Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City

[Dracarys]

Uhh, yes, Sergei impacted the main plot greatly. Sorry.

Only in the final scenario.

Um. The comics left a legacy. The drama albums left a legacy. Gaiden left a legacy. Confidential Report left a legacy. The movies left a legacy. Everything with "Resident Evil" or "Biohazard" in the name automatically leaves a "legacy". That remark to begin with is a very strange one to base your argument on.

Legacy on the RE series maybe, but he says the RE universe.

[TheBatMan]

Only in the final scenario.

Um, no? Have you not played the game? Sergei was responsible for extracting T-A.L.O.S. during the mansion incident which is pretty important as it went on to become the most advanced Tyrant ever made. He also helped revoke Wesker's access privledges to the Umbrella Mainframe which prevented him from downloading all the combat data he'd collected to take to The Organization. He actually ensured Umbrella were able to secure all this data which is what they used to produce new Tyrant models and B.O.W's including the Hunter Betas, Gammas, and the Ivy.

During the Raccoon City incident he extracted the Umbrella Mainframe before it went boom which pretty much saved Umbrella for another five years. All their B.O.W. development data was stored on it. The events of Dead Aim and the development of the TG Virus would not have been possible had Sergei not done this. You could also argue that he inadvertently saved Ada Wong's life when she hitched a ride on his helicopter.

So he is pretty important and he doesn't contradict or retcon anything. It's all in the details!

[alexdz]

Um, no? Have you not played the game? Sergei was responsible for extracting T-A.L.O.S. during the mansion incident which is pretty important as it went on to become the most advanced Tyrant ever made. He also helped revoke Wesker's access privledges to the Umbrella Mainframe which prevented him from downloading all the combat data he'd collected to take to The Organization. He actually ensured Umbrella were able to secure all this data which is what they used to produce new Tyrant models and B.O.W's including the Hunter Betas, Gammas, and the Ivy.

During the Raccoon City incident he extracted the Umbrella Mainframe before it went boom which pretty much saved Umbrella for another five years. All their B.O.W. development data was stored on it. The events of Dead Aim and the development of the TG Virus would not have been possible had Sergei not done this. You could also argue that he inadvertently saved Ada Wong's life when she hitched a ride on his helicopter.

So he is pretty important and he doesn't contradict or retcon anything. It's all in the details!

And ten Tyrants came from clones of him.

[News Bot]

Legacy on the RE series maybe, but he says the RE universe.

It's the same thing.

[Dracarys]

Um, no? Have you not played the game? Sergei was responsible for extracting T-A.L.O.S. during the mansion incident which is pretty important as it went on to become the most advanced Tyrant ever made. He also helped revoke Wesker's access privledges to the Umbrella Mainframe which prevented him from downloading all the combat data he'd collected to take to The Organization. He actually ensured Umbrella were able to secure all this data which is what they used to produce new Tyrant models and B.O.W's including the Hunter Betas, Gammas, and the Ivy.

During the Raccoon City incident he extracted the Umbrella Mainframe before it went boom which pretty much saved Umbrella for another five years. All their B.O.W. development data was stored on it. The events of Dead Aim and the development of the TG Virus would not have been possible had Sergei not done this. You could also argue that he inadvertently saved Ada Wong's life when she hitched a ride on his helicopter.

So he is pretty important and he doesn't contradict or retcon anything. It's all in the details!

"will however not affect the main plot of the franchise." Take Sergei out from the RE0/REmake/Raccoon City portions and the main plot is still intact, just like it was before he and his actions were created and inserted into the events. They were not part of the main plot and just filler hence the main plot existing for many years before he ever did, the final fall of Umbrella is important but I didn't list that.

[Smiley]

It's not even much of a fall really. Before that it was the stock market. I would have loved to see a full on Resident Evil game where Barry, Jill and Chris went to Europe.

[News Bot]

"will however not affect the main plot of the franchise." Take Sergei out from the RE0/REmake/Raccoon City portions and the main plot is still intact, just like it was before he and his actions were created and inserted into the events. They were not part of the main plot and just filler hence the main plot existing for many years before he ever did, the final fall of Umbrella is important but I didn't list that.

You get more contrived by the day. Umbrella Chronicles is part of the main plot. Without it, there is no main plot, it's left with a gaping hole. Sergei and his actions are vital to the story now that he has been introduced. There is no filler.

