What do YOU Think Resident Evil is?

[Xi.]

The reason i decided to make this topic because a recent discussion with my friend about Revelations, and the rest of the series pre RE4, at first he said Revelations looked great, and that he would pick up a 3Ds and buy it.
When i talked to him last over Skype, i asked him if he grabbed Revelations, he told me he didn't because it was garbage, quoted in his exact words "Oh hell no, it's garbage, there's no zombies, just fish things" and pretty much spat at it, judging it because he never even did any research, and he considers himself a real RE fan, which baffled me for almost two weeks.

So my question for everyone is. What do YOU think Resident Evil is? Sure the majority of the games of the series revolved around the Raccoon City incident, and the T-virus, the creatures created from it, and the beings we all love to stab with a Combat Knife, Zombies. I believe the problem with the number of games made that revolve of the story of Raccoon City from different perspectives on the storyline.
They grow accustom to the setting in the game, the monsters, and the Zombies, and believe that every future release should be based similar to the previous games, with the same old thing.

I can relate, some of the games today feel more action oriented, drifting away from their survival horror roots in the previous installments, but i believe it wouldn't be that way without reason, which is why i came to a specific conclusion on the direction of the series for 4, 5, and the infamous upcoming 6

Is Resident Evil really revolved around just the Zombies, and the T-Virus, or is there more to it, take a look at 4, 5, and the trailer for 6, or do some research if you please.

Sorry for the long boring read, but i was wanting to post this since i registered here, and would like to hear your opinions, i'll add more ass the reply's pile up.

What do YOU think Resident Evil is?

 

[Springhosen]

For me, Resident Evil will always be about Raccoon City, Umbrella, creepy music, save rooms and typewriters, puzzles, strangely placed gems, morbid documents, freakishly large spiders, huge Tyrants with internal organs on the outside of their bodies, zombies, underground labs with overzealous air conditioning, elaborate mansions out in the middle of nowhere and having a "partner" but only interacting with them for the first five and last five minutes of the game.

I'm sure that makes quite a few fans of the later games scoff and what not but that's what it is for me, that's what got me hooked so don't judge.

 

[KennedyKiller]

To me...Resident Evil is the only video game series I am religious about...It is the only game series out there with an AMAZING story that is SOOO complex it's like an anime, a soap opera, and a zombie movie all in one...It's..Thrilling...I'm not a fan of video games really...Granted...I'll play small time fun games like Mario, Sonic, Smash Bros, and Zelda, all cause I grew up on them...But when I hear people like "Oh duuuuude! What prestige are you on CoD:MW3!" I'm just like...Are they serious? They think that's QUALITY gaming? And I just shake my head...No other game series has ever had such amazing story and character development, and there has NEVER been a main series RE game that has disapointed me...Granted RE5 has been the worst, yet, so long as I'm not playing as Sheva, I will STILL play it over and over again...

 

[La Femme Fatale]

Dino Crisis with zombies.

 

[Springhosen]

Dino Crisis with zombies.

Don't you mean Dino Crisis is Resident Evil with dinosaurs? (It's all about the canon timeline, people.)

 

[La Femme Fatale]

Oh, now you see, herein lies our dilemma my darling. The original poster asked what Resident Evil means to me. What Resident Evil means to me is certainly different from what 'Resident Evil' is objectively, or what it means to you or to KennedyKiller or to Xi. I was first introduced to the Resident Evil fandom based on what I read on the back cover of the original DC game, which was 'from the makers of Resident Evil'. While I understand very well that Dino Crisis came after the first two or three games, I can very much credit my own interest in it to my love of DC - which for me, came first.

See, sometimes there are thoughts going on up here.

 

[Silverback]

For me, Resident Evil will always be about Raccoon City, Umbrella, creepy music, save rooms and typewriters, puzzles, strangely placed gems, morbid documents, freakishly large spiders, huge Tyrants with internal organs on the outside of their bodies, zombies, underground labs with overzealous air conditioning, elaborate mansions out in the middle of nowhere and having a "partner" but only interacting with them for the first five and last five minutes of the game.

I'm sure that makes quite a few fans of the later games scoff and what not but that's what it is for me, that's what got me hooked so don't judge.

Pretty much this.

