Resident Evil is Stuck in Its Own Cycle | Extra Punctuation 

Ah, yes, Yahtzee - you are quite right about that dreaded cycle... But you've omitted a very important part of it: when the developers are so desperate that they create an idea so divorced from the franchise that the upper management throw it to the side and it DOES become it's own thing. Without the chaos of Resident Evil 4's development we never would have gotten Haunting Ground or Devil May Cry, for instance.

I couldn't expect resident evil 2 remake Leon somersaulting out a window but I also couldn't have seen original resident evil 2's leon jumping out a window an quipping with Spanish midget napoleon

Resident Evil: Outbreak has one of my favorite gaming memories. A friend and I were playing, badly, and he said; "fuck me, I suck." One of the characters in the game immediately said, "no shit". The timing was absolutely perfect.

Say what you will about Chris Redfield, but his eternal struggle to continue his bloodline is one of the funniest memes to ever emerge from the RE franchise.

There's an apt saying, well at least in Chinese, "wealth only lasts 3 generations". This third cycle sure feels like one.

Just think, Devil May Cry was going to be Resident Evil 4 brfore evolving into its own entity. Imagine how much of a mess things would be then if they went through with that idea, introducing a supernatural element into the sci-fi, horror, virus, outbreak, monster story. It's probably the reason why RE4 went the direction it did, when DMC was set to be the next installment of Resident Evil they were already dead set on going balls to the wall camp extravaganza. Till they decided it was too much but ran with the idea of B-movie self awareness.

“You’d be surprised how often execution is the best way forward” Spoken like a true evil mastermind

What really gets me is that RE4 is getting is getting remake treatment because the name is money in the bank, but the game that REALLY needs it is Code Veronica.

RE1's remake was a commercial failure not because it was any way bad, but because for some ungodly reason it was a gamecube exclusive. The game was and is incredible and I feel it was disserviced by dismissing it as a cash grab that's the result of some "cycle"

I've been banging this drum for years, an IP can't go on forever with a single story, either transition the IP to be focussed on a World not a Story or let it die. Something like Star Wars (Legends) or Elder Scrolls can keep chugging away for years because they make disconnected stories focussed on exploring a world. Each new entry is both familiar to scratch the fan itch but be unique enough not to get bogged down in all the entries that came before it. The Clone Wars can focus on its story all about the Clone Wars, Kotor can focus its story and both function as both independantly interesting narratives and a contribution to the world as a whole. Morrowind can run through the Dagoth Ur narrative, Oblivion can talk about the Oblivion Crisis and Skyrim can weave both of this in via background books while not getting bogged down in telling its own story about Dragons. Something like Star Wars (Disney) or Halo is now floundering because it's still telling the same story it told all those years ago either with characters that effectively mantled the narrative context of existing characters (Luke, Anakin and Rey, Cortana and The Weapon) or it's the same fucking character the entire way through (Darth Sidious and Master Chief). They all get bogged down in what came before, trying to somehow draw a straight line through all 9 star wars films or from the Halo Prequel Novels all the way through to Infinite. If you don't have the ability to turn your IP into a World IP like the first example and can only have it function as a Story IP, then tell your story and stop. Let it die. It's why, weirdly enough, I respect Mass Effect Andromeda more than Halo Infinite despite the latter being the objectively better game because at least Bioware knew the Shepard/Reaper Storyline was over and tried something new while old Johnny Spartan is getting dragged out for his sixth kick in the gonads by the aliens despite him technically 'beating them for good' in the last three fucking games.

Technically with the latest remakes involved, the cycle started with RE3 remakes being a dodgy game scapegoated as the “B teams” mistake while RE8 either gets all the credit or all the scorn (hey it’s like RE5 all over again) I’m terrified in the eventual 9th game truly is like RE6

I like the analogy of Chris being a sort of "Herald of the End", man just punches his way into your good vibes to give the bad news.

The REmake of RE 1 is the best of the series to date, definitely not a game that’s deserving of being dismissed out of hand, as was done here.

