Collection Additions Volume 11: TurboGrafx Goodies And More

Hello dear readers and welcome back to the game room once more. With a bit more time and effort on my hands, I've stepped up my collecting game a bit in the last few weeks. With an eclectic pile of stuff there's a lot to discuss, so let's dive into it.

So firstly, there's the obvious TurboGrafx-16 items. Unlike many other consoles, extra TG-16 controllers in working condition are a bit hard to come by these days. You have to be fairly patient to find one for a good price, and when you do you need to jump on it. I had been on the hunt for one for quite a while now, since the TG-16 was the only console I owned with only a single controller for it. Honestly, it's hardly even worth having since most TG-16 games are only one-player, but for the relatively uncommon situations where I might have a friend over who would say "hey, let's break out some TurboGrafx games and play them together!", and then I whip out TV Sports Hockey and am like "yeah, let's do this!", now I'm covered.

But wait, there's another problem. The TurboGrafx-16 has only ONE controller port! Yeah, I did not even realize that until the second controller came in the mail. How ridiculous is that! Hell, even the Atari 2600 had a second controller port and that came out over a decade earlier.

So what is one to do in this situation? Why, spend even more money just to be able to play with a second player! And not just a second player, but up to four others with the TG-16 Turbotap. Yes, a multitap was required just to be able to play with a second player. Seems excessive, but hey, I only need three more controllers now to a get a sweet session of Battle Royale going. I did happen across one with the original box & instructions though, which is always cool to have.

Next we come to a fantastically rare TG-16 game, Bonk 3: Bonk's Big Adventure. Now the Bonk series might not be all that well known to the average gamer, but it's a really great one and fantastic addition to any library. Bonk actually spanned multiple consoles, from the NES to SNES, something I was not aware of at all until I did some digging. Anyway, Bonk's Adventure is one of the more common TG-16 games, while it's sequel, Bonk's Revenge, is on the more uncommon end but still readily available. However, Bonk 3 is very hard to find, having been released quite late in the life-cycle of the TG-16.

I spotted a Hu-card only copy on eBay for quite a bit of cash, but a decent enough price that I had my eye on it for a while. I kept a lookout for other game only copies, but the only other two listings I saw were a complete one for $800 and a sealed one for an even more ridiculous price. Finally, when no other copies came up, I decided to go for it. And I'm quite happy that I did, because Bonk 3 officially became one of the rarest games in my entire collection once I received it. I haven't played it extensively yet, but it is definitely worth showcasing in my collection given it's rarity. I'd probably rank it at #4 out of the rarest games I own, behind only complete copies of Mega Man X2 and X3, and of course my crown jewel, a complete copy of Spider-Man: Web of Fire for the 32X.

Anyway, moving on we have two Nintendo pieces: an emerald blue Gamecube controller and Snowboard Kids for the N64. The emerald blue Gamecube controller might not seem like anything fancy at first, but this color of controller was never released in the U.S.; yes, it's a Japanese exclusive color. I love the way it looks and couldn't resist grabbing one, even though I already have five other Gamecube controllers. Well, now all I need is 3 more, another Gamecube, two network adapters, and another copy of Mario Kart: Double Dash in order to have an eight-man tournament...

Uh, yeah, where was I? Oh yes, lastly we have Snowboard Kids for the N64. I admittedly knew pretty much nothing about this game, I mostly just purchased it as a special request from my girlfriend, who had it when she was a kid and had been dying to play it again. So being the chivalrous boyfriend that I am, we went straight to the local game store and snatched it up, then promptly went back to my house and played it. It's...uh...interesting to say the least...

It felt kind of like a poor man's version of Mario Kart 64, if you ask me. I tried to persuade her to try that instead, but she wasn't having any of it. Oh well, we all have that one game from our childhood that might not be very good to others, but we love it simply due to the nostalgia factor. I mean, I absolutely love Ghostbusters II for the NES, so I'm not immune either.

So that's all for this edition, thanks for reading and as always, game on.

Game Of The Week: Pikmin 2

Hello dear readers and welcome back to the game room. Today I’m taking a look at a great sequel to a great game, one of the best for the Nintendo Gamecube and one I love to start back up every now and then: Pikmin 2. I love both games in different ways and it’s hard for me to choose which one I like better, but I’ve decided to a do a review of Pikmin 2 because there’s a bit more for me to talk about when discussing it. So let’s get small and dive into the grass as we take a look at Pikmin 2.

