Resident Evil: Degeneration

To follow up the first post about Resident Evil movies, I will now talk about Resident Evil: Degeneration. Degeneration was announced by Capcom and Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2007, and released in North America and Japan in 2008 both as a DVD and Bluray.

Unlike the live action series, this Resident Evil movie actually follows game cannon, taking place in 2005. The story is centered around Leon S. Kennedy, and Claire Redfield. This CG movie is meant to flesh out events taking place between games, in an attempt to explain story that was not featured in the games. Since there are gaps between the cannon timeline for each game, this left Capcom with ample room to appease fans after the live action movie debacle.

This movie is hailed by hardcore fans as an amazing addition to the series, both in plot and entertainment value. Even those unfamiliar with the series can at the very least enjoy the movie, and its excellent soundtrack.

Degeneration takes place 7 years after the original game, placing itself after Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2, and Resident Evil 3, yet before Resident Evil 4, and 5. The main characters, Leon S. Kennedy, Claire Redfield are voiced by their original voice actors allowing for hardcore fans to instantly connect to them again. Also, the characters in game use the same weapons they were known to use in the game. This is probably because CAPCOM, the creator of Resident Evil, actually produced this movie, unlike the live action movies.

For more about the film, and about how closely it relates to the Resident Evil Cannon, I suggest the Resident Evil: Degeneration Wikia Article, and the Wikipedia Article.

Resident Evil Movies

In recent times, Resident Evil finally hit the mainstream as a Hollywood movie series.

The first movie was released in 2002, and was not a true interpretation of the Resident Evil games. The movies in order are as follows: Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Resident Evil: Extinction, and Resident Evil: Afterlife. The last movie in the series is to be released September 2010 as a 3D movie. In theory, the movies follow the video game progression. The only real similarities between the two series are the fact that zombies created by the T-virus exist, and so do a few characteristic enemies and villains (mostly in namesake). Though the movie characters shared the names of the video game characters, their backgrounds and mannerisms differed enough to make them almost impossible to see as the same people.

Originally, the movies were scripted to be almost direct adaptations of the games into film media, but Capcom believed that the original script was simultaneously not close enough to the games to satisfy hard core fans, and not interesting enough to satisfy an audience just being introduced to the series. The final product, though successful enough to justify a full series of movies, was disappointing to the game's fans and generally received negative reviews by critics.


Resident Evil
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
Resident Evil: Extinction
Resident Evil: Afterlife

Fear in Japan

An interesting point to note about the Resident Evil series is that during its development, Japan was in a state of fear. 1995 was not a good year for Japan, beginning with the Great Hanshin Earthquake which caused the equivalent of $102.5 billion in damages and claimed 6,434 lives with roughly 300,000 left homeless.

Later that same year a controversial religious group known as Aum Shinrkyo (now called Aleph) terrorized Japanese citizens with a string of Sarin Gas attacks on the Tokyo Metro. These attacks first began in June of 1994, but the attack in May of 1995 was of the largest scale. 12 people died, with 1,034 people injured (50 severely; 984 with temporary vision problems).  Before this, Japan had never really had a terroist attack, never mind one of bioterrorism.

I bring this up because a large number of the people working on this game were Japanese.  Capcom is a Japanese company, the producers were Tokuro Fujiwara; Masayoshi Kurokawa; and Masayuki Akahori, while the director was Shinji Mikami.  All  of these people would have been aware of the attacks during the development of the game.  Considering a huge section of the plot line is actually about bioterrorism, the original game title being Biohazard, these attacks must have played some sort of role conciously or not.

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Fixed View

One of the most memorable features of the original Resident Evil game was its game play.  It combined the traditional RPG vibe (inventory included), with mind-bending puzzles, real-time puzzles, and of course the fixed camera view.  Players controlled their character, either Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield, from a third-person view with every area having its own unique camera angle.

  While the camera first appears to be just another part of the system, it adds a lot to the feel of the game.  Enemies could appear from any point, but the fixed camera kept the suspense high as you can hear the enemy far before you are able to see it on screen.  This greatly affected interaction, making the game much harder with a feel that no other game had at the time of its release.   The Resident Evil series had kept this fixed camera position as an iconic part of their games, appearing in every incarnation of the series until Resident Evil 4 in which the viewpoint was changed to the over the shoulder view.  This change was most likely due to the increase in the popularity of first-person shooters at the time of Resident Evil 4's creation, 2005. 

Though the fixed camera views was a staple of the series, and dictated gameplay for all who attempted the game, not everyone was so enthused....




Video by G4 back in the day.

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Biohazard First Hits

Resident Evil, originally known as Biohazard in Japan, first hit the streets in 1996 on the PlayStation.  It was one of the first video games to earn the title of "survival horror" and has held on as one of the most influential games of all time.





Specifics from Wikipedia:

Developer(s)
Capcom Production Studio 4
Westwood Studios (PC Port)
Nextech (Saturn port)
Publisher(s)
Capcom
Virgin Interactive (Europe and PC version only)
Nintendo Australia (Gamecube and DS)
THQ Asia Pacific (Wii)
Director(s)
Shinji Mikami
Producer(s)
Tokuro Fujiwara
Masayoshi Kurokawa
Masayuki Akahori
Composer(s)
Makoto Tomozawa
Akari Kaida
Masami Ueda
Series
Resident Evil
Platform(s)
PlayStation, Windows, Saturn, GameCube, DS, PlayStation Network, Wii
Release date(s)
March 22, 1996[show]
PlayStation
JP March 22, 1996
NA March 30, 1996
PAL
August 1, 1996
Director's Cut
JP September 25, 1997
NA September 30, 1997
PAL December 10, 1997
Dual Shock Edition
JP August 6, 1998
NA 1998
Windows
JP December 6, 1996
PAL September 17, 1997
NA September 30, 1997
Sega Saturn
JP July 25, 1997
NA August 31, 1997
PAL October 1, 1997
GameCube
JP March 22, 2002
NA April 30, 2002
PAL September 13, 2002
Nintendo DS
JP January 19, 2006
NA February 7, 2006
PAL March 30, 2006
PlayStation Network
JP November 22, 2006
Wii
JP December 25, 2008
NA June 23, 2009
Genre(s)
Survival horror
Mode(s)
Single-player
Rating(s)
BBFC: 15 / 18PC
CERO: D

Starting Point

Alright, I figure the best place to start is to put what CAPCOM (the creators of Resident Evil) wants people to know about their series. Resdient Evil Portal.

This site links together all of the most recent parts of the Resident Evil franchise, with a smattering of the old. A good place to get yourself acquainted with the series.

Why this Exists

This blog is a dedicated personal research blog exploring the culture around the ultimate zombie survival video game, Resident Evil. I will uncover everywhere this game has touched in culture, from the Video Game realm all the way to your everyday shopping experience.

I will be exploring the impact of the entire series, starting with the first Resident Evil game all the way to Resident Evil 5. Keep an eye on this place for some in depth analysis, and some interesting cultural finds.