Shinji Mikami wants nothing to do with Resident Evil 6

[Grem]

Seriously, a stupid, immature response to what RE5 did. This guy is ridiculous

C'mon! His reaction is quite normal.

How would you feel if you created a franchise and worked on it for like ten years and later discover that you're put aside from this series?

People complain about mikami but they have not created anything. Give him a break for god sake.

[leftshoe18]

People might have praised them but the thing is the people that did weren't the original fan base of the series!

I was a part of the original fanbase and Resident Evil 4 is one of my favorites in the series. They didn't alienate all of their original fans with the new games, just the people who don't like action games. I'll admit that 4 and 5 didn't really have any horror elements, but they were still good games.

[Darkmoon]

The way I always put it is that RE4 and RE5 are good games but poor Resident Evil's. They just lack too many of the elements that, too me, made an RE game. Other people's opinions vary.

Still, I know I'm not getting the next RE game at launch unless it looks very different. I still haven't even bothered getting Darkside Chronicles.

[Alexia_Ashford]

RE4 and 5 are my least favorite of the series because they just aren't RE games. People might have praised them but the thing is the people that did weren't the original fan base of the series!

Hm. That must mean I'm not an original fan of the series then even though I've been there since RE1.

The way I always put it is that RE4 and RE5 are good games but poor Resident Evil's. They just lack too many of the elements that, too me, made an RE game. Other people's opinions vary.

I agree completely with this statement. RE4 was a fantastic game, but to me it is not a Resident Evil game. Partly because of its entire lack of story, and the massive change in gameplay/atmosphere and what it was trying to achieve. The RE franchise was never about action, but horror. Even though it is a great game and I love going back and playing it a lot, it doesn't give me the same nostalgic and awesome feeling that the original trilogy does.

[DarkMemories]

You know I always hear that "RE4 is a good game but not an RE game" line and think: really? Under what qualifications? Like Alexia, I too am a fan of RE4 and have been fan of the series since the beginning, but I must disagree that RE4 isn't an RE game.

How do we define "RE" anyway?

If RE must contain Umbrella and zombies then no, RE4 isn't an RE game.

However, I'd argue that RE4 is just as much an RE game as 1, 2, and 3.

I'll compare RE4 to RE1 to show just how similar the games actually are:

RE1:
-A mystery (what's causing these murders/what made these zombies)
-A sense of isolation
-Horrific monsters/gruesome sights
-Cliche villain and some campy dialogue
-Jump Scares (the most notorious being the dogs jumping through the windows)
-Foreboding music

RE4:
-A mystery (who kidnapped the President's daughter/what are these people?)
-A sense of isolation
-Horrific monsters/gruesome sights
-Cliche villain(s) and some campy dialogue
-Jump scares (the most notorious being Oven Man)
-Foreboding music

As far as I'm concerned, RE4 was basically RE1's spiritual successor taken to a whole new level. It hit all the right notes for me, something that can't be said for Zero, Code Veronica, and RE5.

[Bertha]

You know I always hear that "RE4 is a good game but not an RE game" line and think: really? Under what qualifications? Like Alexia, I too am a fan of RE4 and have been fan of the series since the beginning, but I must disagree that RE4 isn't an RE game.
How do we define "RE" anyway?
If RE must contain Umbrella and zombies then no, RE4 isn't an RE game.
However, I'd argue that RE4 is just as much an RE game as 1, 2, and 3.
I'll compare RE4 to RE1 to show just how similar the games actually are:
RE1:
-A mystery (what's causing these murders/what made these zombies)
-A sense of isolation
-Horrific monsters/gruesome sights
-Cliche villain and some campy dialogue
-Jump Scares (the most notorious being the dogs jumping through the windows)
-Foreboding music

RE4:
-A mystery (who kidnapped the President's daughter/what are these people?)
-A sense of isolation
-Horrific monsters/gruesome sights
-Cliche villain(s) and some campy dialogue
-Jump scares (the most notorious being Oven Man)
-Foreboding music

I agree with your points. However, I think what annoyed people about 4 was the plot. Most people seem to hate the "President's daughter has been kidnapped" theme, and the mystery of who and why gets wrapped up fairly early. Saddler pretty much comes right out and explains it all during your first meeting. Instead it became a not-so-rush to get the parasite out of Ashley and Leon. Gameplay for 4 however was wonderful.

I enjoyed RE4 and 5, for what they were worth. My biggest issues with 5 come from the slightly rushed feeling of the game, and the lack of really horrific deaths. I mean come on...when Leon got his head chopped off with a chainsaw, his head became a new soccor/football for the locals. Chris and Sheva get a chainsaw through their necks, and all they do is fall to the ground (same animation for their death no matter how they die).

[Vector]

I mean come on...when Leon got his head chopped off with a chainsaw, his head became a new soccor/football for the locals. Chris and Sheva get a chainsaw through their necks, and all they do is fall to the ground (same animation for their death no matter how they die).