The thing I took from the RE2 and 3 remakes was that it RE4'd them (new camera perspective, new shooting mechanics, higher end graphics etc.). I mean initially I believe they were simply going to be updated like REmake was on the GC, but after Zero kinda bombed they scrapped that plan. Cut to recent years they made 2 and 3 more like RE4 but dialled back the action a little and put a little bit more tense horror in them. So it makes no sense to me to RE4 RE4, that is give RE4 the RE4 treatment. It just seems redundant at this point. Would it not make more sense, really, to REmake Code veronica or, god help us, survivor? Hell, I'd take a modern console version of Gaiden. Better yet, use the RE Engine to remake a similar game like Dino Crisis.

RE-make for the gamecube deserves a bit more credit. I think part of it's failure to make a big splash on release was the system it was tied to at the time. When it finally came to steam it was on of capcom's best sellers that year.

Personally I couldn't care less for a remake of RE4, so long as they don't remove the old one from stores, Remake RE4 can suck as much as it wants away from me. No point in getting hyped up for game trailers.

I love that you point out the fact that everyone is so damned scared of new IPs. You're absolutely right that 4 and 7 would've been excellent sans the Resident Evil name, but you did also mention Prey, in there. Prey didn't do terribly well, despite being a fucking INCREDIBLE game, almost top to bottom. Graphics, incredible. Environment, incredible. Story, good. Mechanics, competent to excellent. But it underperformed. I wonder how it WOULD have performed, had it been under the Bioshock IP. Literally just Bioshock in the future, where someone managed to dig up Rapture and continue Adam research. Neuromods could've been plasmids. The station is your new Rapture. Hell, half the fun of Prey was realizing that you could go EVERYWERE on the station, inside and out. It was excellent. The game played out exactly the same. Honestly, if Prey had instead been Bioshock: Horizon, I think it would've gone fucking gangbusters.

Honestly that remake for RE4 trailer was so... boring and unimpressive. They literally managed to suck all humor out of the game, I'm genuinely disappointed.

Honestly don't give a shit about the story eating its own tail. I find every resident evil game to be enjoyable in its own regard. Maybe 6 is the one stick in the mud I can't be bothered with. Every one of these games is a little event for me, a few hours of campy fun with my favorite type of gameplay attached.

Now, RE2 Remake was FUN. Definitely would rather play it over and over again over the original. But the fact that it couldn't even keep it's OWN story straight, without being burdened by any of the rest of the franchise, is always an open wound for me. To me, the most unique element was the A and B campaigns, and the "2nd Run" mode is a piss-poor substitution that can't exactly come across as "This is what Leon was doing while you were playing as Claire" when you have to fight the same bosses in the same locations and watch the same characters die multiple times in different locations. Also hard disagree on REmake being just "not particularly disliked." Everyone I've ever seen talk about it calls it basically the best iteration of the classic RE framework.

Killing off a franchise with potential which regularly delivers on it just to avoid the occasional stinker is the Resident Evil 6 of ideas. If that's all you can bring to the table might as well get off the soapbox.

I'm sad he didn't mention how Devil May Cry was originally going to be Resident Evil 4. But it was so heavy in action they decided to make it a new title and ran with the idea of how over the top action it can be. Concept art shows Dante, who was originally was called Tony Redgrave, is holding guns that you'd see in resident evil. Like holding a pistol like RE character and some submachine gun that doesn't exist in the final game.

I had always said RE4 was a great game but a terrible Resident Evil. But in all honesty Code Veronica deserves the remake treatment more than RE4 does.

RE4 gameplay doesnt need changing, yeah you cant shoot and move at the same time but they build the whole gameplay around that, people keep saying its clunky but it fucking isnt, clunky its when you cant improve further and have to leave it as it is, this game is purposefully design this way, its like saying god hand's gameplay its outdated because it has tank controller. Even today RE4 plays better than alot of games realeased

I've been telling my friends for ages that the original RE4 is basically perfect and that a remake would only diminish its legacy, but they think I don't know what I'm talking about. I'm sure RE4make will be perfectly serviceable, but nothing's gonna beat that first moment Leon looked around and wondered if everyone had left for bingo.