Also, I'd like to add that I think the Umbrella Corperation were the backbone to what Resident Evil was first concieved as: A survival horror game.

Umbrella Corp. were a large part of the driving force behind the mythos and storyline, and to have them removed from a game felt alien, to me anyway. You can't just do away with the largest pharmaceutical conglomerate on earth and pretend they don't exist, which was what Resident Evil 4 did.

Better stop before I go on a long-ass tangent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Resident Evil to me, is about the trials and victories of the remaining S.T.A.R.S. members as they attempt to get to the bottom of the Umbrella hierarchy and bring justice down on Wesker for arranging the murders of many other S.T.A.R.S. operatives.

Thats the overall gist of it.

 

[Storyofmylife]

Resident Evil to me is the only remaining series of my childhood. Harry Potter is now over, and so are some other book series I got into... It's the only series I truly know and have researched for endless hours. I've grown to love just about every single one of the main characters.

Resident Evil to me is about zombies, creepy mansions, cross dressing incestual royal bad guys, another bad guy who wears his sunglasses at night, Jill sandwiches, awkward dialogue, horribly funny voice acting, scare-the-sh*t out of you moments... And loyalty. Nothing says loyal like your best friend jumping out of a window to her "death" to save you, or your sister risking her life and being kidnapped to look for you. Or even letting a convict go because he saved your life and vice versa. I'll follow this story line to the end, no matter what direction it goes in, because it's taught me loyalty, and I'm loyal to the series.

 

[KennedyKiller]

Oh, now you see, herein lies our dilemma my darling. The original poster asked what Resident Evil means to me. What Resident Evil means to me is certainly different from what 'Resident Evil' is objectively, or what it means to you or to KennedyKiller or to Xi. I was first introduced to the Resident Evil fandom based on what I read on the back cover of the original DC game, which was 'from the makers of Resident Evil'. While I understand very well that Dino Crisis came after the first two or three games, I can very much credit my own interest in it to my love of DC - which for me, came first.

See, sometimes there are thoughts going on up here.

Yay!!! I got mentioned!! I'm almost important!!

 

[Sonnentreppe]

Resident Evil began as applying survival skills... Now it's about shooting ****.

 

[Capcomplicated]

lol oh wow here it goes.

Resident Evil doesnt just simply mean a game to me. It represents everything that I as a semi-intellectual human being try to aspire to. Success through collective ingenuity. Survival Horror. Breached our feeble little minds in 96' we had no idea what was about to take place. A decade and change later we still celebrate its innovative paradigm of rediculously addictive door opening sequences and terrible acting. This game is a staple of its time causing a ripple in the gaming world that feels its effect still today. Very few games can say that. The creators knew this...and so did we. The first game became such a quick success the next installments were already in the works. Resident Evil 2 came out 2 years later giving us a fresh look into some new characters all the while giving us our zombie fix we needed after the first one wore off. RE3 came out a year later giving fans yet again another taste of the T-infected world. SO before the year 2000, in just 4 years we had 3 games in this amazing franchise that represented its roots to a T. Then counting Code-Veronica X and Zero you now have 5 titles with this basic 'core' of survival horror.

However i feel that the more installments you have the less the story is going to be from its roots. The more games you have the more you want it to evolve and take on a new direction.

I think Resident Evil 4 was a necessary albeit drastic change. It seems to me to be the only natural evolution of gaming. Change things up. Yea its more action based but the elements of horror were still intact especially if you look at it from a story point of view. It gave a new dynamic of the story with action and chaos. Which in my opinion was a welcome change, (after alot of reluctancy and fierce hesitation) despite my initial issues with some of the games plot and sequences. The game still scared the sh^t out of me.

Resident Evil 5 in retrospect should have never happened in regard to the story. Re5 should have been what ORC is now, a spin-off. Although there were some nice scenes and probably one of the most addictive online multiplayer i've ever played. The story was a mess as some would agree, mostly because of the ending. But the most natural course of action would be to cash in on resident evil 4's success in its new fan base.

I think Capcom has the chance to redeem theirselves with this next game to really put the resident evil back in the series. To really tie everything together and please both generations of fans. A chance to do what they did in 96'. Invent something new.

