Losing interest in the series

[Pikminister]

In my case, losing interest is true for videogaming in general. Not just with Resident Evil.

However, this is not to say that I don't care for games anymore. I do care. I'm just saying that it's not something that is on the top of my priority list.

It's part of growing up, I guess. Thank goodness that there are kids in the family. Because their the main reason we still look to buy game consoles these days.

Buying a 3DS, though.... that's something I'm looking to buy just for myself. Since I don't get to play at home much anymore.

[Darkmoon]

I'm never gonna be a fan of RE4. I simply don't like action games enough, and say what you will but RE4 is an action game with a couple of survival horror hang ups. I know a lot of folks look back at it much more fondly these days, having played RE5, but for me that seems kinda like going, 'Huh, that crazy syphilis. Seemed so bad at the time, but now I've got HIV I can sorta see the positives. It wouldn't horribly kill me, after all.'

On the other hand, I'd be a fool if I thought for a moment that RE4 didn't save the series too. The series needed a change. As I think this thread is showing, Capcom simply took it way too far and now the people who kept Resident Evil alive are bailing ship. It's been a very one sided relationship...we give Capcom cash, they laugh and then yell at us. And then demand more money.

I think there is still hope. Even though RE5 sold well, it got a lot of dodgy reviews due to simply being too far away from what made a Resident Evil game. And while fans voices are easy to ingore, reviewers are less so. A lot of the ideas they keep playing with, such as hallucinations, make sense. And personally, I think horror in the daylight is actually a good idea. If it's done right, I.E not by Capcom, the distortion between lovely light and hideous horror can be jarring and startling.

[Inferno04]

I say RE4 and 5 closed my like of the series as well, but for different reasons. I don't hate 4 and use 5 even for co-op....and while the plot has never been totally cear or well put together, I still prefer the older ones for one sole reason.

Simplicity. I enjoy zombie films and games where the main focus is about escape, or even hiding. Surviving a zombie apocalypse. I think this is why I enjoy Outbreak so much, a group of normal people, even more average than the S.T.A.R.S group, just trying to escape a city full of zombies. 2 and 3 were similar in the whole, 'Being IN the city' concept, which is what I enjoy. It was a time before really convoluted plots involving Spencer, Wesker, Umbrella...and you KNOW Capcom didn't plan any of this from the beginning. Spencer was barely a name, Umbrella was dropped like a rock at RE4,(No, Umbrella Chronicles is not a good explanation of the downfall, it's a cop out.), Wesker was just kind of hamfisted into Code Veronica(even if it WAS cool), and suddenly the T-Virus is no longer good enough. We can't have 'zombies' anymore. We gotta have 'plagas.'

You know what. I still call them zombies. This is Resident Evil, not I Am Legend, they should be goddamn zombies.

As more actiony, contrived, thoughtless, and needlessly confusing the series becomes, the less I care. I enjoy older games, classic feeling atmospheres, standard zombie apocalypse is enough for me. But the games are trying to 'progress' and to me, it isn't working. The older fans don't like it, people new to the series are confused or don't like it, Capcom is striking out on both markets. The series' plot and style is becoming as confused and convoluted as the movie series, it's as if it doesn't even know what's 'canon' anymore.

[SinValentine]

i agree with a lot of points people've made

i guess it's growing up in general for me. i mean back then when they had remake and re 0 on gamecube, i didn't mind shelling out $100 to get it so i could keep playing RE. then i realise gamecube just collected dust for me (RE was the only reason i bought it for)
they ended up doing the same thing for wii, so i didn't bother buying a wii after that.

ugh, i did not like RE 5... the only good thing to me was playing with 2 people. after that i ended up appreciating re 4 a whole lot more. like dot said, the atmosphere was way nicer, i love autumn time :p also i liked to read the files.

the feeling was better, you could relate to some of the people's losses. I miss how much of a nub leon was in RE 2, falling in love like that on his first day on the job(granted he did go through a lot/not sure if you'd live to see tomorrow). claire looking for her brother, jill trying to get out of the city. you could relate to them in some way, they were kind of like average people back then.

in these later games, people are power hungry/playing god/cocky etc. i used to like chris a lot, back in code veronica, i could see him as a brother ya know? in RE 1 he was clumsy but he still cared. i don't feel that kind of connection these days with the newer games.

the epilogues, trying to find out everyone's mini stories. when i first finished all those epilogues years ago i thought we'd continue to see all these characters, it felt like it was building up suspense for their future storylines.. or maybe that was just to me

[Rombie]

Capcom has always been to derivative of the series since around the time Nemesis/Code Veronica came out, and it's something that continues with releasing the titles they are to the 3DS. Since post Code Veronica, I've been stuck in some sort of hold while Capcom decides what they want to do with the franchise every couple of years. The last time I was genuinely excited by something they released was the Remake in 2002. RE4 was a pleasant enough game but I wasn't as excited about it other titles in the series, and by the time RE5 arrived I was happy to play it through but it wasn't something I spent hours playing at first... it took a while for me to come back to it. A new main title on consoles will probably get me playing it in future, but I won't be anymore excited over it than I would any other game.

I'd love to come in and have something more decent to say, but I think everything I could possibly say has already been said by others. I think the simple fact I barely touch my own website (the last update being June last year) probably says more than anything about how I am with the series.

[Shadow Stalker]

I still love collecting them all.

Gotta catch 'em all, huh?

To get back to the topic on hand ... I've been reading most of what people have been saying regarding the personal interests regarding the Resident Evil games, and I've got to say that I do feel a bit saddened about how you lot are feeling about the RE games. (And I do sympathsize with you lot as well, considering how the RE games has shifting from survivor-horror to action-"horror")

Personally ... I don't mind the genre shift too much. Mostly because I'm more of a bloke who is a bit of an action-junkie when it comes to video-games. Plus, I'm pretty much a very laid-back bloke.

