Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Released: April 3, 2020
Completed: April 5, 2020
Rated: M for Mature
"What happened?"
That's all I could think upon completing Capcom's remake of Resident Evil 3. How could the same company that did such a remarkable job updating the classic Resident Evil 2 do such a ho-hum job updating the third entry? Perhaps the name itself was a warning: Resident Evil 3. No subtitle like the PlayStation game it's based on. An indication that things were lacking was right there on the packaging.
Resident Evil 3 is not a bad game. Running on the same engine the prior remake did, it looks gorgeous, filled with moody lighting, gruesome gore, and solid animation. It plays fine, with a familiar and easy to grasp control scheme for anyone who's played more modern Resi titles. So then what's the problem?
I'll answer that question with one of my own: Where's the rest of it?
Resident Evil 2 included and expanded upon everything from the PlayStation game. By contrast, RE3 cuts several sections from the original. There are no additional game modes, including those present in 1999. It feels much more linear, like you're being forced down a narrow hallway, than the exceptional remake that preceded it. Everything here screams of a quick cash grab rather than a fully fledged project that does justice to the source material.
Take, for example, Nemesis himself. Capcom already had the AI from Mr. X in Resident Evil 2, but instead of using it to make Nemesis an ever-present threat, he's reduced to scripted sequences and boss battles. It's like the whole game was produced with the mantra "do as little as possible, so long as it's recognizable as Resident Evil 3."
The disappointment stems from two things: the game was allegedly in development for three years, and what little of it is included is pretty good. The shooting feels great, the world looks incredible, the music is well done, control is responsive - all the elements were there for this to be just as good as RE2, but in the end it feels like a rush job, shoved out the door to cash in on eager fans. I know game development is hard, but what were they doing for three years where they couldn't remake the entire PlayStation game as a bare minimum?
The original Resident Evil 3 was the beginning of the series shift towards a more action-oriented experience. The puzzles aren't nearly as convoluted, for better or worse, or as plentiful. It's been a long time since I've played the PS1 game, but the remake definitely feels easier than my recollection of it, though that could be due in part to the updated controls.
Again, I stress, what's here is fun. It's just that coming off the heels of arguably one of the best remakes ever made, Resident Evil 3 feels like a step backward in almost every way. You could argue that Carlos, the secondary protagonist, is given a slightly expanded role but his extra gameplay segments don't add up to the two areas from the original that were cut entirely. The lack of post-game content also fuels the fire that this was just a quick way to make a buck for Capcom. I don't think anyone expected RE3 to be as good as RE2, considering that RE2 is just a comparatively better game in either incarnation than 3. It would have been nice to see as much effort put into this remake, however. Give fans some more meat to chew on, not the skeleton of Resident Evil 3.
Resident Evil 3 was completed on a PlayStation 4 Pro with no cheats.
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