Do you think Capcom can still make a Resident Evil game?

[Casual Shinji]

I've been thinking a bit about the franchise lately and what's going to happen in the future. Specifically in regards to Resident Evil 2 Remake. And I'm wondering what they're going to do with it; Are they going to keep to a classic locked camera or are they going to over-the-shoulder it?

And when looking at the previous three Resi games the real question is if Capcom can even make a Resident Evil game anymore. Obviously they can make a game and put the Resident Evil name on it, but with 5 through 7 it felt like they just took what was popular at the time, as opposed to forging their own way mostly. I'm not saying they shouldn't borrow certain mechanics and innovations from other games, but after 4 was released it got quite blatant; Resident Evil 5 was squarely geared toward online co-op, which at the time was at the height of its popularity, Resident Evil 6 just took all the popular action game tropes from that era and mashed them together, and Resident Evil 7 wanted a piece of the first-person indie horror pie.

It seems Capcom can't be bothered to figure this franchise out anymore, but seeing as the name is still lucrative enough they just look to whatever's popular in the gaming landscape, copy it, and put Resident Evil on it.

So, do you have faith in REmake 2? And do you think Capcom even has it in them to actually make a proper Resident Evil anymore?

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Define proper Resident Evil? Remember, only like...4-5 of them are worth anything to anyone. 1, 2, 4, for me 0, for someone else 7, and...that's it. Maybe Outbreak 1...But out of how many? 28?

I don't think its fair to say Capcom doesn't know the franchise anymore when they never did in the first place! Its always been 'throw everything today's kids like against the wall and hope it sticks'.
In the 90s that was unironic action heroes killing zombies. In the 00s it was ironic action heroes poor Spaniards and blacks. Now in the 10s, its Youtube Channels and Outlast.
RE was never about franchise sanctity, it was about trend-chasing and totes kewls my fellow kids.

 

[Aerosteam]

If REmake 2 doesn't have fixed camera angles, then I think they'll never do it again, 'cause I highly doubt they'll go back to it for the new games.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Define proper Resident Evil? Remember, only like...4-5 of them are worth anything to anyone. 1, 2, 4, for me 0, for someone else 7, and...that's it. Maybe Outbreak 1...But out of how many? 28?

I don't think its fair to say Capcom doesn't know the franchise anymore when they never did in the first place! Its always been 'throw everything today's kids like against the wall and hope it sticks'.
In the 90s that was unironic action heroes killing zombies. In the 00s it was ironic action heroes poor Spaniards and blacks. Now in the 10s, its Youtube Channels and Outlast.
RE was never about franchise sanctity, it was about trend-chasing and totes kewls my fellow kids.

I'm not talking about trend-chasing in general -- nearly every videogame is guilty of that. But there was a time when Resident Evil was its own thing in the gaming world. Silent Hill started out as Konami wanting their own Resi franchise. Capcom themselves even made other franchises based on Resident Evil with Dino Crisis and Onimusha. It had its own generally unique identity in the gaming landscape.

It's not about franchise sanctity either -- RE4 ditched so much of what made a classic Resi game, but it still felt like Resident Evil. Even more than that, it was Capcom revatilizing the franchise by coming at it from a new angle. And not one that was solely focused on what was popular in games at the time, other the the very broad definition of 'action is popular'. The worst that you could say about RE4 regarding gaming trend-chasing were the codec calls. Apart from that the mainline Resident Evil titles did their own thing.

That changed with 5 and it's been like that ever since. Hence the question; Can Capcom still make a Resident Evil that doesn't just feel like 'this is what's popular in current gaming, but with the RE stamp on it'?

 

[dscross]

Were you not a fan of 7? I thought it was pretty awesome, and usually I'm not a fan of first person games.

Anyway, to your question....

I think fans will be pretty annoyed if they don't remake it like they did the original on the GameCube. What makes you think they can't redo it the same way? I don't think they are incapable of creating old school style games like that anymore, I just think they responded to the surge in popularity from RE4 by creating 5 and 6. Then they responded again from the flop of 6 and switched it up again to the current iteration of 7, which has done pretty well. A future instalment in the main line series will likely have a similar style to 7. I think they'll stay pretty faithful to the style of the old ones with remakes (except I'm disappointed they are using different voice actors).

