Are Resident Evil games past their prime?

[Ultra_Glior]

The answer is YES! After the first game (the best), the franchise went to shit! "Hi there team I'm Shinji Mikami. I've got lots of great new ideas for Biohazard 2. But before we crack on with that I suppose we should bang out a Director's Cut just for a laugh. LMFAO! Then bang it out again with Dual Shock functions, a crappy new soundtrack and a crappy Complete Disc! LMFAO! Anyway guys I could really use all your input for the sequel, but I'll tell you all this now, I plan on wasting your time and working lives! LMFAO!" Employee: "Why's that Mikami-sama?" Shinji: "Didn't they tell you?" Employee: "No." Shinji: "I scrap my games at 70%!!! LMFAO! Not like that Hideo what's his face across the road. LMFAO! He actually knows what he's doing! LMFAO! And then I plan to do the same with perhaps a Nintendo 64 Biohazard game! LMFAO! And not release that either! LMFAO!" Employee: "Nintendo 64? What is that?" Shinji: *cough* "Oh, erm... nothing." But seriously people hasn't it all been done before? Was there any real reason for Umbrella Chronicles or this new gimiky Resident Evil Zero Wii edition? And what about Resident Evil 5! Isn't it just the previous one but with lots of black to kill? Stop buying this idiots games. Your views please!

[delage]

I disagree. 2 and 3 were great games, especially 2 which was a great development of the ideas of the first game. the main flaw of 3 is that it's on a similar time frame as 2, so some of the novelty of the game was lost, but nevertheless its a great game.

I think Capcom made a big mistake with the exclusivity agreement with Nintendo, the games we got for other consoles weren't as good as the original 4. that said, resident evil 4 is a great game, it won many awards the year it was released for some reason, although i find it hard to classify it as a resident evil game.

[nemesis_lover]

i don't agree, if we'll talking about the main 4 games here then i can't say r.e has lost its status as one of the top games to play. R.E 1 is a trademark of a game and has made a huge impact in game history, but what came after that only made things better.
Now i have to back up r.e 3 here because thats one of the only games that have made me continue to play it over and over. R.E 2 was also great but 3 always tops that. And like as stated above r.e 4 won awards for a reason, and winning those showed the series hasn't passed its prime just yet.
If Capcom didn't come up with ideas that they have done, we wouldn't of gotten a new fresh r.e remake on the cube, which in my view is my second fav r.e game and also the having the guts to change the gameplay from 1-3 and c.v, to what we saw in r.e 4.
At the end of the day i see the series running for many years to come, and with r.e 5 next year, just by ppl talking about it already just shows how excited the fans are and how the series still gives us the thrill of killing zombies and what not
But i have to hand it to ultra on one point, and this isn't because i'm not in japan and would lose out, but i don't see a point in r.e 0 coming onto the wii :S

[RE-Hiro]

sorry, i disagree!! RE 3, RE4, RE2 are great games!!!!

[FeurMensch]

I'd have to partially agree with Ultra_Glior, as the series has kinda went downhill after RE CVX. Now those games after Code Veronica weren't bad, just a lot of stuff that didn't seem like it was made by Capcom and they didn't seem like a RE game. I mean, Zombies on a Ship with stereotypical '90s man Bruce McGivern and and a Chinese secret agent named Fong Ling. How many games now adays have Chinese secret agents?

The plots became very predictable also. Why is there always an ultimate baddie and an accidental outbreak? Don;t you think Umbrella would have kept a better eye on the researchers after the Mansion incident? Umbrella Chronicles is also way to predicable as it uses way to many cleashes such as the final boss and the "Ultimate Baddie". I know this is apart of the RE series but come on Capcom, take out the time and make a compelling story like RE1/RE2. This excludes RE1 REMAKE, RE0, RE4 as they were great games. Although I don't think RE4 was deserving of the title "Resident Evil 4". The game felt like a separate franchise altogether, not to mention that RE's trademark Zombies and the Umbrella Co. are gone. Not only that, but the new game mechanics changed the series and you had to fight prehistoric parasites. Come on.

NOW:

All the games in the RE franchise are great, just the story has kinda made me a little disgusted by now. I only think the story has gotten bad, not game play.