I find the Resident Evil series to be the embodiment of the mindset all Japanese game developers seem to have. Japanese games have a bad habit of either not changing at all between games series, just basically the same but some more, or completely changing everything from the entry before whether that stuff in the last entry worked or not. The only difference is that Capcom waits for people to get sick of the same over and over again before completely changing everything for better or worse. Final Fantasy hasn't had a game that was similar to the last game since 10, and even then they completely threw out the old aesthetic, at least 7 and 8 felt like what the old games world's would be like if they moved past steampunk middle ages. The only games that had the same game play as the last were spinoffs to the numbered games, and even that wasn't consistent.

I don’t buy into the ‘RE Cycle’ theory. I mean sure, it’s a fine opinion to have, but saying the RE 1 remake didn’t set the world on fire, seems more based on personal taste rather than reality. Seems like that game alone has been ported to most everything, and is highly regarded amongst RE fans. 2, 3 and umbrella chronicles are also well regarded and the remake of 2 is crazy popular. Remake 3 is pretty good it’s just not as great as people wanted it to be and honestly village is a pretty enjoyable game for the most part. And if the cycle is a thing, at least it produces the occasional great game still. On a personal note out of 1, 2, 3 and 4 4 is my personal least favourite. It’s still a great game and obviously revolutionary, but it’s also clearly the first of its kind and as such needed some refinement. I’m happy with them remaking it as long as they don’t delete the original from stores. Like what they did with GTA And personally I don’t understand why a tonal departure was fine for resident evil 4, but not ok with other games in the series. Like yeah you’re right I can’t imagine remake Leon jumping out of windows and doing crazy shit, but I couldn’t imagine the Leon from the original 2 doing that either. I think I’ve made a point here somewhere. Basically they can keep making RE games if they want as long as some of them are still good. At the end of the day if they did kill the franchise years ago we wouldn’t have got 7

In all fairness out of the og trilogy Birkin in 2 was the only "Wall of snot" final boss. You first had the Tyrant that kept it's overall human shape and Nemesis was less a wall of snot and more tentacle parasite overtaking it's host body.

"Neither game was particularly disliked but they didn't set the world on fire either." What? REmake is regarded as one of the best remakes ever and also one of the best RE games period.

Aged like milk

So, basically everyone in the community has been in agreement about one thing. 4 cannot stand to lose much without ruining the game. It is beautifully wrapped up in an action camp story the way it is and the way I see them taking it is to a different extreme. Here's what I think is gonna suck about it. Through both 3make and Village's mixed reviews and my own playthroughs I can say with certainty that the modern Capcom team is not big enough to take on such an ambitious project because of how many enemies were in the base game. With enemies taking on movesets depending on what was in their hand at the time I think the original is going to outshine them in this, I can feel it. Lycans were so mundane and the variations of enemies in the castle were limited to the castle unless they could fly. The factory tried to show you the wheel and say they reinvented it while showing you the same goddamned wheel. It felt like variation was lacking in village and while Resident Evil 3make is a bit better, not by much, but to be fair they had almost every enemy that was in the original. If they leave out even a single boss, or variation of enemy the game will feel stale. Buckle up homies you're at the halfwaypoint of my Ted talk. Say what you want about Ashley but I never heard her scream cause I either shot what was hassling her or accidentally shot her. The system was fine but people say it was the worst thing about the game, and in a game where you can one shot literally any boss that is a helluva compliment. I cannot however say that changing the system to benefit Ashley as less than a rescuee is a good idea. She didn't bring anything with her, she has no experience in the field, if you expect her to be more useful you'll have to add to the story of why she's more useful and the game was fine without it. I don't want a flashback of her in college learning karate or how to tie a specific knot. I unfortunately can see them taking such a direction. If krauser is not in the game I riot. I heard a rumour and it better not be true. Even if the sacrifice IS to give Luis more story it's not worth it, and also Luis does not need more story. Salazar BETTER BE A GODDAMN MIDGET WITH A TEMPER PROBLEM

I think Capcom is doing it right. The overhaul at the beginning is where they invest the most time and money, they milk it with a couple sequels and spin offs, and when its dead they put the work in again to innovate. That's how you stay in business when you're a giant company with hundreds of employees that get paid ridiculous wages ;) But I agree that there is definitely a cycle. My money is on RE9 coming out and being a major let down.