 Released in 2004 for the Gamecube, Pikmin 2 did exactly what any good sequel should do: keep the core gameplay that made the original great intact while improving and expanding the universe created by the first game. The story picks up right where the first left off, with the protagonist Captain Olimar returning home from the alien planet where he crash landed in the first game. However, his triumphant return is short-lived when he discovers that in his absence, the freight company he works for has gone bankrupt and if its massive debt isn’t paid back soon, he’ll be out of a job. The boss of his company is at a loss for what to do- that is, until he discovers that a small object brought back from the alien planet by Olimar is extremely valuable, and that more treasures are there waiting to be collected. In order to save his company and his job, Olimar then travels back to the planet with his fellow employee Louie in search of more treasures.

This is where the primary addition to gameplay in the second game comes in- with the two playable characters of Olimar and Louie, you’ll be able to switch between the two and divide up your Pikmin squads around each of the levels. This pushes multitasking even further than in the first game, as now you’ll be able to simultaneously work on accomplishing different goals around the map by controlling two characters. There are also certain bosses that take advantage of this switching system- for example the toady bloyster boss, which you’ll have to distract using one character and launch Pikmin at from behind with another. It’s a very intricate system which allows you to tackle multiple tasks on completely different sides of the map while maintaining a greater level of control than the first game allowed. Another major difference between the first and second games is the introduction of “caves” throughout each of the maps, which are multilayered underground voids in which both the layouts and enemy/treasure placements are completely randomized. At the final floor of nearly all of the caves is a boss fight in which you’ll have to do battle with a massive enemy which will yield a special item upon being defeated. These items are mostly upgrades to Olimar & Louie’s suits that make the gameplay a little easier (for example, being impervious to fire, a larger whistle range to corral Pikmin, etc). There are four caves per map, with the exception of the last map in which there are only three, for a total of 15 in the whole game. Unlike above ground, when inside of a cave time does not pass, allowing for exploration of a cave without the urgency of moving quickly before a day ends.

Being able to split up your squads between two playable characters exponentially changes the multitasking dynamic of the game.

Speaking of urgency, there is no overarching “time limit” as there was in the first game. In the first game the player has 30 days to recover all of the ship parts before the game ends, whereas in the second game, there’s an unlimited amount of days to explore and collect all of the treasures. The second game doubles down on enemies, adding many new types that present a multitude of different threats to your Pikmin squad. There are a few enemies from the first game that don’t return, but the myriad of new ones makes up for that fact nicely. In addition to the enemies, two new Pikmin types join the ranks of the reds, blues and yellows: purple and white Pikmin. Purple Pikmin are slower than molasses, but their massive weight allows them to briefly stun enemies when thrown, making them extremely useful in combat. Also, they can carry ten times their own weight, allowing just one of them the lifting capacity of ten other Pikmin. By contrast, white Pikmin are small and swift, rapidly following behind you and carrying items. They are immune to poison and can dig up underground objects that other Pikmin can’t see. Additionally, they deal substantial damage to enemies if eaten. Both of these new types are very useful and valuable to have throughout the game, but there’s a major hitch- they can only be spawned in caves by throwing red, blue or yellow Pikmin into their respective candypop flowers and not by the traditional means of transporting dead enemies or pellets to the onions. These flowers only spawn a maximum of five Pikmin, meaning that you’ll have to very slowly build up a squad over the course of the game. However, the usefulness of both types for different tasks makes it very much worth the time and effort to do so.

It sucks that you aren't able to spawn purple & white Pikmin as quickly as the others, but it's certainly worth it to take the extra time to do so.

Lastly, there’s the introduction of items which aid in your adventure. I already mentioned the special items you’ll receive from defeating bosses, but there are two others that are very useful to collect as you progress- spicy and bitter berries, which can be used to create spicy and bitter spray, respectively. By pressing up or down on the D-pad, you’ll use one of these sprays which greatly helps in combating enemies; spicy spray causes your Pikmin squad to become temporarily enhanced, making them move and attack faster, while bitter spray briefly freezes enemies allowing your squad to attack them without being counterattacked. You’ll find the berries to make both types scattered in flowers around the maps, and by bringing five berries back to your ship you’ll be able to make one spray. 