The "main series" includes BH0, BH1, BH2, BH3, BH4, BH5, BHCV, BHREV, GS, GS2, GS4, BHUC, BHDC, Degeneration, Damnation and Outbreak. This is the general canon, alongside supplemental material. http://i52.tinypic.com/9lamb4.jpg

[Smiley]

Actually he is filler. His "importance" to the canon was written during filler segments. You can play RE1-RE4 and never know the man's existence. Yeah so we uh had this mansion incident and ummm outbreak comes to the city, city goes BOOM and then the uh stocks plummeted so Umbrella is like gone or something. Oh and uh Wesker now wants to reestablish it.... I guess. Can we move to Resident Evil 5 now?

[News Bot]

Actually he is filler. His "importance" to the canon was written during filler segments. You can play RE1-RE4 and never know the man's existence. Yeah so we uh had this Oh and uh Wesker now wants to reestablish it or um something. Can we move to Resident Evil 5 now?

Try reading my post.

The "main plot" is BH0, BH1, BH2, BH3, BH4, BH5, BHCV, BHREV, GS, GS2, GS4, BHUC, BHDC, Degeneration, Damnation and Outbreak. It is not "BH1-BH4". To put it bluntly, this is a bullshit assumption and CAPCOM say otherwise, so your point is invalid. In the main plot, nothing is strictly "filler", everything adds to the overall plot. Filler is generally accepted as meaningless, whereas every single scenario in the main series has significance and is linked to every other scenario in the series.

[Smiley]

Try reading my post.

The "main plot" is BH0, BH1, BH2, BH3, BH4, BH5, BHCV, BHREV, GS, GS2, GS4, BHUC, BHDC, Degeneration, Damnation and Outbreak. It is not "BH1-BH4". To put it bluntly, this is a bullshit assumption and CAPCOM say otherwise, so your point is invalid. In the main plot, nothing is strictly "filler", everything adds to the overall plot. Filler is generally accepted as meaningless, whereas every single scenario in the main series has significance and is linked to every other scenario in the series.

All that tells me is that the main plot has a lot of filler in it.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those guys that thinks a number has to go to every main entry. Code Veronica is a good example. But the bulk of Umbrella Chronicles is filler, and what it adds to the story in terms of new content is at the expense of unnecessary additions. Hence more filler.

Really RE4 already established that stocks killed Umbrella. Any add on to it is pretty much filler for the main storyline, and playing onward you would never get the sense you missed out on anything substantial. Well actually you might, but that's because we never really got a proper game of Umbrella's demise. Go figure.

[News Bot]

All I see is your personal opinion.

Glad we settled that one!

[Smiley]

Are you saying there's no truth to it? RE4 came before Umbrella Chronicles and already established what we already know by the time RE5 rolls around. Umbrella gone, or is it? Seeing as Wesker has reigns to it based on what we know from RE4. What importance does Umbrella Chronicles give us that previous games didn't?

We didn't need to know how Ada survived. We already knew she was alive to begin with.

We didn't need Richard and Rebecca to go through their own Snake adventure that Chris and Jill already accomplish. Rebecca finding Richard with his bite mark was enough of a set up to yawn.

How Wesker goes about the training facility is irrelevant since we know where he ends up and why based on Zero and RE1.

How Umbrella is gone is already explained from Leon in RE4's opening.

So that's it for recaps. New content?

Red Queen is part of the game series now. She isn't really that crucial. TALOS and Sergei are also cut down before their prime. So essentially Wesker hides all traces before they could impact the series beyond their in-between segments? That sounds a lot like filler to me. But if you don't think so I can live with that.

[News Bot]

I'm going by definition. UC is officially part of the main plot. The new plot elements are vital as a result, whether you personally think they are important or not. As is almost every other game in the series. The only ones which aren't are outright stated by CAPCOM to be side-stories (Gaiden and 4D-EXECUTER fall under this so far, possibly Operation Raccoon City but I don't know if they have flat-out called it a side-story). They're very peculiar and careful about their word choices when referring to the games. The Gun Survivor games are referred to as "extra chapters in the main series", but never side-stories, because the latter essentially means "not canon". Then you have the drama album series, which are also side-stories and have their own timeline.

It is only filler in your opinion. Which doesn't matter, since this is not a debate of opinions. Nothing in the series is officially regarded as filler. It all has a purpose, which is the polar-opposite of what filler is. Story details may be insignificant to you, but they are necessary for the bigger picture. There's no arguing this.