I thought it would be nice to go back to RE's roots and create a fresh game using all the classic mechanics that we all have come to love. I would love to see another game that plays like RE1/2/3 on the next gen systems. But, I would like a new, fresh, and engrossing story that is purely RE and not a giant mash up of previously used ideas.

[BLSR1]

Disagree

RE:REmake and RE3 are the best in the series IMHO




AND IM GETTING SICK OF THIS RE4 WHINING.

[RE-Hiro]

i don't see the point of your complaint Ultra_Glior!!!! if you don't like RE games then don't buy it and don't play it!!!

and if you don't like RE games and you're saying that they are idiot games why are you here????????

[Umon Daisuke]

While I do agree that the first game is the definitive RE experience (particularly the arrange mode of the DC), the 2nd game was overall a more enjoyable experience. RE3 maintained the atmosphere and tried a few new things despite being a quick project.

CV started the series' downward spiral and the other traditional up RE4 were more of the same. The Outbreak games upgraded the core gameplay engine with some melee moves and weapons in addition to unique attributes for each character. Ultimately, they were meant as online games, so you really had to be a fan of arcade style point collecting to get the most out of the games. Decisions Decisions and End of the Road were great scenario both offline and online.

RE 3.5 (hookman) looked as if it can bring a fresh perspective to the series while maintaining the horror atmosphere. It went out the window and now the series is an action shooter.

[Alzaire]

I'm in the mood for a wall-of-text. Hope you are too.

Hmmm. In my opinion, I think the series is not technically past it's prime marketably. Not quite, anyway. I personally believe BH4 is likely going to be the peak otherwise, although BH5 will do great. But from there, I can't see it going well in general. Two games in the new direction will likely be the stepping stones of a bridge. Where BH4 started the direction, while BH5 is under development, old-school fans were given a small return to the old-school story and familiar things (monsters, ect) with UC (albeit, yes in 1st person). But UC brought about hardly anything new. So when Biohazard 5 is released, what then? Do they make new BH side story games ala old-school, or side stories in the new generation style BH? From the way they seem to want to stem away from going back to actual familiar zombies and such, any old-school type game would likely fall back again during the old timeframes. Could be fun, but really how many times for the story to make sense to do we need to visit RC again or some random actual Umbrella virus outbreak that adds nothing really necessary to the story.

Basically I think they tried to get too cute with the story. Too many complications and side stories. Too much backstory that eventually leads to nowhere or is unimportant. Which is why I think BH4 was the peak and will likely go generally downhill from here. With the quality they are desiring in the main BH games now, it's taking years for them to develop them. The side story games aren't known for being fantastic, and unless they plan to seriously end the story soon, it's just going deeper into a mess that I believe even the current generation that started with BH4 will grow tired of when BH6 won't come out till 2015 and meanwhile we're fed either ports of the games again and again, or side-story games that aren't known (so far) for leading up to anywhere that means something in the story.

Let's examine some generalities here.

RE1/Remake - Not much to say. This is where the story begins.
RE2 - Direct sequal to RE1. Brings Umbrella deeper into the spotlight. Furthers the story well.
RE3 - This is where I think things started to get wonky and inefficient story wise. This game was nothing that couldn't've been explained in epilogues or files. Was not a direct sequal to BH2, though yes it did end 1 day after.
RE CV - Reintroduced Wesker, continued on with backstory and information about Umbrella. But still nowhere near a conclusion to anything. It was inefficient.

The side story games: Survivor, Gaiden, ect. Just gave some information, but did not further along any real story.

So after 4 main games and several side story games, we barely got anywhere. 5 years roughly between BH1 and CV to get nowhere... So after a remake that added simply more general information, Zero which also merely added more information, and finally we come to the new main game. Biohazard 4. 5 years for a direct sequal. It's now getting close to 1/4 through 2008, and BH5 is how far away? We don't know for sure, obviously, but I wouldn't be surprised for 2009. Meanwhile we've seen Outbreaks and UC. UC didn't quite deliver what was expected, imo. It still didn't bridge the gap between CV and 4 very well, as we were still just basically told Umbrella went down. All it did was add some more information which, yes, may be slightly important towards possibly BH5 story.

