Resident Evil is one of gaming’s most venerable and long-lived franchises. It’s been going on for decades, and with new games being released regularly, it doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon. The franchise has evolved a lot since the days of the first installments, changing along with hardware innovations and new schools of game design.
Modern games are far fromResident Evil, Resident Evil 2and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, the original three titles released in the 1990s, with changes in gameplay, genre, story, and graphics. While those original games are many remnants of their time, they still provide a lot of fun.
10 B-movie cheese that’s endearing, not grating
Resident Evil has never been an entirely serious franchise. The story borrows liberally from cheesy, low-budget horror movies, designed to mimic a similar feel. Even at its most serious in games like Resident Evil Villagethere are clichés, comedy and ridiculousness designed to break the tension.
The first three games are notorious for their cheese. In addition to the bizarre plot twists and bizarre stories, the games also have absolutely weird puzzles and attacks from cheap voice actors. Though dated, these elements tend to leave fans feeling warmly nostalgic rather than annoyed.
9 Distinctive art design that makes the graphics good
The Resident Evil games never had bad graphics for their time, with modern items like Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and Resident Evil: Village known for their visual appeal. However, the older games have an incredibly dated look with a low resolution due to the technology of the time. Despite that, they don’t look bad.
Although the graphics are bad, the games have always had an impressive and evocative design that captures the imagination of the audience. Even with graphics improved a thousandfold since the release of Resident Evil 3Nemesis’ original design may still send shivers down the public’s spine.
8 Creating survival horror as the public knows
The horror genre has a long association with games, the best known permutation being survival horror. Survival horror forces players into exciting, difficult scenarios with limited resources and combines the best parts of video games and the horror genre to create a truly terrifying experience.
The genre owes a lot to the original Resident Evil. With its hidden and hard-to-find resources, tight environments, challenges and strange puzzles, Resident Evil is actually the first game to be nicknamed survival horror. The genre has since taken off, but no one can deny that the original three games helped cement and codify some of its most beloved tropes.
7 The characters remain loved years later
Stories about video games, even as ridiculous as Resident Evils, live and die by their characters. In any fiction, the audience has to sympathize with the protagonists, but this is especially true in video games where the audience also has to control them. Happy are the characters in Resident Evil games, especially the originals, are some of the most beloved in gaming.
Some of it comes from humor and memes, especially when it comes to characters like Chris Redfield or Barry Burton. But even then, there is genuine admiration and sympathy for characters like Jill Valentine and Leon Kennedy, characters that are iconic to this day.
6 Flexible design that gives the player a lot of freedom
As a medium through which the player can control the action, freedom is an important factor in games. Few give as much freedom as the 90s Resident Evil games, especially the original. With a fairly simple premise and plot where the player simply has to explore the Spencer Mansion, the game has a lot to do for players.
While all three start off in a more linear fashion towards the end, most of their gameplay consists of open-ended exploration and problem solving. This gives the games a tremendous amount of replayability and freedom that many games lack over twenty years later.
5 The monsters are original and horrifying
Resident Evil predates somewhat the huge zombie boom in the 2000s, but is still one of the iconic examples of zombie fiction in modern times. The zombies, especially in the original ’90s entries where they feature most prominently, are beloved game monsters, but they’re certainly not the only standouts in the franchise’s roster.
From tyrants like Mr. X and Nemesis to the huge alligator in Resident Evil 2 for the iconic dogs that haunt the Spencer Mansion, the 90s games have some of the most creative and obnoxious foes in the franchise. Later games struggle to match their variety or imagination.
4 The gameplay focuses on exploring, collecting and puzzling
While they include battles and boss fights, the trio of Resident Evil 90s games, more than most in the franchise, aren’t action games. Between limited ammunition and healing, the sheer number of monsters and the vulnerability of the player characters, players are encouraged to dodge combat or flee rather than kill everything in their path.
Instead, the gameplay revolves around surviving environments full of enemies, while solving puzzles and unlocking more of the game’s map. This was unique at the time and remains one of the more popular aspects of the series. Compared to the more action-packed games of the modern generation, fans fondly remember the gameplay of the first three games.
3 Unexpected gameplay twists
Many games would be content with building a solid core gameplay core, then relying largely on that throughout the game. However, early Resident Evil games aren’t afraid to overwhelm their audience by changing things between games or even within the game. At no point do the 90s entries let players get complacent.
From the stalking horror of Mr. X and Nemesis to timed escape scenes to split second decisions of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, there is a lot of variety in 90s games. Many of the more modern games also have these elements and are fun to them, but they are not as fresh as they once were.
2 The unique A Story/B Story design
A recurring element in the 90s Resident Evil games is multiple protagonists. In Resident Evilthe player chooses between Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, in Resident Evil 2 they choose either Clare Redfield or Leon Kennedy, and in Resident Evil 3: Nemesisthey usually control Jill, but play as Carlos Oliveira for periods of the game.
Things go one step further in Resident Evil 2 with the A Story/B Story system. After players defeat the story with one character, they unlock an alternate story with the other, detailing their actions during the other’s route. This creates a unique gameplay and story element and is something that fans were disappointed with when it wasn’t fully realized in the Resident Evil 2 redo.
1 Completely bizarre puzzles
Almost as iconic as the Resident Evil Zombies are the completely nonsensical way architects and security forces design facilities. From chess puzzles in the sewer to playing moonlight Sonata to open a door to use a broken shotgun to prevent a ceiling from crushing the player character, the puzzles of the games are notorious.
Despite their ridiculousness, fans absolutely love it. They add to the games’ unique aesthetics and storytelling, forcing players to think outside the box and remember everything they’ve encountered before. Later games have their own bizarre and strange puzzles, but none surpass the ridiculousness of the original trilogy.
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