 

[PapaGreg096]

Yeah they already made Resident Evil 7

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Of course they can. They will. The only question is if it will be any good.

Resident Evil 7 was well received in part for doing what the 4th iteration did- changing things up while boiling a seriously overgrown 'mythos' back to its bare essentials: You're a fragile human stuck trying to survive on limited supplies in a residence where a horrifying evil force connected to zombies is out to get you. Despite whittling down the 'zombies' to a mere handful, the Bakers were still dangerous enough to be imposing, something that you want to run and hide from.

Following the pattern, RE8 will be similar to 7 but try to add some new things that will only bog it down. If the DLC is any indication, it will also try to bridge its story with the rest of the series' convoluted mess. Not sure how the RE2 remake will go, but I loved the Gamecube remake of RE1.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

That changed with 5 and it's been like that ever since. Hence the question; Can Capcom still make a Resident Evil that doesn't just feel like 'this is what's popular in current gaming, but with the RE stamp on it'?

I have to disagree with you. I don't think anything changed with RE5. Or, better put, the trend changed. But the idea of trend-chasing never changed. RE5 and 6 were chasing COD and Gears of War. 7 was chasing Pewdiepie and Markiplier. RE4 was actually Devil May Cry until they changed the names around, and even then RE4 was chasing Silent Hill with phantom enemies, reality buggering, and 'is it real?1' ideas.
All RE games were simply 'popular gaming with RE stamp on it'. The franchise never had its own identity, its own themes or new ideas. It was always trend chasing. Always. That is the Resident Evil identity.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Were you not a fan of 7? I thought it was pretty awesome, and usually I'm not a fan of first person games.

Not a fan of the 'anonymous schmoe (typically with amnesia) lost in a house, who is almost completely defenseless' routine. I played the demo and it just felt like it was desperately trying to be P.T. And I remember Outlast seriously pissing me off with its horrid 'run away from enemies and hide' stealth mechanic. 7 looked somewhat alright, but it REALLY isn't what I'm looking for in a Resident Evil game, or any horror game in general.

I think fans will be pretty annoyed if they don't remake it like they did the original on the GameCube. What makes you think they can't redo it the same way? I don't think they are incapable of creating old school style games like that anymore, I just think they responded to the surge in popularity from RE4 by creating 5 and 6. Then they responded again from the flop of 6 and switched it up again to the current iteration of 7, which has done pretty well. A future instalment in the main line series will likely have a similar style to 7. I think they'll stay pretty faithful to the style of the old ones with remakes (except I'm disappointed they are using different voice actors).

It's not just that. Capcom have also been extremely eager to re-release both 4, 5, and 6, as well as an HD version of REmake and Zero. It just smacks to me of them wanting to put Resident Evil out there, but doing as little work as possible (and by 'little' I mean not having to make a game from scratch). I wouldn't be surprised if in 2018 Capcom announces a Resident Evil 4 reskin with updated graphics in the vein Crash Bandicoot: The N'Sane Trilogy and the upcoming Shadow of the Colossus remake.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I have to disagree with you. I don't think anything changed with RE5. Or, better put, the trend changed. But the idea of trend-chasing never changed. RE5 and 6 were chasing COD and Gears of War. 7 was chasing Pewdiepie and Markiplier. RE4 was actually Devil May Cry until they changed the names around, and even then RE4 was chasing Silent Hill with phantom enemies, reality buggering, and 'is it real?1' ideas.
All RE games were simply 'popular gaming with RE stamp on it'. The franchise never had its own identity, its own themes or new ideas. It was always trend chasing. Always. That is the Resident Evil identity.

Devil May Cry was actually Resident Evil first before it became Devil May Cry. And RE4 might've been chasing Silent Hill, but there's nothing left of that in the final product, since the Hook Man concept was scrapped and probably with good reason.

