Poll: Favorite "Survival Horror" Resident Evil?

Rebel_Raven

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Outbreak, easily.
Character select that mattered, and the characters were diverse,and not boulder punching super human, unlockable characters, zombie elephant dong in file 2.

2 biggest memories were the end of the first stage, carrying every gun my friend and I could get then blasting zombies until our ammo ran out, then finishing the level. The other was hiding in a locker while tyrant stalked me, and I didn't know what else to do, or where to go while teammates finished the game, I reckon.
I'd like a remake.
 

FalloutJack

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Well, out of them all, I enjoyed Resident Evil 2 and 4 the most. Resident Evil 2 is more refined and does have alot going for it, after all. RE4 is, of course, the best in the series at all.
 

chadachada123

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I've only played mere minutes of REmake, 2, 3, Veronica, and Outbreak, and only 3/4 of the way through Zero.

4 is one of my favorite games of all time, and had some good tense horror at various parts, but I just never got to beating any of the earlier games in the series. Shame the series nearly completely abandoned horror since, since what I played of Zero was nerve-racking.
 

Johnny Novgorod

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Samtemdo8 said:
Johnny Novgorod said:
Silentpony said:
Resident Evil Zero or Outbreak. Don't get my wrong, 4 is my favorite and 2 is a classic, but I think RE shines the most when they don't use any of the main characters.
Chris, Jill, Leon and Claire are absolute dorks and have the charisma of a plate of shrimp. Now I know you'd sad "Well SilentPony, Resident evil Zero had what's her face and she's in the main cast."

No, she's not. And neither is the other dude. They have their own story going, and because they're not shackled to Wesker and his silliness, they're able to explore more of the ideas of bio-engineered super weapons.
But Wesker does show up in Zero. Hell, he gets more screen time in that that in the whole of RE2, RE3 and RE4 combined.
Uh he does not even appear in RE 2 and 3 at all?
RE2 (photo cameo) + RE3 (no appearance) + RE4 (bit part in a side story) < RE0 (starring role).
 

Hawki

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Ranking them:

7) Resident Evil 1: The granddaddy of the series and...it shows. Really shows. Not a bad game, but it hasn't aged well at all. I don't have that much to say on it, only that it's fine on its own, but overshadowed by its sequels and remake.

6) Outbreak: Outbreak is, in a strange way, the 'best' survival horror RE game, in as much that its scenarios always have you at a disadvantage. You're on a time limit, with very limited ammo, controlling average joes for the most part. However, it's stymied by its lack of any overarching story (bar inference of what order the scenarios occur in), and that it has the problem of being with AI that's unreliable.

5) Zero: Better than Outbreak in the sense that it's a main series game. However, I just don't like Zero that much, and it's down to one key thing - the items. The lack of any storage boxes means you have to either leave items behind, or constantly go back and forth to get them to where you have to be. RE games have generally been scarce on resources, but Zero's scarcity is based mostly on your limits of patience, before yelling "screw it, I'll leave the shotgun behind!" Which is a shame, because I feel the buddy system works quite well.

4) Code: Veronica: A better game than Zero, but Code: Veronica is in the realm of being average for me. It lacks the glaring flaws of Zero, and while a bit spin-offy, is more relevant to the plot than Outbreak, if only because it re-introduces Wesker. However, there's nothing really special about this game either. Every game on this list after C: V has something notable going for it. C: V is meerly an average Resident Evil game. Not good, not bad, just average.

3) Resident Evil 2: What's this, you ask? RE2? Don't you know that RE2 is the best pre-RE4 game in the series, or best game in the series, period? To which I say, "well, no, I don't." I think RE2 is a very good game, but not quite as good as the next two on this list. But make no mistake, it's a very solid game. Decent story, decent gameplay, there's the same game system (e.g. Leon A, then Claire B, or vice versa), Mr. X, etc. Resident Evil 2 is a very solid game, and there's nothing really holding it back. However, I don't think it's quite as good as...

2) Resident Evil 3: Nemesis: Yes, I think this is better than RE2. I think this because it takes the strengths of RE2, and improves them. Story is still decent. It probably does help that Jill is my favorite character in the series, and this game does a lot to solidify why. But I think RE3 works because it improves on RE2 in that:

a) You see far more of Raccoon City. It conveys the horror of the situation more effectively, and one feels far more vulnerable being out on the streets than in a police station for instance.

b) Nemesis is far deadlier and more intimidating than Mr. X, in both gameplay and lore. Helps that in RE3, he's specifically after Jill, whereas Mr. X attacks Leon/Claire because they happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

c) RE2 had the save game system, as detailed above. However, RE3 does have variability in its gameplay in that events play out differently in what order you play them in. I feel this is a better approach to replay value.

