No Fear: Where Did Resident Evil Go Wrong?

Remember when the Resident Evil series was made up of horror games, and not shooters? Writing for Paste Magazine, Ed Smith pinpoints when that transition happened.

[SpiralTear]

Capcom thought that the shooting was the only reason why people liked RE4, so they amped up the action and toned down the horror for 5 and 6, leaving a series that wasn't scary anymore.

[insomnium2]

I find that the parts where you meet these thumbnail pic monsters that regenerate are kinda disgustingly scary almost. The music changes once they see you and the sound of their breath only adds to the tension. These monsters are GREAT!

[Pozzle]

Capcom also seem to think that fans find silly growly men with guns scarier than zombies or horrifying monsters.

[rodiabloalmeida]

When Shinji Mikami left the building. That's when RE did go wrong. At least he left us with RE4 to praise Capcom's (greedy) desires and the fans whose wished for something different. But after that, it went downhill.

[-Foxtrot]

Co-op was the start of the downfall in my opinion

Look up on RelyonHorror Resident Evil 4.5 concept art BEFORE they added co-op

Zombies
Night levels
Darker atmosphere
Barry BLOODY Burton
Jill was in it more
Excela was more of a bussiness woman
Uroborus was a SMALL plot point
Tyrants
Merchants were in it
Didn't feel like levels, felt more like RE4s maps

It was just better

[gantarat]

i blame racist problem

[MuhammadJA]

RE4 is the one to blame.

[MrSwankSinatra]

Yep, that game should have been a new IP instead of slapping the resident evil name on it. The only connection RE4 has to resident is the characters. That's it.

[plaZeHD]

Yes that I can agree on. It might not be a Resident Evil game so to say, but it was an excellent game and the best in the series in my opinion.

[shadow18spirit]

RE4 was great , it was both horror and action. but they ruined it by adding more action in 5 and 6. and thats when i knew that resident evil was done.

[on_line_forever]

RE4 a good game but i will never ever call it resident evil . its another game but not resident evil .

if i feel that atmosphere again in the save room with that great relaxing music like in 1 ,2, 3, code veronica and when you hold your breath and checking your harps and your weapons ONLY THEN I CAN SAY RESIDENT EVIL IS BACK TO ITS ROOTS

[plaZeHD]

That's what I exactly felt in RE4.

[jairusmonillas]

I loved RE2 and RE3, 4 to 6 is not for me.

[RosweeSon]

Went into the daylight! Resident evil 5 while not completely terrible was the start of the downfall but 4 was by far the best 2 was awesome and always gotta bit of time for that original house... Hope this is not Chris' blood.

[skydragoonity]

Too much action, less spooky

[PaleMoonDeath]

Things started to go a bit crap as early as RE: Code Veronica, apart from the Gamecube games, REmake & REZero were uttery brilliant, but I still to this day can't find the interest to finish Code Veronica where I managed to finish RE4 in one sitting back in 2004, going back to pure survival horror with different gameplay is possible, Horror has grown recently into a big deal, so a back-step to classic Resident Evil would be well received.

[Roccetarius]

The decline of RE happened with 4, pretty much. It was more action over a scary experience.

[gantarat]

I thought Resident Evil 3 Release 1999
And Leon in RE 6 Go China not japan

[ManFromNantucket]

At this point it feels like we`re beating the point to death with all these discussions on the turning point for the RE series. It seems the fans are generally in a collective agreement, even the ones that stand behind RE6, that the series has gone severely downhill.
Me? I miss static cameras, eerie orchestras, slow-burn pacing and the fear of the unknown creeping out of sight. Sadly, in Resident Evils heyday it relied heavily on the sort of tactics that are now considered obsolete and unusable in gaming. Stiff controls, limited save locations, stationary camera perspectives and heavy puzzle mechanics that make you figure it out on your own. Today's games hold your hand, restart you a few seconds past if you die, and the over-shoulder perspective never suit Resident Evil and never will. Zero was the last great RE game (REmake being the far superior), the series died with RE4 which we all agree was brilliant, but killed the franchise.
Revelations was a step in the right direction, but lacking.
After 6, my favorite game series is dead to me. But if they brought back the mechanics of old (which they never will - new gamers will scorn it immediately) I'll be first in line.

[SpiralTear]

"the series died with RE4 which we all agree was brilliant, but killed the franchise."

I really don't see how that makes sense. I know a lot of long-time fans hate Resident Evil 4 because of its effect on the series, and to a degree, I can see the spooky appeal of the tank controls and static cameras. However, Resident Evil 4 was a way to make survival horror palatable to everyone again, not just the fans.

It didn't kill the series because the game itself was fantastic. It was Capcom's decision to make the sequels more shooter-esque and ignore the fear-inducing moments in RE4. Capcom misinterpreted the game's biggest strengths; yes, it had a much better combat system, but there were a ton of moments in RE4 that were extremely frightening, some of which even more frightening than scenes in past games. I can't tell you how terrifying the Regenerators are, even after dozens of playthroughs.

[MrSwankSinatra]

Nobody is debating the quality of RE4, but the fact of the matter is that RE4 has nothing to do with Resident Evil period. The only connection that game has to resident evil is the characters that's the underlying issue. Not only that but because of RE4's success that sent a message to crapcom saying that the more action oriented approach was the right way to evolve the series when it wasn't, hence the reason we got games like RE5 & RE6.

[ShaunCameron]

It simply evolved with the technology and times. Capcom moved on (and made a game-changer in RE4) as its fans still cling onto the PS1 era.