Resident Evil to me is and always will be the outbreak in the outskirts of raccoon city. That doesnt mean you can't enjoy other things the franchise has spawned. After all its this capitolism that spawned its roots. That also doesnt mean that there isnt brand abuse. You have to decide on whether not a game has enough genuine articles to be associated with 'your' brand. But you cant make a decision if you never play the game. Thats just ignorance.

 

[Xi.]

lol oh wow here it goes.

Resident Evil doesnt just simply mean a game to me. It represents everything that I as a semi-intellectual human being try to aspire to. Success through collective ingenuity. Survival Horror. Breached our feeble little minds in 96' we had no idea what was about to take place. A decade and change later we still celebrate its innovative paradigm of rediculously addictive door opening sequences and terrible acting. This game is a staple of its time causing a ripple in the gaming world that feels its effect still today. Very few games can say that. The creators knew this...and so did we. The first game became such a quick success the next installments were already in the works. Resident Evil 2 came out 2 years later giving us a fresh look into some new characters all the while giving us our zombie fix we needed after the first one wore off. RE3 came out a year later giving fans yet again another taste of the T-infected world. SO before the year 2000, in just 4 years we had 3 games in this amazing franchise that represented its roots to a T. Then counting Code-Veronica X and Zero you now have 5 titles with this basic 'core' of survival horror.

However i feel that the more installments you have the less the story is going to be from its roots. The more games you have the more you want it to evolve and take on a new direction.

I think Resident Evil 4 was a necessary albeit drastic change. It seems to me to be the only natural evolution of gaming. Change things up. Yea its more action based but the elements of horror were still intact especially if you look at it from a story point of view. It gave a new dynamic of the story with action and chaos. Which in my opinion was a welcome change, (after alot of reluctancy and fierce hesitation) despite my initial issues with some of the games plot and sequences. The game still scared the sh^t out of me.

Resident Evil 5 in retrospect should have never happened in regard to the story. Re5 should have been what ORC is now, a spin-off. Although there were some nice scenes and probably one of the most addictive online multiplayer i've ever played. The story was a mess as some would agree, mostly because of the ending. But the most natural course of action would be to cash in on resident evil 4's success in its new fan base.

I think Capcom has the chance to redeem theirselves with this next game to really put the resident evil back in the series. To really tie everything together and please both generations of fans. A chance to do what they did in 96'. Invent something new.

Resident Evil to me is and always will be the outbreak in the outskirts of raccoon city. That doesnt mean you can't enjoy other things the franchise has spawned. After all its this capitolism that spawned its roots. That also doesnt mean that there isnt brand abuse. You have to decide on whether not a game has enough genuine articles to be associated with 'your' brand. But you cant make a decision if you never play the game. Thats just ignorance.

Bravo good sir, bravo! To all of you also, bravo! These were the kinds of responses i was looking for.

Here's a bit more from what i see Resident Evil is, and many of you are right, loyalty, survival horror, zombies, spot on.

But considering the first 5 games were revolved around Raccoon City and the T-virus, then you look at how it happened, what was the reason, why did it happen? Umbrella developed viral agents to develop B.O.W.s, at first sight one would think, bio-terrorism, and from the first to the third game, and all others that took place in Raccoon City, all revolved around the T-Virus, which was developed to make Tyrants, but with a flaw, and thus resulted what could be classified as an act of Bio-Terrorism, so in a way, the Raccoon City incident could be classified as Bio-Terrorism, the Raccoon City incident would have never happened should Umbrella have not been secretly developing viral agents with such power to initiate an outbreak.

But not so much the first one, since it can't be really classified as Bio-Terrorism, That would more be applied to 5, and 6, considering their settings.

But all in all, yes, it DOES apply to survival horror, sure the games may not be as true to the previous games roots, but if you look at Resident Evil from the stories perspective, it IS survival horror, it follows the stories of those who go through these horrific adventures, to survive against all odds, and also why does it happen? Well, it should be self explanatory, illegal viral agents, use of parasitic organisms... Bam! Bio-Terrorism at it's finest.

It's just a quick run up of my thoughts, it's been a long week or so, had 2 funerals to attend on Friday, long day and a half drive back to my home town, so the post may not be all that solid.

 

[bSTAR_182]

Not to mention it is the first game series ballsy enough to make the leading villain gay. Buttseckssss. Berries and cream!