident Evil 2 & 3, and they wanted the franchise to go back to it's scary roots. Capcom agreed to heading this direction and we ended up with Resident Evil 0. In this game, players were reintroduced to S.T.A.R.S' youngest operative Rebbecca Chambers, as she and escaped convict Billy Coen find themselves on a zombie infested train. Players take control of both protagonists as they make their way back to Spencer Mansion and through the Umbrella labs to discover the origins behind the Progenitor Virus. But that wasn't all that happened in 2002. You see Capcom, perhaps realizing how dated Resident Evil 1 looked, also decided to completely remake the original with shiny new assets, controls, monsters and voice acting. (No more "Jill sandwich".) They even tried to make the story intelligible. 'Tried' being the operative word there.

With the leap forward to the Gamecube, Capcom had the hardware to bring their zombies to life with unmatched fidelity. This time around the polygonal models actually resembled the shape of humans and the zombies improved accordingly. Chewed up faces and desiccated corpses were everywhere now as Capcom went nuts in proving how detailed they could make their iconic zombies. They even went so far as to introduce a new, unkillable monster, to the original game. Lisa Trevor is a hunched, lanky creature with a patchwork face reminiscent of the Nemesis. You can hear her in the early game, wailing from the basement, before she ambushes you at the sheds. Many still remember the sounds of dragging chains as Lisa stalked them through the caves in the later game.

Resident Evil 4

It wouldn't be until 2005 when we would finally see the continuation of the Resident Evil story. Resident Evil 4. Fans were eager to find out what sort of game they would receive, would it follow the horror roots of the original or lean towards the action that the later games embraced. No one expected the type of game that actually released. Resident Evil 4 was weird. Weider than anyone could have anticipated. Taking place in an undisclosed European country, players are put back in control of series favourite: Leon Kennedy, as he tries to track down the trail of the president's kidnapped daughter. Resident Evil 4 completely ditched the puzzle solving, backtracking elements of previous games to tell a more adventurous story that doubled down on the weirder elements of Resident Evil. That means more eccentric villains, mutated monstrosities and the return of Ada Wong. (Conspicuously not dead despite the events of Resident Evil 2.) Although the one element that I find strange even now is their approach to the zombies.

Or rather, the lack of Zombies. Resident Evil 4 ditches the traditional flesh eaters in favour of a game full of weird village cultists who worship 'Los Illuminados'. This means that instead of fighting shambling Walkers, players end up facing off against shambling farmers and one guy with a chainsaw. If you think this means that you won't see any outlandish beings then worry not, Resident Evil 4 has plenty in that department too. There comes a point nearing the end of the first act, when players will notice a villager's head explode into a tentacle. This is the game's signal to get weird. From then you'll fight a troll, a lake monster, this cloaked mantis monster called Verdugo (Who has one of the scarier scenes in the game.) and the heavy breathing Regenerators who... are just really unsettling. That isn't even counting the series stable transformation sequences. Resident Evil 4 has three! First there is the annoying count Salazar who becomes... I don't even know what that is. Then there is Jack Krauser who gets a sword arm and Saddler who becomes a- praying mantis? Body horror was never so surreal as when Capcom got ahold of it.

Resident Evil 5

Four years later in 2009, fans would be treated to Resident Evil 5. The previous game had been another runaway hit, bringing in an entirely new demographic of fan that came with their own expectations about what a Resident Evil game should be. Perhaps this was the first time when Capcom started to realize how much their fan base tugged in different directions, how could they realistically please such a wildly diverse audience? For the time being, they decided to stick with the formula they constructed in 4 with the tonally confused 5th entry. This time player's were put back in the shoes of original protagonist Chris Redfield with his new partner Sheva Alomar. Through co-op or alone, players would travel across an unspecified region of Africa in search of the cause of another outbreak. This would lead players into another tale about the misdeeds of Umbrella, capping off with the surprise return of two series favourites: Jill Valentine and Albert (I swear this guy has already died twice.) Wesker. The game was a very mixed offering with spotty AI and a lack of thematic consistency, but personally I forgive all simply for the scene where Chris punches a boulder in half with his bare hands. True genius.