The only nitpick I can give RE3 is that it does veer a bit more to the action end of the spectrum than RE2, but even RE2 was doing that when compared to RE1.

1) Resident Evil Remake: Holy shit, this is how you do a remake. You take the first game, improve it in every concievable way (that includes voice acting), and you make it scary as shit. Like, actually scary. And...yeah. I don't really have anything bad to say about this game. RE4 still takes the top spot, but this comes in at #2 without a doubt.
 

Casual Shinji

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ZombieProof said:
Actually in terms 4, Wesker was the whole reason Ava got involved and she played a rather large roll in it. Especially in all of the iterations post Gamecube where you get to play as her.
Yeah, but then Ada herself was kind of a secondary character in that game. Wesker's mainly mentioned just to draw attention that he's still out there doing... something.

OT: As for the actual pre-RE4 games... it's a toss-up between RE2 and RE3. Resident Evil 2 introduced me to the franchise and that nostalgia is still incredibly strong, despite not having played it in years. But all I have to do is play the police station main hall music in my head and I'm transported right back to when I was 15 years old. That game was my life back then, and Leon and Claire are my two favourite characters in the series.

Resident Evil 3 on the otherhand has this deliciously snappy pacing, eventhough it's still kind of a slow, survival horror game. Everything just moves and reacts that much faster, and it helps in creating a sense that you need to stay on the move, that you need to escape Racoon City fast. And obviously there's Nemesis who remains the best stalker in videogames. It's kind of genius how they took the screen transistions and added the fear of hearing that door slam and seeing Nemesis storm into frame like a demonic freight train. And -- something current horror games forget -- he's a stalker that you can beat. It's ill-advised since he's so much faster and stronger than you, but it is possible.
 

Samtemdo8_v1legacy

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Ezekiel said:
ZombieProof said:
Ezekiel said:
Samtemdo8 said:
And I am specifically referring to the the games before Resident Evil 4, the ones that had fixed camara angles, tank controls, and a more "horror" based games.
RE4 has the same tank controls, only expanded, and it is a survival horror game. What do you think makes a horror game, being genuinely scary? Well, I played the RE remake and wasn't scared at all. I'm answering RE4 because the poll is daft. I don't like the games before it or the ones after.
Dammit 'Zeke, ReMake didn't scare you "at all"? You sure you played that mess at night, with the lights out, and all that other hooey?
I made the necessary preparations, including switching to 4:3 to get the full backgrounds and using the classic controls. I only fought the generic zombies and dogs, though. Got sick of wandering around the mansion trying to find where to go. What I played wasn't scary at all. And I agree with Azure, RE4 had genuine scares.
Were you playing as Jill Valintine in your first attempt?
 

Samtemdo8_v1legacy

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Johnny Novgorod said:
Samtemdo8 said:
Johnny Novgorod said:
Silentpony said:
Resident Evil Zero or Outbreak. Don't get my wrong, 4 is my favorite and 2 is a classic, but I think RE shines the most when they don't use any of the main characters.
Chris, Jill, Leon and Claire are absolute dorks and have the charisma of a plate of shrimp. Now I know you'd sad "Well SilentPony, Resident evil Zero had what's her face and she's in the main cast."

No, she's not. And neither is the other dude. They have their own story going, and because they're not shackled to Wesker and his silliness, they're able to explore more of the ideas of bio-engineered super weapons.
But Wesker does show up in Zero. Hell, he gets more screen time in that that in the whole of RE2, RE3 and RE4 combined.
Uh he does not even appear in RE 2 and 3 at all?
RE2 (photo cameo) + RE3 (no appearance) + RE4 (bit part in a side story) < RE0 (starring role).
Wesker had that exact same Photo Cameo in RE 3 aswell (you enter the same Police Station)
 

omega 616

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No idea why people say that 4 is the best, the only thing I like is the normal controls but the second you start having to baby sit that ***** the game goes downhill quickly. Not to mention the main antagonist is a mini sailor and there isn't a single zombie, only scary thing about it is the regenerators ... there was no tension, no atmosphere, never felt in danger, always had plenty of ammo (never had to worry about only having my knife). So it was more action/adventure than survival horror.

I think RE3 is the better one, it has the same tension and atmosphere that the previous two had but the cherry on top is the nemesis, he is a constant threat. Remember the infamous dogs from the first, he is like that but it's a constant worry, you get the feeling he can pop up from anywhere at any time, such as when you come down some stairs and he busts through a window. You can kill him every time you see him but it's a lot of effort! (worth it for the drops though) but if you do put the effort in, you could end up in a bad situation 'cos you still have a limited supply of ammo.

