Game Debate #89: Resident Evil

[Reed Rothchild | 9,583]

[CMR | 522]

I hate to admit it, but I've never played the first RE game.  I played the crap out of 2, but for some reason never messed with 1.  I guess I know what I need to be doing.

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

Never been my cup of tea. I've messed around with 4 a bit a it seems much more action oriented than the games before it making me more likely to enjoy it. Still not really my cup of tea though.

Never heard of the two choices for next week.

[Hammerfestus | 3,882]

This was one of the original games I got with the system along with Zoop and Warhawk.  I came in at the tail end of the long box era and these were the only games I recall having bought in that format.  Anyways, when I played this it blew my mind.  It was scary as shit, jumping from 16 bit era those 3d graphics were awesome, and you got used to tank controls.  It was completely different from any video game experience I’d ever had.  Seriously, the damn dogs through those windows.  I’ll probably never replay this through though so based on 20 years ago, it gets a 10.

[TDIRunner | 2,771]

Perfect timing.  I just finished it again for the umpteenth time (more times than I could ever try to count) for the "Beat the PS1 library" thread.  The game absolutely holds up today and is still one of my favorites.  I prefer the sequel because I feel they improved on pretty much every aspect of the game, but the original is still absolutely worth playing. Technically, I've only ever played the Director's Cut of the original on the PS1, but they are close enough to rate the same for the purposes of the debate.  

I've never tried the remake, but I would like to someday.   I remember my college roommate playing through it many years ago, so I've seen a lot of the game, but I still want to experience it myself someday.  

[MagusSmurf | 577]

Original RE1 is still fun enough but so much of the game is tied up in an atmosphere that doesn't work particularly well at this point. The lighting, characters models, and terrible dialogue have really aged the scares to an extent that isn't nearly as true for PS1 RE2 and RE3 and those have gameplay improvements as well. Meanwhile REmake remains one of the best looking Gamecube games.

[cj_robot | 546]

Gonna play it one day. I want to find out how to make a Jill Sandwich.

 

 

Edited February 19, 2022 by cj_robot

[docile tapeworm | 4,204]

Unforgettable memory. Not in my personal collection. 

[AstralSoul | 502]

I played the remake first which is one of my favorite games of all time. But went back and later played the original. I vastly prefer the remake but I wonder if I would've liked the original better had I played that first. Regardless, the remake is a perfect 10 for me. It's the game that got me into the series and it's the purest survival horror game in my opinion, and encapsulates everything I love about the genre. The original, while mostly the same game as it's remake, felt a bit cheesy to me and I found it not as enjoyable as the remake, 2,3, and 4. However it's the first game in a long standing series, a series that is still one of my favorites, even for all it's weak entries. The perfect remake wouldn't exist without the original, and I still think it's the best story and setting in the entire series. Still a very good game but I prefer the remake.

Original - 8/10

Remake - 10/10

[DefaultGen | 5,431]

5/10. I've tried playing it like 4 times in my life and got bored every time. I love Silent Hill and Resident Evil 2 though. RE2 surprisingly because I never got into RE1 but RE2 was awesome.

[Bighab | 58]

A 7 for me. Good game. I remember buying it new but I was shitty at it and never came close to beating it.

[DarkTone | 988]

7/10. 

[RH | 4,966]

i think, in general, there are a large number of us that first played RE2 before RE1.  This is probably because it was two-games-in-one paired with the fact that RE1 came out pretty early in the PS1 life time and even though the PS1 was hot from day one, it still took a while for a unit to get into every household.  By RE2, people were aware of the hype so we bought it in mass.

I never got around to RE1 even though I loved RE2.  I can't say why but probably because of the weird, tank-style controls, I gave up after that.  I had also played Tomb Raider, and I can't recall if Parasite Eve knocked off the same style of navigation but after those 2-3 games and wrestling with it, I was simply ready to let that type of game play go.

Today, I have no interest in RE1 other than reading a Wikipedia synopsis of the story.  I know how RE2 starts and ends, so I should probable see how it all begins, but so far I've just not been motivated to return to this series.

 

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

Original: 7/10

Remake: 9/10

The original game had great atmosphere and style, but even on release the controls sucked, graphics were muddy, the save system was frustrating, and the voice acting was terrible. It was a cool experience, but not particularly enjoyable from a mechanics perspective. You'd be hard pressed to find an average gamer who would be willing to play through it today. Just considering the gameplay it's probably more of a 6/10, but style points elevate it to a 7/10.

The remake blows the original away in every category. The graphics are top notch, sound design is fantastic, and the gameplay is upgraded in almost every way possible. The Crimson Head zombies up the intensity and force you to continue to ration supplies even when you've mowed down a ton of zombies. This may be my favorite of all RE games.

Edited February 21, 2022 by DoctorEncore

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

On 2/19/2022 at 10:54 PM, DefaultGen said:

5/10. I've tried playing it like 4 times in my life and got bored every time. I love Silent Hill and Resident Evil 2 though. RE2 surprisingly because I never got into RE1 but RE2 was awesome.

Consider giving REmake a try. It's better than the original in every way and quite a bit better than RE2, in my opinion.

