KEIKO FUKUYAMA: As a huge Resident Evil fan, to say I was excited about the remake of Resident Evil 3 was an understatement. I yearned for it from the moment I finished Resident Evil 2 Remake, wondering what they could do with the first of the series to break from the “Survival Horror” genre they all but created. The action of Nemesis without tank controls? Emptying hundreds of bullets without a care in the world with the most polished controls Resident Evil has ever had? It was a formula for an amazing experience.
@assassinasan
DEE ASSASSINA: I’m a bit biased, Keiko, since I liked the original RE2 better than RE3, but I thought this remake was a chance to enhance some elements to make it stand out. Regardless, the high bar set by the RE2 Remake would’ve been tough to meet. After all, this is still a great survival horror game. I really enjoyed it…
KEIKO: The REmake to Resident Evil 2 was amazing, and improved on the original in almost every single aspect, including adding to the story. Adding some fresh locations as well, it managed to keep things true to the original, but was able to keep fans guessing providing some new content to sink our teeth into. But that is not present in Resident Evil 3, and they actually removed parts of the story. At one point in the original while Jill is making her desperate escape, she goes through the Raccoon Park and into the sewers below Raccoon City. The whole park was scraped this time around, leaving you with just more of the sewers leaving an all too generic feel to the game. It’s as if Capcom chose to just reuse a lot of assets and not build too many new locations… The removal of the park just felt lazy to me. It was never a big area to begin with, but it had some memorable moments.
DEE: Right! The world doesn’t have that sense of connected-ness like RE2 Remake did, where you could backtrack to RPD after going through the sewers, the prison, and the orphanage. I get that RE3 is a larger scale since we’re in the streets of Raccoon City, but it felt like each area was too linear and when I went to the next area, there was no going back. RE2 Remake even added places such as the orphanage and this new addition made for a really fleshed out sequence. As you mentioned, Keiko, this remake minimized — or completely cut-out –some sequences that I was really looking forward to exploring.
KEIKO: There are even bigger subtractions to the story. Tell me the omission of the entire Clock Tower wasn’t jarring! That area served as a much larger chunk of the story than the park that was removed. While these gripes are something new fans to the series may not notice, grizzled Raccoon City survivors will notice it right away. I was also letdown by the lack of addition to Nemesis. With Res2, Capcom rewrote everything about Mr. X and created one of the most tense, terrifying aspects of a horror game in some time. So of course, here, I pictured Nemesis stalking Jill and how perfect this mechanic would be. But, no. The appearance of Nemesis in the remake is heavily scaled back, and he never feels as scary as Mr. X — or even his original version. Rather, the big bad spends most his time here being relegated to cutscene chase sequences or just outright boss fights. Nemesis is a glorified set piece; all of his chases are pre-scripted and he lacks any sense of urgency once you pass that section.
DEE: In case you our readers haven’t played the original RE3, it’s more action-focused because the main protagonist Jill Valentine is a seasoned survivor. You can dodge during combat and there aren’t many puzzles. Players’ll need these skills to face off against Nemesis, who is smarter and more advanced than Mr X. He will quickly dash in front of you, grab you from afar with his tentacle, and use weapons. This sounds more terrifying on paper but, because — as you mentioned, Keiko — he shows up in scripted sequences rather than pacing around the area you need to navigate like Mr. X did, and thus feels way less terrifying. The only time Nemesis showcases dread is during the beginning sequences in Downtown Raccoon City. I really wish Nemesis popped up more randomly like he did in the original. Overall, RE3 Remake is more focused on combat, making it sometimes feel more like an action game than a horror game.
KEIKO: Yes. The action has been upped, the weapon arsenal has been upped, and if nerds love blowing zombies to hell and back they will have an utter blast. The dodge feature makes Jill the nimblest character ever in a Resident Evil. It’s a huge game-changer. With a well-timed button press, Jill can wiggle her way to safety, unharmed. While a small addition, it really improved the already flawless combat in Resident Evil Remake(s). Another very nice improvement is the removal of the “adaptable difficulty” that RE2 had. I know some gamers may have loved it, but it felt very unnecessary as it just about punished you for being good (near the end, I was having regular zombies’ bites drop me into red caution from full health). So, to not get punished for not sucking, was pretty rewarding and made me feel like a god putting down zombies.
DEE: RE3 Remake also almost runs perfectly. While there were some minor performance issues that could be patched, like the shaky zombie animation (especially when there’s hordes of them on the screen), I didn’t have any problems with the game from the jump.
KEIKO: Capcom did enhance the hospital section, too, and really cleaned up and improved on Carlos, making him an actual character. He never felt fleshed out to me, and just tacked on. With the Remake, they managed to give Carlos a lot more weight as a character. He has personality, he has a story, and the story makes me feel for him. And sure, he has some corny lines, but what would Resident Evil be without some corny lines?
DEE: Haha true. I loved he and Jill’s reimagining and the beautiful details added to Raccoon City. In the end, Resident Evil 3 Remake had so much potential to make it from a great game to an excellent game. I enjoyed my 6 hours with it and plan to play on higher difficulties while utilizing some of the unlockable perks you earn from doing specific in game activities (e.g. killing 100 enemies with a shotgun). I just wanted a little bit more. 3.25/5 Bibles.
KEIKO: While a flawed remake compared to what we knew this could be versus what is in the original package, RE3 Remake is still a very solid purchase. Otherwise, especially with the removal of The Mercenaries, the game feels more like an expansion to Resident Evil 2 Remake than it really should, and I would have to suggest waiting for a sale — as much as that pains me to say. 3.75/5 Bibles.
-Dee Assassina & Keiko Fukuyama