By far, the biggest aspect that sets this game apart from the first is the cave system, which is also where my biggest critique is. I do like the randomization aspect, as the challenge always slightly differs every time you enter a different level of the cave. Also, I like that time doesn’t pass in the caves, so you have an unlimited ability to explore and strategize. However, the thing I didn’t enjoy about the cave system in comparison to the first game is that spending time in the caves makes up a majority of the game. Because of this, there’s a noticeable lack of emphasis on above ground exploring and puzzle solving, where you’ll be working against the clock to find items, break down barriers, build bridges, etc. until the day ends. Also, another above ground aspect lost by spending most of the game in the caves is the ability to sprout new Pikmin from dead enemies. Since the onions don’t follow you into the caves, you lose a lot of the satisfaction from defeating enemies and then using their carcasses to create new Pikmin, which is one of the most fun things about the first game and being above ground in the second. And lastly, the caves really don’t present much of a challenge at all unless you really act on an “honors system” for yourself, so to speak. Every time you enter a new sublevel of the cave, the game automatically saves. I’m not sure if there’s some practical reason for this, or if this feature can be manually shut off for that matter (honestly, I’ve never thought of checking until writing this sentence), but it happens every single time you finish a cave level and then move on to the next. Because of this, if something horrific happens and half your squad gets obliterated by an enemy that dropped in while you weren’t paying attention, you can simply reset the game and start over in that level like nothing ever happened. Like I said, you can impose an honors system on yourself and not do this if you have the discipline to do so, but more often than not I just got so annoyed at losing a ton of my hard earned purple Pikmin because a bomb rock exploded near them while I was off on the other side of the cave that I’d jump up and do a reset out of anger. I know they were trying to put a little less pressure on the player than in the first game, but I think this kills a lot of the challenge in making it through the caves, especially in the later ones when things start getting extremely difficult.

It's kind of like using save states in the caves, if you think about it.

Despite these things, the caves are really my only gripe with the game. I love the diversity of enemies new and old, plus the in-depth enemy analysis in the “Pikelopedia” which appeals to both my inner biologist and nerd at the same time. The new stage hazards of poison and electricity are very cool, as well as the enemies that utilize both, along with fire and water too. The game throws multiple hazards at you at once and you have to come up with some intricate strategies to deal with them. For example, there’s one part of the game where an enemy called the fiery bulblax (as the name implies, it’s on fire) is holding a treasure and sitting across a lake in a little enclave. There’s no other way around and only blue Pikmin can cross the lake, but they can’t attack the beast without being incinerated if they touch it. So, you’ll have to quickly wake it up and retreat into the lake, hoping it will follow you into the water and have its flames doused, at which point you can attack it. The game throws multiple hazards like that at you all throughout the game, and I like the creativity implemented there.

This guy takes a bit of fanagaling to take down, and it's just one instance of the game putting multiple obstacles in your way to complete a goal.

As in the first game, the graphics and music are both great. The music amps up in tension as enemies attack and then slows down peacefully when there’s no threats. The enemies are designed quite nicely and really give you a sense of accomplishment when you take down the massive, ugly boss enemies. Besides the main game, there’s also plenty of time to be spent in challenge mode, in which you’ll have to collect a certain amount of items within a time limit while dodging enemies and other obstacles.

All in all, Pikmin 2 is a great sequel and a worthy successor to the first game. It does lack some aspects that make the first game a lot of fun, so it’s kind of hard for me to choose which one I like better. I usually keep them separate in my mind and enjoy them both equally for their own reasons. Now I just need to get my hands on a Wii U so I can check out the third one…but that will be another story for another time. For now, so long and be careful where you step in your backyard, you never know what’s crawling around in the grass beneath you.

Quick thoughts: Resident Evil 3 for Dreamcast

So yeah, I talk about Resident Evil a lot, I know. As if my four-part essay of general thoughts on the franchise didn’t make that obvious enough. Anyway, because of that and the fact that I already talked about RE3 in there as well, this will be pretty quick- it’s more or less because I just played through it, it’s fresh on my mind and I have a few lingering thoughts I’d like to get out.

Anyway, so a few days ago I picked up Resident Evil 3: Nemesis for the Sega Dreamcast for no real reason other than I saw it for a decent price at my local retro gaming store. Since, you know, I already own it on two other mediums (PS1 and Gamecube). Nonetheless, since I had some rare downtime this weekend to relax in front of the TV, I gave it a quick playthrough. Now as I mentioned in my massive article on the series, since RE3 was one of the few games in the franchise that I didn’t play when it was brand new, I don’t quite have the sentimental connection to it that I do with the other early games in the series. That said, I do like it a lot and still consider it one of the greats in the series.

The Sega Dreamcast port of both this game and RE2 are kind of oddities of the Resident Evil universe. It made sense at the time to start bringing the franchise to the console, as the release of the console-exclusive Code: Veronica a few months earlier was met with great success. They both offer up some unique features, one of which is the utilization of the Dreamcast VMU, a sort of memory card unit that plugs right into the controller.

This is really cool for RE2, as it displays status features such as amount of remaining health and bullets, which is awesome to be able to check without bringing up the status menu as you’d have to do in any other version of the game. However, for reasons that totally elude and mystify me, they left out the remaining bullet count from the RE3 version, leaving only the health status. The health status is a nifty little novelty, but it’s kind of totally pointless due to the fact that you can tell what health status your character has at all times just by looking at them- in caution they’ll clutch their side, and in danger they’ll limp slowly. By contrast, the ammo counter is extremely helpful, especially when carrying a weapon that reloads very slowly and is much easier to reload in the menu, making it imperative to know how many shots you’ve fired. Why they’d have that in the RE2 port but then do away with it for RE3 is beyond me. The RE3 port was actually released a few months earlier than the RE2 one, which I guess might explain it, but it still doesn’t make much sense to me why they wouldn’t have that feature for the both of them.