Resident Evil 7 toning down the nonsense and the scale worked well because in comparison to 6 the nonsense and the scale were defective components of a broken game, far too big to control. Absolutely nothing was lost by toning them down, and even if there had been it was such a complete package that it would have been worth it. The nonsense and the scale in RE4 were exactly right and fit perfectly into that game, and were part of why it was such a complete package - you can't take them out without losing a fair bit.

OG Resident Evil 2 and REmake were and are still regarded as great games so it feels you really had to push to serve your narrative of "one good game per cycle".

come on Yatz don't bullshit people, the REmake was absolutely adored when it came out, it was one of the Gamecube's best titles!

RE4 is a very weird game because it made so many advancements to third person shooters, but at the cost of the survival horror elements of the franchise. It's honestly no wonder that 5 and 6 turned out the way they did. They removed the plodding, the puzzles, the adventuring of the old games with RE4 and everyone patted them on the back for it. I think a lot of people forget that you kill more people in one room of RE4 than in the entire game of RE1.

A few counterpoints mate, while Capcom really pushed it too hard, the coop in RE5 is actually what makes it fun, playing it solo is never the same once you've tried it with a partner. In relation to that, Outbreak's issue wasn't that it was multiplayer; it was that it was multiplayer in a time where online coop wasn't a thing yet. RE1 remake additionally, isn't so much a remake as it is Mikami doing what the limitations of PS1 prevented him from doing, so rather than a remake or reimagining it is a completed vision. Lastly, this is a personal bias but RE3 remake doesn't deserve being mentioned in the same sentence as RE2 and RE1 remakes.

I'd play captain floppy hair's european vacation.

Resident evil outbreak 1 and 2 were really good it was just too early to work as a game because it was intended to be online co-op despite the fact it was put out before online co-op on consoles was really a thing.

I don't really get why people get so hung up on Resident Evil's storyline. Why do all these franchises need to have "credible villains?" James Bond doesn't need credible villains, so why can't Resident Evil have its monster factories? Also not every game is canon, so trying to tie all of the plots into one single narrative is kind of pointless. Operation Raccoon City ends with the Umbrella Security Force killing Leon and Claire, doesn't really gel with the rest of the series continuity.

If I find the RE4make on Steam, I'll take that as a sign to finally buy RE4.

Maybe I'm just wrong on this, but I found the new resident evils fully enjoyable. I didn't really experience the downward spiral yahtzs is talking about.

There's a trope of the angry old grandparents who are too harsh on you and ruin everything you're excited about, crumbling your hopes and dreams before your eyes until you're a cynical mess. I've never been able to relate because my grandparents were very nice, but thankfully I have yahtzee to fill that role.

Outbreak 1 and 2 were great, multi or single player, and I'll die on this hill.

Resident evil 1 remake was and is really well regarded

Am I the only one who is VERY happy they're remaking 4. I tried playing it a year or so back after playing REmake2 and could NOT get used to the controls. So RE4 but it plays like REmake2 and is moderately spookier? Sign me up.

Gonna have disagree on ONE point, which is about whether slapping the RE name on RE4 and RE7 had any impact on the success of those games. Brand recognition works. It's cynical, but if there's anything you can bank on, it's people's innate desire for stability and comfort. RE games may not be good, but after the good game of each cycle makes its mark, the subsequent bad ones still end up being the devil that you know, as opposed to the other potential garbage that might get offered in its place. The fact that sometimes a nice surprise comes along in the series means that you end up with guaranteed returns. We gotta raise the standards of consumers and developers as a whole in order to get better than what's usually on offer. That having been said, thank you for another fantastic video and everything you do to try inculcate standards and critical thinking for gamers.

After learning more about Resident Evil's development team, well, I can say things were a bit messy. RE birthed Dino Crisis which birthed Devil May Cry which birthed the spectacle fighter, so the men which made up the team went towards projects which perked their specific interests. With how constant developer and writer shake ups are, I imagine the team from Village split up and those who had the ability to tell the higher ups to screw off, left. Well, Capcom still refuses to make a new game which is fun, because they are still hurting about their old IP's stinking up the place.

