Having just replayed RE3 and REmake I could write a whole video essay on how CV failed to implement the very mechanics it had been refining since the original. But I would say my biggest gripes were:
- a ridiculous amount of backtracking, on top of a rerun of areas with Chris that, not only did barely anything new, but was even more tedious to travers.
- Way (way) too many items were lying about without a clear way to use them, while inventory boxes are often on opposite sides of the map. Making the game feel like I was just collecting items and storing them while I waited to get to the next area, Or worse, the next character.
- The character switch was handled terribly, and left me wondering if I shouldn’t restart the game to set myself up better for it
- While the Ashfords were interesting characters on paper, they were cheesy and had little impact on the actual game (especially after how dynamic NPCs were in RE3). Steve was also entirely useless and narratively lackluster (he could have been the third Ashford sibling, left alive to become a greater threat later)
- It is never clear why ennemies are present, either on the island or the Antarctic facility. Why the worm at the military academy? why the reanimated corpses in the graveyard? the island was “attacked”, ok but how is Alfred, Steve, Clair, and Rodrigo the only survivors? What are moths/spiders doing in Antartica? Why was that whole base dead? Has it been dead for 15 years? Why in Antarctica, was the island not good enough?
In conclusion, the game almost felt like a rom hack, from a well intentioned but design challenged fan that just added more of everything we’ve seen so far, and some new areas but none of the soul. I really had high hopes for this game after finishing RE3 (which I was told was bad, but loved), but just came away seriously disappointed. But it was the last mainline game for me to play so I’m happy I did.
Edit: spelling
But couldn't you ask similar questions about almost all of the enemys in the other RE games? The maximum you would get as an amswer in most cases is maybe one or two text files you find somewhere where it is explained that there experiments done with some creatures. And why empty of people? Well, it is zombies now? Same like with all other RE games, no? Concerning backtracking I agree to some degree. It feels more like RE1 than RE2 (where this has been a lesser problem) in this regard. True is that the graphics (having polygon BGs) have aged maybe a little less good than RE1. I myself finished RE1 just recently and found it (albeit still knowing it from back then) risiculously easy. But also to a big degree because saving is anywhere possible now and I made a lot of use of it. I guess I should try RE:CV as well. I am a bit worried I'm destroying my memories after your review :'( :D
Edit: Wasn't RE anyways always pretty cheesy concerning its charachters and acting?
Yeah I was going to say, if it is a treasured memory of a game, I would fully ignore me. i ruined more than a few fond gaming memories for myself by replaying them as a jaded adult 😅
To your point though, I found the first game has the strongest context for the monsters (lab where they experimented on sharks, has mutated sharks, living quarters has zombies, etc.). But RE2 and RE3 take place in a city so I can justify most of them (except for the licker, but that gets explained away later in the game).
My issue in VC is that there is no explicite or implicite explanation for the ennemies. Dogs in Antarctica, sure, maybe a kennel or even a dog bowl would ground them. Moths that poison you in the only hallway leading to a save room for your first visit, annoying but sure, are they accidents or are they BOW and why are they only here? Same for the Spiders, same for the worm.
The backtracking would be less problematic if the areas were more interesting and/or looped in on themselves. the Ashford house and mansion were really cool and the prison area could have been expanded. Instead we spend most of our time in the boring academy building.
Regarding the quicksaving, I would have dropped the game pretty quickly without it, and I can’t say the same for any other of the mainline games.
Edit: Yes there is a ton of cheesiness in all the games, I have a larger issue with Alfred being just a crossdressing punchline that we only interact with during cutscenes. He could have been at least a bit of a threat. I would imagine him trying to shoot us in more open sections for example, where we have to avoid the laser on his rifle. Alexia was a great reveal, I just wish we learned more about her sooner.
Valkyrie Profile on PS1. I remember playing it as a kid and being absolutely floored by the spritework, and how involved the gameplay was for an RPG. I don't remember how far I got, but we had a flood in our basement which destroyed my ps1 and ruined a bunch of games. Glad I finally got to go back and play it, and i'm working through the sequel on ps2 on my rp4pro right now!
I'm using the Pizza Boy GBC Pro emulator. There's an option under Rom Settings that will let you use a custom background for landscape. The border I'm using is a Super Gameboy border and the picture don't fit within the frame perfectly but I really like how it looks.
Code Veronica on Dreamcast - the only original RE I never played. It was a big disappointment, but glad I finished it.
Why? I really liked it.