Left: RE3, Right: RE2

Having already owned RE2 for Dreamcast and expecting that feature to be there when I bought RE3 was a bit of a downer right off the bat. Another thing that made this game a little less than enjoyable as I played through was the difficulty. I don’t know if I’ve just gotten worse with games over the years, and this game has always been the hardest of the original ones I think, but I really didn’t remember it being as hard as it was for me this time around. Granted, I was playing on hard mode, but that’s only because easy mode is too easy. I mean, they give you a huge arsenal of weapons right as you begin. I do want some challenge from a game, but not so much that I want to smash the disc with a hammer. If there were a medium difficulty I feel like I would’ve had a better time, but there’s just no in between. Though this isn’t unique to the Dreamcast version, what is unique is the fact that I also have a hard time with the Dreamcast controllers. I have pretty small hands, so those big things do not work all that well for me. They’re not impossible to play with or anything, it’s just that when the game is already giving me enough of a problem by kicking my ass with the difficulty, having even the slightest control disadvantage becomes a noticeable problem. I ended up repeatedly dying at certain points of the game I never had a problem with before on the PS1 or Gamecube versions.

One interesting, albeit strange aspect is that alternate costumes and the mercenaries mini-game are both available right from the start of the game, as opposed to being unlockable features that become available upon beating the game for the first time. It is cool to see all those extra costumes I could never unlock because, like I said before, I’ve never been all that great at this game. It’s also nice to be able to play the addicting mercenaries game right away, even if it is just as frustratingly difficult as the main game and no matter what I do I still can’t get a damn A ranking in it.

Other than that, there are not many other distinguishing features from the other two versions. The graphics are definitely better than the choppy-looking PS1 graphics, but the Gamecube version has the best of the three. In fact, I think the Gamecube version is the best overall out of the three as well. If the Dreamcast version had the bullet counter that the RE2 port had, I might be able to make a case for it, but without that feature it doesn’t stand out too much on its own. So if you’re looking to pick this game up, I’d say go for the Gamecube one for the optimal experience.

And on one final note, I finally solved that damnable water quality puzzle at the end of the game without using a strategy guide. Even though the game kicked my ass up and down, at least I can take pride in that.

Gaming Memories- Resident Evil: Part IV

Hello dear readers, welcome once again to game room. Today I'll finally be concluding something I started months ago and have been desperately meaning to finish- my wonderful retrospective of the Resident Evil franchise.

These will probably contain spoilers, so if you’ve never played any of the Resident Evil games, go play them right now. And then come back.

Part 4

Next up was the legendary Resident Evil 4, which turned the entire series on its head and altered the core concept of what a Resident Evil game could be. It proceeded to throw out the window many elements of the survival horror genre in favor of more action-oriented sequences and flashy gameplay; gone was the subtle, creeping and atmospheric experience of its predecessors and in its place was something that felt a little more like Rambo mixed with Dawn of the Dead. There are certainly some horror elements sprinkled in which I’ll discuss shortly, but for the most part it is a flat out action game.

The story follows fan-favorite Leon Kennedy in his first starring role since the second game (if you don’t count Gaiden, at least). Now working for the U.S. government, he is dispatched on a top secret mission to locate and rescue the president’s daughter, who has been kidnapped by a mysterious group somewhere in Europe. However, it turns out this group is actually a highly dangerous cult bent on releasing an ancient parasite called “Las Plagas” that turns people into mindless slaves and also happens to create horrific monsters as well. Also thrown into the mix are some old and not quite dead friends named Albert Wesker and Ada Wong, who are after a sample of the Plagas in order to revive the now-defunct Umbrella Corporation.  

RE4 definitely did something right in bringing back Leon, one of the most popular characters of the entire series. 

The graphics are well enough, though not quite as on point as those for the remake or 0, which were on the same console. The biggest changes RE4 brought to the table however were not so much in the stylistic changes, but in the alterations made to the gameplay. The fixed-camera, tank-control schema of the all the previous games (save Survivor, Dead Aim and Gaiden) was abandoned entirely and in its place was a new over-the-shoulder 3^rd person POV. There’s also a good deal of diversity in the gameplay, from the various boss battles to certain action sequences in which you’ll have to input the correct button combination that flashes quickly on the screen before you die in some horrible way. It does quite well for the game, but it was most definitely a departure from what we expected out of a game with the title “Resident Evil”. And I think that sums up my general feelings toward RE4- don’t get me wrong, it’s still a great, fun game that I’d play over many, many other games any day, but it just represents the point (in my mind, anyway) where Resident Evil slowly started sliding away from its survival horror roots and changing into something different.

