Like most people, I am really glad that Capcom is reintroducing the survivor horror element back to the Resident Evil series. However, I understand why Capcom has decidedly switched to a more action-centric direction post-RE4, and unlike most people, I am actually okay with that. Don’t get me wrong, I personally think RE5 was a disappointment and RE6 a downright mess of a video game. Although the RE2 remake is indeed a remarkable ode to survival horror, and I am very much looking forward to the inevitable RE3 remake, let’s be honest to ourselves; We can only play the same type of game over and over again. That is why I believe that a bit of action injected into the series is a a breath of fresh air, and it actually does make a lot of sense in terms of the storyline and character development. Let me explain.
I remembered back in 2012 when I saw the trailer for RE6, I felt incredibly pumped, particularly for Chris Redfield’s campaign. I really like the fact that the game takes place in China because hey, China is the most populated country in the world. Imagine the number of zombies you have to wiggle your way through to victory. Unlike the previous instalments where the zombie epidemic was relatively well-contained, what I had envisioned for RE6 was for it to be a full-blown nation-wide pandemic where there are chaos and mass panic all over, and you as a BSAA operative (Read: Chris Redfield. My apologies, I really love that guy) and your team have to go in and control the situation. If you think about it, it is simply an upscale of how things were; instead of a single player or two surviving a hallway of, say, 5 zombies, how about Chris and his battalion of 10 soldiers going up against 50 zombies and maybe throw some civilians in the mix just to complicate things? Those zombies, of course, must be actual zombies and not ‘intelligent’ parasite-infected beings with machine guns, lest it becomes Call of Duty (Sounds familiar?). This is the reason why I felt RE6 is a colossal missed opportunity that had many potentials to be great. I actually like how they reintroduce RE2-esque separate campaigns for different characters and make their paths cross and even fight each other (albeit only for about 20 seconds). I also like the fact that Leon’s campaign is centred on survival horror and Chris’ campaign focused on action (only here, too much action). I’d say stick to that idea and scrap Jake’s campaign altogether. A few caveats: Although I do think that action is the way to go, it must be well restrained. Resident Evil must not have Devil May Cry level of action *cough* Jake *cough*, and it must never ever lose survivor horror as its main theme like RE5, RE6 and I would argue even RE4 had. Also, the zombies and bosses must be grounded in science and reality. Part of what makes Resident Evil a great game is how the players felt like they are in the situation. For it to work, it must not demand too much of suspension of disbelief. This is why I think RE7 is simply Capcom’s little conceptual study to see fans’ reactions before they make a dramatic decision. I don’t mean that it’s a bad game, but it has far too many supernatural elements and too less science to be considered a true Resident Evil game. Also, this is why the RE2 remake is by far the best game in the franchise.
Here’s my pitch to Capcom for the future directions of the Resident Evil franchise: As RE2 is focused on Leon and Claire, RE3’s remake should not only focus on Jill, but also Chris. Then, make some spin-off games to expand on these characters’ development survival horror style ala Revelations 2. Forget RE4 ever happened (Please don’t hate me. I know it’s an awesome game, but it’s a tad too cheesy and comical to be canonical). By this point, we’d probably be a little tired of surviving zombies with limited resources, and I’m sure the characters are well trained to throw some serious punches. Now, introduce the ‘real’ RE4 which would be what RE6 could have been: survival horror with a healthy dose of action. Throw every zombies and G-viruses on the street and give us some big guns with more but still limited amount of ammo. RE6 can also star every character that we have come to love: Leon, Claire, Jill, Chris, Ada, Barry and the lot. Then at the end, discover the fact that Albert Wesker was the one pulling the strings behind all their predicaments in the previous games. All the characters get to participate in defeating Wesker at the end and that would have been a much more satisfying conclusion compared to the one we got in RE5. The good thing is that Capcom then have the option to recycle the formula (horror, horror, horror + action…) with new characters and threats whilst keeping things fresh and not boring the fans. Other types of spin-offs like Operation Raccoon City is actually a brilliant idea too, but Capcom mustn’t be lazy about it.
Honestly, I doubt any of these are ever going to happen as I’m sure the developers and fans alike have developed a sort of phobia towards action in the Resident Evil series. Also, I don’t own any stakes in Capcom. Nevertheless, I am happy that Capcom has finally regained its traction, and I am thrilled to see what comes next.