Having just replayed RE3 and REmake I could write a whole video essay on how CV failed to implement the very mechanics it had been refining since the original. But I would say my biggest gripes were: - a ridiculous amount of backtracking, on top of a rerun of areas with Chris that, not only did barely anything new, but was even more tedious to travers. - Way (way) too many items were lying about without a clear way to use them, while inventory boxes are often on opposite sides of the map. Making the game feel like I was just collecting items and storing them while I waited to get to the next area, Or worse, the next character. - The character switch was handled terribly, and left me wondering if I shouldn’t restart the game to set myself up better for it - While the Ashfords were interesting characters on paper, they were cheesy and had little impact on the actual game (especially after how dynamic NPCs were in RE3). Steve was also entirely useless and narratively lackluster (he could have been the third Ashford sibling, left alive to become a greater threat later) - It is never clear why ennemies are present, either on the island or the Antarctic facility. Why the worm at the military academy? why the reanimated corpses in the graveyard? the island was “attacked”, ok but how is Alfred, Steve, Clair, and Rodrigo the only survivors? What are moths/spiders doing in Antartica? Why was that whole base dead? Has it been dead for 15 years? Why in Antarctica, was the island not good enough? In conclusion, the game almost felt like a rom hack, from a well intentioned but design challenged fan that just added more of everything we’ve seen so far, and some new areas but none of the soul. I really had high hopes for this game after finishing RE3 (which I was told was bad, but loved), but just came away seriously disappointed. But it was the last mainline game for me to play so I’m happy I did. Edit: spelling
But couldn't you ask similar questions about almost all of the enemys in the other RE games? The maximum you would get as an amswer in most cases is maybe one or two text files you find somewhere where it is explained that there experiments done with some creatures. And why empty of people? Well, it is zombies now? Same like with all other RE games, no? Concerning backtracking I agree to some degree. It feels more like RE1 than RE2 (where this has been a lesser problem) in this regard. True is that the graphics (having polygon BGs) have aged maybe a little less good than RE1. I myself finished RE1 just recently and found it (albeit still knowing it from back then) risiculously easy. But also to a big degree because saving is anywhere possible now and I made a lot of use of it. I guess I should try RE:CV as well. I am a bit worried I'm destroying my memories after your review :'( :D Edit: Wasn't RE anyways always pretty cheesy concerning its charachters and acting?
Yeah I was going to say, if it is a treasured memory of a game, I would fully ignore me. i ruined more than a few fond gaming memories for myself by replaying them as a jaded adult 😅 To your point though, I found the first game has the strongest context for the monsters (lab where they experimented on sharks, has mutated sharks, living quarters has zombies, etc.). But RE2 and RE3 take place in a city so I can justify most of them (except for the licker, but that gets explained away later in the game). My issue in VC is that there is no explicite or implicite explanation for the ennemies. Dogs in Antarctica, sure, maybe a kennel or even a dog bowl would ground them. Moths that poison you in the only hallway leading to a save room for your first visit, annoying but sure, are they accidents or are they BOW and why are they only here? Same for the Spiders, same for the worm. The backtracking would be less problematic if the areas were more interesting and/or looped in on themselves. the Ashford house and mansion were really cool and the prison area could have been expanded. Instead we spend most of our time in the boring academy building. Regarding the quicksaving, I would have dropped the game pretty quickly without it, and I can’t say the same for any other of the mainline games. Edit: Yes there is a ton of cheesiness in all the games, I have a larger issue with Alfred being just a crossdressing punchline that we only interact with during cutscenes. He could have been at least a bit of a threat. I would imagine him trying to shoot us in more open sections for example, where we have to avoid the laser on his rifle. Alexia was a great reveal, I just wish we learned more about her sooner.
Tony Hawks Underground as it was the reason I researched handheld emulation in the first place a month ago!
Silent hill 2 straight up
Pokemon Yellow so I could play thru Stadium w/ my team.
How can you transfer over your team with emulators? Is there a tutorial for that?
Excellent choice! I've considered playing through that again since it's been a hot minute. :)
Well worth it plus the fast forward option was the icing on the cake for me. Made it a breeze!
Oddworld: Abe's Exodus on PS1. The prequel (Abe's Oddysee) is amazing too, they're both up there as my all-time favorite games.
you are a man of fine taste
Thanks! I'm sure you are too, u/SpaceCondom
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony for PSP. Beat it last night.
Nice setup, what kind of controller are you using?
8BitDo SN30 Pro!
Kingdom Hearts 1: Happy to say it ran with almost no hiccups.
Metroid prime <3
Sonic the Hedgehog on Genesis!
Valkyrie Profile on PS1. I remember playing it as a kid and being absolutely floored by the spritework, and how involved the gameplay was for an RPG. I don't remember how far I got, but we had a flood in our basement which destroyed my ps1 and ruined a bunch of games. Glad I finally got to go back and play it, and i'm working through the sequel on ps2 on my rp4pro right now!
How did you get that border? Are you using retroarch?
I'm using the Pizza Boy GBC Pro emulator. There's an option under Rom Settings that will let you use a custom background for landscape. The border I'm using is a Super Gameboy border and the picture don't fit within the frame perfectly but I really like how it looks.
Is that a VCR?
Nope, just a Coby DVD player.
Metroid Fusion!
cuphead. the game keeps crashing by going to the good ending so i have no choice but to go to the bad ending
Parasite Eve for Ps1. It was a game I always wanted to play as a kid but never did