I also like those little "panic" moments, have to make a choice between which path to take and if you leave it to flash red, you get a more dramatic scene. I think it's a VERY good game and I think it's a shame it got followed up by a string of worse and worse games.
 

Samtemdo8_v1legacy

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omega 616 said:
No idea why people say that 4 is the best, the only thing I like is the normal controls but the second you start having to baby sit that ***** the game goes downhill quickly. Not to mention the main antagonist is a mini sailor and there isn't a single zombie, only scary thing about it is the regenerators ... there was no tension, no atmosphere, never felt in danger, always had plenty of ammo (never had to worry about only having my knife). So it was more action/adventure than survival horror.

I think RE3 is the better one, it has the same tension and atmosphere that the previous two had but the cherry on top is the nemesis, he is a constant threat. Remember the infamous dogs from the first, he is like that but it's a constant worry, you get the feeling he can pop up from anywhere at any time, such as when you come down some stairs and he busts through a window. You can kill him every time you see him but it's a lot of effort! (worth it for the drops though) but if you do put the effort in, you could end up in a bad situation 'cos you still have a limited supply of ammo.

I also like those little "panic" moments, have to make a choice between which path to take and if you leave it to flash red, you get a more dramatic scene. I think it's a VERY good game and I think it's a shame it got followed up by a string of worse and worse games.
Personally I find William Birkin the better monster/villain because he has the superior scary design and the fact that he gradually becomes more and more into a monster.

If they gave William Birkin that persistance that Nemesis had everyone would have preferred him especially with each time he appears the more and more he mutates:

 

Dragonlayer

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For genuine survival horror, I'm going to have to go with the Outbreak games for the following reasons:

- A wide range of characters generally unprepared and unsuited for the zombie apocalypse, all forced to improvise their innate talents in order to survive (whether it be medical expertise, lockpicking or shoving people really hard).
- Varied and expansive locations, with excellently crafted atmospheres which run from the chaos of J's Bar to the claustrophobic abandoned hospital in the woods.
- Leechman continues to haunt my nightmares to this day.
- Doctor George's hilariously schizophrenic dialogue, which had him politely thanking teammates one minute and shrieking "EVERYTHING DIES!!!" the next.
 

omega 616

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Samtemdo8 said:
omega 616 said:
No idea why people say that 4 is the best, the only thing I like is the normal controls but the second you start having to baby sit that ***** the game goes downhill quickly. Not to mention the main antagonist is a mini sailor and there isn't a single zombie, only scary thing about it is the regenerators ... there was no tension, no atmosphere, never felt in danger, always had plenty of ammo (never had to worry about only having my knife). So it was more action/adventure than survival horror.

I think RE3 is the better one, it has the same tension and atmosphere that the previous two had but the cherry on top is the nemesis, he is a constant threat. Remember the infamous dogs from the first, he is like that but it's a constant worry, you get the feeling he can pop up from anywhere at any time, such as when you come down some stairs and he busts through a window. You can kill him every time you see him but it's a lot of effort! (worth it for the drops though) but if you do put the effort in, you could end up in a bad situation 'cos you still have a limited supply of ammo.

I also like those little "panic" moments, have to make a choice between which path to take and if you leave it to flash red, you get a more dramatic scene. I think it's a VERY good game and I think it's a shame it got followed up by a string of worse and worse games.
Personally I find William Birkin the better monster/villain because he has the superior scary design and the fact that he gradually becomes more and more into a monster.

If they gave William Birkin that persistance that Nemesis had everyone would have preferred him especially with each time he appears the more and more he mutates:

We all have our preferences but from what I just watched, I am not a fan ... I am not a fan of the way nemesis transforms either to be honest.

What I liked about nemesis was he was like the terminator or Jason, he was stoic and solid, he took the punishment without batting and eye (well, until he dropped) and just walked you down. Then when he transformed and got loads of tenticles, thought it was a bit silly, a bit hentai but that last transformation is more or less identical to Birkin.

I guess I am just more into human looking monsters than gross out totally deformed kind, like I prefer Tyrant from the first game to Birkin.
 

Johnny Novgorod

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Samtemdo8 said:
Johnny Novgorod said:
Samtemdo8 said:
Johnny Novgorod said:
Silentpony said:
Resident Evil Zero or Outbreak. Don't get my wrong, 4 is my favorite and 2 is a classic, but I think RE shines the most when they don't use any of the main characters.
Chris, Jill, Leon and Claire are absolute dorks and have the charisma of a plate of shrimp. Now I know you'd sad "Well SilentPony, Resident evil Zero had what's her face and she's in the main cast."