Again, none of this is to say that I don’t get any enjoyment out of playing it, or that it even doesn’t have some pretty tense moments reminiscent of the good old survival horror days. For example, one part that sticks out in my mind the most is the part where you find yourself in the bottom of a dungeon area, playing as the defenseless Ashley in order to solve a puzzle. Upon doing so, you’ll be immediately ambushed by giant, axe-wielding suits of armor that had previously been standing still as you fiddled with the puzzle- a pretty scary moment. Another moment is when you must go up against the regenerators, which are big, gangly B.O.W.s that can actually stretch their arms out to grab you from far away…AND can regenerate their limbs unless you destroy specific parasites embedded in their bodies by using an infrared scope on the sniper rifle. The buildup to the first encounter with one of these nasty guys is done very well, once again evoking the survival horror spirit of the original games.

The regenerator encounters definitely injected some much needed horror into the game, which was much appreciated by me.

In sum, I do really enjoy RE4 for what it is, though I have to raise an eyebrow when people claim that it’s the best of the entire franchise. To each their own I suppose, but in my humble opinion, it doesn’t even come close to original classics.

As I mentioned previously, RE4 represents the point at which the series started really changing into something different. And if RE4 were the link somewhere between with elements of both survival horror and straight up action, then Resident Evil 5 didn’t even really try to be anything more than a purely action-driven shooter.

The first Resident Evil game on the next-gen Xbox 360/Playstation 3 consoles, RE5 follows in the footsteps of its predecessor not only in being largely driven by action, but in bringing back fan-favorite characters for a 3^rd-person POV adventure. The story follows Chris Redfield, now working for an anti-bioterrorism group called the BSAA (hell if I know what it stands for and I’m too lazy to look it up). He’s received intel on a possible bio-terrorist organization in Africa, and travels there to meet another agent named Sheva Alomar in investigating. And here is where RE5 once again changed things up, and to my knowledge, all games in the series have followed suit since then: there’s a huge emphasis placed on co-op play in this game. There’s literally no option for single player- you’ll either be playing with someone else or an AI partner. And that’s fine, I understand that this is the direction all games are pretty much heading in, but it still didn’t really sit well with a Luddite like me. 

Not to mention, there just wasn’t that much of a reason to make it an essential feature of the gameplay. Nonetheless, the game is very similar to RE4 gameplay-wise, as well as with the various action sequences and weapon upgrade system and whatnot. In that sense, it is a fun game. But then you have the more ridiculous moments like Jill, who has suddenly (and obviously, I might add) been shoe-horned into the plot, being mind-controlled by some kind of gizmo attached to her chest. Oh, and she also has super powers too for no reason. Also, the new virus (now called Ouroboros or something) can turn anything into a gigantic, pulsating mound of flesh with spikes and tentacles. And Chris punches a boulder into lava.

Yup, this is part where RE5 jumped the shark.

Look, I know the series has never really been grounded in realism since the start, and even the concept of Mr. X in 2 was kind of pushing the limits to what I might feasibly accept, but RE5 just took it to a completely different level. I liken it the recent string of Fast & Furious sequels- it’s basically like a big, flashy cartoon and you just have to take it for what it is. And for the record, that doesn’t really make either of them any more artistically credible.

Anyway, I do enjoy RE5, much the same way that I enjoy RE4. However, I feel like I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more if it was called something else other than Resident Evil. When I think “Resident Evil,” I think of the classics. I think of zombies, T-Virus mutant monsters, and most of all, horror. It’s like comparing the original Night of the Living Dead to a movie like World War Z.

RE6, however, I think can wholeheartedly say that I just did not enjoy whatsoever. 6 arrived far past the point of me having hope that the series would go back to what made it so great in the good old days, but despite that I still decided to pick it up out of sheer curiosity, and also because I had just bought a PS3 and the only game I had for it was Metal Gear Solid 4 and I wanted to feel more like I was justified in buying it.

Anyway, this will honestly be a bit of a half-assed review because I don't really remember much of it, but that's just it- I really didn't think any of it was all that memorable whatsoever. So the story is split into three different acts, each of which following a different set of protagonists: Leon and uh…a girl I don’t remember and once again am too lazy to look up, Chris and his military partner Piers, and, get ready for this one, Wesker’s son Jake and Sherry Birkin. Yes, that annoying little girl from the second game that we all forgot about now all grown up . Now, it may just be me, but I really felt like they were scraping the bottom of the barrel when they started rolling out long forgotten characters and long lost son clichés like that. I mean, hell, why don’t we bring back Ark Thompson from Survivor while we’re at it?

