Monday, May 17, 2010

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The Year before the new Millennium

Resident Evil - CODE: Veronica was released in 2000, and in development since late 1998 through 1999. This was the year that the Diet of Japan (relating to politics) held its first Question Time, allowing the lower levels of government to question the upper levels. Since Japan has a government system based of an 'infallible' emperor, the ability to question government is a big first. Also, there was a failed hijacking of ANA Flight 61.
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CODE: Veronica

The fourth game of the Resident Evil Series is Resident Evil-CODE: Veronica. This is both the fourth chornological release, and the next game in the time line after RE3. Released in 2000, It stars the Redfields, Chris and Claire approximately 3 months after the Raccoon City Incident.

Few changes were made to the pre-existing formula for the series, the only ones made being refinements on the existing system. Once again the player could not choose who to play as, though the game does feature two protagonists whom you switch between half-way through the game. Ideas from their earlier games, like upgradeable weaponry and the 180 degree spin, return in CODE: Veronica. The most significant gameplay changes were the ability to dual-wield pistols allowing the player to target two enemies at once, and the abitlity to pick up and use herbs (the main healing items of the Resident Evil Series) despite having a full inventory. The latter greatly increased ease of play, while the former was more 'cool' than functional. On the more technical side, CODE: Veronica is the first Resident Evil game to feature non-prerendered backgrounds. This is probably due to the fact that this is the first RE game to be featured on a fourth generation platform. As a side note, this is also the last Resident Evil game to feature real weapons manufacturers in the game. From this point on, all weapons have fictional names, and all weapons in the remade versions have been given new names.

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Japan in 1998

During the development of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Japan was fairly calm. They held a multitude of sports tournaments, and had a fairly quiet year. The only real bump in the media was a mass poisoning, taking place in Sonobe distict of the Wakayama Prefecture. One Masumi Hayashi poisoned the group curry with 1000 grams of arsenic, roughly enough to kill 100 people. Only 4 died, but it inspired a large amount of copycats due to the attention given to the incident by the media.
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Resident Evil 3

The third installment in the Resident Evil Series, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (known as Biohazard 3:Last Escape) was released in September 1999. Besides being the first in the series to feature a subtitle, few things were changed in the formula for RE3.

The first, most obvious change was that only 1 character was selectable. Unlike the previous two games, you could only see the story from the perspective of Jill Valenine. Second was the addition of the 180 spin. While this seems like a minor change, it vastly changed game play. It allows the player to more quickly react to the world around them, to quickly change directions instead of turning slowly around. This was huge, and is found in the rest of the series. Also, gunpowder was added. The Resident Evil series has been known for its abundance of weapons, and limited ammo. Adding gunpowder instead of just bullets gave the game another layer of complexity. Combining items has been around since the first Resident Evil, yet never had the player needed to create their own ammo. In fact, the ammo for arguably the best gun in the game could only be made by the player, assuming that they had been crafty enough to discover how to create it, and wise enough to save enough gunpowder. Resdent Evil 3 saw the first Quick Time Events for the series, in which the player needed to make split second decisions to either avoid or incur encounters with enemies; most notably Nemesis, featured in the title of the game. Finally, the last addition to the series was a more interactive environment. Oil barrels, crates, and the like were placed in strategic points throughout the game allowing the player to save ammo, or waste it depending on the situation.

Basically, RE3 was the refinement of an already excellent system.


Game Specs from Wikipedia:

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Japan around Resident Evil 2

Japan had a lot going on during the development of Resident Evil 2.

The production of the game began in 1996 shortly after the release of the first Resident Evil with a scheduled release of March 1997. During this year, the Padilla Car Accident occurred, and the beginning of Japanese Embassy Hostage Crisis. Both incidents stuck the Japanse public hard, each with militaristic overtones. The first incident outraged the Okinawins the most, since they were still raw about the Okinawan Rape Incident of 1995. Foreign military presence was grating on the Japanese public, and they wanted more than anything for the American Military presence to end.

When the release date for Resident Evil 2 began approaching, CAPCOM decided to take a risk and scrap the current version of the game in order to create a higher quality product. While this pushed the release date back a year, it was seen as a positive decision since the final product was a more developed, polished game. During this development period, the infamous episode of Pokemon, Dennō Senshi Porygon was released, causing mass hysteria from the sheer number of seizures induced by this episode. This particular episode was never shown on TV again, and removed from all foreign releases. It created quite an uproar, and gave Japanese animation a terrible stigma that still exists today. This year also saw the end of the Japanese Embassy Hostage Crisis. All of the hostages were saved, and none of the guerrilla group were spared.
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Resident Evil 2

Resident Evil 2, the memorable sequel to CAPCOM's survival horror. While this game seems far less impressive now, with all the improvements made to video games since its release in 1998, it was a huge step for the Resident Evil Series.

Here, CAPCOM took the time to improve their formula and make an overall better game. The graphics engine was improved, allowing for more effects and more zombies (a maximum of 7 at a time). This game was also the debut of Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield

Certain details that were added to the game have become staples for the series ever since. First, the addition of body language. In the original series, the person you controlled showed no visible reaction to wounds or zombies. The only way to tell how much damage the character could stand to take, was to check the item screen. This changed in RE2 when the developers added body language to reflect the character's state. When the character was at full health, they could run at full speed and showed no physical pain. As their health decreased, their movement slowed, their gun lowered, they began to clutch their stomach, and even limp. Secondly, the now dubbed 'zapping system' was created. Like the original, you could select more than one character to play in RE2. The difference was you had to unlock the second character by completing the story as the first character, referred to as the 'A game'. Once the second character was unlocked, you could replay the game except from the perspective of the second character, known as the 'B game'. This was only the start of what you could unlock in RE2. Finally, the grading system was implemented. After every section of the game, you would recieve a grade on how well you completed the level. By attaining higher grades, you would unlock more for the game, including weapons, costumes, the "4th Survivor Mode", and most infamously "Tofu Survivor Mode".


Game specs from Wikipedia:
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