No, she's not. And neither is the other dude. They have their own story going, and because they're not shackled to Wesker and his silliness, they're able to explore more of the ideas of bio-engineered super weapons.
But Wesker does show up in Zero. Hell, he gets more screen time in that that in the whole of RE2, RE3 and RE4 combined.
Uh he does not even appear in RE 2 and 3 at all?
RE2 (photo cameo) + RE3 (no appearance) + RE4 (bit part in a side story) < RE0 (starring role).
Wesker had that exact same Photo Cameo in RE 3 aswell (you enter the same Police Station)
He does. Still he plays an active, plot-relevant part in Zero. Way more than the couple of nods he gets in RE2/RE3/RE4.
 

Lieju

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Of those, the remake. I just love Lisa Trevor.

In terms of scariness though... Re4 was the scariest for me. Even if it's more action based it managed to scare me more than the classic games. Mostly because of the regenerators...
 

Samtemdo8_v1legacy

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Ezekiel said:
Samtemdo8 said:
Ezekiel said:
ZombieProof said:
Ezekiel said:
Samtemdo8 said:
And I am specifically referring to the the games before Resident Evil 4, the ones that had fixed camara angles, tank controls, and a more "horror" based games.
RE4 has the same tank controls, only expanded, and it is a survival horror game. What do you think makes a horror game, being genuinely scary? Well, I played the RE remake and wasn't scared at all. I'm answering RE4 because the poll is daft. I don't like the games before it or the ones after.
Dammit 'Zeke, ReMake didn't scare you "at all"? You sure you played that mess at night, with the lights out, and all that other hooey?
I made the necessary preparations, including switching to 4:3 to get the full backgrounds and using the classic controls. I only fought the generic zombies and dogs, though. Got sick of wandering around the mansion trying to find where to go. What I played wasn't scary at all. And I agree with Azure, RE4 had genuine scares.
Were you playing as Jill Valintine in your first attempt?
Yes, I was. Why do you ask?
Explains EVERYTHING.

Jill Valintine's version of the game sucks and its not because Jill is a woman no that has nothing to do with it, Jill Valintine's version of the game is pretty much the easy mode of the entire game and overall ruins the "horror" experiance of the game compared to Chris' campaign and allow me to list:

1. Jill has 8 inventory slots, Chris has 6.

2. Jill comes with the Lockpick, Chris has the lighter and has to find old keys around the manor.

3. Jill can get the shotgun very early on, Chris needs a broken one to switch between the shotguns

4. Jill gets a fuckin Grenade Launcher especially when combined with the flame rounds can easily set dead zombie cosrpses ablaze preventing them from turining into Crimson Heads. Chris has to use the oil canister (fortunantly he has the lighter by default freeing up inventory space)

5. Jill starts with her gun, Chris doesnt' (although Chris gets a gun very soon into the game)

6. Jill can bypass an entire boss in the game.

7. Jill gets baby-sited CONSTANTLY by Barry Burton I mean yes for Chris Wesker gives him some extra gear but Barry is completely different, he gives her the Lockpick, he gives acid grenade rounds, the strongest of the grenade rounds, as mentioned before he is the reason you get the shotgun early. Compared to Chirs where is almost alone for the most part of the playthrough.

8. And This mabye a subjective opinion but even in the remake the voice acting in Jill's Campaign is still bad, Chris's campaign is not Oscar calibur acting but its immensly more passable like there is not too much silly lines.

Pretty much imo playing Jill is the wrong way to play this game, if you want a true Survival Horror experiance not only play as Chris Redfield, but play it in Real Survivor mode where the Item Boxes no longer "connect" to other boxes, once you put something in one of the boxes it stays in that same box. And Real Survivor sets the difficulty to Hard mode by default.

I am sorry for saying this but I hate it when people always play as Jill in this game especially if its their first time.
 