Lets just lock Shinji Mikami, Suda51 and Hideo Kojima in a room until they bang out Resident Hills : Solid Killers and be done with it. Well, after Kojima is finished assassinating prime ministers.

LOL Man....gotta wonder how you feel about RE4make now. Leon totally DOES flip out the window and do crazy shit for no reason xD

the re1 remake is one of the best horror games of all time and yahtzee will never play it because he’s too stuck up to deal with the fixed camera angles

Re4 is still one of the best games ever made and the VR version is tied with half life alyx as the best time I've had playing VR. I hope the remake isn't a soulless boring shit show but it probably will be.

I can't play RE4 honestly. The tank controls irritate me to no end, so I am excited for RE4s remake.

This reminds me that the classic Resident Evil games are only campy because they were japanese games made by entirely Japanese teams and any amount of campy-ness comes from the disconnect between Japanese script writers and voice directors attempting to tell English speakers how to deliver lines in a language they themselves aren't fluent in. The camp is gone because of improved translations.

General points: great. Assessment of RE7 v 8 ? Garbage. I couldn't stand to play 7, as it was a gross thing not by cup of tea, but 8 I could stomach and really liked the classic monsters angle.

As a child, I saw my friends play RE2 a bit and a few years later RE4. I watched my mates play RE2 but with RE4 I asked if I could play too. I had no idea RE5 or RE6 even existed until now.

Resident Evil 2 and 3 got a remake in the modern influence of Resident Evil 4. So, now they're going to remake Resident 4 in the spirit of... Resident Evil 4?

So what I think about this video is Yahtzee is concerned how they will remake RE 5 and 6 in the future. Those where the most action focused of the RE franchise and some people loved the ridiculousness of it.

Practically cheered for the “total protonic reversal” line. If you know, you know.

You're too nostalgic for RE4. It wasn't that good.

People complain that resident evil games are all too similar and repetitive, but then yell and throw a fit at 5 and 6 for trying to be different

Definitely cautiously optimistic about this. Mainly because Resident Evil 4 is so damn modern…there is nothing really that needs to be done to improve it. RE1 and 2 and even 3Make benefited from the large graphical overhaul. Not to mention, it brought it up modern consoles. You can play RE4 on LITERALLY everything. So I mean…idk. I’m looking forward to it but it’s not…really necessary

re4 is very cartoony with its acton. i wonder how they will tackle it with this whole "realisem" shtick

See the main thing that upsets me about RE4make is that they just completely skipped Code Veronica like c'mon guys does RE4 even need a remake?

Resident evil 4 in current gen graphics sounds absolutely amazing to me. Gamers seem to get their panties in a twist real easy these days. Re4 may not be the 'best' resident evil game, but it is absolutely the most fun resident game.

For a moment I thought Callisto Protocol was the solution because it became it's own thing after the awful tie in multiplayer formula rabbit hole of DS3! Then again, it's missing the unique gameplay part so far. Still hyped for it though.

Soooo Yahtzee doesn't like Resident Evil. He just likes RE4

I'm confused, does Yahtzee think RE8 wasnt a great a game?

They said that they’re going to change things and honestly that has me super worried. This RE is an all star stand out from the rest

They can remake 4 and keep churning out shit as much as they want, but they better leave the original 4 game accessible and playable so people will actually get to experience a good resident evil game before they retire

Hard disagree with the take on the outbreak games.

I was really surprised when Capcom announced a REmake of RE4 rather than a REmake of Code Veronica X. Code Veronica X is after all the true successor of RE2.

I am the only one who thinks resident evil 1 is overrated? Ok is a good game for the 90s era but there's way better in the genre, i personally think Resi 5 and 6 is technically and aesthetically better than the first resident evil and more fun to play. Also resi 5 and 6 was a big improvement from 4 with new mechanics and better visuals, Chris as character is more badass and focused than Leon who chases Ada.

resident evil outbreak would have benefited tremendously by being released a console generation later, with the likes of xbox live in full swing on the 360 and not having to spend $200 on a hard drive to make the load times faster than 30+ seconds to go through a single door

RE4 remastered WITH NO CENSORSHIP is what they should do, not a new same shit with less because of censorship.

