I’m old enough to remember when Resident Evil was actually scary. Sure we look back now and question how we could have ever been scared of those blocky polygons and bad voice acting, but at the time it got my heart beating. I’ll never forget the first time a dog jumped through a window, a hunter walked down a hallway, or running from the Tyrant before getting the rocket launcher. Those are classic and memorable Resident Evil moments.
Fast forwarding to modern day and with Resident Evil 6… my how the series has changed. The entire horror element has been removed, the puzzle aspect has been greatly reduced, and the action element has taken over. After playing the original Resident Evil practically 17 years ago, I would have never guessed the series would be all about action now. In my eyes, Resident Evil had a niche and people dug it; had the quest to keep the franchise ever changing take it to an unpopular place?
Resident Evil producer Masachika Kawata told VideoGamer that he’s started to revise his opinion on the direction of the series after player feedback on the last couple of games. The two games he specifically responded to were Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and Resident Evil 6. On these two titles, Kawata said:
"Looking at user feedback from the last couple of games, I've started to slightly revise my opinion on that matter. I still think that, for example, bringing Resident Evil: Revelations to consoles falls within what I was saying where, it's a game that contains classic Resident Evil elements but it also has features that modern gamers expect in a game. Hopefully it can appeal to both camps."
While he wants to keep things new in each Resident Evil game, the action approach doesn’t seem to be what the fans wanted. "I still think it's important for us to challenge ourselves to include new elements in the games to keep them fresh and keep them relevant.” Especially in Resident Evil 6, the whole horror and fear aspect were removed and it appears that Kawata wants to return to this. "No matter what, we're always going to have to focus on horror and fear as the main core pillar of the series. That's something I think that is not going to change.”
Everything he is saying here is everything I’ve been wanting to hear for many years now. I’m excited for these changes and I hope Capcom keeps true to this.
I can’t believe the original Resident Evil came out in 1996, now I just feel old.
