Introduction

[RedfieldFanboi]

Hey all! I'm RedfieldFanboi and I'm a, well fanboi of all things Chris Redfield!

I was first introduced to RE back in '98 while at a friend's house. He popped in the disk for RE2 and gave me the controller, but as my favourite games at that point were Tenchu and Soul Reaver I couldn't get into the tank controls and fixed camera perspective and died many times as a result before I could even make it to the RPD. It would be a couple more months before I'd rent it from Blockbuster but when I did and I had the chance to really get into it, I was hooked.

I'm a writer and story has always been the primary means for me to connect to any game and RE2's bio-punk technothriller plot and oh-so-wholesome heroes sucked me right in. Leon stuck with me as my favourite character, even after playing 1,3, and eventually CVX - and then everything changed with 4.

Many hold RE4 in high esteem, but honestly it's at the bottom of my list. The character is nothing like the Leon I loved and the story had no connection to any of the themes and plot points I previously hoped they'd continue. RE5 came along and while it's not my favourite style of RE game I love the story and how it reconnects to the past games and concludes the rivalry between Chris and Wesker.

For all its development Chris was cemented as my favourite character, ever since.

I'm bound to stir up passions eventually, so to get it out of the way here's a quick rundown of what I like and don't like in the franchise...

Games I love: 1/REmake, 2/2R, RE5, RE6, CVX, 3R, Rev1
Games I don't: RE:Nem, 0, 4, Rev2
Games I can't play due to accessibility: 7, 8
Movies I like: WtRC, Vendetta, Degeneration, RE 2002
Movies I don't: Anderson's 2-6, Damnation, Infinite Darkness
Least favourite S.T.A.R.S. member: Jill
2nd Favourite S.T.A.R.S. member: Rebecca

 

[Ikawaru]

Hi!

Many hold RE4 in high esteem, but honestly it's at the bottom of my list. The character is nothing like the Leon I loved and the story had no connection to any of the themes and plot points I previously hoped they'd continue. RE5 came along and while it's not my favourite style of RE game I love the story and how it reconnects to the past games and concludes the rivalryy between Chris and Wesker.

From a gameplay perspective, RE4 was master class for its time. However, the long term consequences for making awesome-to-the-extreme gameplay was the fact that it helped contribute to damaging the value of the series lore. So RE4 was like a killer drug, it may make you feel temporarily great...but there's some nasty long term consequences and side effects. Aside from the "Not A Hero" side story, I don't think RE7 or RE8 did a very good job rebooting the series so I would forgive Capcom for their missteps if they managed a proper reboot, which I don't feel they did.

Also, I don't think RE4 damaged Leon's character, he is about what you would expect from a rookie cop turned U.S. government agent and all the training he would receive in the process. Leon's Epilogue from RE3 gave the reasons why he made that decision.

 

[RedfieldFanboi]

Hi!



From a gameplay perspective, RE4 was master class for its time. However, the long term consequences for making awesome-to-the-extreme gameplay was the fact that it helped contribute to damaging the value of the series lore. So RE4 was like a killer drug, it may make you feel temporarily great...but there's some nasty long term consequences and side effects. Aside from the "Not A Hero" side story, I don't think RE7 or RE8 did a very good job rebooting the series so I would forgive Capcom for their missteps if they managed a proper reboot, which I don't feel they did.

Also, I don't think RE4 damaged Leon's character, he is about what you would expect from a rookie cop turned U.S. government agent and all the training he would receive in the process. Leon's Epilogue from RE3 gave the reasons why he made that decision.

I certainly appreciate how it could be a fan favourite and how many might see the logical progression of his character but at the time that I played it through 4 the first time it wasn't anything like the Leon I had expected to see. I wouldn't say it damaged Leon per se, but it definitely damaged my opinion of Leon and how I imagined his personality to be. Totally a subjective feeling that I don't expect others to necessarily agree with.

Obviously in the decades since we've all learned about the development of this game and the intentions by the developers to step as far away from the previous games as much as possible - so I'm not at all confused about the why or the how. They needed to make a change and they did and for what it's worth 5 and 6 are two of my favourites in the franchise for the story they tell (mind you 6 is sheer bats*** insanity).

For me 4 represents a low point from a story perspective, though I'm happy to concede it is full of wonderful dialogue. It's just not *my* ideal story.

I've read through the full plot of 7 and 8 and definitely don't like what was there. Like 4 it's another deviation from what I like in the series, made worse that I physically cannot play FPS games so I can't even judge it by gameplay.

 

[Springhosen]

Welcome!