So again, where do we go? Do they plan on ending the story soon? If not, how much further will they take this direction before it gets old and they change it again (esp. when it's taking 3-6 years between main games)? What next, -real- ghosts and paranormal activity (possibly similar to scrapped RE4) with Neo-Umbrella Empire with Wesker's Warriors of perfected TGV-Plagas Tyrants and Super Soldiers trying to open the Gates of Hell to unleash Demons and Spirits to take over the world?

I just believe that good things should end before they spoil. I can see various resembles of basic generality of BH in BH4, as the Paladin of BH4 BLSR1 likes to point out. Yeah ganados are mindless (mostly) freaks just like zombies, other mutant creatures are there, we have Leon and some familiar casts, a spooky/dark setting, a parasite to compare to a virus and research going on in a hidden lab. It's all just a matter of preference and personal taste. I was disappointed and don't like BH4 as a BH game, as everyone who knows me knows. Like I said, I can see where BLSR1 comes from saying it's just like all the other games in general, and I respect that he can enjoy it and accept it.
The fact it took so long to come up with a sequal and high expectations, esp. after the huge technical leap taken with Remake, the "generalities" (as I call them) disguised in a different form that BH4 took just didn't feel right to me. When you can easily remove references to Wesker and Umbrella, change Leon's name to Agent Williams and Ada to Catherine (and of course their models), the game could have easily been named Parasite: Village of Doom and nobody would have been wiser. Yeah, BH4 was meant to just be the start of a new direction and UC + BH5's little information seem to indicate at least the story may get a little back on track, so who knows how it will turn out. But the way I look at it is if I pick up a Dragonlance novel, I expect to read a story about knights, dragons, princesses, sorcerers, ect. Not open it up and read about Starship 35 carries the Planet Vulcan's prince across the galaxy and the treacherous space voyage that ensues. The generalities may be similar, but they just aren't (or shouldn't be) acceptable under the same name. In this case of BH4, the genre is still arguably close, which is why it's not as easy to truly classify.

As usual, I rambled a bit, and probably forgot some key things I wanted to say. But the general point is I believe BH4 was likely the real peak/prime of the BH series of this generation, as I'm sure most would agree BH2 was the peak/prime of the previous one. Just looking at timeframes now, I don't seriously see any more peaks that aren't either a) the final game or b) another new drastic leap in a different direction gameplay/story wise from a game many years down the line.

[abbatoo]

Then bang it out again with Dual Shock functions, a crappy new soundtrack and a crappy Complete Disc!

As strange as it may sound, I've always preferred the Dual Shock versions' soundtrack.

As for the series' downfall, I think it's been going downhill since/after RE3 (save for a few 'peaks', REmake for example). I understand that the series really needed a breath of fresh air but Resident Evil 4 was too radical a departure from the RE conventions for my taste... and I'm not talking about gameplay (I actually liked that).
Don't get me wrong. I generally like RE4 as a game, I just can't accept it as a Resident Evil game.
I could go on and on about all the other problems I have with the RE series, but will refrain from doing so since Alzaire summed up the situation quite nicely in his post.

[TheSelfishGene]

I just believe that good things should end before they spoil.

It's better to burn out than to fade away.

With a direct answer to the topic, I'd say yes they are.
RE2 was a GREAT sequel to RE1. I'd be content never playing RE1.5, because even in my head, it's not as good as RE2. But some people have cooked up all these fantasies about how legendarily awesome it is. I agree it would be interesting to play, but I'm not expecing much. I think there was a reason it was scrapped. Do you think Capcom, the company which loves $$$ so much(evidenced by the shovelling of RE0 onto Wii), would scrap a project ~70% completed if it didn't absolutely suck? That's to address the cynicism in the original post. No offence to the poster, Ultra Glior.

That said, I'm suprised they haven't released even part of it in some form, simply because it is an avenue of income for them, and the interest is there.

So, when did they jump the shark?
In my opinion, RE2 is the best game in the series. However I can not deny that RE3 has a better gameplay engine, with the quick turn, dodge, explosive barrels, walking on stairs etc. (IMO RE3's story is so flat in comparison to RE1 and RE2. Mad Jackal is much much better than the main game in my opinion(fun wise, obviously not story wise)).