The plot for all of the characters converges around Ada Wong, the mysterious spy woman who should’ve just stayed dead in 2 but keeps getting caught up in the plot of every game, and a new virus that has been developed called the…C-Virus. Yep, just oozes creativity. The previous two games at least got a little original with it, what with the introduction of Las Plagas and Ouroboros, but again, I felt like they were getting pretty desperate at this point. 

The primary thing that made me hate this game much more than 5 was not the action-driven gameplay, not the absurd plot, but the controls- unlike the previous games to this point, I thought the controls were dreadfully bad. It’s one thing to have a mediocre game, but when the basic playability of it is compromised by poor controls, that really leaves a bad taste in your mouth from the get-go.

Another thing I remember hating was the fact that every boss is basically Godzilla now. Leon’s act concludes with him and Helena (is that her name? I think so…) fighting what basically amounts to a virus-infected tyrannosaurus. And during the entire fight, all I could think about was how intimidating the tyrant seemed in the very first game and how much I felt like this really cheapened everything about the earlier games in the series.

Where's the goat? Wait..I'm thinking of something else...

Remember facing off against the tyrant for the first time? Or Mr. X, or Nemesis, or any of the big bad intimidating monsters from the first few games? Those were truly tense and terrifying moments, but when you are going up against something that’s the size of the entire building while it throws jeeps at you…ugh. It all just seemed so uninspired. The same goes for much of the other scenarios, where you’ll also have to do battle with other huge, ridiculous monsters.

If the remake represented the top of the mountain when the series reached its pinnacle, then RE6 would be the dirt at the bottom, as far as I’m concerned. Up until this point, I still actually enjoyed the games I was playing- I can’t say the same for this one, though. Anyway, so that about leaves me where I am now as far as Resident Evil is concerned. I haven’t played the newest ones in the series, namely Operation: Raccoon City and Revelations 1 and 2, and I don’t have a whole lot of interest in them.

As I’ve mentioned previously, a remake of 2 is apparently in the works right now, but I think it’s one of those things where I will believe it when I see it. However, with the recent release of the remake in HD for the newest generation of consoles, I’m remaining hopeful for it and I would most definitely be one of the first people standing in line to pick it up. And if they start bringing the series back to its humble roots, maybe then my interest will be rekindled a bit too. 

Until then, I know I’ll continue to enjoy the original games for many years to come. Resident Evil will always be one of my favorite video game franchises of all time and one that I will have fond memories of forever, if this four-part retrospective didn’t attest to that fact enough already.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and long live Resident Evil!

Gaming Memories- Resident Evil: Part III

These will probably contain spoilers, so if you’ve never played any of the Resident Evil games, go play them right now. And then come back.

So, where we last left off, the remake of the original Resident Evil for Gamecube had blown my damn mind and left me itching for more. Next up in the series was Resident Evil 0, which had originally been announced for the Nintendo 64, only to jump to the Gamecube after the remake came out. I was quite excited for it; after all, it was a brand new story and the first prequel of the series, all in the same graphical style of the remake that I loved so much. As soon as it came out, I promptly snatched it up and delved back into the world of survival horror.

And how I felt after I played it..well…’disappointed’ is too strong of a word, because it’s definitely a solid game in its own right. I suppose it just felt a bit lacking to me. Then again, I was probably comparing it a little too closely to its predecessor, the remake. The remake was just so fuh-reakin’ good to me, it would’ve been really hard to top it in my mind. But, as I mentioned, it certainly didn’t render 0 any worse than a very good entry in the series. 

The story chronologically represents the starting point of all games in the series, hence the titular 0. It follows the doomed S.T.A.R.S. Bravo team on their ill-fated investigation into the murders that have occurred in the Raccoon city forest area, and you take control of forgotten-after-this-game S.T.A.R.S. member Rebecca Chambers. Shortly after the beginning, she finds herself on a zombie-infested train and meets up with a fugitive criminal and new-character-also-never-seen-again-after-this-game, Billy Coen. From there, the two must navigate the treacherous T-Virus plagued Umbrella facilities and the like, solving puzzles and trying not to be torn apart along the way, as we were all accustomed to. 