Resident Evil 5 expands on the 'tentacle beast' type of monster from the last game. This time the locals had these gross mouth flaps that would stretch out and try to wrap around the players face in close combat. At this point the game's had almost entirely veered away from traditional zombies and moved into general horror monsters. These guys were suffering from a malignant parasite, not a mild case of reanimation. Despite that, we did get some more of the classic zombie animals to make us afraid of our four-legged brethren once again and some big impressive boss monster too. This is the point where Resident Evil's monster stop being imaginatively grotesque and just started becoming unrecognizable bulbous messes. One them flew, one of them was a sort of Kraken, but non of them were memorable. Most fans just remember the matrix-inspired Albert Wesker fight and the follow-up in the volcano at the end. Classic fans came away a little disappointed with the offer, but not to worry, things couldn't get any worse than that, could they?

Resident Evil 6

In 2012, things got worse. Capcom buckled under the pressure of being pulled every which way by their fanbase and puked out a complete mess of a game. No one on the development team had any idea what direction to take, so someone had the bright idea to follow every direction at once. Resident Evil 6 has 3 separate campaigns, (and a secret 4th one) each followed a different storyline with different protagonists and a different theme. You have the Leon plot thread wherein you encountered traditional zombies in a horror-like setting that weakly tried to capture the atmosphere of the original game and appeal to traditional fans; Then was the Chris campaign, which had the characters fighting against gun toting pseudo-zombies in an adrenaline-fueled sprint that wanted to snap up the shooter crowd; and finally there was Sherry Birkin's campaign which was designed to appeal to... fans of punch'em'ups? Was that a thing in the Resident Evil community? Was there a successful branch of resi-themed fighting games that passed me by? Whatever the reason, someone saw fit to throw that into this smorgasbord of a product. In the story you... I can't remember. There were 3 whole different plot threads that took place at different times, all over the world. I couldn't keep track of what was happening. I completely forgot Rebbecca Chambers showed up until I researched for this blog. All I can remember is Leon and newcomer Deborah Harper finding the President killed, Chris shooting things, Ada Wong being vague and mysterious and Sherry being... Ellie from The Last of Us without the heart.

Due to the game being so confused on what direction to take, there sure are a lot of different types of zombies to talk about. Although, none of them are new or different. Leon's zombies had more structural damage then we had ever seen before, sometimes with entire chunks of the face missing, but Chris' zombies were essentially just the same guys from Resident Evil 5 just with ballistic armour on. Sherry and Jack's zombies were literally just people in masks; you could have called that portion of the game Streets of rage 5 and no one would have called you out. Even in the horror sections, the Zombies seemed a lit more mobile than one would expect from beings known as 'walking dead'. I remember some zombies launching themselves through the air like acrobats. (Apparently rigor mortis does wonders for your athletics!) Resident Evil 5 certainly had some of most authentic looking zombies of any game to date, but they were woefully underutilized in an underwhelming outing. I remember hearing a story about some boardroom executive saying that they wanted 'Resident Evil' to be spoken about in the same breadth as 'Call of Duty'. Well, if we're talking about franchises that ran out of steam, then he certainly got his wish. Resident Evil 6 underperformed and the franchise went on hiatus for 5 years.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

In 2016, Capcom went back to the drawing board and tried to return to their horror routes for their next outing. Fans were treated to a couple of demos that tried to capture the popularity of PT and fill the void from the recently cancelled Silent Hills. Neither demo captured the ingenuity of Kojima's PT, but they did build up anticipation for a return to form for the Resident Evil franchise. On January 24th, 2017 Resident Evil 7: Biohazard released. (Or 'Biohazard 7: Resident Evil' in Japan.) This time the game was completely in first person and came with a big focus on personal body horror, the kind that really gives me the shivers. Thematically, the game borrowed heavily from modern Hollywood horror movies with the whole, stuck in the middle of nowhere with a creepy family, premise; but Capcom managed to put all those lazy Hollywood duds to shame with their mastery over atmosphere. Resident Evil 7 went right back to basics, setting the action in one location like with the original, having the woefully unprepared protagonist scrounge about for resources and ensuing that players never felt safe anywhere they went with relocating enemies. This time players had to survive the Baker's family ranch as they tried desperately to find a missing loved one and uncover the secret of the weird goings-on in Louisiana.