It would have to be that era in my opinion. There have been a few flashes of brilliance after (the REmake, and some of the puzzles in Zero). I used to enjoy Code Veronica, but upon subsequent replays, I've fallen out of love with it. Wesker should have stayed dead, and it's over-indulgently long. It's here that the story started to get quite muddied too.

For all the criticism leveled at RE4, I'm gonna stick up for it. It's a great game. It's not the best RE game, but it IS a RE game never the less, so if that seriously challenges the way you think about the series, I guess I feel sorry for you.
How many times do you want to wander around Raccoon City? Or any other city full of zombies without making it too cliche? Capcom made a bold choice to risk one of their biggest franchises, and it paid off. If your past convictions colour your opinion of this game, then I really feel sorry for you.

This reminds me of people who think that Ocarina of Time is better than Majora's Mask (The two N64 Zelda titles for the uninitiate), because they were expecting Majora's to be like OoT, but just bigger and better. Of course it was quite removed from OoT, and when you begin to appreciate it as it's own game, you gain a new respect for it (and some, myself included, think it's a MUCH better game than OoT).
Extending that parallel, I don't think that RE4 is better than most of the other RE games. However if you expect it to be like the rest, you're setting yourself up for disappointment.

After all that's said, I'm sure there will be comments accusing me of heresy, especially in my thoughts on 1.5. Live with it.

[Ultra_Glior]

i don't see the point of your complaint Ultra_Glior!!!! if you don't like RE games then don't buy it and don't play it!!!

and if you don't like RE games and you're saying that they are idiot games why are you here????????

I never said they were idiot games, I said they where made under the supervision of one. Secondly, I do like RESIDENT EVIL (1996) on the PlayStation, the best RE game ever! Thirdly, I started this thread as a discussion, not an arguement. Forthly, I never bought a RE game after the first, I only played them round my friends houses, I always try games before I buy them. And lastly, don't get my "complaint"? Here's a list that you should be able to "get".

Resident Evil 1996 (Perfection itself! Great Stuff!)
Resident Evil 2002 (A remake? Cool! But why not on PlayStation 2?)
Resident Evil 1.5 (Wow! I can't wait! But I still am!)
Resident Evil 2 (I wonder what the second disc is like! *hopeful* Oh, it's the same shit but with a bitch! Medioca!)
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Christ!)
Resident Evil: Survivor (Oh God!)
Resident Evil Code: Veronica (I know her from somewhere!)
Resident Evil: Survivor 2 Code: Veronica (Oh God! Repeaditive!)
Resident Evil Gaiden (WTF?!)
Resident Evil Zero 64: (Wow! I can't wait! But I still am!)
Resident Evil Zero (A remake? Why?)
Resident Evil: Dead Aim (Cold Fear is more RE than this shit!)
Resident Evil Outbreak (They must've shat out this game!)
Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 (This one two, must've had diarrhea that day!)
Resident Evil 4 (A kids action game. The most overated of all RE games!)
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (Haven't we seen all this before?)
Resident Evil 5 (Another kids action game *sigh*, and the next overrated "RE" game!)

Yeah that's right BLSR1, I called RE4 a kids action game, come and get me! :p

[TheSelfishGene]

Resident Evil 5 (A racists action game, and the next overrated "RE" game!)

It's not racist if I shoot everyone in the face

[The Dude]

Resident Evil 5 (A racists action game, and the next overrated "RE"

I LOL'd at the juvenile nature of this comment and most the posts in this topic being anti RE3 onwards, and then I went back to sleep.

Considering theres only so many scenarios you can throw Zombies in and still hope to be original, I think RE4 mixing things up was a godsend.
(And yes im Hispanic/Mixed race yet I don't cry racism about this game)

[Sonicboy 101]

Resident Evil 5 (A racists action game, and the next overrated "RE" game!)

I think you're being racist for pointing that out. Just because Capcom changed the skin colour for enemies, how is it racist?
Why do people nowadays think everything the one bit related to skin colour is racism?