The new so-called “zapping” system, in which the player could quickly switch between the two main characters each with their own distinct health, item inventory, and other minor quirks was quite unique and helped create a twist in the classic gameplay scheme. Many puzzles in the game necessitated cooperation between both characters in a number of interesting ways, as did enemy combat and management of items throughout the game. And speaking of item management, the classic item crate that was present in save rooms of every previous game was done away with in favor of the ability to just drop items at will in any spot the player pleased. This is both a gift and a curse to the player accustomed to the prior method of item storage; for one thing, long trips back and forth to save rooms in order to drop in just one item to make space for another were eliminated under this scheme. However, should you need an item farther into the game that was dropped in a certain area much earlier (I’m looking at you, hookshot in the church), you’ll need to backtrack alllllll the way back to wherever you dropped it, and this can be both tedious and confusing, if you’ve forgotten exactly where it was you put it down.

If you didn't have the hookshot at this part, which, let's face it, you didn't during the first time you played through, it was pretty annoying.

 

Once again, the horror was back, this time in the form of those seemingly undefeatable leechy-men that relentlessly stalk you at certain points in the game. I remember truly loathing running into those guys and scrambling to do whatever I could to either dodge them or attempt to take them out with limited munitions (this was, by the way, before I figured out that one well-placed Molotov cocktail will do the trick).

Graphically, the game is on par with the remake, and that’s great because both the remake and 0 look absolutely fantastic, even to this day. Every visual just lends itself to the experience. And any hardcore fan of the series that stepped into the main lobby of the lab from Resident Evil 2 in all its graphically remastered glory was beside themselves at the prospect of seeing this area updated. It was also weird as hell to find this area, which was once so alien and obscure, hidden in the depths of Raccoon City’s underground, connected tangibly in some way to the geography of the rest of the Resident Evil universe. Even more weird was to think that members of the Bravo team (namely Rebecca and Enrico) were actually running around in this area prior to the events of the first Resident Evil.

And that brings me to a weird gripe I have. And I might be nitpicking, but this was something that always confused the hell out of me and actually did detract from the game a bit in a way that I suspect I’m the only one bothered by. Okay, so in the very first game way back on Playstation (and the remake as well), the story went that the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo team went out to the forest to investigate some murders that had occurred in the mountains. Their helicopter crashed, they lost contact with the Alpha team, and afterward Alpha team went looking for them. The amount of time was never specified in the original PS1 game, but I always assumed that it was nothing more than a short while afterward. However, according to the story of 0 (and the manual for the remake, see picture below), Bravo team went missing for an entire day before Alpha team went looking for them. So, wait, what the hell was Alpha team doing that whole time? Also, so Rebecca went on this whole adventure, made her way into the mansion, and then just said nothing about it later? I know she was trying to keep Billy’s whereabouts a mystery, but come on. And just how the hell did Enrico get into the lab from RE2? And why couldn’t we explore it more??

The manuals of RE1 and Remake, respectively. RE1 doesn't specify the amount of time between losing contact with Bravo team and the departure of Alpha team, but Remake states that the last communication was "before dawn," at which point Alpha team then decided to investigate. Still doesn't make much sense to me. Also, just a minor detail I noticed when taking this picture, note the misspelling of Arklay as "Arclay" mountains in the Remake manual.

Like I said, I know I’m nitpicking, but this whole thing just seemed really tacked on at the last minute, and for somebody who gets as enthralled in stories as much as I do, I wasn’t really buying it. However, if there was one thing that made up for it, it was the lore the game created on the origins of Umbrella, the careers of Albert Wesker and William Birkin, and the creation of the T-Virus. The game actually seemed more about the genesis of Umbrella and far less about the experience of the Bravo team, if anything.

In all, despite being a bit more lackluster than its Gamecube predecessor, 0 is still up there with the classics in my mind and is worth a playthrough every once in a while. Also, I should mention that the leech collecting mini-game that can be played upon completion of the main game provides for quite a bit of challenging extra entertainment and can also be frustrating as all hell when attempting to just get that infinite ammo quirk.

So even though 0 was still a satisfactory experience, I think it represents the point at which things started declining in the series, for me at least. Next up were two games released within the same year, Resident Evil: Outbreak and Resident Evil: Dead Aim. Dead Aim was a first person shooter along the lines of Survivor, while Outbreak was the first game in the series that boasted online capabilities for Playstation’s then-brand new Playstation Network. I outright passed on Dead Aim as it was pretty much in the same vein as Survivor, which I never truly enjoyed. To this day I’ve never played it, though I do actually own it (yeah, I have a real problem with buying games and then never playing them). Maybe one day when I’m not in school or sitting here writing reviews instead I’ll get to try it.

As for Outbreak, I never owned the broadband network adapter for the PS2, which in a way sort of rendered the game useless. Sure, it does have a single player experience, but almost the entire novelty of the game is centered on teaming up with friends online to fight off hordes of the undead. Nonetheless, I did rent the game when it came out just for the experience, but this time I can definitely say for sure that I was disappointed.

