Together Retro: Resident Evil

[noiseredux]

I think the ink ribbons stop in RE4.

[executioner]

Is the ink ribbon system consistent in the series or even its spin-offs? I played RE 1-3 so far and they all had the ink ribbons. I have RE Outbreak, but I have not gotten very far and do not know if there are any typewriters.

As it was meant to be an online game I don't think it has any sort of save option. Even when you access the equipment the action did not pause which makes the game more frantic. Too bad it cannot be enjoyed anymore, it could have been a good extra for a together retro experience. Any co-op online retro experience could get more people involved.

[noiseredux]

One thing I can say that RE has going for it is addiction. Much like what I love about a Zelda game, there's always "one more thing" I wanna check out before calling it quits. Always one more room.

And it's funny... I'm always so excited to enter a new room, and then the door opens, and I'm scared of what's waiting for me. Brilliant game.

[executioner]

First off, audio cues are probably the most important thing to pay attention to in these games. Every kind of creature in Resident Evil makes a sound of some kind. Zombies moan and shuffle, dogs' claws click on the ground, crows caw, and other types of monsters will do things like thud their feet or breathe hard. When you walk into a new room, listen. And if you kill something and don't see any more monsters, get quiet and listen for something else. When it goes quiet, or all you hear is music, you've cleared the room, so you can stop jumping at shadows.

The audio cues are really that helpful, last night I was in a room where there was some kinda noise in the background and from trying to find out its source there was a back room were a zombie was eating a corpse. I'm playing the DS version and the sound was weird in no way would I've guess it was that but overall the game has good sound. Comparing certain things from the Saturn version you can notice some improvements in sound for instance the first room you are in with the clock it actually ticks in the DS version but not in the Saturn version.

I started playing the Saturn version, it's my first time playing RE. Im just after the part were I was almost a Jill Sandwich, almost.

I'm also just a little after that part, playing with Jill on the DS rebirth mode but I was reading a walkthrough on gamefaqs that says the following:

JILL VALENTINE
-If it's your first time playing the game, you want to choose Jill.
Her adventure is a heck of a lot easier then Chris'.

+THE GOOD+
-More Ammo
-More Ink Ribbons
-Has the Lock pick
-Barry helps her out
-Gets the Bazooka

-THE BAD-
-Takes a lot more damage then Chris

CHRIS REDFIELD
-Chris is set for the more difficult adventure, and needs to back
track and mess around more then Jill. Use him if you played Resident
Evil before.

+THE GOOD+
-Has more strength then Jill
-Rebecca can heal him sometimes

-THE BAD-
-Holds only six item slots in inventory
-needs Small Keys to unlock simple locks
-doesn't get the Bazooka
-less ammo

What do you think? I think if Jill has less energy it would be more difficult and more stressing. Some good cons noted for Chris are more backtracking which I don't like much and less inventory space which we all know how resident evil is all about managing that little inventory slots which makes things more realistic.

A few things that made me decide to play the DS version versus the others are the knife button which makes it less of a chore to equip and use your knife, the map in the upper screen, rebirth mode which adds more enemies and ammo because I have an itchy trigger, the quick 180 turn, more puzzles and the added stylus mini-games.

[blue_veilvet]

One thing I can say that RE has going for it is addiction. Much like what I love about a Zelda game, there's always "one more thing" I wanna check out before calling it quits. Always one more room.

And it's funny... I'm always so excited to enter a new room, and then the door opens, and I'm scared of what's waiting for me. Brilliant game.

Same here ... I shunned my RE2 copy for a while because I was not in the mood for scary games. But now that I started it for this TR I can't stop playing.

And, in retrospect, I think I'd also appreciate RE1 way more than I did back then when I first played it. I was not really that impressed by it. It was not as scary as Silent Hill, and the rational explanations for the "supernatural" in RE (the virus) gave a away some of the mystery Silent Hill had. But now I think, what's wrong with some virus-infested zombie action?

The (nowadays) lo-tech graphics and cheesy cutscenes are easily on par with Silent Hills pixelated, foggy, have you seen my daughter mess, giving it a similiar charm. Maybe it's just me, but I just love rough and pixelated character models only the PS1 was capable of. Silent Hill and Resident Evil are just two great horrorgames by two great companies.

