RESTORING RESIDENT EVIL 2’S NOVELTY CHARACTERS IS CRUCIAL FOR NAILING THE REMAKE’S TONE.

Striking the balance between old and new will stand future Capcom remakes in good stead

The Spencer mansion zombie; the salivaspilling Licker; the STARS-hunting Nemesis – PS1-era Resident Evil enjoyed some of the series’ most iconic terrors. My favourite? The second game’s big *blorp*ing alligator. Seriously, that scaly son of a gun gave me nightmares for months following that frightfully claustrophobic set-to.

Yet despite how it lives on in my mind, Producers Tsuyoshi Kanda and Yoshiaki Hirabayashi once considered axing the croc from the Resident Evil 2 remake – suggesting the rework’s darker tone left little room for my favourite baddie. Likewise, the original’s novelty characters HUNK (a ruthless special agent) and Tofu (a literal piece of tofu) faced the cutting room floor. All three will, however, feature come 25 January next year, which, for my money, is crucial for both this game and any future reboots Capcom might have up its sleeve.

Last year’s Resident Evil VII underscored Capcom’s desire to drive the two-decades-old series forward. Its first-person perspective changed the dynamics of stealth and survival, it made us more vulnerable than ever, and in turn made us consider inventory management like never before. Such refinements are less important for the RE2 remake, though.

KEEP IT EVIL

Don’t get me wrong, I love what I’ve seen so far (even if it retreats somewhat from the original’s B-movie charm) but lip service to its source material is vital. I’m all for nips, tucks, and a fresh lick of paint, all so long as the ’98 classic’s tone is preserved. And anyway, the novelty stars – are they really any less credible than zombie dogs, giant spiders, and William Birkin’s Tyrant mutation? That’s open to interpretation, but they’re all equally integral to what I love about RE2, and I wouldn’t want a remake that compromised on any of them.

Capcom has said it’s open to redoing more of its back catalogue after this. Striking the balance between new and old, comforting and unfamiliar, legacy and modern standards, is a cornerstone of a good remake. Which is why I reckon there’s more riding on that giant ’gator that most people might think.