I love Yahtzee but I have to disagree with the last bit where he says that if Resident Evil 4 and 7 had been new IPs they would have been equally successful. To me, the answer is an ABSOLUTE NOOOOOOOOOOO. Want an example of a good unique game from Capcom that didn't sell? KILLER 7!

"Like an Ovarian cyst in a handful of popcorn"

He dismisses the remake of the first game and RE0 but conveniently leaves out the fact they were gamecube exclusives. RE4 wouldn't have sold as well if it didn't get the PS2 port.

3:25 Yahtzee: Resident Evil 1 is nothing BUT rough edges Me: I'm guessing both figuratively AND literally

Hard disagree with everything Yahtzee said about the original Resident Evil trilogy, did a playthrough of them for the first time this year after playing their respective remakes and they all hold up very well. Graphics are terrible, I won’t lie, but if you play them on a PS1 with an RCA tv they don’t look as bad. But gameplay and exploration and surprisingly even the tank controls are still very fun

I for one want more games like the RE2 Remake but I want them to be new games, not more remakes. Make some actually scary and tense survival horror games with memorable characters and a 3rd person camera and we're good to go.

Ehh getting a lot of old man yells at cloud vibes from this one. At the end of the day I want to play a solid spooky game, whether it has the RE name attached to it or not doesn't truly matter. There's never been a SUPER linear cohesiveness from each game to the next anyway. If they all played the exact same you'd be complaining they don't innovate and are all the same. Yes 5 and 6 were not great but at least they tried to mix things up a little. The remakes have all been great as well, especially if you view ground up remakes as a way of preserving art for newer generations to play.

I've made the same argument for Kingdom Hearts. If Nomura had any sense of self-restraint he would have ended the current saga with 3 (or preferably even 2) and wiped the slate clean for future titles by doing something else with a new cast and plot. Instead we have an overarching increasingly tangled mess of a story that continues to insist it's just getting started despite peaking years ago.

Sounds like Resident Evil 6 was the Dead Space 3 of the franchise

I tried to play Resident Evil 4 after Dead space 1 and couldn't. Resident Evil 4 controls suck. I'm waiting for a remake.

At least RE games don’t have stuff that purposely offend people like certain western zombie games or own by people who have a unhealthy lookout on society and the government

Why does it seem like code Veronica doesn't exist? Why not remake it before 4?

Cough forgot to mention Code Veronica cough

With how long the RE games have been around, it's surprising and honestly earnest that Capcom hasn't fully rebooted the franchise with new characters and lore. Ironically, they decided to reboot DMC after only 4 games (before backtracking)

Agree on the idea of RE having a cycle of good and bad but disagree on the structure of the cycle. Namely I don't think RE5 or RE8 represent huge drops in quality they're more just mimics of the previous game but with too much random crap stuffed in for value. I look at the cycle more like 1) Risk taking game (RE1, RE4, RE7). 2) Iterations on the previous game to mixed results (RE2, RE5, RE8). 3) Dumpster fire of a game that sparks the need for a revamp (RE3, RE6, RE9?).

Code Veronica should have been the next remake. And Im not just saying that because I found Clare way cooler then Leon in the 2 remake.

Man, Yahtzee's opinion on RE are always the worse =/

I just replayed 4 and I have to admit it’s pacing is kind of shit, specifically after the castle. I agree that it won’t be the jump that RE2Remake got but I think there are things that would be a significant improvement that this team could do. Side note: I never forgot Prey 😭

Alone in the Dark did not suck, Yahtzee.

"You'd be surprised how often execution is the best way forward..." Considering he reviewed a game in limerick, a parody of 'I've got a little list' wouldn't be too surprising.

Chris Redfield is an ironically my favorite character in the series and I don't give a f***

Resident evil village is just like the twilight movies but instead of the idea of a attractive male vampire there's a sexualized female vampire lady that makes the game looks more like a parody than a horror game.

I'm personally very excited for RE 5 & 6 remake

Oof, I shouldn't be surprised I'm in the minority of liking Fixed Camera Angles

Please put me in my place if I’m wrong, but I can’t help by read all the top comments in a ZP video in Yahtzee’s voice