As you see, TR not only helps discovering games you did not know, but also to evaluate games again you already know

Does anyone else plunge through RE2 instead of the game this TR is actually about? I restarted the game because I forgot to pick up the shotgun from the shop owner at the beginning of the game, only to find out that you get a second shotgun at the policestation hours later. Oh well. I now have access to the cellar of the police station and get slaughtered by the damn dogs that wander around there.

Here are some humble strategies I discovered so far:

Avoid to reload during battle
You don't want to have to reload during a battle. Ever. When you open a door and don't know what to expect, first reload your gun in the menu. If you encounter a horde of zombies, first shoot those that are near you. Before the other zombies approach you, quickly reload your gun in the menu.

Avoid to get yourself to a dead end
For those who have little time and have to save often: Each time you save, use another block on the memory card (playing it on a PS3 comes in handy, because there's plenty of memory card blocks). If you ever use too much ammo or ink ribbons and cannot get any further, just use an earlier save state and use your knowledge of the game (like: don't open a door in the policestation that leads back to the zombie-infested city) to get more effeciently through the past sections of the game. Maybe you can get to your current part of the game with more resources that way.

Prevent a heart attack
Just prepare for the worst if you pass windows or mirrors. You don't know what could jump out of them.

[noiseredux]

As you see, TR not only helps discovering games you did not know, but also to evaluate games again you already know

Exactly!

[blue_veilvet]

I think the ink ribbons stop in RE4.

That makes sense, as far as I know RE4 is some kind of reinvention of the franchise, making it more action-oriented and less depending on survival aspects.

Maybe the adventure/puzzle elements of RE would be worth discussing. Sometimes it feels weird, being in a threatening, zombie-infested mansion, and pushing statues around or solving some other puzzles. In the first RE I had some moments where I ran through the corridors which previously had been cleared of zombies and looking for the matching door for a key I just found elsewhere. It was almost soothing, walking through that beautiful mansion without confronting any hazards.

But I also realize that this is an important feature in this game. You need passages like that to calm down from the unnerving zombie-confrontations, and a motivation to explore that dangerous place.

Still, sometimes it feels out of place (although I don't know how it could've been improved upon), especially in the sequel, RE2. Statues and jewels were just fine in an old haunted mansion, but it seems odd to encounter such things in a police station of all places. I mean, it's a police station, people used to work there all the time. I don't know about the offices over there at Capcom, but where I work, things are not like that.

Imagine that, being at work, and you have to use the bathroom really badly. But before you can do that, you have to push two statues into positions that enable them to look at another statue, which then drops a red jewel, that, in combination with another red jewel you found somewhere else, can be put in two holes next to a big, chained statue which is in some other room, opening its chest and revealing the key to the toilet which is on the other side of the building.

It's really out of place in RE2. But since the game is great otherwise, I just switch into suspension of disbelief mode during the game

[Ack]

Actually, I believe they explain at some point that the police chief is crazy, hence why he's set everything up that way. He also has intentionally put weapons and items in places where folks will probably get killed easily, because...well, he's nuts, and a bit corrupt.

But yeah, if you can, avoid reloading outside of the menu. Also, if you're in a room or hallway with few zombies, and they're a bit scattered, yet you have to kill them all, there's a trick I like to do. Knock them down with bullets, then immediately equip the knife, run over to their body, and start slashing away at them on the ground(you can aim up or down with the D-pad) until it either dies or gets back up. You can also shoot them on the ground, though they tend to get back up after being shot once, and you're still spending bullets that way.

[noiseredux]

Actually, I believe they explain at some point that the police chief is crazy, hence why he's set everything up that way. He also has intentionally put weapons and items in places where folks will probably get killed easily, because...well, he's nuts, and a bit corrupt.

But yeah, if you can, avoid reloading outside of the menu. Also, if you're in a room or hallway with few zombies, and they're a bit scattered, yet you have to kill them all, there's a trick I like to do. Knock them down with bullets, then immediately equip the knife, run over to their body, and start slashing away at them on the ground(you can aim up or down with the D-pad) until it either dies or gets back up. You can also shoot them on the ground, though they tend to get back up after being shot once, and you're still spending bullets that way.

does that knife trick work on RE1?

[Ack]

I use it in all of the original Resident Evils, so yeah, shouldn't be a problem. Just remember, the pistol does more damage, so sometimes they will manage to get back up before you finish them off.