This is how you remake games! Capcom has utterly smashed their remakes of old Resident Evil games as they not only IMPROVED what the originals DID RIGHT, but they’ve also ADDED brand new content to make them better.
Please takes notes, Rockstar and Konami, as this is how you should have remade your classic games.
With the latest news that the Resident Evil 2-Remake has now become the highest-selling game in the legendary franchises’ history, I had to give praise to Capcom for actually taking the time, effort, and dedication to make their remakes actually worth playing and purchasing. And, even though that may not seem like a big deal, it really is when you look at the state of remakes in the past.
So, for those who haven’t seen the latest sales figures about Capcom and the Resident Evil franchise, for the last six years, the highest selling game in the franchise’s history has been Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. The first game in the franchise to follow around the equally legendary Ethan Winters as fought against all sorts of horror and evil in an attempt to find Mia, his missing wife, topped the charts of sales in the series with a fantastic 12M copies sold.
However, as of a few days ago, Resident Evil 2-Remake, a remake of the 1998 all-time great 2nd edition into the franchise following then rookie-cop Leon Kennedy and Clare Summerfield as they try to escape the bio-zombie-infested Racoon City, SURPASSED every single game in the series, including both the OG Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, as the highest-selling game in Resident Evil franchise history at 12.6M copies sold.
Now, I hope I don’t have to tell you have INSANE and AMAZING such a feat is as it not only shows Capcom is on top of their game by creating a game that surpassed the likes of Resident Evil 1 (the first rendition into the series, obviously), Resident Evil 4 (one of the greatest games of all-time and perhaps the best in the franchise), Resident Evil 2 (another one of the greatest games of all-time), Resident Evil 8 or Resident Evil Village (the latest edition of the franchise), and obviously Resident Evil 2 itself in terms of sales, but also shows how beloved these remakes are.
Obviously, there’s always going to be hit and misses in the gaming world as sometimes the creative direction the developers and studio just doesn’t align with what us fans and patrons like. It’s just how life and video game creation (and actually all forms of art creation) is.
And that’s most evident with how the Capcom remakes have gone down with fans as the new mechanics, graphics, ideas, reimaginations, and combat features implemented in these games worked magnificently in Resident Evil 2-Remake (obviously), Resident Evil 4-Remake, and the OG Resident Evil-Remake released in 2002, while the Resident Evil 3-Remake was a bit of a downer with fans as it lacked a lot of the essence of the OG game and was far too “action-packed” for my liking.
(Capcom-Resident Evil 2 Remake-Announcement Trailer)
Nevertheless, a 75% success rate on game remakes is really quite remarkable in my humble opinion as it not only shows how much passion and dedication Capcom put into improving a game millions of people already loved and adorned years ago, but it also shows they’re willing to be adaptive and creative with the new designs and mechanics.
And that’s just not the case with most remakes.
As we’ve seen in the past with remakes, such as the ones Rockstar has put out for the older GTAs, Konami with Silent Hill, and Naughty Dog with The Last of Us Part 1, the games are either carbon-copy replicas of the OG ones with modern graphics, or they are simply remasters with no hints of new ideas, mechanics, and combat systems.
Sure, they may have neat accessibility ideas for the blind (looking at you Naughty Dog. It’s nice to think about the blind, but how is a blind person seriously going to play a video game?), but the games are essentially the same thing as the older ones. But that’s not the case with the RE remakes as Capcom put in the time and effort to make remakes that have the essence of the originals, but also have the legs to stand on its own.
And that’s why I think Capcom deserves a little praise.
Images Source: Featured Image: (Capcom) (Resident Evil 2 – Announcement Trailer – YouTube)
In Text Image 1: (Capcom) (Resident Evil 2 – Announcement Trailer – YouTube)
