Classic Resident Evil is AWESOME! (imo)

[inpurpleshadows]

Over the past few months, I've been visiting the Resident Evil franchise for the first time in, well, ever. After checking out Silent Hill and other survival horror titles, I thought it'd be a great idea to play the games that popularized the entire genre in gaming. Probably the first major thing I did in 2025 was boot up DuckStatio- I mean, blow the dust off my PS1, put in a totally legitimate disc of the original Resident Evil, and start playing one of the most influential games of all time. To address the wobbly elephant in the room, RE1 and classic RE as a whole has aged. There's the laughably terrible voice acting, punishingly brutal difficulty, and tank controls, which people either love, tolerate, or downright hate. However, I'm currently 18, so I want to take advantage of my innocence and gush about media I love before the eventual post-quarter life crisis into cynicism.

The classic Resident Evil trilogy is undoubtedly cheesy, so much so, that it's achieved memetic status among the gaming community. But honestly, I actually really like that aspect about the franchise. The live-action intro in RE1 just screams 80s B-grade action flick and I am all here for it. In addition, the sub-par voice acting adds a ton of charm and unintentionally makes the games more memorable. The only real complaint I have about this particular element is how it clashes with the, you know, 'horror', but it's still entertaining. The presentation in general is just very appealing to me. I've already stated this, but despite my age, I love retro games, especially their aesthetics. For PS1 games, the classic RE trilogy's visuals look fantastic, both on an artistic and technical standpoint. Character models have a high-poly count, the pre-rendered backgrounds look downright gorgeous at times, and several setpieces really catch my attention.

There's also the music which goes for a lonely, atmospheric, almost desolate tone which I will never not love when games do. Hell, I would argue the audio in general holds up, even nowadays. The moans and footsteps of zombies and other monsters, the environmental ambiance, Nemesis repeatedly saying "STARSSSS"; even the jumpscares are effective in their delivery.

Now, I've raved about RE's presentation, but gameplay is the most important aspect of a video game, so how does it fare? Quite well, actually, which helps since RE basically codified survival horror. It's hard for me to describe classic RE's gameplay formula, but it kind of serves as a combination of the puzzle-solving, story-heavy adventure games of the 90s and action-oriented shooters. Though, RE isn't a game where you simply shoot your way through swarms of zombies. There's actual strategy involved as you have to manage your resources carefully and decide on which weapons to use on which enemies, if at all. It does take some time to get used to, especially if you're used to modern RE; I know I sure did. But once you really immerse yourself in the gameplay, everything just works. The limited resources and small inventory space really allowed me to plan ahead. Now, I can easily breeze through RE2 without much difficulty. There's just something inherently rewarding about RE's gameplay, where even something as simple as, say, placing a specific item in the right spot can be satisfying.

And that doesn't even cover the insane amount of replay value the RE trilogy contains (by late 90s standards). RE1 and RE2 have separate campaigns for each playable character, and while they're mostly the same, there are a few key differences. RE2 shows this to its fullest potential and I can't think of another RE game that came close to surpassing it. RE2 actually has four campaigns, two for Leon and two for Claire. Once you finish the A-story of one character, you get to access the B-story for the other. Not only that, but certain decisions you made in A will impact certain events in B, such as enemies being more hazardous or what weapons you're able to grab in a storage room. This was genuinely revolutionary stuff and way ahead of its time. That doesn't even cover the extra side game-modes from battle to randomizer to getting to play as a literal ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ piece of tofu. And no, I'm not kidding about that last one.

The reason why I made this post in the first place is mostly due to the overwhelming negativity on the internet. There's just so much arrogance, vitriol and general toxicity to the point where literally any discussion will get corrupted into a vortex of constant misery. As childish and unrealistic as this sounds, I believe that making just one post, whether that'd be publishing a picture of a pet, making a YT video or, in my case, spreading propaganda to get people obsessed with a gaming series, can make a difference. Anything would be better than parroting politics all the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ time. Anyways, if you want me to make more of these "gushing about media I love" topics, I'd like to do so, I had a ton of fun writing this. And if you want to learn more about the RE series, I'd recommend checking out Avalanche Reviews' retrospective on the franchise. I don't agree with everything he says, but that's the beauty of opinions. You don't always have to share the same views as someone else to gain a greater understanding of something.

[Electric Cupcake]

Yes. Yes it is.

Ignore the live action crap*. The CGI movies are 100% canon.

* Except the stage plays.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtuDN0Pwvxk

[inpurpleshadows]

Originally posted by Electric Cupcake:

Yes. Yes it is.

Ignore the live action crap*. The CGI movies are 100% canon.

* Except the stage plays.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtuDN0Pwvxk

Huh, Resident Evil is the last thing I'd expect to get a stage play adaptation. Still looks intriguing, though.