[Silent Hill | 276]

At the time, RE1 was pretty damn special, but quickly faded into mediocrity when RE2 hit. Going back to play RE1 now is quite a chore, IMO.

REmake was, and still is, damn special. 

Though I am pretty biased towards another certain horror franchise...

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

The controls were a bit stiff, but I would give the original a 9/10. Never played the remake. 

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

On 2/19/2022 at 6:53 PM, docile tapeworm said:

Not in my personal collection. 

Fix this.

[Nintegageo | 582]

GC gave a 9 and the PS haven't played though I interested to do it. 

[docile tapeworm | 4,204]

22 hours ago, Bearcat-Doug said:

Fix this.

I had nemesis on ps1 it was good. Sold it for $ for life things.

[MegaMan52 | 2,459]

On the poll, I accidentally gave the PS1 version a 9 and the GameCube version a 7. I meant to give the GameCube version a 9. My rating for the PlayStation game depends on the version. If we're talking the plain original release, I give that version a 7. I give Director's Cut an 8, and the Director's Cut Dual Shock a 7.5 (yes, I know there's no .5 ratings included on the poll).

Anyone who's played the PS1 game knows that it has some of the worst voice acting of any video game ever made. But while voice acting can be important, let's face it: that's not what the game is about, nor is it the most important part of the game. And to be fair, they weren't actually bad actors; things were just handled differently in the 90's.

I've played the Resident Evil games so much, the "tank controls" aren't really an issue in my opinion. But they definitely do take some getting used to for those who have never played these games or haven't played them in years, and I understand why people wouldn't like them.

I appreciate that before Resident Evil 2 was released, Capcom released updated versions of the original. However, I was a little disappointed that the fmv's were still censored even though Capcom said that the Director's Cut includes the uncensored fmv's. Mistakes happen, but unfortunately they still didn't include the uncensored fmv's in the Director's Cut Dual Shock version.

It's well-known that Director's Cut Dual Shock has a different and inferior soundtrack. Of course, that is why I give it a slightly lower score than Director's Cut even though the actual game is still just as good. As bad as the soundtrack in Director's Cut Dual Shock is, especially the basement music ("farting clowns" as many people like to call it), it could've been good as this video proves: 

The remake for GameCube gets a 9 from me, since it is pretty much a masterpiece with improved voice acting, visuals that still hold up today, and more rooms to explore. I actually didn't play the remake until much later (2008, I believe), because I was busy playing Resident Evil 4 from 2005 to early 2007 (and plenty of other games too, such as Mario Party 7, Pac-Man World 3, Mega Man X Collection, and Zelda: Twilight Princess). I saw it in the discount bin at Walmart in 2008, and I bought it for just $20 (Canadian). I still haven't beaten it, but even when I first played it I already knew it was a noticeable improvement over the original. One of my Memory Cards still has my original save file from 2008:                                                                                                                                                                                                         

It's been a long time since I made progress on that particular file.

The GameCube version remains my favorite, even though it is not in HD. It still looks reasonably good, though, and my GameCube is hooked up with its Component cable. Too bad the music was changed (some of it, anyway) in the HD versions. The Dining Room music went from sounding like this:

To sounding like this in the HD versions: 

Sure some may think it's a little creepier, but it really didn't need to be changed.

Anyway, this post is getting too long.

PS1: 7/10 (original), 8/10 (Director's Cut)

GameCube: 9/10

Edited February 22, 2022 by MegaMan52

[NostalgicMachine | 246]

8/10 for both games here.

[Webhead123 | 687]

5/10 and 6/10.

I didn't have a Playstation in the 90's, so Resident Evil was one of those games I heard people talking about all the time but never actually played. My first intro to the series was actually a demo of RE2 on PC. I thought the graphics and atmosphere looked pretty amazing for their time but I never picked up the full game, so that's where the series and I left off for years.

Then, as a Gamecube owner, I got sucked into the hype around the release of RE4. Picked it up on release day. Blew my balls off. What a fantastic game! Around that same time, I learned about the GC remaster of the original and found a cheap copy. Amazing graphics and sound for the time but, after the relative freedom of RE4's control scheme, going back to the old controls and restricted camera angles felt like a chore. Still, I had some fun with the game, even though I never did finish it.

So, the original RE sits in the "appreciate it for what it is but it's not great" camp for me.

Edited March 17, 2022 by Webhead123

[wongojack | 221]

I have to give it a 10.  I remember renting it right when I got the Playstation.  I had no idea what I was getting, I was just trying to find new Playstation games I might like.  It is, to this day, the best surprise I've ever had in gaming.  It simply blew me away.  The camera angles, the jump scares, the corny dialog.  Resident Evil and Tomb Raider made the Playstation feel like something completely different.  Like we were going to keep getting new gaming experiences that we'd never had before over and over again.

My roommates and I played this one in college together A LOT.  We all had our own save games but would chime in and help each other here and there.  It changed what I thought a video game could be.  I think it also might be the first game that made me want to log on and find out how to talk about a video game online.  We're talking typing "Resident Evil" into a "Gopher" search to see what people at other universities were saying about it, and they were talking about it.  I learned about how to get the higher ending grades that way - good memories.