Story-wise, the game takes place right before the events of Resident Evil 2, during which the T-Virus outbreak is just hitting Raccoon City. There are five scenarios to play through, in each of which you’ll take control of one of eight pretty forgettable (and quite annoying, I might add) characters, each with their own unique attributes. Each scenario will have you doing the usual Resident Evil stuff (i.e. searching for items, solving puzzles, and battling monsters) alongside 2 other CPU-controlled characters. Here’s where the online play would come in, as instead of AI you’d have other human players running around alongside you throughout each scenario. I imagine this would’ve been kind of fun back in the day, but these days online play is so ubiquitous in video games that it seems a little silly that you’d be playing this sort of game with other people.

The scenarios vary in location and objectives to accomplish, the most interesting of which are the 2^nd and 3^rd scenarios, where you’ll find yourself in some familiar locations- the lab from RE2 and the hospital from RE3, respectively. I always liked the idea of exploring these locations further than you did in the originals. For example, in ‘Below Freezing Point’, the RE2 scenario, you’ll find yourself at the base of the gigantic mutant plant that’s growing out of the lab’s basement. I always wondered where the hell that thing was coming from. The transition from one scenario to another doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense, however.  After the first scenario, which takes place in a bar and subsequently on the streets of Raccoon City, you suddenly find yourself on a train that magically ends up at the RE2 lab. Or, after that, you go from another train to the middle of a courtyard of a hotel that’s erupted in flames. How the hell did that happen? It doesn’t matter, it’s never really explained so just go with it.

Yeah, so, how did they end up in RE2's lab again? Eh whatever, we got to explore it more and it was cool seeing it in next gen graphics.

Outbreak sort of throws out a lot of basic sensibilities we’ve learned over the years from previous games. For one thing, each scenario is timed…sort of. Since you’re right in ground zero for the T-Virus outbreak, each character is infected with the virus right from the get go. As time goes on, your infection rate steadily increases from 0% to 100%, and as you can probably guess, you’re dead once you reach 100%. This sort of replaces your health, as your infection rate will increase every time you are hit. You can collect certain items to slow it down and it does increase in speed at higher levels of difficulty, but as I mentioned it basically serves as a timer for getting through each scenario. Another major change from previous games is that zombies, which are the primary enemies you’ll encounter throughout the game, respawn infinitely. That throws a huge wrench in what you typically expect from an RE game, let alone a survival horror game in general, where munitions and supplies are often scarce to begin with. I guess you can argue that it forces one to focus more on outwitting enemies and getting through quickly than collecting ammo to blow them away, but I just wanted to kill zombies and have them stay dead without constantly pestering me while I was trying to figure out what the hell to do. And that’s another thing- the game is very vague in terms of what to do at certain points. Often you’ll just find yourself running around completely depleted of ammo and too injured to dodge enemies just trying to figure out where to go and what to do next. 

Beyond that, pretty much all of the scenarios are forgettable. It doesn’t really help that we all know exactly what happens in the end, courtesy of RE3: Raccoon City will be blown to smithereens by a nuclear bomb and every place you’ve just been to will be vaporized. Okay, cool, these new characters may be added to the lore, but all of them are so annoying you won’t care enough either way. For some reason, during gamplay the characters will just blurt out nonsensical lines throughout the entire scenario. Sometimes they’ll be vaguely related to something you need to do, like finding an item or solving a puzzle, but most of the time they’ll just be something stupid like “I need snap decisions to stay alive.” Oh, and in addition to their dialogue text that appears at the bottom of the screen, the characters will also vocally say something completely unrelated that usually just amounts to them saying “what!?” repeatedly. If you’re in a scenario with Jim, get ready to hear “let’s just try to stay calm!” in that obnoxious voice a million times. I’m not sure if this somehow had more functionality in online play, but in single player mode, it’s just really annoying and unnecessary.

Outbreak seemed more like a gimmick to capitalize on the burgeoning online connectivity between video game consoles that was occurring at the time and nowadays is more of a relic of the past, if anything. I suppose it’s worth a playthrough if you want to see RE2’s lab redone in next gen graphics, but with the remake of RE2 on the horizon, even that will be pretty obsolete eventually. There was also a sequel, Outbreak: File #2, but from what I’ve gathered it’s much of the same thing. Which, by the way, doesn’t make a whole lot of sense if the first game ends with the destruction of Raccoon City, but hey, what do I know. By the way, that's another game I own but have never played.

So, now we reach the point where Resident Evil stood at a crossroads and took a different path that changed the series for good. For better or worse…well, I suppose you can argue either way, but personally I’m going to go with worse. Tune in next time where I’ll talk about Resident Evil 4 and beyond in what I think will be the last installment of my Resident Evil retrospective.