Zombie Proof

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Ezekiel said:
Samtemdo8 said:
Ezekiel said:
Samtemdo8 said:
Ezekiel said:
ZombieProof said:
Ezekiel said:
Samtemdo8 said:
And I am specifically referring to the the games before Resident Evil 4, the ones that had fixed camara angles, tank controls, and a more "horror" based games.
RE4 has the same tank controls, only expanded, and it is a survival horror game. What do you think makes a horror game, being genuinely scary? Well, I played the RE remake and wasn't scared at all. I'm answering RE4 because the poll is daft. I don't like the games before it or the ones after.
Dammit 'Zeke, ReMake didn't scare you "at all"? You sure you played that mess at night, with the lights out, and all that other hooey?
I made the necessary preparations, including switching to 4:3 to get the full backgrounds and using the classic controls. I only fought the generic zombies and dogs, though. Got sick of wandering around the mansion trying to find where to go. What I played wasn't scary at all. And I agree with Azure, RE4 had genuine scares.
Were you playing as Jill Valintine in your first attempt?
Yes, I was. Why do you ask?
Explains EVERYTHING.

Jill Valintine's version of the game sucks and its not because Jill is a woman no that has nothing to do with it, Jill Valintine's version of the game is pretty much the easy mode of the entire game and overall ruins the "horror" experiance of the game compared to Chris' campaign and allow me to list:

1. Jill has 8 inventory slots, Chris has 6.

2. Jill comes with the Lockpick, Chris has the lighter and has to find old keys around the manor.

3. Jill can get the shotgun very early on, Chris needs a broken one to switch between the shotguns

4. Jill gets a fuckin Grenade Launcher especially when combined with the flame rounds can easily set dead zombie cosrpses ablaze preventing them from turining into Crimson Heads. Chris has to use the oil canister (fortunantly he has the lighter by default freeing up inventory space)

5. Jill starts with her gun, Chris doesnt' (although Chris gets a gun very soon into the game)

6. Jill can bypass an entire boss in the game.

7. Jill gets baby-sited CONSTANTLY by Barry Burton I mean yes for Chris Wesker gives him some extra gear but Barry is completely different, he gives her the Lockpick, he gives acid grenade rounds, the strongest of the grenade rounds, as mentioned before he is the reason you get the shotgun early. Compared to Chirs where is almost alone for the most part of the playthrough.

8. And This mabye a subjective opinion but even in the remake the voice acting in Jill's Campaign is still bad, Chris's campaign is not Oscar calibur acting but its immensly more passable like there is not too much silly lines.

Pretty much imo playing Jill is the wrong way to play this game, if you want a true Survival Horror experiance not only play as Chris Redfield, but play it in Real Survivor mode where the Item Boxes no longer "connect" to other boxes, once you put something in one of the boxes it stays in that same box. And Real Survivor sets the difficulty to Hard mode by default.

I am sorry for saying this but I hate it when people always play as Jill in this game especially if its their first time.
This game's lame. Playing as Chris isn't gonna fix it. I don't like repeatedly searching every room of this huge mansion for the one metaphorical lock to a key (item). It's not scary or fun. I shouldn't have installed it again. It felt good playing RE4 for a few minutes afterwards. I regret wasting my money on this. RE4 is the only good one.
You take that back

right...now...


You're a hard man to please sometimes hahahaha
 

stroopwafel

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RE Remake no doubt. A deeply atmospheric dwell through a haunted mansion that mastered level design way before Dark Souls did. Everything is so meticulously organized that I'm still impressed with the level of skill that is on display here. RE Remake and RE4 are really Mikami's best games in my opinion.

Sure, purely in gameplay terms RE4 is well above RE Remake and people who didn't play this game when it originally came out in 2002 may have a hard time adjusting but I still think Remake does the most justice to the original concept and vision of the series. Going from the original in 1998 to this one four years later was such a leap. It polished, improved and perfected what is the quintessential survival-horror game. The sub-plot with Lisa Trevor they added to the game was just icing on the cake.

Resident Evil 4 evolved from this so really it isn't like they are totally separate. RE Remake was the last great Resident Evil game with the classic formula.
 

Hawki

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stroopwafel said:
Sure, purely in gameplay terms RE4 is well above RE Remake and people who didn't play this game when it originally came out in 2002 may have a hard time adjusting but I still think Remake does the most justice to the original concept and vision of the series. Going from the original in 1998 to this one four years later was such a leap. It polished, improved and perfected what is the quintessential survival-horror game. The sub-plot with Lisa Trevor they added to the game was just icing on the cake.

Resident Evil 4 evolved from this so really it isn't like they are totally separate. RE Remake was the last great Resident Evil game with the classic formula.
Yeah, pretty much - I can imagine that those introduced to the series in RE4 or later would find it hard to play the older games. That said, I wouldn't call RE4 totally separate. For me, there's pre-RE4 (classic formula), post-RE4 (popularized by RE5, what with a heavier action focus), and then RE4 itself - the game that hits the sweet spot. I do agree that RE4 was the beginning of a shift in the series, but in the context of what came later, it does feel transitional.