To use the MGS series as an example again, do you believe Portable Ops and Peace Walker are filler? How about Rising? They're not. KONAMI also refer to them as the main series. Because they are vital to the plot (even if MGS3 already had a perfect ending). Same deal with the RE series. Having numbers at the end of the name is more of a marketing tool and has no real relevance in relation to the plot. At best, all the numbers do is exclaim "THIS IS A BIG BUDGET TITLE ASSHOLE!"

[Smiley]

I'm going by definition. UC is officially part of the main plot. The new plot elements are vital as a result, whether you personally think they are important or not. As is almost every other game in the series. The only ones which aren't are outright stated by CAPCOM to be side-stories (Gaiden and 4D-EXECUTER fall under this so far, possibly Operation Raccoon City but I don't know if they have flat-out called it a side-story). They're very peculiar and careful about their word choices when referring to the games. The Gun Survivor games are referred to as "extra chapters in the main series", but never side-stories, because the latter essentially means "not canon". Then you have the drama album series, which are also side-stories and have their own timeline.

Well as you are aware since you bring up MGS what qualifies as "official" is about as useful as you'd expect in a series where the only "canon" ending to RE1 isn't even in the game itself. An official database of the MGS series came out, and I'll be damned if the mess in there was what I experienced playing those games. Capcom can come out and say ORC is official and canon and it still wouldn't faze me. I think that's where you and I differ since I know the content is precious for you and I get it.

I'm only speaking on behalf of the game itself and its significance. There really isn't any. Not much of an opinion there since the game doesn't influence the series. The only thing it did was create nonsense. What it adds is filler. If it's official then it's officially filler, but filler nonetheless.

It is only filler in your opinion. Which doesn't matter, since this is not a debate of opinions. Nothing in the series is officially regarded as filler. It all has a purpose, which is the polar-opposite of what filler is. Story details may be insignificant to you, but they are necessary for the bigger picture. There's no arguing this.

I agree that story details are necessary for the big picture. There's nothing necessary or significant from Umbrella Chronicles that wasn't known beforehand elsewhere. The "details" in Umbrella Chronicles were hardly worth noting and only raise proper questions. Why is Rebecca acting like she didn't know what attacked Richard when they clearly came across it together? Why have a T-002 when Ivan is the most reliable and advanced BOW available in use? This is an official product here and it leaves these glaring problems to lessen the quality of the series.

To use the MGS series as an example again, do you believe Portable Ops and Peace Walker are filler? How about Rising? They're not. KONAMI also refer to them as the main series. Because they are vital to the plot (even if MGS3 already had a perfect ending). Same deal with the RE series. Having numbers at the end of the name is more of a marketing tool and has no real relevance in relation to the plot. At best, all the numbers do is exclaim "THIS IS A BIG BUDGET TITLE ASSHOLE!"

They are filler. I'm not sure about rising since I know very little of the game. But Portable Ops and Peace Walker are filler. Good games, but not essential. And it's not as though I wouldn't mind another filler game from them. I'm with David Hayter... It would be great to have a MGS game where Naked Snake becomes the Big Boss we know from Metal Gear 1 and 2.

For the record I also found RE: Zero to be filler as well. About the only relevance Zero opened for the future of the series would be if Billy Coen returned. But I don't see that happening anytime soon. But a decent prequel with much better game play than UC so I digress.

[TheBatMan]

"will however not affect the main plot of the franchise." Take Sergei out from the RE0/REmake/Raccoon City portions and the main plot is still intact, just like it was before he and his actions were created and inserted into the events. They were not part of the main plot and just filler hence the main plot existing for many years before he ever did, the final fall of Umbrella is important but I didn't list that.

All that means is that it doesn't contradict anything. You're right, take Sergei out of the plot and the main plot is still intact but that was purposefully done so that it didn't effect the canon of the existing games. His inclusion and the extra details that brought make him one of the most important figures in the series, like it or not. There are things I forgot to point out, such as him being the basis for the Tyrant program and the likely founder of the U.B.C.S. and the Monitors. Whilst his inclusion may seem a little 'forced' to some, this is only because they were careful not to go against the existing canon.

Slant Six on the other hand have done the exact opposite and modified the canon to fit around their own ideas as well as making basic timeline mistakes through lack of research. For example, there is no need to take part in Hunk's mission to get the G-Virus. The developers have simply thought;

'My god, how BADASS would it be to fight alongside Hunk against Birkin!?"
"AMAZING! Hang on, there's no zombies at that stage so what about enemies?"
"Hmm, let's just throw some U.B.C.S. in there. They can be bodyguards or something."
"Ok, should we re-read the files in RE3 to make sure we are not missing anything?"
"Nah..."