Agreed. Your favorite moment of RE5 in our first playthrough was probably when you botched the QTE in the jet when Wesker snapped Chris's neck and made his head do a complete 180. You laughed hysterically, and I was quite disturbed.

One of my favorite Resident Evil videos EVER is the Leon Death Montage from RE4. Such great variety.

[Darkmoon]

You know I always hear that "RE4 is a good game but not an RE game" line and think: really? Under what qualifications? Like Alexia, I too am a fan of RE4 and have been fan of the series since the beginning, but I must disagree that RE4 isn't an RE game.

How do we define "RE" anyway?

If RE must contain Umbrella and zombies then no, RE4 isn't an RE game.

However, I'd argue that RE4 is just as much an RE game as 1, 2, and 3.

I'll compare RE4 to RE1 to show just how similar the games actually are:

RE1:
-A mystery (what's causing these murders/what made these zombies)
-A sense of isolation
-Horrific monsters/gruesome sights
-Cliche villain and some campy dialogue
-Jump Scares (the most notorious being the dogs jumping through the windows)
-Foreboding music

RE4:
-A mystery (who kidnapped the President's daughter/what are these people?)
-A sense of isolation
-Horrific monsters/gruesome sights
-Cliche villain(s) and some campy dialogue
-Jump scares (the most notorious being Oven Man)
-Foreboding music

As far as I'm concerned, RE4 was basically RE1's spiritual successor taken to a whole new level. It hit all the right notes for me, something that can't be said for Zero, Code Veronica, and RE5.

Interesting. I've never seen anyone with such an excellent argument before on RE4. I would disagree with the mystery part...that gets solved very early on.

However, we get different things from the games. The three things I like to see in a RE games are simple;

- Horror. Nasty monster's don't make for horror. The slightly dodgy Ganado AI didn't help either, nor did the pure numbers. Too many enemies mean each is too weak to be a danger alone, and so they feel less threatening. Which made you more worried...twenty Ganados or five zombies? I never felt Leon was in real danger. Bar the Amazing Ovenman there was not even any real jumpy bits. If they'd exploited the Ganados supposed extra intelligence and mad ethem less numerous, but more dangerous, I think RE4 could have been a winner. Well, bar the story.

- Exploration. RE4 had very, very little. I think about all there really was which way you headed back via boat so you saw the nasty doggy scene.

- Puzzles. Someone mentions that the the enemies themselves in RE4 are the puzzle, as most aren't as simple as blasting away until it's dead. There's a certain truth to that. Unfortunately, it's mostly 'find weak spot then blast' so it's a bit meh. Plus, I still feel a puzzle should involve some crests. And maybe a crank.

[Alzaire]

The problem is when you break it down to the bare basics of course you can make some connections. The more general you get in order to allow a loose connection the less things hold their identity (usually) though. You can argue that the Biohazard series can simply be identified as a series about biohazardous outbreaks and the situations that arrive from them. In that case, yes, BH4 is a Biohazard title. In comparison to it's roots and what encompasses them, though, BH4 was not that well-connected to it's original identity. Aside from the characters Leon, Ada, and Wesker and the beginning mention of Umbrella, there was really nothing to relate BH4 to it's name. Basically, if you had removed the names of relation in BH2-CV, they could still be identified (or viewed) as Biohazard titles because they were identifiable with each other, but if you changed the names and such in BH4 it wouldn't really connect with the previous games. Crazy villagers shouting spanish, chasing after you with pitchforks and crossbows; creepy monks with shields and flails; outdoor low-modern environment and a castle for half the game; over-the-shoulder 3rd person view; cave troll looking creatures; characters somersaulting through windows, crazy flips and cartwheels (mostly Ada) and "kung-fu" moves; ect ect. When I read what I just wrote, I don't identify Biohazard - I think of something more like Tomb Raider or some other adventure game of the such. Obviously yes there are some more identifiably aspects aside from the obvious characters involved (the lab portion, a couple of the monsters), but overall, not so much. I'm sure some of you may disagree though, as it's obvious there are people who are more liberal, gaping-minded, or such that are able to accept things at different levels than others. (before anyone go screaming at me that you're not liberal or usually open-minded about things, I'm just making a base statement from the general idea that more conservative and are more uncomfortable with change)

I think the main problem stems from mismanagement of the series. They decided with the scrapping of 1.5 to extend the Umbrella story (since in 1.5 Umbrella had been publicly exposed and going under already). Biohazard 2 was a good, natural expansion to the first game. Biohazard 3, however, (from my point of view) was where the mistake began. It didn't move the timeline along and only really served to flesh out certain aspects of backstory and what happened to Jill during the RE2 timeframe. It also ended within the same timeframe, continuing a setup of heroes with intent and hype to take down Umbrella. Code Veronica had potential, but made a big mistake by again not focusing on the hyped and expected task-at-large to take down Umbrella. Four games and it felt like we were still in the beginning struggles of the characters' and players' battle against Umbrella. But by that point they had released those 4 games within 4 years followed by Remake and Zero which obviously didn't further the timeline and story. The formula was getting stale, the story was struggling by providing too much depth, backstory, and sidestories to a small timeframe of the anti-Umbrella arc which was slowing it down and I think Capcom wasn't really sure how to really deliver a playable conclusion to the build-up of taking down Umbrella. They had to do something drastic and BH4 was what happened. Fortunately for them it worked to pull in mostly mainstream players. While yes there are obviously fans of old who like BH4 both as a game and a BH game, nobody can argue that it caused a big divide among the fans who'd been involved since the originals as many of them hated the sudden, drastic change to the style and story direction.