And what popular games at the time were at all similar to Resident Evil 1, 2, 3, and 4, that weren't from Capcom's own stable?

 

[dscross]

snip

If fewer people had been interested in action games and more had loved Code Veronica, RE Zero and REmake at the time they were released Capcom never would have decided to change styles. Further, if RE4 hadn't received such high praise they might have reverted back to the old style. Hardcore fans of the old school resis would have been much happier. Blame the general gaming community. I'd be a happy bunny if they remade 2, 3 and CV.

 

[B-Cell_v1legacy]

but resident evil 7 is best in series.

resident evil 4 was overrated.

 

[dscross]

but resident evil 7 is best in series.

resident evil 4 was overrated.

It's good... but you think it's better than REmake or the originals!? :O (I agree about RE4)

 

[B-Cell_v1legacy]

but resident evil 7 is best in series.

resident evil 4 was overrated.

It's good... but you think it's better than REmake or the originals!? :O (I agree about RE4)

yes it is. original games are not age well due to bad camera and control.

 

[dscross]

but resident evil 7 is best in series.

resident evil 4 was overrated.

It's good... but you think it's better than REmake or the originals!? :O (I agree about RE4)

yes it is. original games are not age well due to bad camera and control.

I think that's partly what made them scary. The camera angles were there so you couldn't see what was coming up next. Don't get me wrong, I think 7 is great, but not a patch on the old style. It also looked like a B horror movie, which is what they were in the style of.

The tank controls were updated for REmake so I don't see the problem there. Originally, they were made that way on purpose to make it more difficult to get away and more scary - like the old school Castlevania games. That way it didn't just have to rely on jump scares to be scary.

 

[dscross]

And what popular games at the time were at all similar to Resident Evil 1, 2, 3, and 4, that weren't from Capcom's own stable?

Silent Hill? Alone In the Dark? Fear Effect? Parasite Eve?

 

[Casual Shinji]

snip

If fewer people had been interested in action games and more had loved Code Veronica, RE Zero and REmake at the time they were released Capcom never would have decided to change styles. Further, if RE4 hadn't received such high praise they might have reverted back to the old style. Hardcore fans of the old school resis would have been much happier. Blame the general gaming community. I'd be a happy bunny if they remade 2, 3 and CV.

That was a change for the better though. I was a big Resi fan back in the day, but once Zero came along the formula had gotten incredibly stale. They were also scraping the bottom of the barrel, and bending over backwards to incorperate Umbrella or Raccoon City/Arklay in there somewhere. I was pretty much done with the franchise by that point, till 4.

but resident evil 7 is best in series.

resident evil 4 was overrated.

Gee, why am I not surprised you would say that.

 

[dscross]

That was a change for the better though. I was a big Resi fan back in the day, but once Zero came along the formula had gotten incredibly stale. They were also scraping the bottom of the barrel, and bending over backwards to incorperate Umbrella or Raccoon City/Arklay in there somewhere. I was pretty much done with the franchise by that point, till 4.

I think a lot of people were where you were at the time. I wasn't though. I fucking loved every game they brought out in that style. Zero and REmake were fantastic and CV is one of my favs. Ok, the story was shit in Zero but the gameplay was great (although they really shouldn't have got rid of the box system, but it still worked). And let's be honest, it's never been high art in storytelling anyway.

Some franchises keep the same style and seem to go on forever and they don't have any issues. it's a shame. Not like I didn't enjoy RE4 and 7 (and even 5 to an extent). I just like the classics better. More memorable to me.

 

[Casual Shinji]

And what popular games at the time were at all similar to Resident Evil 1, 2, 3, and 4, that weren't from Capcom's own stable?

Silent Hill? Alone In the Dark? Fear Effect? Parasite Eve?

Alone in the Dark, yes. Though apparently, RE1 was actually based on some Japanese horror game. Fear Effect, and Parasite Eve came after, so I don't know why those got made, but I do know Silent Hill was made in response to RE. Most of those were mainly following the path RE1 had paved.