I don't mind the puzzle-solving elements when RE was in it's survival-horror beginnings that everybody on this messageboard and their own dog cherishes like it was carved by angels. (Which I highly respect, by the way.)

As a matter of fact, I'd like to state that I have a favorite puzzle to solve in RECVX. It's the one where Claire Redfield has to get the Piano Roll by sticking a rusted sword into the slot of an iron maiden in the Rockfort Island "Prison Area". (I liked that part in the game so much that I've personally nicknamed that part: "Claire's Descent Into Hell." It's a very fitting nickname when you think about how you get to the room where the iron maiden is located. )

Although I do have to admit that there are times whenever I play RE4 or RE5 and I feel like I'm playing a different game altogether (as in a game that's NOT Resident Evil that is). But it is usually a very minor issue for me since like said earlier, I'm a bit of an action junkie kind of gamer.

Which reminds me of the time that I played Resident Evil 2 for the first time on the N64. I clearly remember renting this game just simply because I wanted to shoot some Zombies. (I never really understood what survival horror meant during that time)

[misstvirus]

Never! But Resident Evil 4/5 have made my heart sad because *sniff* no more zombies. I know the story had to progress but I'm tired of tentacles and flower-vagina's coming out of the mouths of angry, weapon wielding people who scream obscenities at me in other languages. D:

[aris13]

My feelings regarding the future of the series are rather mixed right now. I'm not THAT excited for Revelations even though it looks great and I don't know what to expect from RE 6 in terms of plot and gameplay. I think that most of us are starting to lose interest because RE 5 pretty much wrapped up the majority of the storyline.

[REmaster]

My feelings regarding the future of the series are rather mixed right now. I'm not THAT excited for Revelations even though it looks great and I don't know what to expect from RE 6 in terms of plot and gameplay. I think that most of us are starting to lose interest because RE 5 pretty much wrapped up the majority of the storyline.

Yea I feel the same way. If it were up to me, I would have ended it with RE5. Of course, when the games cease so does the money so I'd say we have quite a long time before this old well dries up. Sure it would be nice to pull the plug now and end the series while it still has a leg to stand on, but that's buisness. I would be happy as a lark if it ended, even if it was just an end to the original plot so that I don't have to worry about my favorite characters getting twisted into future games.

I too don't know what to think of Revelations, Mercenaries has suprised me by having the audacity to sell a mercenary game buy itself(Capcom, you cocky bastards), RE6 is still up in the air as a possible reboot and Damnation has me wondering why Leon is in yet another movie, looking exactly the same (Hez awezome duh!). The crowd reacts by not reacting.

Like most of my problems, I just pretend they're not there. What's that you say? Resident Evil is in a downward spiral? Well that's ok because it's 2002 and I'm too busy playing the remake to hear these ridiculous claims. However, when I occasionally do wake up to reality and realize the end for my passion may be nigh, I wipe away a tear and listen to the sound of this smooth old voice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_-D3-uKbm8

[Dracarys]

After RE0 (which I did enjoy despite the disapointment) I started losing interest, with games like Dead Aim, Outbreak 1 and 2 and tripe that was RE4 meaning the spin-off excuse didn't work.

It was like that until Umbrella Chronicles released which showed me Capcom were capable of not writing bullshit that messed up the story, though I expected to hate RE5 as much as RE4 I bought RE5 on release and loved it. The gameplay is much better balanced than RE4 and the story to me is just and good as any of the older games (though pacing a bit off in some chapters), only vastly better presented.

In short: With UC and RE5 my interest has returned full force.

After playing the Mercs 3d demo I'm not looking forward to it anywhere near as much as I was, but I'l buy it and enjoy it over time, just not as much as RE5 mercs.

Oh, I bought the original RE about a month after release and bought every other new game on release day since, just to make a point of what sort of fan I am. I have nearly all ports with different regions for many also.

[BrionIrons]

IMO I think Capcom should end the series after RE6 before the storylines get more ridiculous.to be honost Resident Evil lost its originality after Mikami Left.When that guy left.I knew it would spell trouble for the Series,because look at it now.It's nothing more than a ordinary action game.Mikami was an artist when it came to his games.

Now I fear now that Keji Inafune left the production Team for Revelation.They are gonna end up making it another Plaga shoot em up action game.

Because remember at E32010,Inafune promised Zombies and searching under furniture for items(Old School Resident Evil).Now that he left like 2 and a half monthes ago.God knows whats gonna happen to Revelations now.Look at Merc's 3d its basically RE4 and RE5 smashed into one.I mean WTF.

The only way im gonna stay with this series is if they keep their promise about Revelations(which Im Doubting),and If not,then im basically done with RE.because theirs really nothing else for me left to like.i mean the series is pretty much finished.Wesker's Dead,Chris and Jill's Story has concluded.They took down their enemy.The only thing left is Leon,Claire,Ada,Sherry,and Hunk.Right there RE6 can conclude their story.

[Mr. Spencer]

Makes me wonder who's even running the show, considering that Mikami and Inafune have both departed. Is the same applicable for Takeuchi? I can't recall whether or not he jumped off the boat too.

[BrionIrons]

Takeuchi is still working for Capcom but he's no longer interested in the RE series.He's working on other projects.He stated after RE5 was released that he will not be involved in RE6.

The Resident Evil Series is basically a dying horse being forced to compete in a horse race.They need to put it out of its misery.

[Mr. Spencer]

Isaac Clarke will be the one to squeeze the trigger.

[Grem]

Makes me wonder who's even running the show

Masachika Kawata. This guy has produced every single RE game since RE4 (The ps2 version with Separate Ways was the starting point, as far as I know)