Capcom veered away from the armies of zombies and focused on the horror surrounding the Baker family. The Bakers all appear to be human but harbor some sort of parasitic entity that makes them unique. Jack is semi-indestructible and incredibly powerful, able to walk through walls and take a car to the chest. Marguerite is... she has... there's these bees... and then she turns all long and skinny... she's weird. Then there is Jack who has an unhealthy obsession with jigsaw-style death traps. As I said, All of these beings appear human but their abilities make them anything but. And thanks to the brand new RE:Engine, us players were able to take advantage to that to gruesome effect. Jack may not go down to a bullet to the face, but the bullet still pierces his skin and leaves a mark. For the first time players could actually see the effect of live structural damage on their enemies, rendered in a realistic fashion. Just imagine what that technology would look like rendered on a traditional zombie! Oh right, there's also the 'Molded' monsters, but they're not really worth remembering. 

RE: 2

All the way back in March of this year, Capcom debuted their next outing and much to everyone's surprise, it wasn't Resident Evil 8. Many were worried when the last outing failed to hit sales figures, they thought that it might be the end of Resident Evil, or at least the end of their plan to return to horror. Seems they were wrong on both counts, it just signalled Capcom to change their approach and try their hand at the Disney model for success. And so we received RE:2, a completely fresh remake of Resident Evil 2 in the RE:Engine. Capcom wanted to reignite the passion for Resident Evil by returning to the entry that sparked off the fervour in the first place. And it was good. It was very good. I am not usually a huge fan of horror games but I personally rank RE:2 on my list of my top ten favourite games of all time. It deftly handles dread and action in a world that looks and feels beautiful. Survival horror has never been done as well as Resident Evil 1 & 2 and the RE:2 project managed to capture that illusive charm perfectly and translate it into the modern age. And I haven't even mentioned the zombies themselves yet.

RE:2 features actual, honest-to-god, zombies (Finally!) and they are fantastically realized in the RE:Engine. Capcom built these undead models from the bones up, first creating the skeletal structure then laying on the muscle before coating the whole thing with flesh. This not only allows them to create mauled corpses with actual depth but to have players capable of stripping away that flesh in combat. Shotgun blast a zombie in the face and watch the layers crumble away before your eyes. This kind of fidelity eclipses anything you can see in zombie movies or even in landmark zombie shows like The Walking Dead. Impressive makeup and prosthetics can only go so far in creating something believable, but a functional animated engine is capable of anything imaginable. Some have gone so far as to call RE:2's zombies the best in fiction and I can't envision any strong argument otherwise. Of course, the improved tech also goes a long way in bringing some of RE:2's other monsters to life. The Zombie dogs, Lickers, Ivy zombies and Mr. X himself, are all stunning in their detail. The remade G also manages to look even more disgusting than his original incarnation. I didn't even think that was possible.

Much of video gaming zombie culture has been formed and shaped by the Resident Evil games. The fact that the trope still isn't completely played like it honestly should be, is because of franchises like Resident Evil that keep coming back and keeping it fresh. I jokingly rib Capcom for forgetting what zombies looked like during games 4-6, but in truth this was just the way that they managed to keep the subject matter scary whilst continuing the same story. Now we've gone full circle and have gone back traditional movie zombies, only now games have come to realize them better than the movies can. It honestly makes me intensely excited to see what the future holds for zombies and The Resident Evil franchise. We may not even have to wait too long to catch a glimpse. This morning. news broke that Capcom are looking for ambassadors to playtest a new, unspecified, Resident Evil game. (News that wasn't out when I started this article yesterday.) Could this be the rumored Nemesis remake, or perhaps Resident Evil 8? No one knows yet, but we all wait with baited breath. We can't wait to see what undeath has in store.