[salamander]

you will be hearing no arguments from me op, my favourite RE titles are re1-3 + code veronica. the series was definitelly at its best when it was embracing the "cheese" and "goofy" aspects of the story, while still pushing seriously the survival horror aspects.

[Ulfrinn]

Over the past couple weeks I've played through a fair bit of RE1, RE1R, and RE0. With Nemesis being my favorite one of the franchise. Then it just became a sci fi third person shooter... like nearly every other franchise in the world.

[inpurpleshadows]

Originally posted by salamander:

you will be hearing no arguments from me op, my favourite RE titles are re1-3 + code veronica. the series was definitelly at its best when it was embracing the "cheese" and "goofy" aspects of the story, while still pushing seriously the survival horror aspects.

Yeah, and it's rare to see storytelling in media have a balance between humorously entertaining and gripping at the same time. RE2's story was actually quite emotional for me and served as a nice contrast to RE1 and RE3's B-movie inspired plots. It also seems like Capcom took notice of this, since RE4 and onwards fully embraced the OG trilogy's charming tone.

[meucakesTM]

If I recall correctly, I first played RE1 on the gamecube. It had two discs. I was like what?! And then having to try to organize everything in the little case, and the typewriter ribbons! It was the hardest game I had played up to that point. Still is, really, having last played it as a dlc for the PS3 RE5. I couldn't have possibly gotten through it without my friend. Good times. Thanks for the memories, OP.

[bad_fur_day1]

It's nice to see, a bit like 80's movies, retro games shouldn't be missed I feel.

[a profile]

which version of the ps1 disc did you use?

I had a eu copy, which did not censor the nanking references.

they also broke the shotgun in the remake. the vast majority of original players did not even know about corpse burning, and considered the flask and lighter less important in the inventory than the shotgun and ammo. they also almost never fired it any direction but up. the shotgun was also available within 15 minutes if you knew where to grab the fake, which was easily accessible without newfangled gauntlet bossrush enemies spawned to block the route.

finally they broke the knife by removing animation canceling and predictable stunstates for the zoms; now they will automatically break through a stunlock after two hits, requiring you to down a dramamine and do a circle spin after every slash, then dodge the stumble every third hit. you must cut the zombie 15 times this way.

I have low opinions of director's cut lowering the samurai edge requirements as well.

[lx]

yes, apart from the restrictive view and controls, awesome

[inpurpleshadows]

Originally posted by abcd:

which version of the ps1 disc did you use?

I had a eu copy, which did not censor the nanking references.

they also broke the shotgun in the remake. the vast majority of original players did not even know about corpse burning, and considered the flask and lighter less important in the inventory than the shotgun and ammo. they also almost never fired it any direction but up. the shotgun was also available within 15 minutes if you knew where to grab the fake, which was easily accessible without newfangled gauntlet bossrush enemies spawned to block the route.

finally they broke the knife by removing animation canceling and predictable stunstates for the zoms; now they will automatically break through a stunlock after two hits, requiring you to down a dramamine and do a circle spin after every slash, then dodge the stumble every third hit. you must cut the zombie 15 times this way.

I have low opinions of director's cut lowering the samurai edge requirements as well.

The US, non-director's cut version. That was the version that censored some of the cutscenes, lacked auto-aim, and contained the OG soundtrack.

[Ulfrinn]

If I play the PS1 version, I do play the second release of the Directors Cut with the music people seem to find funny. It is the very first PS1 game I owned and played.

[inpurpleshadows]

Originally posted by Ulfrinn:

If I play the PS1 version, I do okay the second release of the Directors Cut with the music people seem to find funny. It is the very first PS1 game I owned and played.

A lot of the complaints people have with the Director's Cut soundtrack mostly comes from how it clashes with RE1's atmosphere. The DC basement theme sounds like the average performance of a middle school band.

[salamander]

Originally posted by meucakesTM:

If I recall correctly, I first played RE1 on the gamecube. It had two discs. I was like what?! And then having to try to organize everything in the little case, and the typewriter ribbons! It was the hardest game I had played up to that point. Still is, really, having last played it as a dlc for the PS3 RE5. I couldn't have possibly gotten through it without my friend. Good times. Thanks for the memories, OP.

the re1 remake is definitely one of the more difficult games in the series, and rather difficult for newcomers. the mansion is larger than the original re1, there are more ways to be dying from traps and such, and zombies needing to be burned to stop crimson heads from appearing can be hard.

re1 remake is incredible though, possibly the best in the series in terms of quality.

[lx]

re1r - i have not played it, i have to rely on your honest opinion. :\

[Doctor Go-Go]

1, 2 & 3 are my classic Resident Evil. 4 was alright yet a GRAND DISAPPOINTMENT! That was when the series began to die for me.