But anyway, when you really get down to it, I think that, as with many things based on opinion, you can twist the issues to suit the arguments for either side and neither are really right or wrong.

[Carnivol]

One of the major differences in Resident Evil 4 (which also kinda justifies its change of style) is how it's pretty much the first game that has you actively seeking out the trouble and entering the danger zone, whilst being a tad bit more prepared than you were in, say, Resident Evil 1's failure of a rescue mission.

+Sending someone in is the most logical/sensible way to bring back old characters - unless you'd want something like RE5 to be about Wesker hating Chris so much that he decides to go to Africa and release plagas all over town in an attempt to ruin the summer vacation of Chris' and his new BSAA BFF.

A few of the concerns I have in regards to the 3.5 incarnations is that I honestly don't think they had a lot of ideas going. They probably tried, but they just couldn't get a ball rolling. The hook man most of all seemed like Nemesis meets Pyramid Head, but without the intimidation and scare factor of the aforementioned and, say, the ghosts of Fatal Frame (or Silent Hill 4 a sample closer to RE4's release).

The fact that all the leftover data we've found on our RE4 builds are almost exclusively from the area seen in the demo video they released also kinda makes me wonder if "that's it." That's as far as their imagination went and what they'd finished/pitched, that's when they realized they didn't have much of a ball rolling and they relied on cheap monster closets and rather limited battle encounters. They probably needed variation and space.

I enjoyed RE4 and 5, for what they were worth. My biggest issues with 5 come from the slightly rushed feeling of the game, and the lack of really horrific deaths. I mean come on...when Leon got his head chopped off with a chainsaw, his head became a new soccor/football for the locals. Chris and Sheva get a chainsaw through their necks, and all they do is fall to the ground (same animation for their death no matter how they die).

Actually, the lack of really horrific death scenes come from their use of "one SKU fits all" treatment of the game. The game disc was the exact same disc for all regions, so the content had to comply with the censorship standards of all regions. Unfortunately, the rating boards or whatever, as proven by Oblivion tit mods and Hot Coffee AR cheat for GTA: San Andreas, don't appreciate content that is present, but which requires specific conditions to be met to be unlocked. If it's on the disc, they're on your ass for it.

If you've ever played various regional versions of Resident Evil 4, you'll see the exact same type of camera handling in some of those too (Japanese and German, iirc). Resident Evil 5 still has some nice death scenes, though, such as the one where your entire upper body goes *chop*

[5 Minutes]

Considering that the playable character(s) in every main game was a sworn officer/protector with the exception of one (Claire) one would think there would have been more flipping, jumping, physical combat, etc...

I think RE4 just showed us how the characters should have physically operated in these situations...

[Darkmoon]

RE4 was too over the top. Leon broke the laws of phsyics a couple of times, and some of the moves were just unbelieveable. RE5 was better. Although the CROSS CRASH! in the temples was hilarious and silly, it was the worst scene in terms of physical movements.

Of course, they should have choked and died in the volcanno due to the toxic fumes and terrifying heat, which in some ways was sillier than flipping the lazer beams...

[5 Minutes]

RE4 was too over the top. Leon broke the laws of phsyics a couple of times, and some of the moves were just unbelieveable.

Unbelievable, but possible. Sorta like these group of exceptional athletes known as "Urban/Street Ninjas"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN-0jSl6jzM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iytb8z-Nkb8&feature=related

Some of their moves make Leon & Ada look like amateurs...

The volcano setting was beyond ridiculous though...

[Darkmoon]

True, but the physically impossible scene is the one where Leon plummets to his doom. Somehow he manages to throw something upwards, with significant speed and force, while plummeting downwards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOTl-b7DlNA

[rewak]

They should go and look at 3.5, they had something there. It had the horror aspect in spades and it also had the action element perfectly mixed in, so of course they scrap it. Even just look at Lost In Nightmares, classic RE style and it worked. I'm looking at Revelations as just being something to tide fans over until RE6, lets just hope they don't look at Tekken for inspiration again, first Jill turns into Nina, what next? They need to stop using Chris/Jill/Leon, i want to know where Rebecca/Barry/Sherry are, whats going on with them? You just know they've set up to bring more Weskers into it, talking about how he was part of some project. RE5 was just RE4 repackaged with the whole Chris/Wesker premise played out, and i can see them just doing this again and again until they kill the series. I like this rumor that they're gonna wheel out a female Wesker though, super original Capcom!